Protege 5 Incentives

[cej22]

If the Mazda Credit rebate could be added to this deal (assuming no financing kickback is already included) then that would take it to $7,000 off. My car's sticker is $100 lower because it's from early in 2003.5. Add it all up, and with that kind of discount I could have gotten my car for $11,985.

Well, I don't think that's necessarily a logical conclusion. Even if a Mazda Credit rebate is still available that doesn't mean they are absolutely going to give it to you after you're already strangling them with the advertised discount price match. They would probably say that it's already included in your discount.

I've spent some time looking at the numbers and am convinced that they are in the hole on the car no matter what their sales bonuses are from the corporate office. I think they just bit the bullet and let the car go because they know they can make a good profit on whatever they take delivery of in it's place. I'm an extremely effective negotiator and have brokered some pretty nice deals in the past for family and friends, but I don't think I could have gotten that discount without a newspaper ad to point to. It was absurdly low.

 

[P5w3kids]

The $250 came from Mazda Credit, at least that's what I was told. If so, the dealer would have no reason not to pass it on unless they were already counting on a larger financing kickback from another source--but so far you've said nothing about the price even being contingent on financing through the dealer.

Straying a bit off-topic, one of the persistent myths among buyers is that you can get a better price as a cash buyer. This isn't true. Having cash in hand convinces a dealer you're serious and capable of paying, which helps, but it reduces their profit.

 

[james5377]

I'm an extremely effective negotiator and have brokered some pretty nice deals in the past for family and friends, but I don't think I could have gotten that discount without a newspaper ad to point to. It was absurdly low.

So..... since I'm the one who point it to that ad, would you be interested to be negotiator for my next car?? hahahaha... (lol2)

 

[dnquark]

Hey guys, would any of you by any chance have a scan, or maybe even a digicam pic of the ad?.. I'm not in the Bay Area, and it's probably too late to price match anyway, but it would add to my negotiations arsenal PM me if you can hook me up

BTW, I received an email quote from a dealer who just said that if I buy before the end of the month, he'd sell it to me at invoice. Now if I could get him to dip a few hundred under that, that would be sweet

--l

 

[cej22]

So..... since I'm the one who point it to that ad, would you be interested to be negotiator for my next car?? hahahaha... (lol2)

Seems like a fair trade, but I sure won't guarantee that kind of a deal. I still shake my head at it. Royal must really be desperate to get rid of those cars.

As for P5w3kids' point, you're exactly right. Being pre-approved for a loan is one of the best things you can do before you go to a dealership. They will usually be happy to match or beat whatever rate you got so they can make some extra dollars in finance charges. Though if they thought you were a credit risk they would probably prefer that you finance through someone else.

 

[cej22]

Hey guys, would any of you by any chance have a scan, or maybe even a digicam pic of the ad?.. I'm not in the Bay Area, and it's probably too late to price match anyway, but it would add to my negotiations arsenal PM me if you can hook me up
--l

Sorry I can't help. We left the ad with the dealer.

 

[james5377]

Hey guys, would any of you by any chance have a scan, or maybe even a digicam pic of the ad?.. I'm not in the Bay Area, and it's probably too late to price match anyway, but it would add to my negotiations arsenal PM me if you can hook me up

--l

Check out this link.... http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/categories.asp?refid=&sesid=713867789&cid=39

This is the place where the newspaper ads for another local newspaper are posted online. The ad that ceej22 refers to is not available here but there are a couple of Mazda dealers that offer at least $4500 off MSRP.

Good Luck....

 

[james5377]

oops... found it.... (yippy)

http://personalshopper.sfgate.com/categories.asp?refid=&sesid=713867859&cid=39&pg=67

(smoke)

 

[shareef777]

Can someone help me find an AD like that for the Chicago area.

 

[P5w3kids]

You're not going to. Those two SF dealers appear to be on crack. If they're still willing to give that large a discount, I suggest a one-way ticket to SF. How much would it cost on Southwest (or do they only fly to SoCal)?

Try printing out the SF ad (now expired) and showing it to Chicago dealers. Sure, it's from a different area, but even the second SF dealer was in no way obligated to match it. You just need to find the right dealer with the right car at the right time. Seeing that another dealer has cut prices this much might be all the justification they need.

 

[drew72ca]

Shareef, if you're still trying to buy the car....or anyone else, I'd like to make a few suggestions to your car buying technique.

1. Ignore sticker price
2. Figure out the price you want to pay, or should I say afford.
3. Go to www.edmunds.com and configure the car how you want it, then print that information. (Keep in mind, it will tell you of any incentives to you and to the dealer)
4. If you are going for a certain payment, pull up an online payment calculator and do a reverse calculation of the payment and see what it gives you for a total (This tells you if you can afford the car price you just printed out) **I found a nice calculator at www.carmax.com
5. Do the search on the Mazda site someone else had mentioned, if you want to check what dealers have in your area before making calls.
6. Call the dealers that have what you are looking for and ask to speak to their Fleet sales or Internet sales department.
7. When that person answers the phone, ask them their "plus invoice" price on the Protege5.
8. Also ask if they would be willing to give up any of their dealer cash, whatever it happens to be in your area.
9. Pick the dealer that has what you want, gives you the lowest price, and seems trustworthy and go down to do the deal. If all is how they stated on the phone, you're done.

This will get you the best deal you can get with minimal headaches.

