Wait, you went to a car dealer and they would not sell you a car they had there? This must be a sign of evil times.
Wait, you went to a car dealer and they would not sell you a car they had there? This must be a sign of evil times.
Have you tried buying a Type R at retail lately? Maybe this is their keep it on the floor 'halo' car for the paying half of soccer moms to drool over before counting the cup holders in the appliance.
Ask to finance it at ridiculous terms they'll probably budge.
Javelin said:If I'm not mistaken, the only way to get automatic climate control in an 06/07 was on the GT trim.
Automatic climate control is standard on the 07 Touring as well.
Steve_Jones said:Javelin said:If I'm not mistaken, the only way to get automatic climate control in an 06/07 was on the GT trim.
Automatic climate control is standard on the 07 Touring as well.
Huh, my 06 Touring had manual climate control.
I'm any case, I didn't care if the leather was aftermarket it not, I really wanted this car. It's gone now, all ads disappeared into the ether.
In reply to Javelin :
It’ll pop back up, just google the VIN in a week or so. Hopefully you’ll get lucky.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
I've got searches saved for it for Auto Trader and Craigslist. I'll Google it randomly too.
If they wouldn't sell it, it was a liability. It's rare, but dealerships screw up sometimes.. they take in a salvage title, miss a gaping rust hole in a structural element, or a Canadian car that wasn't properly imported.
I've had pretty good luck snagging auction cars from a dealer before they go to an auction. When they see the option to make more money today than a big question mark next week, they'll take it. They don't like it. They are so engrained in their "normal sales" habits that they get antsy with mixing it up. They make tons of vehicle sales in the same way. Dotting I's and crossing T's is second nature. Mixing it up makes them nervous. If they don't cross the right T and dot the right I, it could come back on them. They usually cover their butts with a standard disclaimer form "as is, where is, no warranty, you might die" kinda thing. Even if you do your research and you're willing to accept the risk, they might not.
Example #1: I found a cherry, 60k-mile 87 Cutlass Salon in the back of a new car dealership. First of all, an 87 Cutlass isn't something they would want in their inventory. Secondly, it had a rusted exhaust and blown shocks. Had someone taken the time to research, they would have realized it could have been a good money maker with $200 in parts, but it was so outside their wheelhouse that they just wanted to send it to the auction and cut any liability. Putting an 87 niche-collector car alongside a fleet of 2-year old lease-return appliances is like selling Televisions at AutoZone. I swooped in and capitalized on that ineducation. I pitched it as; you'll make $1250 at the auction, but I'll give you $2500 right now. I signed away any rights I had and bought the car. Best deal ever.
Example #2: 74 VW Beetle at a CPO used lot. It had some carburetor issues and ran like crap, but it was really nice otherwise. They would not budge. I asked what was wrong with it and they were so afraid of their crossed T's and dotted I's that they never even put it on a lift. It was just "oh E36 M3, what did we do, make it go away as fast as possible." No offer would have made them budge. They could have had $4000 from me, but instead they probably got $500 at the auction.
This deal on the Mazda 5 had fish all over it. You did NOT want it. Misrepresented, modified, bad carfax, previously stolen, undisclosed damage, fake title, any of the above... they took it off the market and it is gone. Period. They will get rid of it faster than a Mafia guy with a car crusher. No offer will change their mind. They discovered something about it that would have landed someone in jail and they are going to take it out back and set fire to it. (and by that I mean take it to auction and pass the buck)
In reply to Curtis :
Very educational, Curtis. What made the '87 Cutlass a desirable car? My memory of the 80's is hazy car wise but I can't picture a Cutlass from that era as being "collectible".
BTW, I had the very same take on the OP's Mazda. If it smells like a fish...
rdcyclist said:In reply to Curtis :
Very educational, Curtis. What made the '87 Cutlass a desirable car? My memory of the 80's is hazy car wise but I can't picture a Cutlass from that era as being "collectible".
BTW, I had the very same take on the OP's Mazda. If it smells like a fish...
Kinda the same thing that made tri-five chevys a desirable car. Who knows? They were a dime-a-dozen, but G-bodies are a hot thing these days. Try buying a 2-door Monte Carlo, Regal, Cutlass, Malibu, or El Camino for under $3000 these days regardless of condition.
