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Springfield Fatts posted:Mind if I ask where you are or if this was a dealer-specific pricing? Neither of the dealers in my area (north Florida) are willing to move off the 27k sticker for the 2013 with the tech pack. I'm hoping that will change when the redesigned 3s come out. Not to sound like a shill, but truecar.com is where it is at. Its free, but the 'cost' of using it is that the dealers that give you their price also get your info. I checked out half a dozen models when I first made an account just for fun and as a result half the dealers in the San Diego area where calling/emailing me the start of the next business day. Just use a fake email/phone#, and print out the price quotes to take to dealers. The dealer I bought the car from had ~9 2013 MS3s on the lot so YRMV with your price, but shop around with the truecar info and you will have no problems.
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Aug 17, 2013 21:10
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Faithiest posted:Not to sound like a shill, but truecar.com is where it is at. Its free, but the 'cost' of using it is that the dealers that give you their price also get your info. I checked out half a dozen models when I first made an account just for fun and as a result half the dealers in the San Diego area where calling/emailing me the start of the next business day. Just use a fake email/phone#, and print out the price quotes to take to dealers. I used Truecar too and was really happy with it. You could prolly get something a few hundred under the TrueCar price if you sat there and argued for hours, but walking in and knowing that the dealer was already locked into a price with all the options you want made the whole thing no pressure and easily hours quicker than the last car I bought. It's also good for comparing across models in more 'real world' dollars than MSRP.
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Aug 17, 2013 21:19
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Thanks, I had heard of Truecar a few months back when I was still in the "huh maybe I'll get a new car" phase. Now that I'm actually down to the dollars-and-cents part I'll give it another go.
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Aug 18, 2013 16:43
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Truecar really isn't that great of a deal. It doesn't take long to email dealers and get therm fighting over your business. I checked what I paid vs. the truecar price on my last car and I was about 2k under their "target price"
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Aug 18, 2013 20:46
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Bovril Delight posted:Truecar really isn't that great of a deal. It doesn't take long to email dealers and get therm fighting over your business. I checked what I paid vs. the truecar price on my last car and I was about 2k under their "target price" Plus you need to read the fine print on Truecar. The price I got "promised" included incentives that excluded 0% APR and the difference between 0% and market was greater than the incentives. The price was literally too good to be true. That said, it is a good starting place.
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Aug 18, 2013 21:27
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Bovril Delight posted:Truecar really isn't that great of a deal. It doesn't take long to email dealers and get therm fighting over your business. I checked what I paid vs. the truecar price on my last car and I was about 2k under their "target price" YMMV i guess, but i wasnt able to find anything more than $200 cheaper in my area. nm posted:Plus you need to read the fine print on Truecar. The price I got "promised" included incentives that excluded 0% APR and the difference between 0% and market was greater than the incentives. Interesting, I got the 0% with the truecar price. That said, truecar doesnt pay me and is backed by the dealers themselves so who knows. Like everything else in car buying, I'm sure its shady. gently caress that whole system forever.
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Aug 18, 2013 22:01
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Gauge install, round two. Got my replacement filter housing from the dealer and reinstalled everything, this time only tightening the nut for the sandwich plate just past hand tight with a wrench. Went for a 10 minute drive around the neighborhood and checked everything over. A slight weep at the seal between the adapter and the housing, but everything else is fine. I don't want to tighten it anymore, I think the seal may have been compromised from being overtightened before, so I'm going to email Prosport about getting a replacement. Its really minor, doesn't even drip, just enough to make the area around the seal wet. No strange noises, and oil pressure comes right up, so looks like no engine damage, thank god. Otherwise everything is great. Watched the pressure gauge more than the road on the half hour drive home. 
opengl fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Aug 18, 2013 |
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Aug 18, 2013 22:24
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Sensens are in. Front of my car looks like a monster truck now. Car feels slightly better than stock except... my rear is all clunking, meaning endlinks and a rear sway bar are in my future 
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Aug 26, 2013 19:40
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Been waiting for this for a while. I missed 77777 and 88888 so I figured I'd go for this. drat car is starting to develop little issues that cars tend to develop at this mileage as well. 
