Went car shopping for Jen today, and drove a Mazda 3 version S. It drove great and jen really liked it.

Does anyone own one? How are they, reliable? Seems like a great car compared to the jettas shes been looking at.

 

Don't know about the Mazda 3 but if it is as reliable as the Protege it replaced then I'd go for it. Its nice looking, more than likely reliable, good on gas and relatively roomy. I don't think you can go wrong. It was even made for guys your age (oh, Jen is getting it, just reread your post).

The Jetta is a waaay better looking care IMO. I've rode in an '05 one (fully equipped with the 17's and all...) I absolutely loved it, the way it handled, cabin noise, exhaust note. However these cars are POS's. Just do a search ('Jetta Problems' or something like that). I also know that everyone I've ever known who've owned one had problems.

Funny story:
At the VW dealership me and my coworker were wondering about this solar panel in the window of all the Jettas. The salesman said, " those are to keep your battery charged for when you park your car for long periods of time."

We were like, cool!

Come to find out that the factory alarm on the car drains the battery when left unattended for long periods of time. That little retrofit was a recall.

 

One of my good friends bought a mazda 3s mid summer and likes it an awful lot. For its price I think its hard to beat, it offers a lot and is a solid feeling car. Its not a luxury car, nor is it the fastest thing going(and that's coming from a TSX driver) but its also under $20k new! I don't think it has what it takes to be labeled as an enthsuisists car, however, it is a very capable "normal" car, that has more of a spirit then most "normal" cars.

My friends has about 8k on it so far and not an ounce of trouble, though he really dislikes the OE 16" toyo's. Unlike the 6 and most(if not all) of the other Mazda's that are made in America, the 3 is made in Japan and most folks feel that makes it a better constructed car then the others. I don't think your going to find anyone with a lot of miles on there's so far, they haven't been out for that long to know if there will be any problems down the road.

Mazda can be hit or miss, most of their old cars are solid, reliable cars. Some of the newer cars prove to be some what unreliable and troublesome - this happens with most any make car though. There is always a risk with a first production year of any car, it just comes with the territory.

If I were to purchase a brand new sub-$20k car and couldn't wait to test drive the new civic, I would not hesitate getting the Mazda 3s

 

I think you can get HID's and navigation for < $20k in the 3.

 

Not a bad looking car overall.

 

Doesn't :killer: own one???

 

No, I thought the same thing, but after searching found out he bought a 6 for his wife...

He's a moderator in the 6 forum on http://www.msprotege.com

 

The dealer let us take the 2.3 S on our own and we took it on the highway. I was impressed by the pickup it had. For a 2.3... it did really well and was smooth.

We drove one without sport package, wonder how much a difference it is. By the looks of it, its just a wheel and tire package.

Main thing i like is the fact she can use regular gas. The 1.8t jetta would need premium gas.

As much as im an euro whore... i think the mazda 3 is a better buy.

 

Small, sporty, how bout sentra SE-R and for a little more than 20k, theSpec V

 

Good thinking..Great car. My wifes 6i has the same motor and we BOTH think the car is a blast. Good pickup, torque is better than honda 4 bangers..and you can get a mazda 3 with Navi, leather and H.I.D.s!

We use mid grade gas in hers, but regular can be used. Also, lots of neet goodies out there for that motor. Be happy to supply you with info if needed jesal.

 

Save the 3-4 grand and get teh mazda.

 

read about it on autoblog and any.... i think insideline has a long term one as well. They all can;t stop raving about it. I will say this....it always catches my eye when i am drivin around. they are sharp. better looking than a jetta. And reliability will be waaay better.

 

I too like the Mazda3. The biggest turn off to me was the usability of the navigation. After having an acura navi you get addicted to the touch screen. The mazda did not offer this. All things else aside this is an EXCELLENT vehicle and will save you big money on petro and as has been said you can get a serious load of options. See if you can get your hands on an sp23 it threw in automatic wipers and a couple of other cool options.

Then of course, there is the new civic. The only downside I see is that leather is not an option. Now that the new civic offers nav I am very happy the cheapest honda to this point that offered nav was the TSX and the fully loaded accord. Although the Maz3 is more powerful the civic is better on gas. The Maz3 has a better interior in my opinion but the civic is nice too (in a bland kinda way). With the civic being a new model I am sure the overall body style prob. won't change for 7 to 10 years. All in all, I would tell her to look into the Civic too and decide from there.

 

Are HID's available in the new Civic?

 

I had a Mazda 3 rental for a trip to Cleveland. Initially, I thought it drove great; very nice steering and the suspension was tuned pretty sporty. However, after 12 hours in the car, several huge annoyances popped up:

1. Wind noise is awful (for the sedan at least).
2. Every damn button in the car beeps when you press it. Dumbest of all, the stereo beeps when you are adjusting the volume.
3. Too much red/orange in the instrument cluster and climate/audio control.

The wife was looking for a 5-door, and we liked the Mazda 3. However, the Saab 9-2x linear (rebadged Impreza RS) offered AWD and more torque for the same price as the Mazda, similarly optioned (~$22k loaded). It also has better soundproofing and (subjectively) looks better. I'm more apt to trust Subaru than Ford on reliability too.

