Looking to trade my beloved Honda for a Mazda 3

[kckev99]

After many years of driving a 2dr coupe Prelude I'm looking at picking up a new 2010 Mazda 3.

I'm looking for a fun practical car that is also economical and reliable. I had recently drove a 2010 Mazda 3 GX - Automatic for a total of 1600 kms and was quite impressed with the fit/finish and practicality. It was quite a bit lacking with power however handling was impressive for a base model.

I am encouraged to find out that Mazda is offering 0% financing on many of the new models.

Can any experienced users give any advice when shopping for a new 2010? Anything in particular I should be aware of. I am likely looking for the 5dr GX with 5 speed. The only options I would probably opt for would be A/C and possibly Cruise.

Many thanks...

[RECREATIONAL_ANXIETY]

Go see Jeff at Mazda of Toronto.
Oh, and you probably can't even buy a GX in Canada without A/C. I know it's listed as an option, but I'm pretty sure you don't have a choice.

[tcbted]

I had the exact same criteria in purchasing my Mazda 3 ... I wanted the 2 litre motor for fuel efficiency, I actually preferred the 5spd stick over
the 6 spd, and I wanted to keep the price low. I ended up with a GX sport.

I almost never use cruise, and it was packaged with alloys, sunroof, and alloy rims on the GX sports on my dealer's lot.
So, I went with a base GX sport. On the hwy, I'd prefer quieter tires than the OEM rubber. Around town, I love the pulling
power of the 2litre motor and 5spd. Tons of fun squirting in and out of traffic.

I do miss the rims, but that's an easy fix.

You'll love the day to day handling and fun to drive factor after coming over from a Prelude.
I've owned three Preludes, and the Mazda3 is a nice transition.

Good luck in your search.

[sarujo]

+1 for Jeff at MoT as well! I bought my Sport GX 5 spd from him about a month ago and it was great.

I can't imagine a car *without* A/C these days - it should be standard equipment on all cars! Even thou the summer is only a few months, the A/C comes in handy for defrosting and humidity reduction.

As others have commented, the 5spd is a pleasure to drive, and she really takes off once you hit 3rd and open up. The 2.0L motor is the way to go as gas will continue to creep up over the coming years. :)

[RECREATIONAL_ANXIETY]

The 2.0L motor is the way to go as gas will continue to creep up over the coming years. :)
Well, once gas gets too high I'll just disconnect 1 cylinder - then I'll have a 1.8L :chuckle

[sarujo]

That'll be some smooth ride then! :chuckle


Well, once gas gets too high I'll just disconnect 1 cylinder - then I'll have a 1.8L :chuckle

[RECREATIONAL_ANXIETY]

That'll be some smooth ride then! :chuckle

Of course, I'll remove one wheel to balance it out... lol

[3Sheets]

Go see Jeff at Mazda of Toronto.
Oh, and you probably can't even buy a GX in Canada without A/C. I know it's listed as an option, but I'm pretty sure you don't have a choice.

You can get them w/o A/C (I did).

[kckev99]

I had the exact same criteria in purchasing my Mazda 3 ... I wanted the 2 litre motor for fuel efficiency, I actually preferred the 5spd stick over
the 6 spd, and I wanted to keep the price low. I ended up with a GX sport.

I almost never use cruise, and it was packaged with alloys, sunroof, and alloy rims on the GX sports on my dealer's lot.
So, I went with a base GX sport. On the hwy, I'd prefer quieter tires than the OEM rubber. Around town, I love the pulling
power of the 2litre motor and 5spd. Tons of fun squirting in and out of traffic.

I do miss the rims, but that's an easy fix.

You'll love the day to day handling and fun to drive factor after coming over from a Prelude.
I've owned three Preludes, and the Mazda3 is a nice transition.

Good luck in your search.

I'm glad to here from a former Prelude owner. I have been very reluctant to let the Lude go however the need for practicality and lower operating cost has taken higher priority. I'm glad to here that it will be a smooth transition. I do lots of hwy driving hence Cruise would be a nice option however not absolutely necessary. As for the tires.... i figure if i'm not happy with the OEM tires I can always get after market tires for a reasonable price.

Thanks for the encouraging words.

