On Halloween, I purchased a 2016 soul red grand touring Miata. My trustworthy 2000 mica green Miata (with 178K miles) was just breaking down too often. So it was time to get a new car.
I always have liked convertibles since seeing MG Midgets, Porsche 214s, and triumphs on the streets of Portland back in the 70s, so I decided to get another Miata. I thought I see how things were dealing with the internet manager since a friend at work had great success dealing with one with his car purchase.
I signed up at the Mazda website and asked for quotes. I got good positive responses from Juan Vasquez, the internet manager at Ken Harvey Dublin Mazda. He kept me up to date on when cars were arriving. I went out to check on some models and met him. He seemed like a sharp guy and a straight shooter. My old 2000 was mica green, and I wanted any Miata that was not black, white, steel grey, that left blue or soul red. and apparently the word out was blue was not going to be available until 2016. A few days later, he informed me that a soul red Miata was available, so i hoped on BART with my checkbook in hand (Ken Harvey is a short distance from the Dublin BART station), walked over and after the obligatory test drive and wheeling and dealing, drove off with a new 2016 Miata.
Both Juan and Reyes (I thin thats the sales manager) seemed like fairly honest people which was a pleasant surprise as I had purchased my previous Miata at Val Strough in Oakland back in 2000. That was a bit more difficult that I had imagined it would be. I can highly recommend checking out Juan and Ken Harvey Mazda if you are looking to initially search online for a Mazda.
I was also surprised at the interest in this model and how the Miata community has grown. I would drive my 2000 around and get the occasional beep. But with this car, wow. The demand for Miatas is much higher than it was 15 years ago. One day driving home on Jackson Ave in Hayward, I stopped at a stoplight just past 880. A guy on a motorcycle drove up next to me and said "nice car". He wondered what i had to do to get my car. We chatted for a bit before the light changed and it turns out he apparently had gotten the launch edition a while ago. He related a story that I had heard at the Dublin store involving that purchase. Without going into details, Dublin Mazda resolved the issue and his purchase illustrates the integrity Dublin Mazda has and how it values its customer base. He is also restoring a '99 Miata. While in Davis, I had one gentleman tell me his 2000 Miata is parked in his garage with about 78K miles, and how he usually drives a rented car. Another person came up to me and says "is that soul red? They only have 1000 of those in US" (which is news to me, I haven't checked on whether this is true).
Overall, I have been pleased with the purchase. It is about to be taken in for its 1K checkup soon, so I will be able to review the service department. My MAJOR irritation is the hill lauch assist (HLA). I am so used to my 2000 rolling back perhaps an inch or so on hills, and now that no longer occurs. I suspect this is another nanny feature (in addition to the rear vehicle monitoring, and lane departure warning) which probably have been implemented to prevent accidents. My concern is that drivers can become complacent and too dependent on warning beeps instead of monitoring traffic flow. RVM and LDW can be turned off, but I think HLA is more complicated to turn off. My minor complaint so far is that i have been unable to figure out how to turn on the electrical system (aka acc position) without turning on the car (have to read the manual again or search online). read more