just bought a 08 cx-9....any tips?

[jlares26]

So I just picked up a 2008 Mazda cx-9 GT with 28k on it for $21,000. Wife has a 2004 mazda 3 GT so we obviously like our mazdas.
30 days after picking it up somebody T-boned it in the walmart parking lot (guy passed outfrom a seizure and jumped a 12 foot wide planter). After 3 weeks in the shop and a cost of $7,600 to his insurance my car is back and better than ever.

I already know about the issues with the interior door handles scratching as they were horribly scratched when I bought it and researched it before I bought the car. I also know about the relays for the blowers and am replacing them tomorrow for a whopping $8. LOL

My question is are there any other issues or problems you guys have had that I need to be aware of? Any tips or tricks for improving performance like intakes exhaust etc...?
Other than the scratched door handles the car was showroom clean and I am only the second owner so I feel I got a pretty good deal. I will post some pics later of the car and a couple of the sad ones where a 1986 minivan is plowed into the side...haha

Thanks in advance for any replies and for reading my ramblings...

 

[ceric]

Congrats!

Changing engine oil and transmission fluid might be a good area to start.
If AWD, change differential fluid.
Did you have a Mazda dealer do a full inspection before you bought it?

I have an '08 GT AWD. It is in general very reliable. Only minor problems happened to mine (relays, power socket fuse, window blocked inside door, and that is about it - Oh, there was a recall on the power seat - check that out also).

 

[IgoZoom]

So I just picked up a 2008 Mazda cx-9 GT with 28k on it for $21,000. Wife has a 2004 mazda 3 GT so we obviously like our mazdas.
30 days after picking it up somebody T-boned it in the walmart parking lot (guy passed outfrom a seizure and jumped a 12 foot wide planter). After 3 weeks in the shop and a cost of $7,600 to his insurance my car is back and better than ever.

I already know about the issues with the interior door handles scratching as they were horribly scratched when I bought it and researched it before I bought the car. I also know about the relays for the blowers and am replacing them tomorrow for a whopping $8. LOL

My question is are there any other issues or problems you guys have had that I need to be aware of? Any tips or tricks for improving performance like intakes exhaust etc...?
Other than the scratched door handles the car was showroom clean and I am only the second owner so I feel I got a pretty good deal. I will post some pics later of the car and a couple of the sad ones where a 1986 minivan is plowed into the side...haha

Thanks in advance for any replies and for reading my ramblings...

Great taste in vehicles, my friend! I have a 2006 Mazda3 s 5-door that I purchased new in Dec 2005 and I bought a new 2012 CX-9 GT FWD (Pearl White, w/ Bose/Moonroof Pkg) on 11/28/2012. Two awesome cars!

My Mazda3 only has 92k miles on it and it has held up very well, not just mechanically, but the interior plastics and fabrics, paint still looks almost new. The only weak spot in the interior is the pathetic excuse for carpeting- durability falls somewhere between tissue paper and dryer lint! And it traps every dirt particle that ever touches it and no amount of vacuuming gets rid of them, they are embedded in the carpet for eternity! My shoe had worn a hold thru the driver's side mat in about 14 months. When I removed it to see how bad it was, it hadn't just worn thru the mat, it had worn thru the carpet and the metal floorplan was peeking thru the hole! I'll admit that I wear hard-soled dress shoes and have size 13 skis for feet, but even in my cheapest Civic this never happened!

Around the five year mark, it literally started falliing apart in several spots in the driver's footwell. It would just pull apart and the white insultation would fall out and make a mess everywhere....they used class-leading quality plastics on the dash and durable fabric and foam in the seat design, but it's obvious where they saved a few bucks...hell, a rubber Honda-Element-like floor would have worked better than self destruct black fuzz....

Thankfully, there's a guy in Canada who works in the carpet biz and was so disgusted with the carpeting in his 2005 Mazda3 that he did something about it! He created a pre-formed one-piece carpet replacement and used ultra-high-quality carpet fiber and even added some insulation to cut down on road noise. It costs a little under $300 and he claims it can be installed in under two hours.....it took me two days, lots of cussing and throwing tools thru the sheetrock garage wall and almost stripping out a bolt for the passenger side seat track in my car...but 20+ hours later, with a few bruised and bloodies knuckles, it looks better than it did new and even smells new.

If your carpet has seen better days, check out http://mazda3carpet.com/

Removing and re-installing the front and rear seats is pretty straightforward. Just be very careful with all the wires running under the passenger seat (they're for the weight sensor to determine whether to deploy passenger airbag) and if you damage or detach them, it can be a real pain....although it took me six hours to finally figure out that was the problem, but just be gentle with all connections when removing the seats. The center console is easy to get out, but reinstalling it making everything line up perfectly is a lot like trying to get toothpaste back into the tube!!!

Peace out!