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Sep 3, 2013 17:15
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We got a 2014 3 in the other day, but I didn't notice it sitting there till today. My friend was busy so I didn't get to sit inside but hopefully I can later in the week. For reference, that's an older Mazda 6 that is parked next to it    
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Sep 3, 2013 17:48
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I prefer the less slopey rear of the old style.
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Sep 3, 2013 18:21
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Huh, I never noticed how much they look like an Infinity FX35 till those shots.
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Sep 3, 2013 19:41
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I prefer the current/old style to this one myself
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Sep 3, 2013 19:47
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I like it well enough but the previous gen had better flowing lines.
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Sep 3, 2013 19:49
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I completely forgot about these forums while I was dragging myself through school for a couple of years. I missed this thread.angryhampster posted:I missed 77777 and 88888 so I figured I'd go for this. You just reminded me that I missed my 77,777 as well. I should be able to get my 88,888 though. I'm honestly pretty excited about the new Mazda 3 styling. I know that the hatch will be a little less utilitarian and that the cubic feet of cargo space suffers because of that slope, but I've always liked that style hatch. I blame my first couple of cars on that. (1980 Chevy Citation and a '93 Saab 900) I hadn't even considered trading in my '03 Protege5 until I saw it. I was a little bitter about Mazda dropping the Protege5, so I was initially resistant to anything that wasn't a Protege. The superficial changes in 2008(?) were for the better, and I warmed up to the little bastards. I don't really know why they changed from that facia to the big, poo poo-eating grin, but it was still a pretty solid hatch. A friend get one and I enjoyed myself as much as I could on a little test drive, despite the auto transmission. Aside from the big change to the liftgate, I like the look of the front end, but I'm really disturbed by the trend of wider c-pillars on hatches. Could one comfortably rest an elbow on the door with the window down? I've been in a couple cars that had windows that didn't start until almost at the shoulder, and that's just unacceptable. (I'm aware that much of that is an unintended consequence of changing safety regulations, but I still don't like it.)
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Sep 3, 2013 20:31
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I scraped up my rear passenger door and rear quarter-panel on the pillar next to my parking stall at home. My Speed3 isn't even a year old. TO OWN A MAZDA, BRINGS A TERRRRIBLE CURRRRSE.
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Sep 5, 2013 21:58
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Phy posted:I scraped up my rear passenger door and rear quarter-panel on the pillar next to my parking stall at home. My Speed3 isn't even a year old. TO OWN A MAZDA, BRINGS A TERRRRIBLE CURRRRSE. I didn't have too many problems until I moved back north from Virginia. I mean, there was that idiot who couldn't park her Ram and so put a tire in my door, but other than that, nothing happened to my Mazda for the first couple of years. However, I've had three accidents in three years, another person put a tire in my door (on a panel that had just been replaced following the first accident,) and someone tried to steal my wheels, leaving the nuts loose so that I sheared off three at 80 mph. I'm not sure if it's a Mazda curse or a New Jersey curse.
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Sep 6, 2013 02:08
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IOwnCalculus posted:I run Pennzoil Platinum in mine with 7000 mile intervals, since almost every drive for me is a long one. Did you fix this problem before you got rid of it? I have the same issue on mine, it tracks to the right on acceleration. Alignment was fine, though it became much more noticeable after a tire rotation. I'm going to start with replacing the rear motor mount to see if that helps.
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Sep 8, 2013 23:44
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Ugh, I can't win with any of my cars lately. Tried to chase down the clunk in the rear of the Mazda5. Found a loose sway-bar end-link. Replaced it, still clunks. Whatever is going on, everything I grab and give a good shake looks and feels tight. I tried driving with the rear sway-bar disconnected, still clunks. Took out everything inside from the back and drove about with the doors and hatch open, still clunks. I've inspected the shock mounts, they're not cracked, I've inspected the springs, they don't seem to have any imperfections. I did note that the eccentrics for caster adjustment were nowhere near each other in setting. Not sure what to make of that.
