Lets see what everyone drove before getting the MS3

[Bengilante]

First car: 1981 Cutlass Supreme (felt like a land yacht) -- not a super awesome car, but I was 17 at the time, and hell, it was a car.

Next: 1989 Pulsar (227k miles, college car, was on it's last legs)

Third: 1997 Taurus (pulsar was dead, needed something and it was a good deal at the time)

 

[AutoXRacer]

First car was a 1984 Ford Thunderbird Turbo.
Second was a 1998 Chevy S10 Pickup extended cab (lease).
Third a 1999 Mazda Miata...modded for autocross CSP class; traded her in at 204,000 miles for my MS3.
Current 2008 Mazdaspeed 3.

 

[chufa]

94 Geo Prizm
99 Audi A4 1.8T sedan
01 Audi S4 sedan
08 Mazdaspeed 3 GT

It was tough letting go of my S4, that car was like my baby; but trading it in made economical sense, and maintenance was becoming a burden. The MS3 is half the price of a new S4, yet delivers almost the same in terms of fun and features. Only things I miss are AWD (easy lauches, no torque steer, winter-friendly) and low cabin noise at high speeds. As to which car is faster? Can't say for sure, which is a good thing. The MS3 feels stronger/faster on the butt dyno, but the S4 probably gets the better performance numbers because of the better launch.

 

[Hikaru9]

I wonder the same thing sometimes. How are people able to afford all these cars. I'm just getting started in like. My wife and I leave in a very inexpensive area of the U.S. Between both of us we make decent money and we're financially savvy, but we could not dream of buying an MS3 until her protege and my P5 are paid off.

I hear ya. I guess it all depends on priorities. Like... food, clothing, women... who needs those? =p j/k

I need to get myself a bike before getting married. I have a feeling that my future wife will not approve of it. >_<

 

[TRSpeed3]

First i had a 92 VW corrado G60(no pics)
Next i had a sentra Ser spec v

Next came an 06 6.0 GTO

heres a sound clip of my exausht.

With my monaro conversion..

 

[Bengilante]

Nice GTO!

 

[TRSpeed3]

Nice GTO!

Thanks...Mods were
Kooks long tube headers
Corsa Sport Exausht
Fast intake mani
LPE intake
Scorpion Rocker arms
Fast TB
TB Coolant Bypass
Custome Tune By Jerremy Formatto using HP Tunners
Drag Bags
Rear Diff Cover
Holden front bumber
i put down 405whp and 415wtq with all mods listed....gotta find the dyno sheet......

 

[dichiee]

Stage 2

 

[08MicaSpeed3]

Nice GTO. I still want one as a track toy.... but that is more of a wish these days as things change with life.

I will go down the list of what I drove and what my husband and I currently have.

1st car - 1985 Ford EXP I beat that car up and it came back for more.
2nd car - 1983 3.8 Mustang - It was the ugliest Mustang you have ever seen.
3rd car - 1990 Mustang - Much better then the 1st one.
4th car - 2000 Toyota Corolla - Some one made an illegal left turn in front of me
5th car - 2001 Toyota Corolla - Nice but super boring also not cheap fully loaded.
6th car - 1995 Dodge Neon I got this to so I could get ride of the car payment.

Got Married and gained
1988 Mercury Cougar 5.0 - totally pimp (Gone)
1985 Toyota 4x4 lifted and can take one heck of a beating.(Gone)
1990 Toyota 4x4 pick up to replace the 85 after he rearend an explorer.
2000 Pontiac Firebird - just over 400 hp to the tires 11.72 in the 1/4
Then we bought the 2008 Black Mica Speed 3. It's mine to drive.