[kckev99]

The 2.0L motor is the way to go as gas will continue to creep up over the coming years. :)

The main reason for me choosing the 2.0L is that the Preludes 2.2L engine running on Premium fuel is sucking my wallet dry these days. Paying $1.13/L @ 9.8L/100km is quite discouraging. The recent introduction of the HST has put me over and convinced me to suck it up and sell her for a new car. Recent finance incentives from Mazda has made it more of an incentive to buy new. Even better my wife has a corporate discount allows her to buy at Mazda at factory Invoice pricing + %2 + any manufacture incentive can also be eligible.

Hence i'm seeing more pros to buy a Mazda than any other car.

[RECREATIONAL_ANXIETY]

You can get them w/o A/C (I did).

Wow, I'm surprised. I assume you ordered one without A/C?

[3Sheets]

Wow, I'm surprised. I assume you ordered one without A/C?

Yes. They never have any on the lot so have to go searching the surrounding dealerships. I've never had to have one "ordered" (1994, 2004 and 2010), but I'm sure it can be done. Obviously the wait would be longer.

It would be bad business to offer it as an option if they actually didn't make any without. Its one of the reasons we choose Mazda - we're not "forced" to have A/C.

[sarujo]

Do you live way up north, or do you just like to torture you and your passengers when driving in the hot summer/humid days?? :chuckle




You can get them w/o A/C (I did).

[kckev99]

Do you live way up north, or do you just like to torture you and your passengers when driving in the hot summer/humid days?? :chuckle

Sunroof and Open road is all you need if Air Conditioning is too much of a luxury. When the A/C finally went on my 13yrs old Nissan Altima SE w/280K kms all I needed was the sunroof and windows down with open road :).

To reduce wind noise all you have to do is tilt the roof and crack open the FR pass window and Rear driver side window. It causes some sort of cyclonic affect in the car and moves the air very quickly.

[Mr Fatty]

being stuck in traffic for the bulk of my commute home is a necessity for me! I remember driving my 94 Civic CX hatch without AC in downtown Toronto bumper to bumper traffic a few years ago, where getting from Adelaide and university to Adelaide and Jarvis took the better part of 20 minutes, with my windows down (lol, both of them manual), the seat all the way reclined, but me sitting super upright because I was dripping wet through my dress shirt.. LOL... I do not miss that one bit...

[Elusivellama]

I feel that A/C is necessary when it's raining... removes moisture from the inside of the windows. Unless non A/C-equipped cars have some other method of drying out the interior.

[RECREATIONAL_ANXIETY]

I feel that A/C is necessary when it's raining... removes moisture from the inside of the windows. Unless non A/C-equipped cars have some other method of drying out the interior.

.... Towels... lol

[sarujo]

Why don't you just cut the floor out of your car while you're at it Fred Flintstone style! :chuckle


.... Towels... lol

[Elusivellama]

Why not just hold your breath? Then the windows won't fog up as fast!

[Rob23]

i just use rain-x anti fog and the windows are always clear. even in the rain.

[Kevin@nextmod]

Go see Jeff at Mazda of Toronto.
Oh, and you probably can't even buy a GX in Canada without A/C. I know it's listed as an option, but I'm pretty sure you don't have a choice.

correction, you can get a base base GX without AC. Our dealership recently sold one to a man that don't like AC and coincidently, its a GX hatchback. So i can tell you that it is possible.

[RECREATIONAL_ANXIETY]

correction, you can get a base base GX without AC. Our dealership recently sold one to a man that don't like AC and coincidently, its a GX hatchback. So i can tell you that it is possible.

Thanks. 3Sheets clarified this a few days ago. So it is possible to get one without A/C.... but I bet they're prety rare.

[wormburner]

Even better my wife has a corporate discount allows her to buy at Mazda at factory Invoice pricing + %2 + any manufacture incentive can also be eligible.

I got the same deal (2% above invoice) through a corporate plan with my workplace. But the dealership was not anxious to give it to me. In fact, I had to ask the sales consultant to redo the contract 3 times because the "sale price" was higher than it should be. They hope that you won't check. So be sure to review all the numbers carefully - and bring your own calculator. In the end I got what I wanted, but sheesh. A corporate plan is a corporate plan - it's in writing for goodness sake.
Good luck with your purchase. I too gave up my beloved Honda for my new 3. But I think I'll be more than pleased.

