Acceptable mileage on a new car?

[manualist]

I got a good quote on a Sport 5 with manual transmission, but the car already has about 130 miles. I'm not sure if I should go forward with this. The thing I'm most concerned is the clutch, which is of course not under warranty. The dealership is quite a drive from my place, so I haven't got a chance to test drive it yet. The quote is for $17,700 + tax/lic, which I think is very good - can't believe this nicely built vehicle is cheaper than when I bought my 2003 Sentra SE-R SpecV.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Nurburgringer]

Good question.
I had never bought a new car before the 5.
Our 6MT was on the dealer's lot with 9 miles when we first saw it. Took it on two test drives total around 30 miles before we bought it. I did wonder how it was driven for those first 9 miles (and the couple more when an employee took it to fill up the tank before we drove it off the lot....).
Compared to the average mileage of all my former cars (over 100k) 130 miles is nothing at all, but since it was likely put on by various test drivers (and to be honest, on our first test drive I revved it up a bit higher than if I had known that I'd be buying that particular one. Not abusively, but still a few runs to redline).
If that $17,700 includes dealer prep and all document/service charges - at my dealer they were $799 and $199 respectively - that is a quite a bit better than I did! I paid $19,120 + tax and think it's worth every penny.
Good luck - post up pix and let us know how it goes!

 

[MaineMazda5]

If the car is new the clutch should be warranted for 12K (typical for most mfgrs). We have a 2012 Mazda5 6-speed with no options except floor mats and bumper guard. We got it for $16,500 as I recall (last Feb.). We asked dealer if he could find us a leftover 2010. He said they didn't do that but then made us an offer we couldn't refuse on a 2012. I think it came out to 18K with tax title etc., including our 2000 MPV as a trade.

The car now has about 10K on it. It uses 0W-20 synth. oil, which can be expensive. We've noticed it uses a quart of oil between each oil change. Mazda says this is "normal". It is likely (IMO)due to lightness of the oil. Not too concerned at this point but had dealer document it.

Overall we love the car (best mileage 34 MPG on a trip, 25-27 MPG avaerage). Minor gripes: No water temp guage, wife can't see odometer, gas guage or low gas light due to steering wheel position (she's short). She ran out if gas once. Very comfortable and fun to drive. Car is very peppy with 6-speed. We have 8 and 12 year old boys, and they have plenty of room. May not be the best choice if you have > 2 kids, since cargo room will suffer. Best bang for the buck IMO. Is long as you are good with a stick shift I wouldn't worry about the clutch.

 

[Fiji Mazda3]

You'll be fine. That mileage is normal nowadays on new cars since dealer trades on vehicles happen all the time. And the clutch should be warrantied for the first year as if it fails, that would be a quality issue. If you like it, go for it.

 

[Nurburgringer]

The car now has about 10K on it. It uses 0W-20 synth. oil, which can be expensive.

Minor gripes: No water temp guage

I just put in a ScanGaugeE in my 2012 to monitor water temp, voltage, inlet air temp (don't know what good this is but interesting nonetheless) and do all of the trip computer things that our base model 6MT is missing. Neat device.

Well I paid more ($18k did or did not include your trade-in?), but at least I got free oil changes for 1 year! lol
BTW I enjoy changing my own oil ever since I got one of these "Topsider" vacuum systems http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_390306_390306

The only thing I ever buy from Walmart is 5L jugs of Mobil 1 when it goes on sale...

Our BMW has it's filter right on top of the engine no jacking the car required. Sucks 99% of all the oil right through the dipstick tube. After getting the dealer to change the oil at ~1000 miles and again at 7500 (should take me through the 1st year) I'll try the topsider on the 5. 1st time will suck out as much as possible through the dipstick, then pull the drain plug and see how much come out. On the BMW it's about 1/4 cup.

 

[manualist]

Thank you all for helping. I'll see if they give me a decent price on my 07 Odyssey trade in.
Nurburgringer, that price is supposed to include all fees except for tax and license plate. And this car got fog lights and rear bumper guard. Manual 5's are just hard to find. Another dealership just let me know they have one on the way from Japan, but it'll be another 3 to 4 weeks. Don't know if I can resist the urge for that long

 

[MaineMazda5]

To clarify my earlier post on the cost (I just checked the paperwork): Sticker, including destination charge: $20120 plus $300 doc. fee. Thay bill of sale says they gave us $3500 for 2000 MPV which I think was worth more like $1500 (it ran well but had high miles and would have needed a lot of work soon) for a cost of $16,919. With sales tax and title the total OTD cost was $17798.

 

[Nurburgringer]

Thank you all for helping. I'll see if they give me a decent price on my 07 Odyssey trade in.
Nurburgringer, that price is supposed to include all fees except for tax and license plate. And this car got fog lights and rear bumper guard. Manual 5's are just hard to find.

After trade-in you may be walking away with no money out of pocket! I know even used Odysseys are pricey.
Unless they already put it in writing I bet they'll try to add $799 destination and $199 doc fees, but even so that'll still be a few hundred less than I paid. If that's all included you're getting a SMOKIN deal!

I know what you mean about the 6MTs. At the time the one I bought was the only one within a 100 mile radius. Luckily it was specced pretty much exactly as I would have done it. I'd have paid another $150 or so for foglights if it had them, but at $275 or so to buy them now I'll pass.

To clarify my earlier post on the cost (I just checked the paperwork): Sticker, including destination charge: $20120 plus $300 doc. fee.

That's cool. A bit more than I paid, but they offered me jack sh!t for my 5.9 Jeep Grand Cherokee on trade-in so now I'm stuck trying to sell that....
Even though we've only driven ours 300 miles I agree with you on your comments. All the complaints are minor (I'm scratching my head even thinking of any. OK, wouldn't mind a sunroof and built-in bluetooth. Not enough to lose the manual tranny though), while 5's strengths are huge.
cheers!
Kurt

 

[Richard_rsp]

I wouldn't worry too much about that mileage - It is probably from a dealer trade. When we bought my wife's 2010 CX-7, it had over 800 miles on it. While some of that was from test drives, the majority of it came from a dealer trade across the state (and the rest from being loaned to a couple while their CX-7 was being ordered). While manual 5's are in demand to us enthusiasts, a lot of dealers don't see them as being desired (and I would imagine would be willing to trade for something else).

But when you DO want a manual, you have to look for them. We had to drive over 200 miles to Daytona in order for us to get our 6-Spd Mazda5. It had 5 miles on it when we got there and 17 miles after their standard test drive route - the salesman said that we were the only people to test drive it. I wouldn't worry that it was the target of "test drive abuse". Now if it was a Mazdaspeed3, then there MIGHT be some worry of abuse!