Today I purchased my first ever, brand-new car (well, leased technically). And then I drove it, a lot. 450 kms to be exact (and not much of that was highway ) I've been too busy driving to waste time taking pictures, but it looks exactly like this:
The Buying Experience:
My saleswoman (let's call her Mary) was actually pretty terrible. (Luckily I don't let things like this stop me from buying the car that I want). She ALWAYS referred to the car as the "Mazda 6 Speed". Alright, minor I guess, but geez, know the name of the damn car.
She of course new the specs, 274 hp, 280 ft-lbs of torque, and hey look, you can put the windows down with the keyfob. That's about it. Luckily I didn't really have many questions for her, as 30 minutes on the internet was all it took to know more than her about the car.
I went for a test drive with my mom. When we got in the car and were about to leave, Mary "suggested" that I take a certain route (the EXACT same route that every dealership uses for test drives ) It's a boring loop and really doesn't test any of the things that I wanted to. Naturally I tossed that right out the window and just went wherever I wanted :laugh:
I loved the interior, the gauges, the switchblade key :thumbup: , but something was amiss. There was turbo lag until about 2500 rpm, then the car pulled like a raped ape until about 4200 rpm, where the power completely fell off. Since I had of course done tons of research on the internet, I already knew exactly what this meant. They did not have the REQUIRED 93 octane gas in the car, and therefore I was getting no boost once I hit 4200. Seeing the potential that the car had from 2500-3500, I was satisfied that with proper gas, this car would be amazing.
The clutch definitely takes some getting used to, it is VERY heavy. Once you start letting it out, it wants to go all the way, and fast. We went for a lengthy drive down to some twisties that I often drive, as I wanted to see how it handled compared to my modded Cougar. The Speed 6 was infinitely more capable, even after driving the car for only 30 minutes or so, I was more confident than in my Cougar.
While I was hitting apexes and perfecting my rev-matching, my mom had the unfortunate task of answering my cell phone every 15 minutes or so when Mary called to ask where we were and if everything was ok. I mean, sure, 22 year old guy in a baseball cap + 274 hp = trouble, but come on, I was with my mom.
We returned to the dealership and I asked her what kind of gas the car had in it. She said "oh we know it takes premium". I kindly informed her that when most cars say that they require premium, that means 91 octane, but this car actually needs 93. It was clear from the look on her face that she definitely was not aware of this (or maybe just had no idea what I was talking about).
They offered me a RIDICULOUSLY low offer on my trade-in, so we left saying that we would return once we had sold my car privately. And that was my plan...............................but I couldn't do it.
After driving my Speed 6, I hated my Cougar. I got absolutely no joy from driving it (something that used to be my primary form of entertainment). Anywhere I went I just thought to myself "I wish I was in the Mazda". It's all I thought about all day, every day, I wanted that car!
August 1st arrived and I received a call from Mary saying that this month Mazda was offering 0% financing for 4 years, and no payments for 3 months. "So you can drive the car you really want while your car is for sale" Call me naive, but damnit, that made a whole lot of sense to me
My mom wasn't fond of the idea, me having an extra car sitting around with no motivation to sell it. But I persisted, I wouldn't give up, I had to have it. I went to the website and worked those numbers over and over, down payment, no down payment, leasing, financing, stealing. I showed my mom that if I did a lease, I could afford the monthly payment, and the money from selling my Cougar could go towards the buyout at the end of the lease.
So down to the dealership I went to see if putting 0 down was even an option, and to see of I could qualify for the loan. I saw Mary and told her I wanted to sit down and run some numbers.
Mary: "Oh did you sell your car?"
Me: "No, not yet"
Mary: "ok, so why are we running numbers?"
Me:
I was shocked at her rude response, but just explained to her that I wanted to see if buying the car without selling mine first could work. So we worked it all out, I filled out a credit application, and she said they would run it once the manager arrived and give me a call.
She called me later that day and told me that I was approved
Unfortunately, the car would not be ready for delivery until the next day. I'm sure most of you saw my other thread last night detailing the agonizing graveyard shift and attempt at sleep before I could go buy the car.
Finally my mom and I went to the dealership go sign the papers and drive it away. Before Mary sent us to deal with the sales manager I asked a simple request of her:
Me: "I understand the car comes with a full tank of gas, could you please make sure that it gets 94 octane."