[kckev99]

I got the same deal (2% above invoice) through a corporate plan with my workplace. But the dealership was not anxious to give it to me. In fact, I had to ask the sales consultant to redo the contract 3 times because the "sale price" was higher than it should be. They hope that you won't check. So be sure to review all the numbers carefully - and bring your own calculator. In the end I got what I wanted, but sheesh. A corporate plan is a corporate plan - it's in writing for goodness sake.
Good luck with your purchase. I too gave up my beloved Honda for my new 3. But I think I'll be more than pleased.



Did you try negotiating a price before asking for the corporate discount just to see if it was really a better deal?

How do you know what the invoice price is?

My sister has CarCost membership so not sure how legit that is though.

Apparently if you don't take financing and pay all out cash they give you an additional $2k discount.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Did you try negotiating a price before asking for the corporate discount just to see if it was really a better deal?

How do you know what the invoice price is?

Corporate deals are YMMV...

Anyone can offer a CAA member discount or a Fireman / Civil employee discount etc...

I can offer a "your socks match" discount.

It all boils down to what should be a painless and transparent transaction, but I have heard of many horror stories.


My sister has CarCost membership so not sure how legit that is though.

Apparently if you don't take financing and pay all out cash they give you an additional $2k discount.

You can finance the car at a non-subvented rate and still get the $2K + tax discount.

[kckev99]

Corporate deals are YMMV...



You can finance the car at a non-subvented rate and still get the $2K + tax discount.

What is a non-subvented rate?

[Jeff-TheBiz]

What is a non-subvented rate?

currently 5.75%

[3Sheets]

currently 5.75%

That would be THE current non-subvented rate. I think the question is "what is the definition of non/subvented"?

Basically, if you negotiate the financing to include interest (5.75% vice 0%), you get the $2K reduction because you are paying interest to the bank instead of Mazda (although Mazda can negotiate a lower rate they pay to the bank based on volume). So, if you pay $17000.00 for 60 months at 0% (subvented rate), you pay 283.34/month. If you pay $15000.00 ($2K reduction) at 5.75% (non-subvented rate) for 60 months, you pay 288.25/month (and end up paying out $17,295.00 after 5 years).
Either way you look at it, Mazda sells cars and the bank makes money.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

That would be THE current non-subvented rate. I think the question is "what is the definition of non/subvented"?

Basically, if you negotiate the financing to include interest (5.75% vice 0%), you get the $2K reduction because you are paying interest to the bank instead of Mazda (although Mazda can negotiate a lower rate they pay to the bank based on volume). So, if you pay $17000.00 for 60 months at 0% (subvented rate), you pay 283.34/month. If you pay $15000.00 ($2K reduction) at 5.75% (non-subvented rate) for 60 months, you pay 288.25/month (and end up paying out $17,295.00 after 5 years).
Either way you look at it, Mazda sells cars and the bank makes money.

However if you pay off or trade the car in before the 5yr is over you save $0 on the 0%.. and you will not have equity.

If you are financing less than 14K the 5.75% is cheaper all around.

[3Sheets]

However if you pay off or trade the car in before the 5yr is over you save $0 on the 0%.. and you will not have equity.

If you are financing less than 14K the 5.75% is cheaper all around.

That's a good point. With zero %, what you see is what you get. If you go the non-subvented way, there are possibilities to save more $.

[Jackal]

After many years of driving a 2dr coupe Prelude I'm looking at picking up a new 2010 Mazda 3.

I'm looking for a fun practical car that is also economical and reliable. I had recently drove a 2010 Mazda 3 GX - Automatic for a total of 1600 kms and was quite impressed with the fit/finish and practicality. It was quite a bit lacking with power however handling was impressive for a base model.

I am encouraged to find out that Mazda is offering 0% financing on many of the new models.

Can any experienced users give any advice when shopping for a new 2010? Anything in particular I should be aware of. I am likely looking for the 5dr GX with 5 speed. The only options I would probably opt for would be A/C and possibly Cruise.

Many thanks...

Last year I sold my Honda for a 2010 Mazda 3 GT and never regretted it. Of course it wasn't a Prelude but a Civic so the transition was great because of the amazing difference in torque and hp. :chuckle