Potential Mazdaspeed3 buyer

[ecniemann]

Pros: everything that has already been said here and on other threads, which is a lot!

Cons:
1. Tires: you will definitely require all seasons or snow tires depending on climate if you get snow or ice. Even if your climate is warm, the Potenzas will last maybe 15000 miles.

2. Exhaust drone: Personally I could do with a quieter exhaust, although most would disagree with this.

3. Torque limiter based on steering angle: Sure, it is suppose to protect idiots, but in reality makes it dangerous when you floor it to get out into traffic and go nowhere. And then to make it worse, when you do not require the power anymore as you are straightening the wheel in traffic, the turbo comes on really hard.

4. Aftermarket HU does not go well with existing trim and hole it fills in. I'm getting tired of integration with OEM radios.

5. Kind of a dumb one, but a lot of salt and debris during winters or heavy rains gets into the intercooler intake, under the gaskets and weatherstripping, etc. under the hood. As a result, you have to open the hood and clean all these nooks and crannies regularly, which takes time vs just quickly wiping around the hood lip on most cars.

6. Oh yeah, due to the engine rocking so hard under hard acceleration, third will sometimes miss, although supposedly engine mounts and short shifter with bushings helps with this.

 

[coololddude]

car is slow, mileage sucks, no room for anything, not at all practical, costs to much, ha, ha, ha--i love being an ASS!!

 

[ezekielwhore]

car is slow, mileage sucks, no room for anything, not at all practical, costs to much, ha, ha, ha--i love being an ASS!!

ive seen worse. but good try (yawn)

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

A few points

hellooooooo mazdaspeed owners!!! just looking for some pros/cons about the mazdaspeed3. and wut better way to do it but to ask fellow MS3 owners! so lets hear it. here are some things that are on my mind...

- grand touring worth getting?
- do the mpgs bother you much?
- any future mazdaspeed3s to wait for or just snatch an 08?
- reliability?
- insurance rates?
- best offset for 18s?
- how much did you get your ms3 for?

at the moment i own a honda fit. hence the mpg question. ive had it since it first came out (so about 2 yrs and some months). ive actually test drove a friend's ms3 and i was really impressed. and since my work recently acquired mazda, im not too worried about getting a good deal. here are some pictures of my fit, just to make this thread not so boring

Practical hatch will fit LARGE items
Gorgeous, curvaceous, muscular exterior styling that really gets the blood pumping everytime you see it- especially from the rear and front 1/4s. The fenders and nose are beautifully done. I've parked next to much more expensive European cars and didn't think the 3's syling was out of place at all. What's funny is that I didn't think I'd like to styling having come from a 4 door Mz3.
Fast when you want to be without being musclebound.
More refinement and top-notch engineering than a car at this price has a right to be. People may disagree but most engineers will tell you that some of the greatest engineering is realized when you need to design at a price point. Mazda really engineered the hell out of this car.
Excellent fit, finish and attention to detail. Sure the leather isn't sourced from a BMW supplier BUT the sides are soft-touch and it appears that it will wear extremely well.
I have the GT and feel that the extras are worth it. I also have Nav which I feel is a bit overpriced but worth the motorized "coolness" factor and is still hihgly usable and convenient.
The Bose system is OK, but an HK system I heard in a Subaru Outback blew it away.
Refinement and excellent build quality equals reliability. Despite some early issues with engine mounts and some other parts issues I think the 2008 year is solid.

Of course you will always hear from the bananaheads who mod the hell out of the car and then complain when things break.

The only real competitors to the 3speed that offer more performance and equal build quality is Subaru and Mitsubishi but those products are over and beyond $30,000. I also doubt those cars offer anywhere near the refinement that teh 3speed does.

Downside:
The car does have intermittent buzzes that come and go
The paint is chip-sensitive (our Mazda 5's paint is a helluva lot more durable)

 

[tiagotiago]

Pros: everything that has already been said here and on other threads, which is a lot!

Cons:
1. Tires: you will definitely require all seasons or snow tires depending on climate if you get snow or ice. Even if your climate is warm, the Potenzas will last maybe 15000 miles.

2. Exhaust drone: Personally I could do with a quieter exhaust, although most would disagree with this.

3. Torque limiter based on steering angle: Sure, it is suppose to protect idiots, but in reality makes it dangerous when you floor it to get out into traffic and go nowhere. And then to make it worse, when you do not require the power anymore as you are straightening the wheel in traffic, the turbo comes on really hard.

4. Aftermarket HU does not go well with existing trim and hole it fills in. I'm getting tired of integration with OEM radios.

5. Kind of a dumb one, but a lot of salt and debris during winters or heavy rains gets into the intercooler intake, under the gaskets and weatherstripping, etc. under the hood. As a result, you have to open the hood and clean all these nooks and crannies regularly, which takes time vs just quickly wiping around the hood lip on most cars.

6. Oh yeah, due to the engine rocking so hard under hard acceleration, third will sometimes miss, although supposedly engine mounts and short shifter with bushings helps with this.

+1

I'm also full of praise for the car like most of the other posters, but ecniemann probably covers all the other bases you'd need to know. Tough I disagree with the exhaust, since I don't find it annoying.

Reliability wise, I can't comment since I have barely 2K miles on mine, but it does seem better put together than my previous car (2K New Beetle).

But for the subjective things like exhaust, leather seats (which I love), and those little things, you should try and go for a nice long-ish test drive and see how it works for you.

The Mazda 3 should change for M.Y. 2010, but there may or may not be a Mazdaspeed version of that car released immediatly.

Good luck.

