Decided on a 3! Need help deciding!

[FairlyZ]

Alright, after a few months of deciding between a few local '8s, a 350Z and a Miata, I've finally decided on a Mazda3 4-door Sedan as my new car.

Simply replacing my wife's '99 Grand Am and I want something nice and that is going to last (with the proper maintenance of course).

I have a few local '3s I want to look at this weekend, they are on eBay for you guys to give a quick look over. The first ones a bit sketchy, 68k miles and only 10k? Compared to the other car I dunno, but then again that one could just be over priced who knows.

Black 5-Speed i Sport
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-MAZDA-MAZDA3-/170525918695?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item27b42305e7

Silver 5-Speed (Unkown Trim Level, I believe i Sport)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4dr-...6148536?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item483b83f338

Couple questions, I'm going to go over the TSBs for the '3 after this post, other than what's in there, what should I look for when buying the car. Do the sedans experience the wheel hop that the SPEED3s experience? Anything else common (or uncommon) to keep an eye and ear out for when test driving?

What I'm looking for is a non-red (lol, insurance) Sedan or Hatch with the 5-speed (wifeys got to learn sometime) in the $0~$11999 range with minimal to no problems (not big problems, such as replacing the engine mount are no biggy, if anything might help me reduce the price).

Just throw some things to keep in mind out there, any misc. info I should know. Don't worry, I'll wait.(couch)

P.S. Just realized that first one is a 2.0, forget that one.

 

[superdoughboy4]

2.0 or 2.3, they're still fun. I thought having a 2.0 would ruin the experience. Not one bit.
If the first one is the real deal, go with it. You can't beat 68k miles for $9.7k.

 

[thejeans]

first one posted is an "i" second is an "s"

the "s" model is a step up from the basic "i" model

"s" models also have the 2.3L
"i" models have the 2.0L

hope that helps some...

 

[TRUE]

the first one is the more laid back and boring one, but that is a legit price for that many miles. the 2nd car is IDENTICAL to mine, but there asking waaaaaaaaay to much for that many miles. (i would go with the 2.3 sport, hehe but that one is super high mileage so beware)