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Sep 9, 2013 00:27
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I thought I was different, I thought it would never happen to me, but the Mazda curse and inattentive engineers at my office struck [my rear passenger side door]. I went to wash my black MS3 after neglecting it for several weeks and discovered a vertical dent/crease. I think a PDR could fix it, but why even bother.
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Sep 9, 2013 01:23
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trouser chili posted:Ugh, I can't win with any of my cars lately. Tried to chase down the clunk in the rear of the Mazda5. Found a loose sway-bar end-link. Replaced it, still clunks. Whatever is going on, everything I grab and give a good shake looks and feels tight. I tried driving with the rear sway-bar disconnected, still clunks. Took out everything inside from the back and drove about with the doors and hatch open, still clunks. I've inspected the shock mounts, they're not cracked, I've inspected the springs, they don't seem to have any imperfections. I did note that the eccentrics for caster adjustment were nowhere near each other in setting. Not sure what to make of that. Hope you eventually figure it out. Mine does the same thing. Ive drat near replaced everything and it just comes back.
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Sep 9, 2013 01:47
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Satchmo posted:Did you fix this problem before you got rid of it? I have the same issue on mine, it tracks to the right on acceleration. Alignment was fine, though it became much more noticeable after a tire rotation. I'm going to start with replacing the rear motor mount to see if that helps. Nope, never did. Factored it in among the many reasons pointing towards "trade it in" instead of "keep it". I do still miss the retarded level of fun that car had, but I don't miss every day being a new opportunity to find random things gone wrong.
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Sep 9, 2013 06:29
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Definitely recommend disconnecting or charging your battery if you're going to leave your car sitting for a long time, I was a dumbass and didn't (and couldn't get anyone else to do it while I was overseas) and it kilt the original battery. Lo and behold, that's not covered on the "everything's covered" plan that comes as you pay. Was cheaper/faster to just fix it myself. Two new questions: How much should a good auto-tint job run for a Mazda 3 hatch (2011)? Highly rated place here advertises for like $289 but honestly that seems a bit steep, but I really have no idea. Also, are the any after market pieces that you can attach to the top of the rear bumper? You know like many cars have to cover the plastic/metal bit just on the edge of the trunk or just inside the doors? I use my 3's hatch and expanded back seat a lot to haul furniture, dogs, etc, and the plastic on top of the rear bumper has taken a bit more of a beating than I expected. Seems (I hope) like putting a rubberized plastic piece that fits along the top of the bumper would be the best solution (and hopefully not look too bad).| Thanks for all the help from a long while back guys, it was much appreciated. Still think this is the best looking hatch on the road, bar none. Starting to get annoyed that I can't use my headlights during the day *and* be able to see my gauges on the dash, but I have always been demanding like that.
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Sep 11, 2013 20:27
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B!G_$W@NG@ posted:Also, are the any after market pieces that you can attach to the top of the rear bumper? You know like many cars have to cover the plastic/metal bit just on the edge of the trunk or just inside the doors? I use my 3's hatch and expanded back seat a lot to haul furniture, dogs, etc, and the plastic on top of the rear bumper has taken a bit more of a beating than I expected. Seems (I hope) like putting a rubberized plastic piece that fits along the top of the bumper would be the best solution (and hopefully not look too bad).| There's a bumper step plate/bumper guard, basically goes on with double sided adhesive. Buy it via a Mazda parts site.
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Sep 11, 2013 20:31
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B!G_$W@NG@ posted:Thanks for all the help from a long while back guys, it was much appreciated. Still think this is the best looking hatch on the road, bar none. Starting to get annoyed that I can't use my headlights during the day *and* be able to see my gauges on the dash, but I have always been demanding like that. You know you can push in the headlight dimming knob and it'll turn off the dimming, right? It's right next to the speedo, you normally turn it to adjust the dimming.