Mary: "oh ya, it will have premium"
Me: "no, not premium, 94 octane from Chevron"
Mary (while writing down "premium" on a piece of paper): "yup, here, see, I'm writing it down, I'll make sure they get premium"
Seeing that this was a lost cause, we went with the sales manager for a bit, discussing all the numbers, contracts, lease terms, etc. Then we took a break, as the insurance guy had arrived at the dealership so I could insure the vehicle. Got that all taken care of (only $30/month more than my Cougar, a very pleasant surprise :thumbup: ) As we were about to go finish up with the sales manager, Mary came up to my mom and said "oh, you can leave if you like".
Me and my mom looked at each other like WTF before my mom said "no, that's alright, I'll stay".
Sign here here, here here here, initial here, sign here, dance around in a circle, sign here, photocopy that, done. Shook hands with the salesmanager and then went to get the keys from Mary.
Mary: "Hey, alright guys, all set, and I checked with the techs, they assured me that they put premium in as you requested"
Mary outlined the warranty, the key fobs, the valet key, blah blah. She then explained that we would soon receive a survey from Mazda about our experience here.
Mary: "Basically it just asks you how we did. We like to get 10s, 9s are good to, but 6s and 7s, not so much "
I couldn't believe it. Let me tell you, I can't wait to get that damn survey and give that ***** what she deserves.
The Driving Experience:
I get in the car and immediately fall in love again. The clutch was still weird at first, but I've got the hang of it now. Fool around with the stereo for a bit, not much bass, but other than that it was very, VERY good.
So I take off from the dealership and go to show various friends the new car. One stab into the throttle and it was obvious, this car did NOT have 94 octane in it. :mad: :banghead: :mad: :banghead: I was tempted to go back to the dealership and complain, but, since I've never driven it WITH 94 octane, I can't really say that I'm sure it doesn't have it. I say to myself "I sure as hell hope this isn't 94, or I just wasted $40,000."
I pick up various friends and we got a few other cars together to go cruising. One of my friends is REALLY into turbo cars (DSMs mostly), so he rode with me. I showed him how the power totally cut off at 4000 rpm, but if I gave it only 1/5th throttle or so, it would actually pull quite nicely. "yup, definitely **** gas"
We now had a mission. We will not go to sleep until we use this entire tank of ignorant dealer piss. It took about 450 kms from when I left the dealership with a full tank, to where we were now; a little less than 1/8th of a tank.
I pull into the Chevron station at 3:00am and I'm very nervous. If this doesn't fix the problem, I just spent a lot of money on a car that I'm not going to enjoy.
94 octane costs $1.32/liter, time to get used to it I guess. The car had room for 49 liters ($65). We get back in and I start the car, and I don't want to drive away. I'm about to be very happy or very sad.
I pull onto the highway and hit the gas, we're thrown back into our seats and the car holds boost all the way to 6,000 rpm, shift to second and we're still glued to the bolsters, I short-shift into 3rd at ~5000 rpm, I'm still sort of breaking it in, don't want to bag TOO hard, we can hear the turbo whistling, TONS of air rushing out the tailpipes, I look down and realise I'm doing about 140km/h in a 60 zone and I shut it down. This is not the place.
I'd say if you looked into my car this is EXACTLY what you would see:
Now the power band was MUCH longer than 1000 rpm, and when I want to go fast, I could push the pedal to the floor instead of trying to find the sweet spot where I was getting some boost, but not enough for it to take away the power.
I'm sooooooooooo happy and relieved at the same time. The car has BALLS and all it took was a tank of good gas. Going from "premium" to 94 was like going from the Cougar to the Speed 6. This was a whole new car from the one I had bought 13 hours earlier.
I drop him off and head home, grinning like an idiot the entire way. It still hasn't sunk in, I still think I'm on a test drive, or driving somebody else's car. It just doesn't compute that from now on, when I go to work, when I go for a drive, it's going to be in that car.
There you have it, my first 450 kms and 14 hours with my MS6, and I can't wait to wake up tomorrow.
Cliffs:
Mazda saleswoman is COMPLETELY useless and often times quite rude.
