Looking at 06 Mazda3i Touring

[CSVT#49]

Well I'm new to Mazda3's and my wife and I just started looking at them because she really wanted one. So I'm posting this to gather some information before we buy.

First of all are there any know failures or issues with these cars that people need to watch for? For example I own an 98 SVT Contour and these cars are known for oil starvation issues during certain driving situations. So it's recommended to run a full 6-6.5qts of oil rather then the 5.7qts called out in the manual.

Also what are the major differences in the 04-06 vs the 07-08 Mazda3's? I know the dealer was telling us the 08 had the steer by wire. Do the older Mazda3's have steer by wire was well? The 06 3i touring we looked at today didn't appear to have it as I could make out a shaft going down to the steering rack that looked like it would have come from a steering column.

My wife also would like to have fog lights and a rear spoiler (not lip style). The dealer on a new car charges $400 for a spoiler and $300 for fog lights. I see paint matched spoilers on eBay for $90+ shipping and fog light kits that bolt in for $138+ shipping are these worth it or are they garbage.

Any thing you guys can think of that would be helpfully would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Mocoso]

Did the dealer tell you that the car doesnt need spark plugs either and how because its fuel injected it doenst need an air filter too? *sigh* how do these sales guys manage to sell products is beyond me...

NO the 3's are NOT steer by wire..the gas pedal is the only drive by wire (and some would argue the braking given the ABS computer can override)

Im not aware of any known failures or issues with regular 3's...

I would be very very wary of "paint matched" ebay stuff - you will most likely find that it doesnt "match" quite the same or last as well over the years... As for the fog lights.. if your handy DYI then yes I think you can find a better deal than 300 bucks... check the marketplace section here in the forum for both the lights and the spoiler( prob end up with better quality stuff than ebay)

 

[CSVT#49]

Did the dealer tell you that the car doesnt need spark plugs either and how because its fuel injected it doenst need an air filter too? *sigh* how do these sales guys manage to sell products is beyond me...

NO the 3's are NOT steer by wire..the gas pedal is the only drive by wire (and some would argue the braking given the ABS computer can override)

Well I'm glad I go to forums to find the real truth. I was going to be quite impressed if they had a steer by wire system on these cars at the prices they are offering them at. Steer by wire is a very tricky thing to nail down. Trying to match the frictional feedback in the steering wheel is well... extremely difficult to say the least.

Also I'd most definitely consider myself a DIY hands on individual. Once we pick up a car if it doesn't have those options I'll look around on here to find the parts before eBay that's for sure.

 

[Mocoso]

The more I think about it the less Im even sure the gas is "drive by wire" on the normal 3's... I know its so on the MS3 but frankly Im not positive on the regular 3's- Im sure someone will pitch in with confirmation or point out my erroneous ways...

Yea I find it amusing the salesguy would think a 15-20K car would readily come with steer by wire...(btw Ive searched and I have yet to find a single production car which is steer by wire... the only ones Ive seen are the darpa autonomous vehicles which are all research projects... biggest blocking item is safety and reliability)

 

[CSVT#49]

Yea I find it amusing the salesguy would think a 15-20K car would readily come with steer by wire...(btw Ive searched and I have yet to find a single production car which is steer by wire... the only ones Ive seen are the darpa autonomous vehicles which are all research projects... biggest blocking item is safety and reliability)

I can't think of any automotive applications of steer by wire yet, but it is coming. There currently is construction equipment out there that use steer by wire. Well plus I'm working on a project for my company where we are developing it for one of our new machines, which is why I know it's such a pain to get working perfectly .

