We recently went through the process of trying to buy a Mazda 5. Luckily we came away without losing any money to them. The tactics they used are underhanded at the very least.

We had test driven a Mazda 3 and a Mazda 5. Based on reviews and the handling we decided to get the Mazda 5 Touring without navigation. So we used Edmunds.com to obtain quotes from car dealers in our area.

We received e-mail offers from several car dealers and were contacted a few times by the Mazda dealer in Fremont. We also received an offer from the dealer in Oakland saying they would go $437 under invoice.

This ended up becoming a bidding war over the phone between three Mazda car dealers, and finally ended up with Fremont saying they would go $2,500 under invoice and Oakland $2,100 under invoice!

It all started from $437. When Oakland realized they were not going to make the deal, they stated that since they had the car, they would not release it to Fremont!

Next thing we knew Fremont refused to answer our calls, and after two days came back and said they did not have the car and the deal was off. They then proceeded to try and sell us the Mazda 5 Sport, but told us that they could only offer us $200 under invoice. The Sport has an invoice price lower than the higher end Touring. Why would we pay more for it?

Then Oakland contacts us later and says the same thing; they have already sold their Touring, but have a Sport they can sell to us for $200 under invoice. Simple bait and switch. I guess all they wanted to do was entice us with a great and unbelievable deal, draw us in and switch it out with something else.

Honestly, it's like dealing with a bunch of spoiled children!

Luckily we don't need the second car and we have the option of buying something else. They even started accusing us of creating a bidding war and therefore were not being honest!

We never asked them to initiate the bidding war. They started it on their own and were more than happy to underbid each other. Considering that one of them never even had the car on their lot, it makes me wonder why they even bothered.

Mazda leaves a bad taste in my mouth and we probably will never consider buying any type of Mazda (Zoom, Zoom, Zoom - maybe the sound of your money getting sucked out of your wallet) ever again.

Gerard

Hi Gerard,

These dealers are such slime bags it just makes you sick! For them to accuse you of starting a bidding war is so childish. Besides that, a bidding war is a good thing for you! Unfortunately, this is so typical of the way many car dealers (not all) operate.

Chances are that if you had been sucked into these dealerships you would have been in for a rude awakening once you arrived. I don't doubt that any of them ever had any intentions of selling you the car at the prices they quoted.

The first thing that would have happened once you arrived at their dealerships would have been for them to tell you "Oh, I'm sorry, but you're too late! Another sales person already sold the car, but we can put you in this car over here blah, blah, blah!"

They're whole strategy was simply to lure you in. Not all car dealers operate this way, but you have to search by trial and error to find the good ones. There are honest dealers out there. You just have to find them.

All my very best to you...

Tony Iorio