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Any Mazda 3 owners in the house?

BrokenVisage

BrokenVisage

Lifer
Blew the trans on my Civic and am looking to move on to a new car rather then getting it fixed. I'm looking primarily for a hatchback and liked the CR-Z until I confirmed that there is no backseat to speak of. Considering the Fit and the Mazda 3 now, and maybe the CX-7 and some others down on my list.

After doing a comparison the 3 really stood out as something that would suit my needs and then some. Aside from the fugly looking front grill it looks great and has nice power/features at a price I can afford. Any current or former 3 owners that could speak on its reliability and share their experience would be appreciated. Recommendations of cars like the 3 are welcome too.
 
2009 Mazda3 (before the redesign). I bought August 2008 and no problems at all. I'd hope none! I love it, very fun to toss around, I have the 5 MT. Great DD and great utility.
 
Thought about getting one back in 05. I've driven the more recent ones though. We had an 09 at work for a while. They're really nice cars. I've always been a fan of Mazda. My first car was an old 626 Sport.

My only complaint about the Mazda 3 is the price. I think they want a bit too much for what it is. At least with the Sport model I was looking at. The dealers didn't seem too willing to negotiate either. Came to over $24,000 at the time and they wouldn't budge on that. Ended up getting a Civic with the same features for $20,000. Other people I know have said the same thing.

Aside from that, they perform well, handle great, and are very durable. It will last you a long time.
 
Mazda dealers are the worst I've ever dealt with. I was eligible for employee pricing and they gave me sticker price instead and refused to budge on the price saying it was the only price they could give me if I was using the employee discount. I showed them the price the employee purchase website showed the dealership was obligated to offer and they came up with all kinds of excuses why that price was wrong, including charges for dealer installed options on a completely different vehicle. Then they offered $4000 on my trade in that had a blue book trade in value of over $10k, I threw the papers in the finance manager's face and walked out. I expect dealers to play games, but to lowball that deep isn't even a game, it's an insult. I'll never buy a Mazda from a dealership.

Read some owner's forums, the same problems are nation wide and extend to the service departments as well.
 
Picked up a '10 back in the spring and its been troublefree so far. Small sample, I know.
Compared it to lots before I decided to get it. Sentra, Focus(probably would've got a '12 had it been out then), Civic, Corolla/Matrix. The Mazda is just a great package. We rented almost every car under the sun the last couple years, and my wife thinks the 3 is the most fun of everything we've driven. It just feels lighter and more nimble than everything else in its price range and below.
The gray plastic around the shifter on the new ones is prone to scratching, but other than that there's been no other niggling things I've found that every car seems to have.
 
The dealer I bought mine from was awesome, I got under MSRP including TTL. I even got total care warranty and it all and came out just a tad over MSRP (the cars were purchased the month they came out, they didn't even have a blue on on the lot yet). My mom had an employee discount coupon from her workplace for 10% off all accessories, but the manager gave us free tint. The dealer near my house was (and probably still is) terrible. They wanted a $2000 "price adjustment" for the speed3. I just looked at the manager, laughed, and left.
 
My wife has a 2005 Mazda 3s (2.3l manual 4dr). Had to replace a battery and a headlight bulb. Rear brakes are wearing and will need to be replaced soon. Otherwise, just routine maintenance, and fun drivin'.
 
I have a 2005 Mazda 3 with almost 160k miles. Short of a bad fuel pump solenoid valve ($450 installed) around 80k, and a current airbag light on, the cars been fantastic and would definitely recommend it to anyone.
 
I loved my '07 3 5-door (hatch), but I always regretted not getting the MazdaSpeed3.

Learn to drive stick (or teach your significant other if that is the real issue....like it was for me), and get the MS3.
 
I have an 07 speed 3 and never had a problem with it. Fun car and practical. There is a very good forum h++p://www.mazda3forums.com/ with tons of mazda 3 information from maintenance to reviews. I'm actually looking to sell mine for a Mustang. If anyone is interested PM me.
 
msmy300z said:
I have an 07 speed 3 and never had a problem with it. Fun car and practical. There is a very good forum h++p://www.mazda3forums.com/ with tons of mazda 3 information from maintenance to reviews. I'm actually looking to sell mine for a Mustang. If anyone is interested PM me.
Click to expand...

no, go to mazdaspeedforums.org

it's where the real information is at - the non ricey shit. There's some really good BT builds going on.
 
kornphlake said:
Mazda dealers are the worst I've ever dealt with. I was eligible for employee pricing and they gave me sticker price instead and refused to budge on the price saying it was the only price they could give me if I was using the employee discount. I showed them the price the employee purchase website showed the dealership was obligated to offer and they came up with all kinds of excuses why that price was wrong, including charges for dealer installed options on a completely different vehicle. Then they offered $4000 on my trade in that had a blue book trade in value of over $10k, I threw the papers in the finance manager's face and walked out. I expect dealers to play games, but to lowball that deep isn't even a game, it's an insult. I'll never buy a Mazda from a dealership.

Read some owner's forums, the same problems are nation wide and extend to the service departments as well.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of this:

http://www.autonorth.ca/home/2010/5...e-sorry-for-ripping-off-unemployed-woman.html
 
kornphlake said:
Mazda dealers are the worst I've ever dealt with. I was eligible for employee pricing and they gave me sticker price instead and refused to budge on the price saying it was the only price they could give me if I was using the employee discount. I showed them the price the employee purchase website showed the dealership was obligated to offer and they came up with all kinds of excuses why that price was wrong, including charges for dealer installed options on a completely different vehicle. Then they offered $4000 on my trade in that had a blue book trade in value of over $10k, I threw the papers in the finance manager's face and walked out. I expect dealers to play games, but to lowball that deep isn't even a game, it's an insult. I'll never buy a Mazda from a dealership.

Read some owner's forums, the same problems are nation wide and extend to the service departments as well.
Click to expand...
This, this and this.
Exactly the reason why some car maker's can't get over some bad reputation despite the actual reliability of their cars.
I know it can differ by region and such.

My parents went to go look at a Mazda 6, Ford Fusion and a Honda Accord. They bought an Accord, because the Ford and Mazda dealers near them were jerks. Honda has a rep of having better all around dealers and service centers nationwide.
 
foghorn67 said:
This, this and this.
Exactly the reason why some car maker's can't get over some bad reputation despite the actual reliability of their cars.
I know it can differ by region and such.

My parents went to go look at a Mazda 6, Ford Fusion and a Honda Accord. They bought an Accord, because the Ford and Mazda dealers near them were jerks. Honda has a rep of having better all around dealers and service centers nationwide.
Click to expand...

Has their exhaust tip fallen off yet?

This is the funniest thing I've seen yet on the new Accords. It's pretty much guaranteed that your tips will fall off. :awe:
 
Do you deal with road salt? Mazdas rust like crazy so if you live in the rust belt, definitely rustproof.

Have you driven it?
 
Both my parents have 2010 Mazda 3s.. they're pretty fun to drive for what they are. No idea on reliability yet.. they haven't even hit 5k miles on either of them IIRC.
 
Can't say anything about reliability since we only got it in January, but my wife loves hers. Of all the cars she test drove the Mazda3 was without a doubt the best car in that class. She's got the 2.0 so it's not going to blow anyone's doors off at the drag strip, but it's pretty nimble and you can toss it around corners. She also gets around 30MPG in mixed city/highway driving so no complaints there.
 
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