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Sep 11, 2013 20:40
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air- posted:There's a bumper step plate/bumper guard, basically goes on with double sided adhesive. Buy it via a Mazda parts site. Is there one that goes all the way across? Unfortunately that dip in the middle is what's been gouged on mine kefkafloyd posted:You know you can push in the headlight dimming knob and it'll turn off the dimming, right? It's right next to the speedo, you normally turn it to adjust the dimming. It turns *and* pushes? Ye gods. I knew I'd messed with it before but being overseas made me stupid(er).
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Sep 11, 2013 21:07
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B!G_$W@NG@ posted:Definitely recommend disconnecting or charging your battery if you're going to leave your car sitting for a long time, I was a dumbass and didn't (and couldn't get anyone else to do it while I was overseas) and it kilt the original battery. Lo and behold, that's not covered on the "everything's covered" plan that comes as you pay. Was cheaper/faster to just fix it myself. I checked in both CO and FL on my 12 Speed3 and it was always between $160-$180 at decent shops. I also of course got a couple bids in the $230-$250 range but that just seemed silly and overpriced.
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Sep 11, 2013 21:14
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Franco Caution posted:I checked in both CO and FL on my 12 Speed3 and it was always between $160-$180 at decent shops. I also of course got a couple bids in the $230-$250 range but that just seemed silly and overpriced. drat, everywhere here is trying to sell me $200+ at basically the low end, what the hell, Texas? Any recommendations for what film is actually worth a drat? They are all touting top-of-the-line crap at $400+, annoying
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Sep 11, 2013 22:14
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I'm in the market for a new car, and I was initially wanting a 6-speed AWD car. That left me with two options that I could tell.. The Subaru WRX STi and an Audi. Both seem to be out of my budget currently. So I widened the scope to a good looking 6-speed with enough pep to make me happy. The current research I'm doing is on the MS3, which looks very promising. There appears to be a dealer in my area with one, so I'm going to try to take it for a spin soon and see how I like it. I don't know why I'm posting in here other than to ask something that will be answered once I get to that dealership and try it out: I'm a big guy at 6'3" and 330lbs. My current car is a 2000 Celica, which I actually manage to fit in rather decently. So do you folks think I'll fit alright? Size 15 shoes kind of made shifting a bit interesting at first in the Celi, but after a while I figured out how to position my legs/foot to best access the petals individually and not combined, so I suppose I'll relearn that in a new car. This would be my first turbocharged car, is there anything different I should know about operating one? Oh, I guess there's another thing... I'm seeing that there's no sun/moon roof option, something I rather like in my current car. I'm reading across the web that people advise against it because it weakens structural integrety, and others advise against it because of potential leaks. I've never had a leak on mine (except that one time I left it open and a sudden downpour came through my city), so that's not too big of a concern, but it's also from the factory, and not aftermarket. So.. has anyone here had experience with an aftermarket sun/moon roof? I'm looking for one that cracks open and also slides. Even if you don't have experience, what would your opinion be of trying to get one?
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Sep 12, 2013 22:24
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As far as your height, the MS3/3 hatch will be solid. Dealer told me I wouldn't have fit in the regular 3 but the hatch has a ton more headroom (I'm 6'3). Somehow an aftermarket sun/moon roof seems an invitation for issues but I don't really know. The biggest complaint I recall hearing for anyone concerned with performance was that they were very heavy compared to those without. Considering going to a truck customization shop to see about getting a full bumper step strip, will let you guys know how dumb I end up being. Dealer will do my tint for $250, something about ceramic? But it's got a lifetime warranty and at least this way any dealer would cover it for me.
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Sep 12, 2013 22:42
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Aexo posted:I'm in the market for a new car, and I was initially wanting a 6-speed AWD car. That left me with two options that I could tell.. The Subaru WRX STi and an Audi. Both seem to be out of my budget currently. So I widened the scope to a good looking 6-speed with enough pep to make me happy. The current research I'm doing is on the MS3, which looks very promising. There appears to be a dealer in my area with one, so I'm going to try to take it for a spin soon and see how I like it. The reason the speed3 has no moon roof option while the regular 3 does is that the speed3 puts additional structural bracing in that space, so you'd be losing even more stiffness than usual. Also a moon roof drops the ceiling height by a couple of inches and may very well be too low for you. Sit in a 3 with a factory moon roof before you sacrifice extra stiffening for an aftermarket one, I'm only 5'11" and I couldn't deal with a moon roof on even a 3 hatch.