 

[ZooMIN3]

I just have to ask and if it gets into too much personal info, that's fine, but how have so many of you owned so many 'new' cars in a row? Is it just buying/selling/etc and losing some dough here and there, is it wrecking them and getting a new one (insurance much??), how does it work? I know if there's any truth at all to the finances thread then I don't make what my peers do, I'm about $10k behind, but benefits are ridiculous... However, if I made $70k a year and my last three cars were an Evo 8, a STI, and an LX Civic and they were all made after 2002, I'd be a broke m/fer! I had to layout Excel spreadsheets and get some money out of a mutual fund before I decided I /could/ buy a MS3 IF I found the right dealership willing to give me exactly the deal I needed and exactly what I wanted in trade for my '05 3s. I KNEW my Speed3 was a pipe dream if I didn't get my way, so I kind of 'gave' it to them on the MS3 price, still argued off delivery charges and the 'window treatment' they scammed on, and I got over KBB /best/ value for my 3s trade-in. For that I'm infinitely thankful for my Mazda dealership - when I got there they already had a very nice bill of sale drawn up with every price and the exact interest I wanted, which was below prime by about 0.5%, and the trade-in value correct... No 60 year old 'managers' to talk to about how I'm 'cutting him pretty close' to the quick, nothing.

Lease Probably? lol

On topic...

1998 Chevy Metro... purlplish blue color... 1.3 liter!! WOOT
2001 Ford Focus (sitting outside collecting dust)
2008 Speed3 (current)

 

[Jays07MS3]

For more of previous rides, here's the older topic on this subject - http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123680092

Damn, some of you have gone through a lot of cars!!! (boom05)

I'm 31 years old and got my first car at 16.

76 VW Bug - Fuel injected piece of crap. The injectors kept clogging and cost me a crap load. I though Bugs were supposed to be cheap. I loved it though and had it 6 years. Fond, fond memories

95 Chevy S-10. Great little pickup that would never die. Put 120K miles on it and the only thing that went wrong with it was a clogged fuel filter.

97 Eclipse GST - mods listed in sig. Great car. Loved every second of it until it started to break down on me at 120K miles. Still think its one of the sexiest looking cars out there. Got me completely hooked on turbos.

00 Pontaic Grand Prix GTP (ex wifes old car) - superchared fun but had some major mechanical problems after about 60K.

07 MS3 GT -Great car with tons of power. Feels a little to refined sometimes and I miss that raw feel of my Eclipse sometimes. I don't like not having full control over the throttle plate

 

[BlackJack]

This should be a sticky! Damn nice cars everyone!

 

[n|njutsu55]

Hey guys I'm new and I thought I would chime in. I got my first car when I was 16. I just turned 24 2 weeks ago.

1997 Toyota Camry ( Great car that my parents gave me .....kept it till I turned 23)

1967 Mustang Fastback (Fun car ......I rebuilt it with my uncle. It was the first car I learned to work on and I still miss it)

2000 Civic Si ( Excellent motor and tranny, I did I/H/E and I was satisfied. I sold it to a good friend of mine and I still see the car every now and then)

1998 Eclipse GSX ( My first experience with all wheel drive. I rebuilt a 6 bolt with a big 16g, threw on a front mount, safc, etc, and developed a really bad lead foot. It was a fun car but the transmission was crap. After replacing the motor I bought a spare tranny (came with the motor for only 250 bucks for both) but never got around to testing it out). even though I had fun with it, I was glad i never sold my Camry. The mits only worked 7 to 8 months out of the year on average.

2006 Subaru WRX (Best car I've ever owned besides the speed. I miss the awd and the boxer grumble) (2thumbs)

2007 Mazdaspeed 3 (You guys know the deal with this thing) (lol2)




Heres a little pic of the mits and the Rex next to each other. The rex with cobb stage2 and a downpipe is sti fast if not faster. The mits only had about 312whp. Good times have been had with all my cars. I wish it were possible for me to keep them all.

 

[staples187]

2000 Honda Accord V6

 

[CTGrey02]

