I just purchased in New Jersey. Turbo premium plus blue mica. Paid MSRP. The dealer was Ramsey Mazda and they dealt with me fairly and did not pull any stealership tricks at all. I know, for example, that “VIN etching” is a nonsense add-on to increase profit. When I spoke to the salesman on the phone a week or so before taking delivery, I had said in passing that I was aware of add-ons such as etching and that Morristown Mazda was going to charge me $395 for it. He said that they charge $195, and we left it at that. I didn’t protest or refuse to pay it or anything. Then, in the week or so since the car arrived, I’ve been on Youtube getting ready for all the nonsense and the “good cop bad cop” bs, and the F&I guy trying to hustle extras and extended warranties, and the ”10 things you should not pay for” videos. I got to the dealership in a defensive “ready for battle” mental state.
Well, lo and behold, there was none of it. I got there, was greeted immediately, sat down. They put the sales notes in front of me, which included MSRP, destination, etch, tax, tags. Nothing else. The first thing he says is “I know you didn’t want the etch, so I’ll remove it”. I know that right now dealerships are not having an easy time of it. The msrp markups are there because there is no supply and high demand. They are not making a killing because volume is crippled by inability to get stock. They have to make more per deal to stay in business. I get all that.
So, knowing etching is a profit hustle, I left it in. Because they were honest and because he remembered a 2 minute conversation from a week earlier.
Then I got to F&I and again, no BS. They gave me the factory 0.9% financing and the monthly payment was exactly what I figured it would be. They didn’t push the extended service contract. They just asked if I wanted a description of it and pricing. If I said no, I would have been out the door in 10 minutes with no pressure. But I was actually interested, and I had pre-researched Carchex and Endurance etc so I knew about what was what and how much it would cost. He made a quick straightforward presentation and quoted $1,495 to basically extend the 3-36 to 6-75. I know I’m losing the ability to select my own mechanic, but let’s face it, I want trained Mazda mechanics working on my car who see the issues and problems on a daily basis and are less likely to need to shotgun. Plus I get OEM Mazda parts at all times. Seemed worth it. So, since there was no pressure put on me and everyone behaved like a human being, I pulled the trigger and bought the extended.
All in all, it was an efficient transaction without any hustling or pressure. Admittedly, I went in with my eyes open knowing that the normal dealing process over price was not happening. It was going to take MSRP to get the car in this once-in-a-lifetime peculiar economy that we are in. But in a way, it was also less pressure then the usual procedure of fighting for 2 weeks visiting multiple dealers to save $3,000.
So I’m quite happy. I’ve got a fast and furious CX-30, 0.9% financing, and the dealership was nice to work with.
