New 5 Owner!

[acb13013]

Hi All,

I joined this forum about a year ago, diligently doing my research, and now I finally have my own 5! Last night I picked up a 2009 GT in Stormy Blue with 23k mi. Woo-hoo!

 

[Robotazky]

Cool! Welcome!

What kind of options does she have? What do you plan to do in the form of mods, if any?

 

[acb13013]

Ah, I like your use of nautical terminology... She has Grand Touring trim with navigation and a roof rack.

As for mods, I'm not really sure - what would people recommend? I'll probably replace the antenna with a stubby or shark fin, I'm thinking of something to protect the front end (nose mask/bra, etc.) and rear (body-colored bumper strips).

I've read about improving handling with a sway bar, but on terrible Brooklyn roads, I'd rather keep the ride smooth.

BTW, does anyone know how to remove the OEM roof rack? The car did not come with the keys...

- Chris

 

[Robotazky]

Bras are notorious for holding dirt/rocks against the paint and tearing the paint up. I would think twice about that.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

yeah, no on the bra.

also, a sway bar shouldnt make the ride stiffer, just less roll when cornering.

 

[acb13013]

^ Thank you, I had been wondering about that. This is the first decent car I have owned (not leased), and I want to keep it clean.

 

[DKaz]

Welcome! I would recommend a 3M clear bra, basically vinyl stuck right onto the paint so there's no chance of rocks and dirt getting underneath. Or just do a Dr. Color Chip treatment every few years, I am going to order a kit in the next month or two.

Post photos, even though we've seen hundreds already.

 

[golftango]

Hi All,

I joined this forum about a year ago, diligently doing my research, and now I finally have my own 5! Last night I picked up a 2009 GT in Stormy Blue with 23k mi. Woo-hoo!

I was eyeballing that 5 on cars.com when I was shopping....at least I think it's the same one? Was it in Jersey? Congrats and welcome!

 

[thaxman]

When you get those load bars off, you can hawk them here. I bet someone would be interested. I would, but the Volvo does better @ AZ hwy speeds than the manual 5.

 

[acb13013]

@golftango - there were two almost identical 2009 GTs in the area, one in NJ and one in Westchester. Same color, trim, condition and similar mileage. I bought the Westchester one as it had about 5k fewer miles, and it was cheaper!

@thaxman - I'm planning to keep the roof racks, but I don't want to drive around with them every day! They'll only be used a coupla few times a year. I just need a set of keys to remove them. Aren't there little covers for the roof mounts too?

 

[acb13013]

Wow, I forgot I have an account here...

So, this was my 2009 GT:

Looks pretty nice, right? Well, here is what Hurricane Sandy did to her:

Totalled.

 

[chandlerGTi]

Dude, everything else OK? Cars come and go.

 

[acb13013]

Thanks, we were otherwise OK. We don't live in a flood zone, but our neighborhood lost a lot of trees. This was fortunately the worst that happened to us.

That photo was taken as the storm was just rolling in, with the winds getting progressively stronger over the next 12 hours. They let us leave work early. So I get home and as I'm upstairs changing, I hear the splintering sound of the limb breaking off, then the crunching glass a split second later. I knew it was my car before I looked out.

I didn't even drive that day, but when I parked the day before, my little girl told me not to park under that tree!

 

[Kodo]

Proud owner of a new Mazda GT 2013.
I had my sights set on this car for a long time , but was worried about MAZDA discontinuing the model since it is such a low volume seller with little or no advertising.

Cannot wait to drive down to IKEA!

 

[hibern8r]

That's terrible abc! Glad you and the family are ok. That is one massive tree sitting in the road next to your car. You gonna get another one?