Car was delivered with "premium" fuel even though I TWICE informed her that it required +93 octane.
I #$%&ing LOVE my Mazdaspeed 6
The Buying Experience:
My saleswoman (let's call her Mary) was actually pretty terrible. (Luckily I don't let things like this stop me from buying the car that I want). She ALWAYS referred to the car as the "Mazda 6 Speed". Alright, minor I guess, but geez, know the name of the damn car.
She of course new the specs, 274 hp, 280 ft-lbs of torque, and hey look, you can put the windows down with the keyfob. That's about it. Luckily I didn't really have many questions for her, as 30 minutes on the internet was all it took to know more than her about the car.
I went for a test drive with my mom. When we got in the car and were about to leave, Mary "suggested" that I take a certain route (the EXACT same route that every dealership uses for test drives ) It's a boring loop and really doesn't test any of the things that I wanted to. Naturally I tossed that right out the window and just went wherever I wanted :laugh:
I loved the interior, the gauges, the switchblade key :thumbup: , but something was amiss. There was turbo lag until about 2500 rpm, then the car pulled like a raped ape until about 4200 rpm, where the power completely fell off. Since I had of course done tons of research on the internet, I already knew exactly what this meant. They did not have the REQUIRED 93 octane gas in the car, and therefore I was getting no boost once I hit 4200. Seeing the potential that the car had from 2500-3500, I was satisfied that with proper gas, this car would be amazing.
The clutch definitely takes some getting used to, it is VERY heavy. Once you start letting it out, it wants to go all the way, and fast. We went for a lengthy drive down to some twisties that I often drive, as I wanted to see how it handled compared to my modded Cougar. The Speed 6 was infinitely more capable, even after driving the car for only 30 minutes or so, I was more confident than in my Cougar.
While I was hitting apexes and perfecting my rev-matching, my mom had the unfortunate task of answering my cell phone every 15 minutes or so when Mary called to ask where we were and if everything was ok. I mean, sure, 22 year old guy in a baseball cap + 274 hp = trouble, but come on, I was with my mom.
We returned to the dealership and I asked her what kind of gas the car had in it. She said "oh we know it takes premium". I kindly informed her that when most cars say that they require premium, that means 91 octane, but this car actually needs 93. It was clear from the look on her face that she definitely was not aware of this (or maybe just had no idea what I was talking about).
They offered me a RIDICULOUSLY low offer on my trade-in, so we left saying that we would return once we had sold my car privately. And that was my plan...............................but I couldn't do it.
After driving my Speed 6, I hated my Cougar. I got absolutely no joy from driving it (something that used to be my primary form of entertainment). Anywhere I went I just thought to myself "I wish I was in the Mazda". It's all I thought about all day, every day, I wanted that car!
August 1st arrived and I received a call from Mary saying that this month Mazda was offering 0% financing for 4 years, and no payments for 3 months. "So you can drive the car you really want while your car is for sale" Call me naive, but damnit, that made a whole lot of sense to me
My mom wasn't fond of the idea, me having an extra car sitting around with no motivation to sell it. But I persisted, I wouldn't give up, I had to have it. I went to the website and worked those numbers over and over, down payment, no down payment, leasing, financing, stealing. I showed my mom that if I did a lease, I could afford the monthly payment, and the money from selling my Cougar could go towards the buyout at the end of the lease.
So down to the dealership I went to see if putting 0 down was even an option, and to see of I could qualify for the loan. I saw Mary and told her I wanted to sit down and run some numbers.
Mary: "Oh did you sell your car?"
Me: "No, not yet"
Mary: "ok, so why are we running numbers?"
Me:
I was shocked at her rude response, but just explained to her that I wanted to see if buying the car without selling mine first could work. So we worked it all out, I filled out a credit application, and she said they would run it once the manager arrived and give me a call.
She called me later that day and told me that I was approved
Unfortunately, the car would not be ready for delivery until the next day. I'm sure most of you saw my other thread last night detailing the agonizing graveyard shift and attempt at sleep before I could go buy the car.
Finally my mom and I went to the dealership go sign the papers and drive it away. Before Mary sent us to deal with the sales manager I asked a simple request of her:
Me: "I understand the car comes with a full tank of gas, could you please make sure that it gets 94 octane."