 

[CSVT#49]

I should add more to this post. The reason why I started it, and hence the title, we looked at a 2006 M3i touring today and everything looked good. However the car carries a salvaged title. It only has 8,780 miles on it and the asking price is $11,995. With a new 08 priced at $19,575 we were considering it. Although the huge draw back is one it's salvaged title and two it no longer qualifies for the factory warranty. One thing I noticed to was as we were driving it I could here a slight wine from the front right of the car. After we parked I popped the hood and it appears to be coming from the area of the power steering reservoir. The sound becomes more apparent when steering the car. That is also where the car was hit. Apparently the passenger side fender and door were replaced, but I could see no frame damage, which is why I'm left wondering why it has a salvaged title. Not sure if we will continue to consider buying it, but it did seem like one helluva deal at first.

 

[robin2660]

I should add more to this post. The reason why I started it, and hence the title, we looked at a 2006 M3i touring today and everything looked good. However the car carries a salvaged title. It only has 8,780 miles on it and the asking price is $11,995. With a new 08 priced at $19,575 we were considering it. Although the huge draw back is one it's salvaged title and two it no longer qualifies for the factory warranty. One thing I noticed to was as we were driving it I could here a slight wine from the front right of the car. After we parked I popped the hood and it appears to be coming from the area of the power steering reservoir. The sound becomes more apparent when steering the car. That is also where the car was hit. Apparently the passenger side fender and door were replaced, but I could see no frame damage, which is why I'm left wondering why it has a salvaged title. Not sure if we will continue to consider buying it, but it did seem like one helluva deal at first.

Do not walk. RUN away.

 

[CSVT#49]

Do not walk. RUN away.

Yea pretty much decided that already.

The thing was she didn't want to spend more then 12k if she didn't have too. However with what she wants (moon roof, fog lights, spoiler) I don't think she will be able to pick one up for that. I mean I can install the spoiler and fog lights for a lot less then what the dealer would charge us, so picking up a Mazda 3 in silver with a moon roof for 12k or under... I don't know. To get the moon roof it has to be a Mazda3i touring or higher.

 

[Mocoso]

Glad you RAN from it... the extra gadgets arent worth the reliability question marks... and I may be wrong but dont some insurance companies not insure a car if it has salvage title?

 

[Adammazda06]

if your wife can wait a few months, i would. the mid year product enhancement that has been talked about for the speed3 color change is also introducing a 3i value package. it will include fog lights, sab/sac, 17 inch wheels and few other goodies. its posted here in the lounge area, can't miss it. they also said pricing for this new package won't be too far off from a 3i touring with the sab/sac package. so approx. 18k-19k msrp.

 

[flipstylex]

welcome to the forum . Well, if you don't mind spending a lil more , why not get the ms3 instead.... for a reg gt... it should be 3 k more to get a sport ms3. u might as well go turbo, both cars are real good, only difference is the speed. also, by the end of this year, there's gonna be more color choices for the speed3, try the gray and white, u might like it
!!

 

[CSVT#49]

if your wife can wait a few months, i would. the mid year product enhancement that has been talked about for the speed3 color change is also introducing a 3i value package. it will include fog lights, sab/sac, 17 inch wheels and few other goodies. its posted here in the lounge area, can't miss it. they also said pricing for this new package won't be too far off from a 3i touring with the sab/sac package. so approx. 18k-19k
msrp.

She can wait. Where is the post though? I can't seem to find it... have a link?

 

[Adammazda06]

She can wait. Where is the post though? I can't seem to find it... have a link?

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123687977

i work at a dealership, and my advice would be to wait. production should begin in january and hopefully be delivered around march. this new package has everything you want and then some, for a price that won't really change.

 

[CSVT#49]

Well I thought I would revive this thread just to say... we finally bought one.

As of a couple of weeks ago my wife bought a 09 Mazda3 i-touring value 4-door and got a heck of a deal on it. She is absolutely loving it. However I'm tasked with a few things (which I have already posted on) installing a Viper 5900 Alarm/Remote start system and determining whether we should use the dealer for all routine maintenance in order to receive free oil changes for the period of the warranty instead of just doing it myself.

 

[UHATEIT]

my wife wants a 3 sedan in white, i think it's a total chick's car (the sedan version) and she seems to like it. Tho the car she has right now (jetta) is a chick's car as well.