Podcast: Customer Interview On The Mazda Miata

Matt 00:02

Hey, listeners. It is your host for the month. I am Matt, and I am here at PH Mazda. That's Mazda of Puente Hills. I am doing this podcast episode and I've tried to do a little something special, a little something different. I've actually been trying to get in touch with people to give you a different perspective. So these people that I'm bringing in on these podcasts are actually people that are looking at purchasing a Mazda for themselves. We'll be asking them why, how, all the good questions. What is it about Mazda that makes them want to purchase one? So I met with this guy today. His name is Peter. Can I call you Pete?

Peter 00:41

Yes. That's fine.

Matt 00:42

Pete.

Peter 00:42

My friends and family, they call me Pete. Sure.

Matt 00:46

Well, Pete, I'm sorry. I just want to first off say thank you for this. I know I approached you, it was a little awkward because you're over here trying to shop for a car and I'm like, "Hey. I'm doing a podcast." So thanks for being a good sport, man. I do appreciate your time. It won't take long.

Peter 01:00

No. That's fine.

Matt 01:02

So you were telling me-- off air, you were saying that you have quite a bit of background in the industry.

Peter 01:09

Yeah. Well, I used to sell cars many years ago, and I've been in management as well. And so I kind of know the industry. I've worked on cars. I worked in the service department as well, a few years back. So I'm pretty much immersed in the auto industry. I guess you could say that.

Matt 01:32

That's probably an advantage that you have. Right?

Peter 01:35

I could say that. Yes. I think so.

Matt 01:39

So what is it that you're in here looking for, man?

Peter 01:42

You know what? I've had a roadster before. I had a Honda roadster. It was an Peter000.

Matt 01:48

Oh, the Peter000s. Yeah. Yeah.

Peter 01:50

Yeah. It was a fun car. And so I've always looked at the Miata. The Miata, I've driven it, and it drives like a little go kart. It's a really fun car. And being out in LA a lot, it's sometimes kind of hard to find places to park. And so the car is great on gas. It's a fun car to drive. I really don't need a lot of room. So between my wife and I-- well, my wife prefers that I have a car. I really would rather have a motorcycle, but you know how that goes.

Matt 02:22

So this is your compromise?

Peter 02:23

This is my compromise. Exactly. So I'm going with the little Miata.

Matt 02:27

Cool, man. So yeah. The Miatas, a lot of people would say they are the roadster that kind of made it popular. You know?

Peter 02:37

Yeah.

Matt 02:37

A lot of people are just-- once you start in a Miata, I notice a lot of people actually stick with the Miata and they keep on going. So besides the fun, being able to drive, and it running like a go kart, and just being real fun, I mean, what do you plan on using this car for? Is it just cool little drives out on the town with the wife?

Peter 03:00

Well, I definitely just see that happening. I mean, I like to go out to the wineries out over in Temecula area. And so it's really cool. They always have really great weather out there. And having a convertible is a pretty cool car to have. I've had a Mazda. My first Mazda was an RX7. It was also a two-seater. And so it was a fun car. I loved that vehicle. So Mazda is just one of those few vehicles that are still being built out in Japan. And I just really, really am attached to the Mazda brand.

Matt 03:36

You know what's really cool about the Miatas is that-- well, Mazda period. Mazda is one of those brands that keep on using technology to further advance, whether it be saving on gas mileage, or safety, or even just infotainment type of deals. The Miata has kind of included some of that infotainment. They actually have like a really big screen. That's really cool.

Peter 04:02

Yes. For sure. The technology on these vehicles is actually that of, for example, Mercedes Benz. They're up to date with their technology, and everything is just at arm's reach. Everything is so close, everything's perfect, and the cockpit is almost like being in an airplane. You know what I mean? Like a jet. So I really do love the way it holds everything really nice and tight.

Matt 04:32

Right. Right on. Now, do you know exactly what kind of gas mileage you're getting on this?

Peter 04:37

Well, as a matter of fact, let's see. If I'm not mistaken, it's something like about 26, 35. So on the highway, you're going to get 35. I don't know about my lead foot. I'll probably end up with like 32, 33 more or less. But on the city, you're getting 26. So that's why I'm getting it. It's still an economical car, it's not expensive at all, it's very affordable, it's a fun ride, it has all the technology features that I'm looking for, and like I said before, I could park it anywhere. It fits everywhere.

Matt 05:11

Yeah. That does come in handy, especially out in LA. Like you said, you were spending a lot of time out there.

Peter 05:17

Yeah.

