[mpulse1]

So, here's the story on my new '6.

Back on Nov 15 I placed an order for a silver contrail Mazda6s with 5spd manual tranny, sport package, bose audio, moonroof, leather interrior, comfort package, and the side airbags. It is identical to a vehicle the dealership already had an invoice for, and receieved around Dec 20.

I called the dealership today and found something I hadn't appreciated until now. As I understand it, AAI has a production schedule that they're on, and are not building vehicles specifically for customers. This means that if you order a car that they're not building many of, you can wait a while before demand is met for that car. At this time Mazda has not built my car, and has no anticipated build date. This leaves me two months after ordering my car a bit frustrated. Speaking with the sales guy he said they would be willing to sell me the identical car to mine that they have on the lot at the agreed upon price (I'm buying on S-Plan so it wasn't a problem in the first place).

So, I'm left deciding whether to take them up on the offer and purchase the vehicle off the lot with 120 miles on it, or wait for my vehicle which may not show up for sometime to come. I'm leaning towards taking the vehicle off the lot despite not wanting to buy a vehicle that has been test driven. Though at the same time I'll put 120 miles on the car in two days of driving to work.

Anyway... It's been a frustrating day...

 

[kenoka]

Reading Topic: what to do... what to do...

Tell them to take a little extra off for the mileage. Honestly it probably won't matter very much as far as wear and tear on the car goes. People get very paranoid about test drive mileage, but it's almost guaranteed that it got driven harder in final testing at the plant than some schmoe at the dealership.

 

[solarbear]

Reading Topic: what to do... what to do...

I'd just take the car with a grain of salt.

Dealership should probably throw in a little something extra to compensate you... window tint, free floormats or something.

 

[halfadozen]

Reading Topic: what to do... what to do...

I ordered a 6S on November 1 and it was built to my order and sent to the dealer. I *know* that because my wife works in the plant and walked my car through.

Your salesguy is full of ****. But what I would do is most likely test drive what they have on the lot and go for it if it met my fancy.

But the whole - "can't special order a car" is bunk. No kidding.

 

[mpulse1]

Replying to Topic 'what to do... what to do...'

The frustrating part is they don't even know when the vehicle is going to be built. If they said 'yeah it'll be built first week in February and you'll have it in March' I'd be cool with that.

I think I'm going to go over there tomorrow to kick the tires again and start working on the whole process of making the car that's on the lot mine.

 

[mpulse1]

Replying to Topic 'what to do... what to do...'

BTW, the car on the lot is EXACTLY identical to the car that I ordered.

The reason they said they were going to order the identical car for me is because they didn't want to sell me one from their inventory because I was buying on S-Plan...

 

[Absolut]

Reading Topic: what to do... what to do...

I think thats a load of shiit... I thought someone had mentionedhere on the forum that the dealer gets reimbursed by Mazda when someone buys with the S plan.

 

[mpulse1]

Replying to Topic 'what to do... what to do...'

QUOTE

Originally posted by Absolut


            I think thats a load of shiit... I thought someone had mentionedhere on the forum that the dealer gets reimbursed by Mazda when someone buys with the S plan.  [/b]

They do, but some OEMs give a larger kickback than others. Mazda aparently is one of the stingier OEMs. I've heard rumors that GM is more generous than most.

 

[Absolut]

Replying to Topic 'what to do... what to do...'

QUOTE

Originally posted by mpulse1


            QUOTE

Originally posted by Absolut


            I think thats a load of shiit... I thought someone had mentionedhere on the forum that the dealer gets reimbursed by Mazda when someone buys with the S plan.  [/b]

They do, but some OEMs give a larger kickback than others. Mazda aparently is one of the stingier OEMs. I've heard rumors that GM is more generous than most.[/b][/quote]

If I were a car dealer I wouldnt mind taking orders for vehicles. Especially since you know they would be picked up day 1 once they are laoded off the truck. Then I would get 100% of the holdback on the car and also get back the money that was discounted due to the employee plan.

it seems that some dealers are totally opposites of each other. Take a look over at the this forum..

http://www.goonish.com/atenza/read.php?TID=1351

Its talk about the mazda 6 plan and how some dealers will only accept the S plan for cars on the lot, and others would only take deals for cars they would order. I can see both points but seems there should be a concenses or let the buyer choose how to use their S plan.

