?'s about the new 3's....

[MadAsHell1982]

I'm looking at buying a new car to replace my 03 Corolla S. So far I have test driven and like the following cars:

Mazda 3 S GT
Huyndai Tiburon GT
VW GTI
Scion TC (would purchase w/ a SC installed probably) - Was only able to drive an Auto as no 5spds were in)
Dodge SRT4 (fun, but most likely not practical)
Subaru Impreza (not impressed, but going to test drive another one)

All of these I test drove stick as that is what I plan to buy.

As you can see, my real choices fall on the Mazda, VW, Scion, and Huyndai. I've been going to all of the enthusiast web sites and doing research on each of the cars. I wanted to know if there are any issues with this vehicle that I should be aware of. I know some people have problems, and that is unavoidable... but is there anything widespread? I know the Scion TC has a TSB out right now for the sunroof, and that it makes a cracking sound going up inclines. But, after looking on this site I only saw a few things on the Mazda and would appreciate any input you could give me on the car.

EDIT: Forgot to mention I dont plan on changing the car mechanically, only cosmetically.

Thank you.

 

[JoSHMaN]

I once had a 2000 VW GTI, I loved the car, I owned it for about 50,000 miles and it was nothing but problems, tranny problems (was an auto) sensors going bad, interior pieces breaking, not to mention the infamous window regulators, I just got sick of it.
My brother owns a 2002 GTI and he has had some problems with it, but nothing near what I had, I think a lot of the quality issues have been ironed out with the car now.

I have no experience with the Tiburon even though I considered it when buying my 3 I was a bit leary of thier quality so I just stayed away.

I test drove the Scion tC a couple times, it was a nice car and fun to drive, I think the interior of the Mazda3 was better. Performance wise they are quite close.
The 3 felt a lot more roomier than the tC and I have 4 people in my car quite often.

I don't have any experience with the SRT4 either.

If I were to do it all over again and get a new GTI or a new Mazda3 I think it would be hard to tear me away from getting a GTI again, although I think they are a bit pricey and you can get a better deal on a 3.

I have had my 3 for about 6 months now and I love it, I have had no issues with it yet, I do however have a little bit of a drivers side door rattle, which is more common on the '04 models I beleive, but overall I am extremely happy with the car.

 

[tsunami]

yeah the 04s have some rattlin issues (first model production year) but that seems to have improved... i would seriously consider the gti and the 3... if you can find a dealership that sells both and test drive them back to back... and then also don't forget about what options you do and don't want.... i think the 3 has some better option packages in the 06 then the gti but it has been a while since i looked at either. if you want the room i would stay away from the tiburon and the tc... not sure if you can get the gti with 4 doors nowadays? the imprezza's interior is a bit chincy (subaru) the 3 is a nice overall package... but i wouldn't want you to have buyers remorse... i would suggest narrowing your choices down to 2-3 and then start comparing prices/options/rebates and the such...

good luck

 

[MadAsHell1982]

I've taken the Tib off the list due to bad resale value. Right now I'm looking at just the TC, 3, and the GTI. I plan on trying to test drive at least the GTI and 3 tomarrow night after work. I'm still waiting to hear from a Scion dealer about having a 5spd in stock that I can test drive.

I'm glad to hear there are no major issues I should be concerned about with the car.

 

[ZoomVT]

i assume that price is no problem since the difference between the 3 and the GTI is quite large. I love the looks of the GTI and it has nice power in the low end.
Now, GTI only has 2 doors, and you can count on having problems with VWs, the interior to me feels cheaper than the 3 and it is about 3 or 4 k more expensive than the 3 (when comparing basic GTI to a 3 with many options, and thats negin very very conservative. When i bought my 3 for 17,500, the GTI was going for 23,500 with similar options).

The TC is not a factor for my, i love how the car looks. I think has nice power and handling (very comparable to the 3) but it only has 2 doors and the interior is not as roomy.