I just bought my '03 P5 in November. I went through this process along with being pre-approved through Capital One online. The dealer I ended up buying from offered me a +$300 over invoice deal, and gave me her $500 dealer cash. I got a Black P5 with standard stuff, plus: ABS/Side airbag package, Moonroof/6 disc changer package, Leather. (And, actually, it's an '03.5, so it has the subwoofer)

Car price: $17,623.00
Doc Fees: $ 45.00
Tax: $ 1,369.27
Lic Fees: $ 165.00

Rebate: $ -2,500.00

Total: $16,702.27

If you take away the TTL, my price was $15,123 after the rebate.

MSRP on this car was: $19,085

So, my deal was $3962 below sticker....almost unheard of in this price range. Thanks to that $2500 rebate...woo hoo!

I had been looking at this car for a couple years now and holding out so I wouldn't have another car payment. My 10 year old truck with 218,000 miles konked and pushed me into the decision a little sooner than I had expected, but with GREAT timing. I'm glad it worked out this way because I've recently seen a Mazda 3 5 door in person and I don't like it as much. This was really the only car in the class I was looking that I fell in love with. (Compared to the Corolla S, Civic, Scion, Matrix/Vibe, Golf, etc)

I love this car!

I hope that helps you to find the deal you are looking for. This is the way I buy my cars....have on the last few purchases. My friends are most times amazed at the prices I get and how easy it is, and I am amazed they hadn't figured out how to deal this way before I told them about it.

Andy

 

[P5w3kids]

Was the dealer cash really just $500 in SoCal in November, or were you simply using the inaccurate number from Edmunds? Edmunds reported $500 dealer cash for Michigan throughout November, but it went up to $1000 November 3rd, the day I bought mine. So their info can be wrong.

At any rate, your deal isn't too hot compared to others here. Did you read this thread?

Using the college grad and Mazda Credit rebates, I paid $13,350 before TTL for the same exact car you bought, except in red. Great option combo, BTW.

And your price is nearly $3,000 over what people a few people have been paying in the SF area. Even after backing out the $500 college grad rebate, it's still about $2,200 higher. Shareef is angling for $6,250 off like they got. He already has dealers offering him a deal similar to yours.

 

[drew72ca]

The dealer incentive was $500. The Fleet manager at the dealership I was working with pulled out her sheets and showed them to me. There was no other incentives she could find. By the way, I should note that this deal was actually done on the 5th of December. This was the second deal I did, actually. The first dealer I had bought from in November didn't give me any dealer cash or anything else, other than the $2500 and then in the end they were trying to screw around on my financing, because I originally tried to do it through them (and my credit is a little rough right now), so I ended up taking the car back and going to this other dealer. Kind of a long story. Anyhow, this second dealer was the type that pulls out all the invoice price and incentive sheets and actually shows them to the customer. Very honest and up front. There was no mention of any special incentives for Mazda financing or college grad stuff. This may be something that isn't available in SoCal, or maybe they didn't tell her about it. I didn't see any mention of such things anywhere else, either, with reference to SoCal.

I would say, for anyone else buying right now, use my advice and be aware of any other incentives in your area and use those too. But, the bottom line is it is best to work with a Fleet manager or Internet Sales manager. They will typically give you the best deal with minimal haggling.

It would have been nice to get those other incentives or to get an ad car price, but I feel satisfied with the deal I got....very happy!

I agree on the options...it is a nice package. The leather is really nice compared to the cloth and I am finding I am really enjoying the moonroof. The first car I had bought had only the abs/side ari bags added, so it had cloth. These were the only options that were critical to me. The second dealer basically got me the car with the upgraded options for only $300 more, so it was definitely worth it to me.

 

[P5w3kids]

The college grad is available everywhere. If you qualify for it you can probably still get it for the car you just bought.

The dealer I bought my car from is the only place I've ever heard of the Mazda Credit rebate.

For SoCal Edmunds shows a pair of $500 factory to dealer incentives, with different start dates but the same end date. Most likely these are the same incentives, but it's unclear.

 

[black&chromep5]

their is about 3 p5s in this small town but none of them are like mine. i got every thing on it and man did i screw up. i pulled my invoice the outher day and say how much the extras cost me by the time they were through i gave them around 18. and now i couldnt even get 10 out of it.

 

[Dlovtsur]

I'm picking up my Silver 2003.5 PR5 manual next week sometime and I got it for $15517.93 out the door ($14222.00 before fees), everything included.

Options included are:

ABS & Side Air bags
Rear Bumper Guard
Wheel Locks
100 watt subwoofer

 

[Dlovtsur]

Has anyone confirmed this additional manufacturer to dealer $1000 cash incentive with an actual dealer? The only place online I could find anything out about it was at Edmunds. Both KBB and Mazda's official site say nothing about it. I'd REALLY like to take advantage of this because it would drop the selling price of my car down to $13,222 before fees.

Please let me know.

Thanks

 

[drew72ca]

What were the stipulations on the college grad rebate?

Yeah, we went through the pair of $500 incentives...I can't remember what the stipulations were, but they were two different incentives that could not be paired together in the deal for me.

Andy

 

[cej22]

If you look at Edmunds for my region you see two seperate $500 incentives with different start dates. It looks to me as though they issued the first incentive at the beginning of November, then an additional one at the beginning of December.

Here are the details of their Graduate Program.
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=offersGraduate

 

[P5w3kids]

The dealer is under no obligation to pass on factory to dealer cash to you. It's not publicized. It effectively lowers their cost, and how much profit they choose to give up is solely up to them.

It remains unclear (at least to me) whether the total a SoCal (maybe all of California--same region?) dealer receives per car is $500 or $1000. In Michigan it's clearly $1000, while last time I checked in Virginia it was clearly $500, in both cases a single bonus.

Rebates are different. You are obligated to receive those, but generally end up signing them over to the dealer. If you want to get a check in the mail instead, though, that is your right.