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Sep 13, 2013 03:10
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Aexo posted:I'm in the market for a new car, and I was initially wanting a 6-speed AWD car. That left me with two options that I could tell.. The Subaru WRX STi and an Audi. Both seem to be out of my budget currently. So I widened the scope to a good looking 6-speed with enough pep to make me happy. The current research I'm doing is on the MS3, which looks very promising. There appears to be a dealer in my area with one, so I'm going to try to take it for a spin soon and see how I like it. A sunroof will kill your headroom anyhow. Also, aftermarket ones are terrible. Actually as sunroofs are terrible, but aftermarkets particularly so.
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Sep 13, 2013 05:37
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The dealer let me borrow a MS3 for the day, and I have to do at least two hours of driving today  I'm sitting a little more upright than I'm used to, but I think it would be like that in any car I get that isn't a pure sports car. But for the most part, I've enjoined what little time driving I've had. Late edit: Had to drive ~60mi for a presentation (and I'll be driving back later), and it was a lot of fun. Super easy to pick up speed, even when already at highway speeds. Aexo fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Sep 13, 2013 |
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Sep 13, 2013 12:57
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I think my favorite thing about my MS3 was the first time I tried out 3rd gear on the highway. Little thing surprised me.
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Sep 13, 2013 21:15
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Franco Caution posted:I think my favorite thing about my MS3 was the first time I tried out 3rd gear on the highway. poo poo, I dropped it in to fourth after someone finally got over and still picked up and ran! I almost feel like there's information overload, though. So many things to look at! Average/Active MPG, Average speed, Range, Turbo pressure, so many steering wheel buttons, OMGTOUCHSCREENBUTTONSMUSTPRESS! I just wish the seat went a little lower. My roomie who is an older gent, but a car enthusiast, said I might be able to ask them if they can lower it more. Is that something I can ask for? I'm pretty much sold on the MS3. Just waiting for my insurance to give me back my wrecked car and a check. And the blue LCD thing feels a little out of place. I haven't Googled, but I'm guessing there's an aftermarket replacement in red? Everything else in the car is hued red, like the tach/spedo and seats...
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Sep 14, 2013 02:16
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Aexo posted:I just wish the seat went a little lower. My roomie who is an older gent, but a car enthusiast, said I might be able to ask them if they can lower it more. Is that something I can ask for? I'm wondering about this too, as it's my only big gripe with my 2012 Mazda3. I'm only 6'2" but I occasionally have to hunch forward to see suspended traffic lights.
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Sep 14, 2013 19:35
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Earlier today, the sales dude called me to see how I liked the test drive as he was off yesterday. I took that opportunity to ask, and he said he'd check for me. Waiting on an email back. He might have gotten the address wrong though, since most people do when I recite it. But whatevs.... I'll have an answer eventually, I'm sure.
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Sep 14, 2013 22:50
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I discovered today that my 235 series Hankook Ventuses on 17x8 RPF1s rub the at the very least on my driver side rear fender lip. I had some passengers and hit a bump and heard something scrape. When we got to our destination and I looked at the tire, it had some bits of rubber shaved off on the very edge of the tread, but no sidewall. I think I either need to get my fenders rolled or figure out how to do it myself, but I don't want to screw anything up. And, I have stock suspension so I didn't think I would have to do this. How much should I expect to pay, or do you all have success stories on rolling your own fenders?
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Sep 14, 2013 23:58
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Had a local install day here in Utah. I had HPFP internals, RMM (CP-E xFlex), and Hawk HPS Brake pads and rotors. Awesome!
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Sep 15, 2013 01:59
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Anybody here drive an MS6?
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Sep 15, 2013 02:33
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