NHTSA Complaint #10202857 — 2004 MAZDA RX-8

I HAVE A 2004 MAZDA RX8 WHICH I PURCHASED NEW ON OCTOBER 13, 2005. THE CAR HAS 21,420 MILES ON IT ... ALL 'BABIED' AS I'M 52 YEARS OLD ... AND ALL SERVICE HAS BEEN DONE BY THE DEALER. THE CAR IS STILL UNDER THE FACTORY WARRANTY PLUS I HAVE A HIGH-PRICED EXTENDED WARRANTY ON TOP OF IT! TWO DAYS AGO I NOTICED THE CLUTCH WAS SLIPPING SO I CALLED MY DEALER. THEY WANTED ME TO WAIT A WEEK TO BRING IT IN; I DECIDED IT WOULDN'T BE MOVING ON IT'S OWN IN A WEEK AND DROPPED BY THE DEALER THE SAME DAY. TODAY THEY PHONED ME TO SAY THE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY NEEDED REPLACING. FURTHER, THIS WOULDN'T BE COVERED UNDER EITHER THE FACTORY WARRANTY OR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY; INSTEAD, I WOULD BE LIABLE FOR THE $1480.00 REPLACEMENT COST! A CAR WITH ONLY 21K MILES ON IT THAT HAS BABIED SINCE DAY ONE SHOULD NOT BE HAVING CLUTCH PROBLEMS (I'VE DRIVEN MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS) NOT SHOULD I BE LIABLE FOR THIS EXORBITANT COST! UPON SOME RESEARCH, I FOUND THE PARTS I NEED ARE ONLY AVAILABLE FROM THE DEALER; THEREFORE, I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE OPTION OF HAVING SOMEONE ELSE DOING THE REPAIRS WITHOUT PAYING AN ASTRONOMICAL FEE FOR A THROW-OUT BEARING AND PLATE ($497.00)! *TR