I just have to ask and if it gets into too much personal info, that's fine, but how have so many of you owned so many 'new' cars in a row? Is it just buying/selling/etc and losing some dough here and there, is it wrecking them and getting a new one (insurance much??), how does it work? I know if there's any truth at all to the finances thread then I don't make what my peers do, I'm about $10k behind, but benefits are ridiculous... However, if I made $70k a year and my last three cars were an Evo 8, a STI, and an LX Civic and they were all made after 2002, I'd be a broke m/fer! I had to layout Excel spreadsheets and get some money out of a mutual fund before I decided I /could/ buy a MS3 IF I found the right dealership willing to give me exactly the deal I needed and exactly what I wanted in trade for my '05 3s. I KNEW my Speed3 was a pipe dream if I didn't get my way, so I kind of 'gave' it to them on the MS3 price, still argued off delivery charges and the 'window treatment' they scammed on, and I got over KBB /best/ value for my 3s trade-in. For that I'm infinitely thankful for my Mazda dealership - when I got there they already had a very nice bill of sale drawn up with every price and the exact interest I wanted, which was below prime by about 0.5%, and the trade-in value correct... No 60 year old 'managers' to talk to about how I'm 'cutting him pretty close' to the quick, nothing.

Go look up the income thread. I'm sure some are living beyond their means, but others can pay for it. I only have 1 car payment with 5 cars, and I hope thats gone shortly.

 

[dan1101]

New MS3 owner as of yesterday. Pics and observations thread coming...

My last daily driver, which I still own, is a 98 Ford Contour. It has the 2.5 Duratec V6 and 5-speed transmission, a rare combo. It is a great handling car with decent power, just a little too plain for me. I did add the SVT dual exhaust and the factory 12-spoke rims, but people still think it's an Escort or Taurus.

I also own a 91 Mustang GT (nearly mint), 95 F-150, and 06 Honda Shadow Aero.

 

[Vindikacione]

Good Thread: These are in Order from Highschool until now.

82 Toyota Celica
82 Volkswagon Diesel Truck
95 Nissan Pickup
97 Honda Accord
89 BMW 525i
96 Opel Astra Station Wagon
98 Chevy Venture
02 Ford Explorer Sport Trac
03 Chevy Venture AWD Warner Brother's Edition*
92 BMW 324tds Station Wagon*
07 Mazdaspeed3 GT*
*Still have

Future Purchase: Used or Off Lease- Mazda CX-9, Honda Odyssey, or Mazda 5

 

[altspace]

i drove a honda crx si for 16 yrs, and really had no intention of getting a new car. i also subscribe to all the 5 major car mags and when i started reading the reviews for the ms3, that changed my mind. when all the mags basically say "buy this car, best bang for the $" you know you have to start paying attention. 1 test drive is all it took. i'm looking to keep my Red Rocket for a loooong time- who knows what type of cars will be around in 15 yrs??

Drove the P5 for 3 years and thought about a MS3, then decided on something not so practical this time around. Sorry I'm not part of the team. I did test drive a few times.

 

[Derek88]

I'm only 19, but I love flipping cars. Most of these I got at a steal and sold them for NO LESS than what I paid! I bought all of these except the first 2.

1966 Mustang. Was bought to restore. Sadly, this is as far as it got

1988 Toyota pickup. Still my DD (but technically it's my dad's truck). Only 150,400 miles as of today and running just as well as any legendary 22RE

I wanted a fast car. I found the cleanest '99 T/A one will ever see. Garage kept, never did see rain, detailed every week (I worked at a detail shop). It had the SLP lid, flowmaster muffler, and some other s***

Then I wanted a more professional DD instead of my truck. So with the T/A payment, I still bought this 2003 A4 5spd with 21,000 from my mom's company- it was their company car and the lease went up. (DIY black grill and 20% tint)

Well I sold the T/A and the Audi payment was getting to me, so I sold it too. I wanted a tuner car that I could make fast and still look good. I then took the money I made from the Audi and made a horrible decision... this '97 DX

Finally, I realized that Hondas are cheap to work on but expensive to make both fast AND daily driver reliable. So I opted to take out a loan for my MS3. I'm finally happy with a car!

The end.

 

[pbr]

1971 Saab 99
1972 Saab Sonett
1969 Saab Sonett
1977 Saab 900
1979 Honda Prelude
1980 Nissan 300Z
1982 Mazda RX7
1979 Volvo Bertone
1985 Volvo DL turbo
1986 Volvo 760
1989 Mazda 929
1990 Mazda 929
1991 Mazda Navajo
2001 Ford explorer sport trac
2002 Isuzu Vehicross
2004 Mazda Rx8
1993 Mx3 gs
2007 Mazdaspeed 3