Mazda 3 Series for my sister.deal or no?

[nchaurdia]

My sister is buying a car, and I was just wondering what you all thought of this deal. Is it good/bad?

I am in Chicago, but my sister lives in Orange, CA so I have just been negotiating via phone and email.

2008 MAZDA3 s Sport 4-Door
MSRP: $ 19,020*

Trim
Trim: MAZDA3 s Sport 4-Door
Trans: 5-Spd Auto
Engine: 156-hp 2.3L DOHC 16-valve inline 4-cylinder
Colors
Exterior: COPPER RED MICA
Interior: BLACK CLOTH
You price is $17,494.00 plus fees.

If I go to KBB and Edmunds, the invoice pricing nor the MSRP seem to add up properly. There are pretty much no options on the car.

OTD: 19,107.80

Oh yeah, the dealer says it's 700 below invoice, but I have a feeling it isn't.

[dmitriylm]

I've been driving a 2008 Mazda 6 as a rental for a week while my G is getting painted and I am not a fan. If the Mazda 3 is anything like the Mazda 6 I would not be making the purchase. It's got the same 156hp 4cyl with absolutely no throttle response. The buttons are overly spongey and feel like crap. I always liked the look of the cars but having spent a week with one I'm not so pleased.

[kenempireex]

To my knowledge, new generation Mazda still need more improve to catch up Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc. It had a good hit with RX8 but it was really short. I heard Mazdaspeed 3 is really fast, but that's about it. My buddy got his new mazda 3 a few months ago, and smoke comes out from the brake area the next day.

[EvolutionGSR]

WTH did the price of those go up? I remember seeing some for like 15000. Dealer even told me he could probably find me a skin and bones one during the year end sales for 13000.

[giddyup69]

Originally Posted by dmitriylm

I've been driving a 2008 Mazda 6 as a rental for a week while my G is getting painted and I am not a fan. If the Mazda 3 is anything like the Mazda 6 I would not be making the purchase. It's got the same 156hp 4cyl with absolutely no throttle response. The buttons are overly spongey and feel like crap. I always liked the look of the cars but having spent a week with one I'm not so pleased.

my friend just bought one of these cars this week. what other car would u recommend then?

she also looked at civic, corolla, elantra and cobalt. she is very tight on money. i think it was the best bang for the buck. she almost picked up an elantra but i helped her negotiate a better deal on the mazda.

in ontario here... dealers are barely budging on the sticker price of the civic and corolla. maybe it's different in the us. for what u get on a base mazda i think they're a fantastic car. 4 disc brakes (instead of drums on the rear), projector headlights and a nicely finished interior. i took a few different cars for a test drive while with her... and to be honest, as a people mover from point a to b.. they pretty much all feel the same.

[princealyy]

THAT IS WAY TOO HIGH!! We just bought an 09 Accord LX for 20K out the door... so this is completely off.

[nchaurdia]

what cars would you recommend...i'm looking for something under 20K OTD. sales tax in CA is 7.75%

Approx OTD Cost = Car Price * 1.095

[kenempireex]

Civic or Corolla are the way to go. Reliability is the key for economy cars.

We know Mazda offer alot of nice parts (projector, alloy wheel, disc brake), but you don't think Why they need to do that while Toyota and Honda still outselll them like crazy?

[dmitriylm]

Originally Posted by kenempireex

Civic or Corolla are the way to go. Reliability is the key for economy cars.

We know Mazda offer alot of nice parts (projector, alloy wheel, disc brake), but you don't think Why they need to do that while Toyota and Honda still outselll them like crazy?

I don't think Mazdas really have any reliability issues. Only rotary powered models can have issues, but reliability wise they are pretty well built.

[G-Ticket]

We bought my daughter almost the exact car you described in 2006 for 17,800. out the door. I researched the Corolla vs. the Mazda and they were very comparable in 06. The selling point on the Mazda was the safety factors, my daughter was 17 and we wanted the safest, most reliable for the money at that time and Mazda had it. She loves it, I drove it and was very happy with it. She had driven up to Oregon and back and now has 48,000 miles on it with absolutely no problems. She gets good mileage and is very good about regular servicing. I would buy her another in a heartbeat. I don't think the priice is bad, but I haven't looked at new ones. One of our employees just bought his wife the same car down south..I think the dealership was Todey? We live in a semi-small town so we don't have the options they do in the LA area, he seems to have gotten a good deal or he wouldn't have traveled that far. Good luck.
Lisa

[WordUp]

Originally Posted by nchaurdia

My sister is buying a car, and I was just wondering what you all thought of this deal. Is it good/bad?

I am in Chicago, but my sister lives in Orange, CA so I have just been negotiating via phone and email.

2008 MAZDA3 s Sport 4-Door
MSRP: $ 19,020*

Trim
Trim: MAZDA3 s Sport 4-Door
Trans: 5-Spd Auto
Engine: 156-hp 2.3L DOHC 16-valve inline 4-cylinder
Colors
Exterior: COPPER RED MICA
Interior: BLACK CLOTH
You price is $17,494.00 plus fees.

If I go to KBB and Edmunds, the invoice pricing nor the MSRP seem to add up properly. There are pretty much no options on the car.

OTD: 19,107.80

Oh yeah, the dealer says it's 700 below invoice, but I have a feeling it isn't.

I helped purchase a S touring 4-door for my parents last April. I used Edmunds as a tool and pretty much got it invoice pricing OTD here in Californina. You should be able to get that edmunds pricing, just hang in there and nay whatever they say about matching edmunds or going below it. I think it's a good price.

I would sometimes drive it for a few days and leave my G at my parents pad. So I have some feel for it...what struck me the most, while testing this car is how the car handles, which I think is pretty good. Course it is a smaller nimble car, it's a given, but it's handling was a little bit more than expected. The chassis is from the Volvo S40 sedans. Turning radius is awesome, i remember driving my Maxima and looking stoopid in small plaza parking lots trying to turn.

Interior to me is allright, seems pretty cheap, but looks nice; reviews state the car has good quality interior.

Engine is what it is, I can't say anything after driving a VQ in the Max and G for years. It's peppy and not knowing other inline 4 engines, I'm sure it's a tad better than most. You do have to make it scream to get on the fwy.

Reliability, can't say much either. My parent's half the time with the 3 and the Maxima...one weird thing I did notice is a slight lurch forward when the car's AC is on and your stepping on the brake at a light, I'll say it's minor for now until I bring it in to Mazda. Also my good friend owns a Speed6, only problem with his was the clutch, but he sucks at driving manual.

Good looking car, looks nice in white on black. Is your sister hot? I wouldn't mind driving a Mazada 3 as a daily driver if I could afford a second car. Mazdaspeed 3 is awesome (me and the sales rep had fun in one).

As you can see I like the car, I wouldn't be typing this much about it. I'm kidding on the sister question...but nah seriously is she though??

Let me know if you have questions.

Word

[dmitriylm]

^^

lol, this guy. I like how you snuck that comment in there.

[nchaurdia]

i've decided to go with a Civic SI but just negotiating a deal

hopefully i can get 22K OTD.