Matt 05:18

So real quick, man. I'm going to let you get back to your car shopping. So just real fast, though, because you have some experience in the industry and you've been around it for a long time, we're on October now. November is coming up really soon. And I know around November, a lot of dealerships are starting to tell you about the Black Friday deals, closing out the year, trying to give you the best deals possible. From your experience, do you think now is a good time to start shopping or would you prefer or even advise someone to maybe just wait a couple of months?

Peter 05:53

Well, right now, it's starting to get a little competitive. So a lot of dealerships are going to start selling the vehicles at the best price they possibly can, which you and I know that it's normally typically the same price that they've always been offering them. But they get a little bit more competitive during the close end of year because the 2019s are just around the corner. This is why I'm getting the 2018. And so it is a good time to definitely start shopping. If you're really interested in getting a vehicle, right now is a really good time. Because I have a business, getting the vehicle, I can actually write it off into my business. So it really does save me a lot of money at the end of the year, for next year. And so I can get a lot write offs out of it. So this is why I do my shopping during close towards the end of the year. And so I just don't want to do-- there's going to be a lot of things going on at December. So I want to get my shopping done before that. And being that we're getting closer to the end of this month, now Halloween is upon us. So yeah. I thought maybe getting the vehicle would be a really good time to do it now.

Matt 07:04

Speaking of Halloween, what are you doing, man?

Peter 07:06

Oh, man. Me and my girl, we're going to be Bonnie and Clyde, bro. Yeah. I'm going to be all dressed up to the nines. I'm going to have my boy's little machine gun.

Matt 07:17

There you go.

Peter 07:17

And it's going to be pretty cool. So I won't have to wear makeup, which is nice [laughter]. I'll still look sharp.

Matt 07:23

Right on. Right on.

Peter 07:23

Yeah. We're going to a dress-up little party. It'll be fun. It'll be fun.

Matt 07:28

That will be fun, man. And driving off into the sunset in your brand-new Miata [laughter].

Peter 07:34

Yeah. There you go.

Matt 07:35

That's going to be awesome.

Peter 07:36

That's it.

Matt 07:37

And then, what about for November? Thanksgiving's coming up. You guys cooking or what?

Peter 07:42

I love to cook.

Matt 07:43

Really?

Peter 07:44

I love to cook. Thanksgiving is one of those favorite holidays that you get to just throw out and show off your cooking skills. And so I got my eyes on some of those dishes that I've been watching on the Food Network. So we'll see how it goes.

Matt 07:57

Okay. So now that we're friends, what time should I arrive [laughter]?

Peter 08:03

Bring the beer, bro.

Matt 08:04

Okay. Okay.

Peter 08:04

Bring the beer. You're more than welcome [laughter].

Matt 08:08

All right, man. So real quick, just for all you listeners out there, you heard it here from our guy, new-found friend. I will be at his place just to grub on Thanksgiving. Clyde, himself.

Peter 08:20

Yeah. That's right.

Matt 08:22

Getting himself, he's looking for a Miata today. Now, just real quick, I wanted to ask you, did you take advantage of the website tools at phmazda.com? There are some tools there where you can chat live with one of our internet sales guys.

Peter 08:36

As a matter of fact, I did. One of the things that I like to do, is I like to make sure that they have the vehicle that I'm looking for. And so I was looking at the Miata Sport, but I decided to go with the Grand Touring. It's a little bit more, but it has more of the features that I'm looking for. And it happens that they had both the Sport and the Grand Touring. And so I'm going to go along with the Grand Touring. And yeah. They answered all my questions, they were very helpful, and I can't stand liars. And this dealership really is honest. They're really honest with what they're doing. They're really cool people. So I recommend this dealership for sure.

Matt 09:15

Well, I appreciate your time. I'm sure that Puente Hills Mazda, we all appreciate you here as well. We're going to go ahead and let you close out your deal. Thanks, again, for your time. Listeners out there, you heard it from here. A person that's actually purchasing a car today. He went on phmazda.com, he went on the live chat, asked all the questions that he needed, found out which car was really going to be for him, and now he's in here. He's saving himself a bunch of time. So make sure you do the same. Find out what's on our lot, what's available to you, what kind of deals you can get, and then come on through. We're a friendly little place out here. You can test drive anything that we have and make sure that you have the right car for you, man. That's all. That's what it's about. So we appreciate your time, again. Congratulations on your purchase, man. And we hope to hear from you again, soon.

Peter 10:02

Thank you so much.

Matt 10:03

No worries. Thanks a lot, listeners. We'll talk to you next month. It's going to be our Thanksgiving edition, and I might even have a little food review. We'll talk to you later.