5spd availability
- Thread starter miatafied
- Start date
miatafied said:
More precisely, Mazda and/or Mazda dealers don't think people want to 'drive stick'. After all, buyers generally don't order their cars; instead, they tend to pick something off the lot or get something from a dealer trade.
Now, one can argue that the people making these decisions are doing so from past customer sales and so forth, and there's a little legitimacy to that, but the problem is that the Mazda5 is really a vehicle that is atypical and buyer's expectations may not correspond to what Mazda thinks they are.
Let's say, for example, that Mazda expects buyers of the Mazda5 to be similar to those who buy ... oh, the Mazda6 and the MPV. The MPV, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't have a manual transmission, and for the sake of argument let's assume that the Mazda6 attracts many more buyers of auto transmission than manual. So Mazda sets a small ratio for the manual transmission.
But let's say that there's a significant number of people interested in the Mazda5 that would typically want something like the MX-5 Miata or the RX-8 with a manual transmission, but are in need of a vehicle that can better handle taking a couple of kids. The Mazda5 is attractive because it's not as large as other people movers and the manual transmission calls out to them too. Especially when the auto transmission isn't 5-speed but the manual transmission is. And you save $900 by going manual -- sweet.
That basically describes someone like me who ended up with a 5-speed.
If enough buyers like me exist and make their interest known to Mazda then over time we may see the ratio of manual to auto go up a bit.
Now I don't expect that there are so many people wanting a manual that the ratio will completely reverse or anything silly like that, but there may well be more of us out there than Mazda was expecting.
I would only consider a 5-speed and bought one last week. There were only two 5's on the lot, one auto, one 5-speed. Mine is the first the dealer has ever sold, so I am special! (cabpatch) My only complaint is the cornering. A bit mushy IMO. Any suggestions to stiffen this up? I hope to tint the 5 windows, seatcovers (kids) and add running lights. Looks like a good site!!
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I got a follow-up call from the dealership and they told me that they don't expect ANY more manual trans 5's to come in.
I've emailed a few euro accessory places - looking, of course, for euro accessories - but haven't gotten any response.
I've emailed a few euro accessory places - looking, of course, for euro accessories - but haven't gotten any response.
rjlawrencejr
Member
Kaian said:
Excellent points. Might I add, that as great as I think the 5 is, had the manual not been a possibility, I would NEVER have considered it.
I have brought up this subject in other forums and personally I think its a combination of factors. Automatics gained because they were higher margin and dealers began to feed customers the line that a manual would have substantially less resale value. While I dont have any statistical proof, I did see a recent analysis showing the specific resale value to original MSRP of certain models for manual and automatic transmission and the ratio was virtually identical.
Now what has happened is that we now have many more younger drivers who have no clue how to drive manual transmissions and are likely intimidated by them.
Maybe someone out there can answer this question for me about European dealers. Is it true that most Europeans order their vehicles instead of picking one off the lot as if they were harvesting watermelons? Maybe that is a reason why Europeans prefer manuals 4:1 vs. Americans who prefer automatics by a 9:1 margin?
- :
- 2010 Mazda CX-9 GT Dolphin Gray
Massachusetts and no manuals!
I'm also annoyed that there are also very few manuals in NE. My local dealer has three 5's in stock with autos and I told them that that was ridiculous and that the only reason I (or my wife) would ever consider a 5 was becasue it had a 5 speed. They tell me that teh 5's were ordered by a guy that didn't even realize there was a 5 speed. I say fire him. He has no business ordering cars if he doesn't have a clue what people are looking for. 5 weeks later and those autos are still on the lot.
What's even more annoying is that there aren't any dealers who will trade a 5 speed becasue they are in such high demand.
Dammit!
rjlawrencejr said:
I'm also annoyed that there are also very few manuals in NE. My local dealer has three 5's in stock with autos and I told them that that was ridiculous and that the only reason I (or my wife) would ever consider a 5 was becasue it had a 5 speed. They tell me that teh 5's were ordered by a guy that didn't even realize there was a 5 speed. I say fire him. He has no business ordering cars if he doesn't have a clue what people are looking for. 5 weeks later and those autos are still on the lot.
What's even more annoying is that there aren't any dealers who will trade a 5 speed becasue they are in such high demand.
