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Thinking about a Mazda3

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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Thinking about a Mazda3

What do you guys think of it? I really like the styling; it's realy European. The engine has 160 hp / 150 lb/ft torque and is all go. Plus, we all know how good Mazdas are when it comes to suspension. I priced it online and it comes out to 18K with all the options I want. I figure if I wait until Labor Day the sales will lower that a couple grand and with my car only owing about 3K by then I will probably be able to affort it. What do you guys think?
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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go for it. bang for the buck
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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I think you should wait for the 05. Because most new cars tend to have lot of problems in their first year such as the 7gen civic.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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go for it. they are pretty nice
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Usually only the first couple hundred cars have more problems than usual.

I say go for it, good power, good styling, awesome options, and amazing value.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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i like the sedan but the hatchback is a no. which are you looking at?

mazda's a really good feel to them, like the doors feel solid when you shut them. they are not long-term cars though i dont think, from my friends of mine have experienced (high mileage becomes an issue). also being owned by ford kinda scares me after all the problems we have had with the explorer and mustang.

but thats just my opinion, just make sure its what you really want.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Mazda is not owned by Ford. Ford has a 33% stake in Mazda, which does not mean they own them.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Originally posted by PJG
good power, good styling, awesome options, and amazing value.
Zoom zoom! Like the commercials, right?

You don't need marketing to convey an image. If you need marketing, you don't have image. Aside from the Miata, the low volume MSP and to an extent, the RX-8, I'm not particularly impressed with Mazdas.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Originally posted by dragoon
Mazda is not owned by Ford. Ford has a 33% stake in Mazda, which does not mean they own them.
Kinda funny that when you goto Ford.com them and click "browse OUR brands" it states mazda as one being owned by Ford Motor Company.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Thats because in Japan 33% qualifies are a controlling share, so as a technicality they are owned by Ford. But insofar as control over the design process is concerned Ford hasn't any variety of control for the most part. Though, if I'm not mistaken the 2.3 litre engine in the 3 may be shared w. the Focus somewhere down the road.

This has been gone over a thousand times, every time the 3 gets brought up.

But hey, at least Mazdas are still manufactured in Japan, which is more than I can say for our Civics.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Still, if ford has ANY ownership in anything people should be scared, VERY SCARED. lmao
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Oddly, I was thinking the same damn thing myself. They look pretty sweet, you can get all the extras like Xenon, DVD Navigation, etc... for something like 18K (i think)....


Sounds pretty pissah to me....
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Originally posted by 2k2EXCOUPE
Still, if ford has ANY ownership in anything people should be scared, VERY SCARED. lmao
I would be afraid of an Aston Martin, too. Just for different reasons.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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Ford is a 33% shareholder in Mazda, as well as Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Range Rover. Mazda still operates 100% independently of the parent company, meaning they research, design, and produce their cars in Japan. There are a few exceptions, like Honda, some Mazdas are built in North America. A few 6's I believe. The only thing Mazda gets from Ford is funding. Ford technologies are available to Mazda, so that Mazda can take what it wants, but of course this is all at Mazda's own discretion.

Think about it like this. If you owned an Italian Restaurant, and had a large investment in a Chinese Restaurant, but not large enough to run the place, just large enough to make some money out of it.....wouldn't you advertise the Chinese Restaurant in your Restaurant as a good place to try? It's all economics and marketing people. Don't believe the ricer hype.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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I saw a dark Mazda 3 around my town riding on 17's. My buddy told they were stock (as an option, that is). Man, with those rims, it was one sweet looking ride.

I say go for it, but as someone before said, wait till next year's models so they can work out any flaws.
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Old Feb 8, 2004
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i havent heard anything negative yet. personally i think they look good. i wouldnt mind one myself.
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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go for it...definitely a nice little car. i wouldnt expect it to be a much better performer than the civic tho...same class car. what the brochure says about HP and real life are different things. but i havent heard anything bad about them either.
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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Not a bad car. . BTW I haven't had many problems with my '01.
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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i test drove the 3 last weekend. the interior is SWEET !!! i test drove the gray S with navigation and xenon lights. looks very nice. the exterior is nice too. something about the trunk of the 4 door thou that looks a lil stupid. the trunk is too small for a sedan and too big to be considered a hatchback. its kinda retarded. at first i was gearing towards the sedan cuz i think the hatchback was ugly. but boy was i wrong. i think the hatchback looks better than the sedan and more spacious. although comparatively speaking, my civic sedan is more spacious than the 3. the drive was really smooth as well.

the lowest they offered me is $19,900 for the S and $10,500 for my 01 civic. of course salesmans are known to be bullshieters so i didn't pay them no mind.
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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Do it. For that price and those options, you can't beat that. HID's, Navigation System, etc. Damn 3.

