So hypothetically.... Finale: NEW MAZDA 3!!! PICTURES INSIDE!!!

[McLaren]

Come on... dealers want these things moved. They'll do whatever they can to do so... especially relatively small-margin cars like the 3. All he's got to do is read the fine print.

That may be true, but I wouldn't put it past any dealer.

 

[Boundary Layer]

You should buy a car from this guy just on principle.


M

I did



It is all but official now.
At around 3:00pm today I signed all the paper work and shook a few hands and now I should be having a 2008.5 Mazda 3 Sport GT in Stormy Blue Mica (new colour for 08.5) with power moonroof delivered in the next few weeks (days if I'm lucky). I saw an MX-5 done in this colour in the showroom and when the sun hits it and it's all polished up it looks absolutely breathtaking.

All that is pending is a credit check (no problems 👍), and that they actually find one because they didn't have one optioned exactly as I wanted on the lot. My second colour choice is the Metropolitan Grey Mica, which to my eye turns a smoky green metallic in the sun. It's quite nice too but I really like the blue (ya, I do sound like a bit of a girl talking about colour this much)

edit: found this miata pic that really shows how the paint reacts to sun and shade. The blue really comes out under direct light, otherwise its dark navy.


I got it on a 60 month term, but opted for bi-weekly installments, at 0%.






Expensive day... but it hasn't really sunk in yet, and I don't expect that it will until I see the car sitting outside in the driveway and they start asking me for money. I still feel pretty positive about the deal. I wasn't able to get them to budge too much on price - I think it was only about $700 taken out of the moonroof option, and that only because I know the sales manager. Instead I pulled the "okay, your price, but my terms" kinda thing, and they have agreed to tossing in some small options for me like block heater and wheel locks, minor stuff like that, for no charge. Small victory for Brent.

No buyer's remorse whatsoever, which is great because I'm the type that typically does get it.



edit:

Naw, 10 bucks says when he gets to the finance man, the deal will suddenly change by a couple dollars, and he'll be paying a little more than he was told. However, I have not read his entire post thoroughly, so he might be on a different deal.

Actually, the biweekly installments came down because the salesrep used the wrong figures for environmental levies, and included some extended warranty coverage in his price that I didn't want. I caught both of those on the final bill and had it fixed up, and when I rechecked the numbers it actually added up properly.

 

[1X83Z]

Wow... a five year auto loan. One hell of a commitment...

Congrats!

 

[Jim Prower]

WE WANT PHOTOGRAPHS!!!

I think this makes the Mazda 3 the most popular car on the forums.

 

[Boundary Layer]

Wow... a five year auto loan. One hell of a commitment...

Congrats!

Ya. Well, I'll probably be able to buy it out before then, but since it is at 0% I'll at least not feel any extreme urgency to do so. It'll let me worry about paying down my student line of credit because the interest rate on that is pretty sickening.

WE WANT PHOTOGRAPHS!!!

absolutely, as soon as I take delivery of it.

 

[Danoff]

Ya. Well, I'll probably be able to buy it out before then, but since it is at 0% I'll at least not feel any extreme urgency to do so. It'll let me worry about paying down my student line of credit because the interest rate on that is pretty sickening.

0% ? Pssshhh. Don't pay that off any faster than you have to. That's free money. Put it towards student loans, put it in a money market, invest it in mutual funds or stocks, anything but paying more than the minimum on a 0% loan.

 

[Philly]

Nice car! Love the car. Love the color.

I'm guessing there is a reason the 3 is the most popular car around here. So now it's you, Kylehnat and Brad is about to get one. Who else?

 

[///M-Spec]

Looks like the Mazda3 Mafia has a new member.

Congrats


M

 

[YSSMAN]

Congrats my friend!

I've still got a while to wait for mine, still paying off medical bills for myself and Jenna (the Jetta). After that I'm likely to order my M3iT in the same blue color, they killed the purple option for 2008.5 on the 'i' models...

 

[Sage]

So now it's you, Kylehnat and Brad is about to get one. Who else?

Me, Jedi2016, 95GTIVR6 (Mazdaspeed), Gil’s son…

 

[Jim Prower]

It's not something I'm leaving off my list once I get a good job...

 

[franz]

Congrats 👍 and great colour choice!
Based on your Mazda3 sport test drive, it sounds so much like my Protege ES. Very solid car but a bit bumpy. I don't know about Winnipeg road condition, but recent hash weather really has been downgrading the road condition in Ottawa, and I think I may need a new suspension or getting a new car instead

 

[Boundary Layer]

Okay, got a call from the dealership and they've located a car for me. It's still on a boat so I've gotta wait two or three weeks for it to arrive in Winnipeg . The good news is that it was destined for this dealership anyways so I don't have to pay anything extra for freight or shipping, etc.

 

[Kylehnat]

Excellent choice! My feelings about the 3 are well-known . You'll love it.

 

[peeweegary]

Excellent choice man! Love the paint(im a sucker for blue stuff)👍

 

[mustangGT90210]

Excellent choice man! Love the paint(im a sucker for blue stuff)👍

And pretty women with interesting facial expressions

 

[Boundary Layer]

FINALLY!!!

I got a call from the Mazda salesman at around 10am today while at work. Three weeks to the day after I bought it, my car has finally made it's way off the boat from Japan, on and off any number of car haulers taking every detour along the way, and to the Mazda dealership to be parked somewhere between a rusty 1980 something Honda () and a golf course () behind the adjacent Hyundai building (). I just got my first glimpses of it after work.