Kudos to Mazda for making interesting cars again. Their lineup is more likely to get me in a showroom than Honda's for sure.

 

no brainer man. mazda 3 > jetta

only thing jetta has goin for it is the 1.8

 

I just went to Mazda's website... Pretty slick car. Very nice setup on the inside, and the flip up nav is pretty cool. Exterior styling is not really my taste, but you do get alot for the money.

 

I have 05 Mazda 3 HB as my daily car and 04 TSX as my weekend car. I paid 17K and 25K respectively. I had around 10K on my Mazda 3 so far. It is a fun fun car but reliability is bad in my case. Here are my problems:
-Front driver suspension replaced at 6K due to cracking noise over speed bump
-Rear disk pad put out twice amount of dust than the front
-Very weak air conditioner
-Tall second gear ratio makes the car game over until 4K rpm

I heard that 06 Mazda 3 had resolved couple of concerns above and few extra features like auto climate, heated seat, 5 speed auto, cabin air filter, standard abs, rain-sensing wipers and a trip computer. It takes turn slight better, stop better and quicker than TSX. TSX offers more luxury, peace of mind and secure feel. I recently replaced my Mazda 3’s halogen with aftermarket-HID kit and did a side-by-side night shot with TSX HID.

If you want a sedan with all the features (NAV, auto, HID, leather, Bose), I suggest you take TSX over Mazda 3 as the price of Mazda 3 with those features almost next to TSX. In my case, I choose a five door Mazda 3 Hatchback with sunroof the only option to replace my high mileage Elantra. I can throw in two 26” mountain bikes and close the hatch.

I suggest you visit this Mazda 3 site for more info: http://www.mazda3forums.com
If I can choose again, I will buy Mazda 3 again. There is no other car in the segment offer the same features and performance under 20K. It is a great car for a price.

 

Another shot

 

Oh thats the thing, she wont be getting navi or leather. She wants to stay under 17k as much as she can. No nothing really extra.. maybe just bose with the 6-disk changer and moonroof. The cloth seats are fine to me.. they were nice.

HIDs can always get installed later by my dumbass.

 

Fixed link

 

Great. Start talking about price at least 1K below invoice and slowly go out. i got it around $300 below invoice (05 Mazda 3 with sunroof and 6 cd). I paid $200 for that aftermarket HID kit and couple hours to install. Just plug and play. very easy. remember to visit that mazda 3 forum. there are ton of die hard fans over there.

 

sweet, didnt know if they can be had for under invoice. Shes not ready to buy just now but in couple a months she will.

So time to do more research on the car.

Also its true that insurance and interest rates are much cheaper on a NEW car vs USED, correct?

 

interest rates will be maybe 1% less then on a used car.

insurance will always be higher a new car...unless its a high performance car, or something that has a very high cost of repair.

 

Insurance on TSX is about the same on Mazda 3. I paid cash on both cars ... not sure about interest rate....

 

I have owned my 3s for almost 2 yrs...generally nice car but there are a few things that I do not like about this car (I have the sedan)...

- weakest A/C I have ever had in a car...awful...if you park outside on a sunny hot day it will take 15-20 minutes at full blast on recirc to get decently cool. I hate it.

- no remote button on fob for the trunk...have to use key...major pita when carrying groceries, etc.

- only 1 speed for intermittent on the wipers....I am constantly messing with the wipers when it is light rain or mist...

- Trunk seems decently big but it is awkard to get thing in or out...the opening is too small.

- '04 had a 4 spd auto and it runs like 3K at freeway speeds, killing gas mileage...I still get 26-27 mpg overall but should be in low 30s for highway driving...'06's will be better as 5 spd is now standard.


Car is good in many other respects and styling wise I like it, but those are some things to think about...I should have bought the hatchback, not the sedan...

 

Oh and she plans to buy a manual.

 

I had one for a month while my TL-S was getting fixed. A woman hit me and her insurance company (Geico) hooked me up with a free rental car. I picked that POS for $5 extra per day. It had 200 miles on the odometer when I got it, and when I gave it back with 900 the thing was practically smoking.

Don't miss the ''Knight Rider'' radio on that car. Anyone who has driven that car knows what I'm talking about.

That car is slow, noisy, and its interior is pretty ugly. I do like the fact that it tells you what gear you're in on the automatic though, that's kinda cool.

 

if anything get the 5 door, the sedan is ugllyyy

 

I drove one. A friend of mine has it... I loved the way it felt driving! the 2.3 model (160 hp) really felt like it had some punch... for an i4.

-Alex

 

As far as interest rates it really just depends on who you use for a lender. If financing I HIGHLY suggest going in with your financing already in place. Go to a credit union (pentagonfcu.com is mine, they are damn good and usually have the same interest rate for new as used). If the money is already there it makes the buying process that much easier.

 

I used to work for BofA and the used rates are always higher with tougher guidelines.

 

Sounds like you've already sold yourself. Personally, I think it's the tastiest sub 20k car to be had