And for those ignorant people who like to spout about why not to cause it's the first year in production, that's a bunch of BS. I've had my 2001 Civic since December of 2000 and NO PROBLEMS.

P.S. That's why they make WARRANTIES.
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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It was a nice ride
I got to view and sit in it at the Los Angeles auto show and it was nice.
The raced out one that they had there was the ish.

But, it is now a ford company and they said that some of the parts on that car are also the ford focuz parts. If that doesn't bother you go for it.

I like the concept drawing

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Old Feb 9, 2004
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Originally posted by dacivic
I think you should wait for the 05. Because most new cars tend to have lot of problems in their first year such as the 7gen civic.

That's true in most cases, in that the cars in the first year of production take some time to work out the flaws. However, the 3 is based off of the protege (mechanically and electronically) and I would predict they have it right on this car. I'm regretting getting the 03 civic sedan when my 01 was damaged. I probably should have gotten a Protege 5 instead, but the rates and price was much better on the Civic. I say you go for it.
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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How much do those cars weigh? I'd say go for it, but I haven't had the chance to test drive one yet. Though, the price sounds right for what you get.
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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i just looked at the car on the mazda website and in print it looks like a killer deal. you can get the base mazda6 engine, leather, navigation system, the works and still not break 21k. i think thats a great deal.

im not sure about buying another new car, especially a fwd car, but id test drive this one when im in the market. can you imagine having the EX come with the base accord engine? and for only 2k more than an LX...who wouldnt go for that?? (besides honda...:_dohl;

anyway, good luck with your decision.
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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It's really, really ugly. Maybe it's not a total piece of crap, but I certainly don't like it. I'd save up for a 6 or give my money to a different company.
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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Well, it's a mini-6 as far as I'm concerned. I'm going to go test drive one soon, probably this weekend when my friend comes down from NYC. She's going to need a car soon and I told her to go for the 3. She wants a Lex 470, of course, but I told her since she's moving to a new city (Miami) she might as well start with a small car and save some money. She can afford the 470 (she's a Dr.) but for the city it's better to have a small car until you learn it.

I would be buying in Aug. or Sept. when the 05s are out and I can get a sweet deal on an 04. Or, I might wait until June or July and get some of those incentives they give. I priced it with all the options except the Leather and Nav Sys. and it comes to 19.600. If I can knock a few grand off that then I'll def. buy it. It also depends how much money I get for mine in a trade in. I owe 6800 right now and if they give me over 10 for my 02 LX with 35K miles it's a done deal!
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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I love the hatches look 5-door
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Old Feb 9, 2004
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i just drove a mazda 3 5door and maybe it was just me, but damn that thing was slow. like slower then our cars stock. it has 160hp and what like 148 tq, but it was really not zoom-zoom. the 5dr looked so awesome though, i might buy that car on looks alone, but damn if it wasnt slow
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Old Feb 10, 2004
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ACCELERATION (Seconds)
Zero to 30 mph: 2.3
40 mph: 3.9
50 mph: 5.5
60 mph: 7.4
70 mph: 10.2
80 mph: 13.1
90 mph: 17.4
100 mph: 22.8
110 mph: 30.1
Street start, 5-60 mph: 8.6
Top-gear acceleration, 30-50 mph: 11.7
50-70 mph: 11.7
Standing 1/4-mile: 16.0 sec @ 87 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 118 mph

BRAKING
70-0 mph @ impending lockup: 169 ft

HANDLING
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.87 g
Understeer: minimal moderate excessive


From Car and Driver Magazine. The car is no slug, especially for a compact 4 cylinder.
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Old Feb 10, 2004
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Originally posted by 2k2EXCOUPE


mazda's a really good feel to them, like the doors feel solid when you shut them. they are not long-term cars though i dont think, from my friends of mine have experienced (high mileage becomes an issue). also being owned by ford kinda scares me after all the problems we have had with the explorer and mustang.

I don't think Ford interferes with the companies they own, from what I heard.

I personally like the Mazda 6 alot but the 3 has a strange looking trunk. Kinda reminds me of a tricked out Accent.
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