Unfortunately, I still haven't taken delivery of it. Apparently it takes someone special to hand me the paperwork and keys, and that someone special had taken the day off... Very impressed.


As was promised, here's some pics. It's still dusty and covered in the plastic shipping material but I was so excited about it I snapped a few anyways.

​

...and my fav pic so far that kinda shows off the colour

​

a shame it's still so dirty...
More will certainly follow when the plastic comes off and some sealant and wax goes on.

 

[Sage]

Yay, new baby! And with a proper transmission.

 

[///M-Spec]

Three weeks isn't bad at all.

When I ordered my last car, I had to wait 7 weeks from order to delivery. Still, it's the best way to do it --you get exactly what you want; no more, no less.


mmmmm... cosmoline.


M

 

[Jim Prower]

YEEAAAAAY! well done!

I'll bet you can't wait to unwrap that thing like a child on his birthday...

 

[Bones Brigade]

nice. i actually have wanted one of these for a while. i sometimes wish i had purchased one of these rather than a 350z. but ive also really wanted a z. maybe in a few years i will be able to put a significant amount down on one and have two small car payments. when i want to go somewhere with more than one other person it would be nice to not have to go in my 97 escort. maybe i will trade both cars for an MS3.

 

[Boundary Layer]

Finally got my Mazda 3 after work last night.


3 shots taken by my girlfriend while I was inside signing an endless stream of paperwork:

​

A couple pics in the parking lot infront of the Liquor Mart (more were taken, but I've carefully omitted uploading the pictures the g/f got that include me smiling like an idiot, which was most of them )

​

The view of it at about 8am this morning in the driveway. Some blurring because it is taken through 3 panes of glass, but it looked so good I had to take the pic anyways.

​

Just by comparing to the earlier pics you can see the colour looks entirely different when the sun is on it right.

I love it




More pics are certainly to come. It's getting clayed/glazed/waxed today if the rain holds out long enough for me to finish.

 

[///M-Spec]

Very, very nice. 👍 Now you must endure the break-in period

You don't need to clay a brand new car. A nice sealant/wax would be a good move, though.


M

 

[Kylehnat]

[Paris Hilton]That's hot![/Paris Hilton]

Congratulations 👍. Now the fun begins!

 

[YSSMAN]

Very nice! I love the color on the hatch, its just about as perfect as the Mazda3 can come!

 

[Boundary Layer]

You don't need to clay a brand new car.

Kinda did - the dealership put some disgusting, oily tire shine all over the place, and on the drive home (highway) it splattered down the sides of the car. Might've come off with something else, but I didn't want to risk smearing it further. Clay bar is kind of a catch-all safety net for me. Plus, there was a pretty dramatic change in the feel of the finish between sections I clayed and sections I hadn't done yet, even in the spots where the tire shine didnt get to.

Post waxing pics in some big resolution!
​

These two are my fav's so far. They really show (to me) how much richer and wetter the colour got with sealant and wax.
​

My Dad and I both agree that the windows need some light tinting, and the calipers should be red or something...
​

Yup, it's new!
​

(I had to get one shot of the odometer at <100km. )
​

I still need some night shots with street lights bouncing off of it with the HID's and fogs on, and all that stuff , but it's late and raining out now.


Any suggestions on how to painlessly remove dust from the car? You can see in the pics that I'm a stone throw from an open field and there's lots of trees nearby as well. Cars of mine are treated to a solid coating of oak pollens and dirt overnight if there's the slightest wind. I'm thinking of grabbing one of those California Dusters to sweep the car clean everyday, but I'm not 100% sure if it's the best way to go.

Definitely going to get a nose bra because I do about 80% of all my driving on highways.

 

[Philly]

Ooh nice. I really like those 3 hatches, and that color makes it so much better. And it's really shiny after that wax job. 👍

Isn't cleaning a car dry pretty bad for the paint? Maybe there is a good way to do it but the VW took a rag to my car and left all kinds of scratches everywhere that took a few waxings to buff out. I just wash my car every weekend to keep it fine. It's usually dirty enough for that anyway by the time the weekend rolls around. And if you want to keep stuff from gathering on your car when it's in the driveway, I'd invest in a cover or clear a space in the garage.

A car bra would definitely be a good investment. My car has chips all over the front end that probably could have been prevented with a cover.

 

[Jim Prower]

WOW. That thing GLEAMS.

Congrats on taking delivery of YOUR new car!!!

 

[Boundary Layer]

Isn't cleaning a car dry pretty bad for the paint?

That's my fear. I've got some protection on it now though, so it wouldn't (or shouldn't) scratch the paint, but it might take the wax layer off sooner than normal. Dunno.

I'd like to be able to clear all the dust every morning before I go to work in <10mins if possible.


edit 2:

I'd invest in a cover or clear a space in the garage.

Room in the garage would be the ideal case but it isn't happening. My Dad has made it crystal clear that neither the Chev or the Camry is going to sit outside, and that I should've got something used if I was worried about leaving my car out in the elements. We've checked though, and there is room to pull all three vehicles inside in the event of a hail storm.

The Sentra will be gone this week, and we're probably selling the little Corolla soon as well so there'll be more room outside for a pop-up portable garage on the drive beside the house. It's an idea.