Pulled the trigger...

nondual

Member
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2007 Mazdaspeed3
Just bought a 2010 MS3 (Electronics Package)! Taking delivery today (bought late last night and needed to secure the insurance before I dared drive off the lot).

The dealer put this terrible pinstriping on it, but they said they'd remove it before I take possession of the car. If not, they are very new and a blowdryer and some goo-gone should do the trick - and then I'll ding them fiercely on buyer's survey for not following through - but I doubt that'll happen.

Celestial Blue. Traded my 2007 MS3 (red) that just dropped the engine for the second time in three years and got above kbb on the trade in and barely over invoice on price, according to Edmunds. I tried to bargain an extra $1k off the price, long wait, no dice even after I said I'd cross-shop it more (used cross-shop to get the great trade, they went over the highest trade-in I'd gotten by about $1500). I'd cross shopped price a few times back and forth with other dealers and although some people would go lower on the base model, this dealer had absolute lowest in the Base+Electronics. Weirdly, it was also the same dealer who actually had my car in for repair of the mounts.

So....yeah....new Speed, w00t! And I guess this may baffle anyone who thought I hated the MS3 just because I was annoyed at the problems with the engine mounts in my 'one of the first ones off the boat 2007 MS3' ....and in a way, I sorta DO feel like a battered woman standing by her man (no homo)...but the MS3 is just so damned fun and nothing else I TD'd seemed quite right. The GTI was more upscale and 'launch control' is nice, but it's just way down on power and it's 'floatier' over the road. The WRX transmission is even gummier than my old MS3, and I kept missing the gate for third, even in less than aggressive driving.

It's gonna be weird being back to break-in on a new car again seeing as a week ago, I wasn't even THINKING about buying another car.
 
Congrats. I hope this one holds up better for you.

I know the issues now, so it will. Honestly, after the first engine drop, I got a dealer that rocked that got me everything I needed and then some. Even arranged for me to talk to some Mazda Japan people (I was in LA at the time) and get something like $600 in credit toward Mazda parts/service. I spent the money on a MS CAI so as not to void the warranty. This particular dealer was tuner-friendly and even sold some mildly tuned cars.

This time just like last time, I'll switch out the dealer oil with Synthetic after a couple thousand miles. If you KNOW the issues, you can prevent them, I guess. I got one of the very first 2007 MS3s off the boat last time so none of the issues were known. It really should be a much better experience this time, and forewarned is fore-armed, I guess.

I sort of hated 'rewarding' Mazda with my business, but what can you do? For the price, there just isn't a car that's as fun (in its class) as the MS3 in the NA market right now. I WANTED to love the GTI and the WRX, but I just couldn't.
 
Congrats. Glad you stayed in the Mazda family even though you had bad luck with your first MS3.

Mazda can best be described as 'innovative with problems'. Like I said, for the class, nothing really beats it. I also had the advantage that every MazdaSpeed dealer is gonna have at least two of these cars - a base and an optioned one - as opposed to Subaru and VW dealers who may or may not have a car I want. VW dealers seem to option them out to the high $20k area. The supply situation is not what it was back in '06! Subaru dealers also seem low on WRX 5-doors around here. A WV dealer actually tried to sell me a used 2009 WRX with 9k miles for an astonishing $25k price!

So I drove the GTI and the WRX and was pretty sure the GTI was gonna be my pick if I could get a stripped down one with only DSG and maybe a stereo upgrade. Then I drove the new Speed and was surprised at how much closer it is to the GTI than my old Speed.

Also, unlike most, I LOVE the new styling. It's much more interesting than the old car - and I was never really happy with the old style.
 
Well, I am in the same boat as you nondual. I havent ever driven the MS3, but I had read all of the problems with them. And I actually did not like the new look at all. But I was severely in need of a car. After one test drive I was hooked. I havent even gotten on it yet and I am impressed far beyond what I thought I could be. Less than a week later, I love the front end and the interior styling is amazing. I hated the idea of having a cluttered dash. But it is actually designed well and doesnt take away from my driving.
 

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