Mary: "oh ya, it will have premium"
Me: "no, not premium, 94 octane from Chevron"
Mary (while writing down "premium" on a piece of paper): "yup, here, see, I'm writing it down, I'll make sure they get premium"
Seeing that this was a lost cause, we went with the sales manager for a bit, discussing all the numbers, contracts, lease terms, etc. Then we took a break, as the insurance guy had arrived at the dealership so I could insure the vehicle. Got that all taken care of (only $30/month more than my Cougar, a very pleasant surprise :thumbup: ) As we were about to go finish up with the sales manager, Mary came up to my mom and said "oh, you can leave if you like".
Me and my mom looked at each other like WTF before my mom said "no, that's alright, I'll stay".
Sign here here, here here here, initial here, sign here, dance around in a circle, sign here, photocopy that, done. Shook hands with the salesmanager and then went to get the keys from Mary.
Mary: "Hey, alright guys, all set, and I checked with the techs, they assured me that they put premium in as you requested"
Mary outlined the warranty, the key fobs, the valet key, blah blah. She then explained that we would soon receive a survey from Mazda about our experience here.
Mary: "Basically it just asks you how we did. We like to get 10s, 9s are good to, but 6s and 7s, not so much "
I couldn't believe it. Let me tell you, I can't wait to get that damn survey and give that ***** what she deserves.
The Driving Experience:
I get in the car and immediately fall in love again. The clutch was still weird at first, but I've got the hang of it now. Fool around with the stereo for a bit, not much bass, but other than that it was very, VERY good.
So I take off from the dealership and go to show various friends the new car. One stab into the throttle and it was obvious, this car did NOT have 94 octane in it. :mad: :banghead: :mad: :banghead: I was tempted to go back to the dealership and complain, but, since I've never driven it WITH 94 octane, I can't really say that I'm sure it doesn't have it. I say to myself "I sure as hell hope this isn't 94, or I just wasted $40,000."
I pick up various friends and we got a few other cars together to go cruising. One of my friends is REALLY into turbo cars (DSMs mostly), so he rode with me. I showed him how the power totally cut off at 4000 rpm, but if I gave it only 1/5th throttle or so, it would actually pull quite nicely. "yup, definitely **** gas"
We now had a mission. We will not go to sleep until we use this entire tank of ignorant dealer piss. It took about 450 kms from when I left the dealership with a full tank, to where we were now; a little less than 1/8th of a tank.
I pull into the Chevron station at 3:00am and I'm very nervous. If this doesn't fix the problem, I just spent a lot of money on a car that I'm not going to enjoy.
94 octane costs $1.32/liter, time to get used to it I guess. The car had room for 49 liters ($65). We get back in and I start the car, and I don't want to drive away. I'm about to be very happy or very sad.
I pull onto the highway and hit the gas, we're thrown back into our seats and the car holds boost all the way to 6,000 rpm, shift to second and we're still glued to the bolsters, I short-shift into 3rd at ~5000 rpm, I'm still sort of breaking it in, don't want to bag TOO hard, we can hear the turbo whistling, TONS of air rushing out the tailpipes, I look down and realise I'm doing about 140km/h in a 60 zone and I shut it down. This is not the place.
I'd say if you looked into my car this is EXACTLY what you would see:
Now the power band was MUCH longer than 1000 rpm, and when I want to go fast, I could push the pedal to the floor instead of trying to find the sweet spot where I was getting some boost, but not enough for it to take away the power.
I'm sooooooooooo happy and relieved at the same time. The car has BALLS and all it took was a tank of good gas. Going from "premium" to 94 was like going from the Cougar to the Speed 6. This was a whole new car from the one I had bought 13 hours earlier.
I drop him off and head home, grinning like an idiot the entire way. It still hasn't sunk in, I still think I'm on a test drive, or driving somebody else's car. It just doesn't compute that from now on, when I go to work, when I go for a drive, it's going to be in that car.
There you have it, my first 450 kms and 14 hours with my MS6, and I can't wait to wake up tomorrow.
Cliffs:
Mazda saleswoman is COMPLETELY useless and often times quite rude.
Car was delivered with "premium" fuel even though I TWICE informed her that it required +93 octane.
I #$%&ing LOVE my Mazdaspeed 6