14,XXX mile report

[shoogerfree]

I understand where you come from. Before the Speed3, my car was also a Veedub(a 2000 NB), and I know what you mean when you state that it was trouble prone. In my case, my bad experience led me to ignore the idea of purchasing a GTI, which I consider a fun car. I recall discussing this with another member in another thread and he also had a trobublesome VW; there are several of us here from what I've seen.

So far, the Speed3 is exactly what I wanted after such a troublesome experience, in that I've had 0 problems. But a solid car can become a hassle if you have a bad dealership. In my case, my Bugs problems were compounded by this, and from what I read in stockms case, I think that also has a lot to do with his problems, though I might be reading things wrong.

I'd reccomend you also search/ask about the dealership that you intend on using, whatever car you end up choosing.

This is the second GTI I've owned. It's a 2003 20th anniversary edition. Super fun little car and looks really cool even in stock form. But the problems are aggrevating little things that turn out to not be so little when it comes to the price of the repairs. The CEL stays on constantly. Not to mention every time the battery is disconnected, the throttle body has to be reset by a mechanic. I'm at my wits end with this thing. Unfortunately the negotiating at the Mazda dealership today didn't go very well. I'm convinced car salesmen are the spawn of the devil.

 

[Super Unique]

This is the second GTI I've owned. It's a 2003 20th anniversary edition. Super fun little car and looks really cool even in stock form. But the problems are aggrevating little things that turn out to not be so little when it comes to the price of the repairs. The CEL stays on constantly. Not to mention every time the battery is disconnected, the throttle body has to be reset by a mechanic. I'm at my wits end with this thing. Unfortunately the negotiating at the Mazda dealership today didn't go very well. I'm convinced car salesmen are the spawn of the devil.

Walking off their lot was the best thing you did all day long. Give em time to hang, spinning, with no other buyers in sight. Eventually their need to eat ramen noodles will outweigh their desire for caviar.

 

[shoogerfree]

Walking off their lot was the best thing you did all day long. Give em time to hang, spinning, with no other buyers in sight. Eventually their need to eat ramen noodles will outweigh their desire for caviar.

Yeah. it was getting heated and he was getting angry and trying to force me to sign my name. He made the numbers confusing and was lying about things. I don't know how these people sleep at night. I wish I had a way of knowing what dealer invoice really is on the MS3 sport. I know it's not what he was saying it is.

 

[08_MS3_GT]

i got the so-called 'invoice' prices from two different dealerships when i was out shopping for cars, and the two values were actually quite close. might have even been identical.

in retrospect, the easiest way to get a good deal on a new car is via someone you know - odds are most people have a friend or acquaintance somewhere in a dealership that can help out, even if it's not a mazda dealer. @ least they'll be less likely to mess around or be dishonest.

 

[Super Unique]

You can get a deal thats acceptable by educating yourself with prices obtained on the net. Things tend to go a little easier if you have purchased from the same dealer in the past, and you calmly negotiate, willing to walk if needed to keep them at bay. The last time around they got a bit angry with me because I had a worksheet showing my deal down to the penny, accounting for trade in price, sales tax, title and tag fees etc... They don't like to negotiate like this because they can't shift numbers around. Keep in mind, your estimates need to be quite accurate for that tactic to work. I had set a reasonable trade value based on the vehicles true value in my market area. I had also brought my own financing to the table which can get them a bit riled up. Be prepared to say no to a lot of crazy extras once the paperwork starts rolling. They usually sweep you off to a "finance" area to "close" the deal and fill out all the needed paperwork.

 

[08_MS3_GT]

i DEFINITELY experienced the same thing. the salesman was trying to coax me into putting down a signature - immediately after a test drive, he asked "so, you want to take this car home today?" as he was putting a contract in front of me. my immediate response was "no, i want to look at the numbers first." he also tried to get me to put down some money and take the car home 'just for the night'. BS...

sometimes i feel like auto salespeople have no soul. too bad for my salesman that i'm not a sucker, not to mention that i knew more about the car and associated payment structure than he did!

 

[SwampAss]

34k, 14k @ elevated boost and NO problems at allllll.