Dammit!
Antonio DiMarco said:
Agreed! We placed an order on Aug 20th for a 5sp GT (Touring) and were told to expect a 6-8wk wait since none were available through dealer trade. I just asked on Thursday (Sep 8th) and learned that our car isn't even slated for PRODUCTION until late October! That's how great the demand is. We'll be lucky to have the car by late November.
Does anyone know if the Mz5 is built on the same assembly lines as the Mz3? I know they've increased overtime at 2 plants that build the '3 to try to catch up with runaway demand. Seems like the Europeans have even more of a demand for these things than here in Canada, where the Mazda3 has become the best selling VEHICLE, not just compact. But it recently outsold even the Ford F-150, which has been the best selling for, like, ever! (Hellloooooo fleet sales).
Well, this is frustrating. Went back to the dealer today to get the truth on deliver ETA. He showed me the updated order sheet that indicates our car (ordered Aug20th) is scheduled to be produced on October 5th. He said to me "maybe Christmas delivery" and I later made a call to Mazda Canada who confirmed that production to delivery is about 3mo. Yikes. Again with the dealer we did a computer search of inventory in all of Ontario and Quebec. Only one other 5-speed GT with air and our choice of colour (Indigo) showed up in all of 2 provinces -- and it's only scheduled for delivery a week or so earlier than ours. It's probably already sold anyway, so no sense in paying extra for THAT trade.
(shrug)
I guess we'll just have to put money into our old clunker to keep it on the road a few more months.... <sigh>
Anyone else out there waiting a long time for delivery? Or is everyone but us buying off the lot...?
(shrug)
I guess we'll just have to put money into our old clunker to keep it on the road a few more months.... <sigh>
Anyone else out there waiting a long time for delivery? Or is everyone but us buying off the lot...?
Mazda5 on Order
I put in my order today for a fully loaded Touring Model w/ a 5-speed.
It will be 8-12 weeks before it is delivered. I bet the car hasn't even been built yet. (uhm)
Also, of the eight 5's that were on the dealer's lot, 2 were manuals, but the sport models.
Gives me plenty of time to sell the xB.
-Skylab
I put in my order today for a fully loaded Touring Model w/ a 5-speed.
It will be 8-12 weeks before it is delivered. I bet the car hasn't even been built yet. (uhm)
Also, of the eight 5's that were on the dealer's lot, 2 were manuals, but the sport models.
Gives me plenty of time to sell the xB.
-Skylab
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Took 8 weeks to receive my M5 5 speed GT, Platinum Silver. The order was made in the 3rd week of July.
I asked to the dealer two colors : Platinum Silver or Indigo then I choose the quickest delivery. Indigo was not available until the first week of October (8 weeks).
Initially, it was supposed to be 6 weeks for a Platinum Silver but my dealer told me that a strike at the Vancouver port caused additionnal delays.
I asked to the dealer two colors : Platinum Silver or Indigo then I choose the quickest delivery. Indigo was not available until the first week of October (8 weeks).
Initially, it was supposed to be 6 weeks for a Platinum Silver but my dealer told me that a strike at the Vancouver port caused additionnal delays.
I guess we got lucky. My wife ordered her GT 5 speed in mid Aug. from Carling Motors in Ottawa. They said 2-3 months. It showed up one week later and we drove it home.
The bad news is that we paid MSRP (somthing I thought I would never do again after lusting after the WRX in 2002).
Someone also put a big scratch (likely on purpose from size and shape) on the driver door less that 24 hours after she had it She was not happy.
We love the M5. Funny thing is I have yet to see another one on the street.
The bad news is that we paid MSRP (somthing I thought I would never do again after lusting after the WRX in 2002).
Someone also put a big scratch (likely on purpose from size and shape) on the driver door less that 24 hours after she had it
She was not happy.We love the M5. Funny thing is I have yet to see another one on the street.
kaimonica said:
Really? I haven't seen a single one in Ottawa yet. What colour are you and what part of town?
On the one hand I'm jealous you got one so quickly...On the other hand I can hope that the recall 'fix' will be made at the factory since ours hasn't been built yet (build date supposedly Oct 5th. -- I wonder if production will be delayed until they implement a fix for the recall).