The one that I bought was particularly desirable because it had a pretty rare package that was only available for about 1.5 years at the very end of production. I forget the RPO, but it was the 442 "appearance" package. It got 14" versions of the 15" 442 wheels, the gold pinstriping, (minus the actual "442" badging) and the complete rally pack; gauges, floor shifter, bucket seats, etc. This was a pristine example in midnight blue with blue interior. The RPO made it basically a 442 minus the 9-VIN engine
To me, that is like crack and nicotine. It's why I love my 67 LeMans. It looks identical to a GTO, but I didn't have to pay top dollar to get the nameplate, and I don't feel guilty customizing it.
The dealer didn't want that Cutlass. It was the wrong venue for it. People who stroll in to a new car dealer looking for a used car are there to look at the big line-up of off-lease Luminas and Corollas. The chances that it would have sold and made them money is slim, partly because it wasn't the right place to fence it, and partly because it represented an unknown. Dealers don't like unknown risks. Imagine running an arts and crafts store and the boss says "let's sell this piano." You don't know anything about pianos, but someone once told you that musical instruments bring good money... but is it a good brand? Is it in good condition? The risks are A) who is going to walk into our arts and crafts store looking for a piano, and B) do you really have time to deviate from your scrapbooking supplies to research whether or not the piano will bring good money? Dealers stick with what they know and wholesale the rest.
Long story short, I bought this for $2500. The dealer was happy because they made more than they would have at auction, and I was happy because I drove it for two years and sold it for $3800.
And I agree on the "smells like fish..."
The truth here is that I don't think the OP's unicorn was a unicorn. I think it was a pony with a stick impaled through its forehead.
Curtis said:And I agree on the "smells like fish..."
The truth here is that I don't think the OP's unicorn was a unicorn. I think it was a pony with a stick impaled through its forehead.
It was a touring, and advertised as a touring, so no misrepresentation. It was a 1 owner car that was traded in September, so maybe there’s not much of a market for a stick Mazda5, and Javelin was just a week late. Most dealers are on a set turn and 60 days plus on the lot is too long. The fact that it was priced at double retail probably caused that though....
I agree that it might have been a Canadian car that was not properly imported, the Mazda 5 GT Manual w/leather is not that uncommon around here.
Here is 2 min of searching what looks like leather interior:
Less than 50K miles, and yes there others that are cheaper https://www.laurentianchrysler.ca/used/vehicle/2014-mazda-mazda5-gt-id9584117.htm
It is a USA touring with aftermarket leather that was sold in Washington from New. I’ll post the original sticker Tomorrow.
Steve_Jones said:Curtis said:And I agree on the "smells like fish..."
The truth here is that I don't think the OP's unicorn was a unicorn. I think it was a pony with a stick impaled through its forehead.
It was a touring, and advertised as a touring, so no misrepresentation. It was a 1 owner car that was traded in September, so maybe there’s not much of a market for a stick Mazda5, and Javelin was just a week late. Most dealers are on a set turn and 60 days plus on the lot is too long. The fact that it was priced at double retail probably caused that though....
Truth. Many states it is 30 days due to titling reasons. I scored an $8999 truck for $4500 off a used car lot because it was the 28th day. Two more days and they would have had to title it to the business and make it a liability. Maybe I should have waited one more day and snagged it for $4000
I did not see it in the auction runs for this week, so on a hunch I looked backwards. That car was sold at auction on 11/25 so they had already sent it by the time you even saw it advertised.
Steve_Jones said:I did not see it in the auction runs for this week, so on a hunch I looked backwards. That car was sold at auction on 11/25 so they had already sent it by the time you even saw it advertised.
Frigging idiot dealer didn't list it online until two days after they sold it?!?
Steve_Jones said:Grand Touring never came in manual. That is a Touring with a few option packages, there are not many out there though.
Yup. I bought my Copper Red 2012, brand new, exactly like this. One would think mine is a GT Manual as well. Mine is USDM, Touring, but with leather.
I know Canadian market cars are different.
Then again mine is Gen 2. I know nothing about Gen 1 Mazda5
You'll need to log in to post.