About to pull the trigger on a new MX-5 today (or tomorrow, or perhaps the next day)
We started looking at the SE Nav 1.5, which is about our price point, but were offered the Icon for the same price by the dealer - now I like the extras in terms of leather, heated seats, parking sensors etc, but not a fan of the go faster stripes along the side. Does anyone know if the decals can be removed from the side?
If not, I may have to pony up for the Sports Nav - I see from Broadspeed and drivethedeal that discounts of £2500 ish are achievable; CarWoW is coming in at around half of that. Ignoring Part Exchange - what kind of dealer discounts are achievable?
Also (sorry for the many questions), would a dealer log a sale for a September car in Q4, so a pre September car may help with their Q3 figures (hence perhaps push for a bigger discount)?
Decals should be removable, generally they are vinyl and gentle application of heat allows them to be removed cleanly. If they’re attached some other way I don’t know…
I was at a dealer asking about the Icon the other. I think the decals are naff too. According to the dealer, the decals are removable. There are other red bits of detailing that don’t look removable to me though - e.g. a red ‘rim’ under the front bumper. If the decals are stuck on by the dealer perhaps it’s worth getting the unused stickers included in case you need them come resale time. Special edition detailing seems to be desirable when selling second hand.
The SE-L Nav and Sport Nav now always include sat nav on the current price list, it’s no longer optional. Acccording to the dealer, the Icon doesn’t have sat-nav - it’s £600 extra which just buys you the sat-nav SD card which you plug into the existing non-sat-nav car. The SD cards AFAIK are copy protected, can’t be cloned and are tied to the car after they’ve been used for a certain length of time.
EDIT: according to the Mazda page Icon does include Sat Nav but perhaps older Icon models didn’t…
Good luck with the haggling. I’m a few days behind you in the process as I haven’t quite firmed up the spec or test driven the 1.5. I’m not considering the Icon because I’m not that keen on the colours it comes in. Sport nav is a largeish increment perhaps even after discounting but you might regret not getting the Sport Nav if you intend to keep it a while.
Well I bit the proverbial bullet and placed an order for the Icon.
The strange thing is that in the flesh, the side decals look a lot more subtle then they do in the picture. Partly because in the images it’s as though they over-saturated the red for emphasis, and partly because you actually look down on the rather than being on eye level. In any case I opted to have them on, happy that I can remove if I want (and they are already installed on this particular car anyway).
I like the grey/red scheme on the other cosmetic touches.
Not a lot of luck on the discounting though, but that’s okay as I get to pickup the car on Monday 1st just in time for a week off work.
I used to work as a salesman for a main dealer. At the point of sale, before you’ve shaken hands, tell them that you want the decals removed. We did on numerous occasions…sometimes were asked to add decals on plain cars. If they want the business and have good customer service, then this shouldn’t be a problem at all. But if they don’t, or they are just plain lazy, then try and negotiate a better deal to counteract the cost of you getting them done by a detailer. You’ll probably be able to do it yourself…but they don’t know that
Just ordered mine in grey too for September and the new plate.
Did you get special edition Icon mats included?
I bought the Icon having seen it in dealer’s showroom (with Icon mats installed) and seen the specs on the Mazda web site. I persistently asked to see a brochure (none available) and asked what accessories and options were available (I was told there were none other than choosing the colour).
Now I’ve finally seen a brochure after placing the order and it says special edition Icon mats are “available at extra cost”. Hmmm. Nothing on the Mazda web site about this or any prices. For the Icon the Mazda ‘configure your mx5’ on the web site says “does not have accessories or option packs”.
Well, an update. We picked up the car 4 weeks ago today, on the 1st August and since then we’ve have the most fun driving it around. We’ve covered 4,000 miles since then, from the south coast (where we live) to the Yorkshire dales, Manchester, the midlands and more. We go off on a 12 day driving holiday next week, so at this rate will need to start thinking about the first service!
I can honestly say it has changed my view on driving. We’ve driven everything from our first Mini Metro through to a fully decked out Mercedes (thanks to work). We’ve had a fun Mini Cooper, and I’ve had my motorbikes, and I can say hand on heart, nothing has been so much fun to drive as the MX-5.
It’s had to be sad when driving it - no matter what the work day has thrown at you, a blast out in the evening is a mood lifter!
If I consider the ‘pros’, for me, the standout feature is the connection between the driver and the road - The car goes exactly where I want it to go, exactly when I want it to go there. It’s very responsive (both in acceleration and steering), and sticks to the road very well. It gives me a lot of confidence.
The ‘revvy’ nature (I have the 1.5) only adds to the fun, and top down, the feeling of speed is tangible (even if the absolute speed is relatively modest) - it just feels ‘tight’ and lovely.
I love the shape of the car, the simplicity of the roof and the reclined position of the seating.
If I could improve on anything it would be the infotainment / satnav gubbins - very unreliable and always rebooting itself, but that doesn’t affect the drive at all obviously.
Excellent! Let’s face it wots not to like? I know it’s a bit of a cliche, ‘it always puts a smile on my face’, but this is the reality of these great little machines.
For me, if there was anything to change, it would probably be the undersealing. I’d like to feel confident that she won’t ‘rust to smithereens’ in a few years like an old 60’s or 70’s motor, but hopefully with some TLC (ie extra rustproofing and regular use of my Karcher chassis cleaner) she will survive.
