Tried to order our new CX-5 Grand Touring Reserve today. My wife wants SRCM with Parchment interior, not all black. She also doesnt want some options that we've seen on some cars on dealer lots. And all the dealer adds like paint protection, etc. One we saw had $2k worth of paint protection, etc. So we tried to order one the way we want it. Apparently Mazda can't get some chips for things like LED fog lights, rear parking sensors. And production is committed to black interiors for a while. So the factory doesn't seem to want to take an order for our configuration. Local dealer is trying to work the issue but his best guess is Fall and a 2022 model. We can wait, but dissapointed it may be delayed.

I'd like to buy from our local dealer but I guess it's time to start calling around.

 

Your local dealer should be able to check all of the national inventory and if they find one that meets your criteria have it shipped to them for you.

 

Exactly.
BTW, what paint protection are they offering on these cars? IMHO, most if not all of these dealer supplied 'protections" are overpriced and overhyped.

 

Most of those so call "paint protection" options applied by the dealer are snake oil and nearly 100% profit to said dealer.

 

That $2200 include $900 for Armorall paint protection. The very name Armorall sends me running away. Some of the other money was added window tinting, a protection film on the front bumper (only the bumper) and a few other dealer adds like that.

I plan to have protection film added to the bumper, fenders, full hood, and a few other places (it's Soul Red after all) and ceramic coat elsewhere. So all the dealer adds would have to come off. So I'm trying g to find a " naked CX5).

The dealer is pushing their Mazda rep on finding a car. If they get a car that another dealer has ordered, it'll probably cost me more as that dealer will want something for the car. I may have to find a higher volume dealer than my local dealer.

 

The chip shortage is industry wide right now, not just Mazda.

 

So I've read. But it was surprising that Mazda is building cars with black interior but won't allocate for a Parchment interior. That seems strange, if they have an order.

Maybe 2022 will fix some of the 2021 anmoyances, like heater fans on high at start up and better infotainment software. One can dream.

 

I would use this as a negotiation point. Start by telling them what you want and let them get as close to it as possible.

If they know that you're really serious about buying, they'll work their *** off to make the deal. If you find that they're just shrugging their shoulders and saying they can't do anything for you, they are either 1) so crooked that they won't deal with someone they can't screw out of an extra $1k, or 2) realize that you're not really serious about buying and won't waste their time. Part of negotiation is willingness of both sides to work toward an agreement. If your option list is too far from 'standard order' and you're not willing to budge then you'll find the same from the dealers.

When my wife and I bought our 2019 GTR, all we saw were parchment interiors so I'm surprised that this is no longer the case on 2021 models. What options (besides add-ons) are you finding as "some options that we've seen on some cars on dealer lots" that you don't want?

 

It would be interesting to know the takeup rate on parchment. For us personally, after buying light colored leathers, beige, light gray, light blue, ivory, we decided never again. We tend to keep our cars a very long time, and after five years, many micro cracks develop in the hide, and no matter what we used, those black micro cracks would not clean. I was told that the leather has vinyl protective coating layer that cracks overtime and gathers the dirt..

So in the end we decided, no matter how good lighter leather looks, we go black leather. We are crossing fingers on the dark brown leather we have in our CX5 because it is really dark.

Just our two cents on decades of purchases.

 

My thoughts, as well.

Every leather interior I've ever done has been black leather, with the exception of a mid-tone tan (in a Mazda Miata). Would definitely try out a darker brown "baseball glove" leather interior, but I wouldn't want to go lighter. For the reasons you mention. The dark leathers just seem to hide longer-term wear better.

A light interior might look good, initially, but it'll begin to get hard to keep clean-looking once things wear.

Another think I'll avoid in future: perforated leather seats. (Have them on my current 2016.5 CX-5 GT.) Much prefer thicker, tougher, smoother leather for the seats, non-perforated, with stout same-color stitching. Easier to maintain, lasts longer, looks better, shows wear less easily.