 

[mpulse1]

Replying to Topic 'what to do... what to do...'

I think I should clarify something on my choice of vehicle.

When I started this journey towards buying a new car the '6 wasn't even on the list. I had pretty much decided on a new Subaru Legacy GT sedan, which with the supplier discount is close to $24k in the config that I wanted.

Around september-october I started seeing more and more about the '6 and decided to hold off on buying a new car until they were actually released. Before I went to the dealership I had worked out two different configurations of the '6. One where price was kept to less than the $24k I'd spend on the Subie, and one where I could sacrifice certain features but still get what I wanted but for a price that was a couple grand less.

The dealership had told me 'no' on the less expensive vehicle, which according to halfadozen I really could have gotten. My bad. I should have pressed that issue a bit further than I did.

As things would work out, my expensive vehicle was the one that I ended up ordering and is identical to the one on the lot. In the end I'm still below my self-imposed $24k cap, but I'm a lot happier with the car I ended up ordering than my less expensive alternative. So, I really didn't end up loosing anything.

 

[mpulse1]

Replying to Topic 'what to do... what to do...'

QUOTE

Originally posted by Absolut

If I were a car dealer I wouldnt mind taking orders for vehicles.  Especially since you know they would be picked up day 1 once they are laoded off the truck.  Then I would get 100% of the holdback on the car and also get back the money that was discounted due to the employee plan.  

it seems that some dealers are totally opposites of each other.  Take a look over at the this forum..

http://www.goonish.com/atenza/read.php?TID=1351

Its talk about the mazda 6 plan and how some dealers will only accept the S plan for cars on the lot, and others would only take deals for cars they would order.  I can see both points but seems there should be a concenses or let the buyer choose how to use their S plan.  [/b]

Noone ever suggested that dealers were rational.

 

[kenoka]

Reading Topic: what to do... what to do...

I believe Mazda does reimburse for the difference between dealer cost and S Plan pricing. What they don't do is reimburse for dealer holdback. The reason many dealers force you to order to get S Plan pricing is so they get not only the OEM reimbursement but the entire holdback on the car. That way they still make a pretty decent profit on the deal. On the car in the lot, they are making payments, so would rather sell to someone who might pay MSRP (aka get raped).

 

[Ruefus]

Reading Topic: what to do... what to do...

I think what the dealer is telling you is utter and complete crap. They want to move that 'used' car. If you ordered in in November, it should have a VIN number by now. Ask them for it if you haven't already. If they say it isn't serialzed yet, I'd bet they haven't bothered to order the F'ing thing.

I ordered mine in late December (at least a MONTH after you did) and it's scheduled to be built in early February at AAI. I'm buying it on the X plan (S plan to Ford) as well. The guy who got me the deal works for Ford and has been nice enough to check on the car's progress and verified what the dealer was telling me. This is an order specifically for me.

"No anticipated build date." HA!! I think you can tell from what I've learned that that is total bullsh!t.

The idea that you can't order one is lunacy. I'd find someone else to get my car from. Sounds like a bunch of lying thieves. They think they've got you. Do what you want, but I ordered one so I wouldn't have to take a car with mileage on it and I'll wait as long as it takes.

As for wanting to order a car on plan, that's the dealer's discretion. They don't HAVE to sell it to you on X plan if they don't want to.

 

[M-006]

Replying to Topic 'what to do... what to do...'

I would insist on order verification. If they can't produce that, then go to another dealer. I too have the S plan and was told by 3 different Mazda dealers in the Chicago area that I could order one to my specs and it would be about 4-6 weeks, maybe sooner if they could locate the car.

Now, since they do have the car you want on the lot, then you could go for it. 120 miles is no big deal.
Modern cars aren't so long winded about break in as some time ago. If you do want the car that's on the lot then tell them you'll take it if they sell you the extended warranty at their cost. Or get some accessories at their cost.
If you don't want that stuff then ask for some money off.
But, if want a car that's virging and can wait then go to another dealer and order or have a dealer see if they can locate one that has less miles on it.

Good luck.

Tome