 

[UHATEIT]

5) insurance will certainly be more than the fit, but its really not terrible. some people have even managed to trick their insurance into giving them rates for a regular 3, which would be a steal.

how did they do that? please explain, I would like to try it myself I know its much much cheaper for the regular 3 when i got quoted

 

[///M Compact]

You're already used to FWD, but I wasn't. Me, I stupidly thought I'd try something different from my usual diet of RWD sport sedans/coupes, but it only took me a couple of months to realize my mistake. I am bored to death with it- and I'm the type of guy who keeps a car for five years or more. The car is dead-nuts reliable and averages @25 mpg, but it just isn't a good fit for me.

 

[mr_mazda329]

I am also about to buy a MS3. Been lurkin here for a couple of days and finally test drivin one here tomorrow. Hopefully buying on friday. The miata is going to be a full track car and I need a nice DD.

 

[RelliMS3]

how did they do that? please explain, I would like to try it myself I know its much much cheaper for the regular 3 when i got quoted

I didnt trick my insurance company but they charged me only marginally more over the rate of a regular 3

 

[Super Unique]

Insurance companies base their rate off the VIN number, which they know is a high performance version of the 3. Some of the extra risk I think may be absorbed by additional safety features on the speed3 though, like curtain airbags and much better brakes.

 

[imac]

how did they do that? please explain, I would like to try it myself I know its much much cheaper for the regular 3 when i got quoted

i think i misspoke there... also might be thinking of stories i heard about the new SRTs being insured for the same rate as a standard caliber.

anyway, what i meant was that in a few cases (whether csrt or ms3, cant remember) i've heard it mentioned that when people got their insurance quote, it came up as nothing different than the standard 3. sounded like an insurance company screw up, not something the owner did. sorry for the confusion.

 

[ezekielwhore]

i dunno guys. im starting to have second thoughts on getting the car. there really hasnt been one good reason for me to get this car. dont get me wrong, its a dope car. just dont know if its worth getting rid of a practical car for a faster car. i dunno...baaah.

 

[bjjer]

i dunno guys. im starting to have second thoughts on getting the car. there really hasnt been one good reason for me to get this car. dont get me wrong, its a dope car. just dont know if its worth getting rid of a practical car for a faster car. i dunno...baaah.

If your having any kind of second thoughts dont buy it. Your car looks perfectly good, gas is cheaper with it and its a Honda, good cars.

 

[imac]

i dunno guys. im starting to have second thoughts on getting the car. there really hasnt been one good reason for me to get this car. dont get me wrong, its a dope car. just dont know if its worth getting rid of a practical car for a faster car. i dunno...baaah.

that statement needs to be edited as such:

" just dont know if it's worth getting rid of a practical car for a FASTER BUT STILL IN ALL WAYS PRACTICAL car."

never been in a Fit, but from seeing them on the road, they dont look very big. the mazda has a ton of room in it to put stuff in. last couple years when i moved back to school, i did it in a celica, which was painful at best. this year, in addition to the other stuff, im taking my 100 watt amp with me, and dont anticipate any problems whatsoever.

if its the gas you're worried about, then i think you might be a little askew. you're likely gonna have to pony up around $10k to upgrade (dont know what you would try to sell the fit for, so thats just a rough estimate) but if you have the money to do that, then the increased spending in gas is water under the bridge.

all i really have to say about this is that with this car, it comes down to a simple economic principle: opportunity cost. look at what you get for how much you have to pay for it. you might be spending some more cash, but IMO, its more than well worth it for what you get in return.

 

[Kain]

I gave the Fit some thought before I bought the MS3. They aren't luxurious, but the interior is highly configurable and probably has more useable interior room than the 3. But I wanted some creature comforts and power, so the 'speed it was. Otherwise, I might be rocking a Fit right now.

 

[tiagotiago]

i dunno guys. im starting to have second thoughts on getting the car. there really hasnt been one good reason for me to get this car. dont get me wrong, its a dope car. just dont know if its worth getting rid of a practical car for a faster car. i dunno...baaah.

If you have a practical car, that you feel happy about and that works for you, you may not have to get a new car. That said, i do find the ms3 pretty practical, there's a thread around here about the biggest/strangest things people have carried in their speeds. But you will feel the ms3's fuel consumption over such a frugal car as the Fit.

Still, it's better you're having second thoughts about it than, say after you've spent your money. Good luck!

 

[AutoEuphoria]

That's a hard personal decision to make. I had the same issue...had an '04 SVT Focus, but decided I wasn't happy with how slow it was, and wouldn't be happy spending $3k+ making it less reliable and still only be where a stock MS3 is. Things started going wrong on the Focus and I decided now was the best time. Yes, it's costing me $200 more a month, but in my eyes it's worth it because I have a warranty again, and I have a car that I ENJOY driving.

 

[ndedomin]

I gave the Fit some thought before I bought the MS3. They aren't luxurious, but the interior is highly configurable and probably has more useable interior room than the 3. But I wanted some creature comforts and power, so the 'speed it was. Otherwise, I might be rocking a Fit right now.

I also looked at the FIT before buying my speed3. The fit is a great little car for what it does, but I have never once regretted buying my speed. Kain is right that the Fit may actually have slightly more usable storage space because of the seat configurations, but the combination of the power, handling, and relative practicality of the speed 3 made it irresistible to me, and I've never looked back.

The fit is great for what it does, and since you own one already, it may not be worth trading it in and losing money on it.....BUT, if you get the speed, you will not be disappointed.

 

[john blutarski]

I like the Fit. That's a cool little car. All I got to say is, get ready to get pinned in the seat. The MS3 vs the Fit is like comparing a Cheetah to a Sloth...

 

[AutoEuphoria]

The MS3 vs the Fit is like comparing a Cheetah to a Sloth...

Yeah, I wouldn't even put them in the same category