 

[Puckpimp71]

A customer of mine ended up going with the SRT-4 over the 3 and he stopped by to take me for a ride in it. It's a very quick car, but that's about it. It was a week old and the interior felt like it already had 80,000 miles on it. If you're really considering a 3 GT, there's not a car under $30,000 that'll come with the options it has standard: trip computer, rain sensing wiper, electronic temperature control, Xenon headlights, TPMS etc... The 3 GT isn't that much cheaper than the GTI... about 21,500 with 5spd and moonroof/bose for the 3

 

[ZoomVT]

and how much is the GTI where you live?
I got my 3s with monroof but no bose sound for 17,500 so i didnt have all the options but adding the options was another 1500. and the gti was listed at 23,500. i dont know but in my mind it was quite a difference, i could be wrong

 

[Gambino]

Let me just throw this out there. My brother has a tC, has had it for about 6 months and is already selling it. Its a good car but has some issues. First of all, it is way too sluggish, I hate driving it. My brother is only 5'10" and he cant wear a hat in his car because of lack of headroom. Also, the sunroof is cool, it is a piece of s***. The entire glass/mechanical parts of the sunroof have been replaced due to malfunction once on his car and it is already malfunctioning again.

 

[MadAsHell1982]

Just got back from driving the GTI and the Mazda 3s GT again.

Its kinda funny, the interrior of the GTI is the exact opposite of the Mazda 3, everything is blue w/ red accents, and the 3 is red w/ blue accents.

The GTI is sticker'd at 22k, I'm hoping I can talk them down just a lil bit. The Mazda 3 was at 20k sticker, but when I was done w/ the drive the manager worked the numbers and came back w/ 20k AFTER my trade in for 6k. I was like WTF? And after running thru the numbers like some Olympic track star he askes me to just circle which loan I would like (36, 42, 52 month) and that he would get all the paperwork. I just told him I still had to look at a 5spd TC and I would be back later if I wanted to buy. The VW guy just chatted w/ me and I told him I would be back to buy after I made up my mind.

The GTI is very fun and fast, but I still cant comment on a 5spd TC. This is most likely going to be my first and only sporty car (for a long while). I'm 23 and will prob be married and have a kid on the way by the time I'm done with the car. The mazda has a really nice interior and ride, but just feels like I'm in a family sedan. The GTI feels like I'm in a sport car.

I think I'm leaning more towards the GTI or TC. The 3 would be a great car once I have a family I think.

 

[ZoomVT]

i hear you on the GTI, it is a very fun car. However i just dont like the lack of space and the annoyance of only having 2 doors. Also they are expensive cars to repair if something goes wrong.
I went with the 3 cause i loved that i didnt have to sacrifice performance for a 4 door. The interior looks way upscale for its class and it handled very nicely when i test drove it.

 

[Puckpimp71]

For the GTI lease, don't buy. I wouldn't own a VW more than 48 months. There's a reason why our VW service dept is own more days for longer hours than the Kia/Mazda service...

 

[g1mp]

I've had my 3 for about 6 months, and between a job that's 80 miles away(round trip) and a girl friend that's 300 miles away (round trip). I've already put 26,000 miles on the car.... I still LOVE it. The interior is better looking than cars 2x it's price. I haven't done anything to the car yet, and it's still SOOO fun to drive... and Even with 26,000 miles in 6 months it still looks brand friggin new. It will probably be the best car I'll ever own!! I considered the GTI, waaaay too much money, and I probably wouldn't still enjoy driving it 6 months out.

 

[CZ-75]

Are you prepared for the maintenance issues when you buy the VW? Even when leasing, you are still stuck with the car until the lease expires, which can be a very long time when you have warranty issues that haven't been resolved satisfactorily.

FWIW, I almost bought a Jetta 5 years ago, but every VW dealer in St. Louis pulled sleazy tricks on me like you described with your mazda visit and they wouldn't sell me the car under sticker either, so I bought an Acura instead and ended up smelling like a rose when the Consumer Reports and JD Powers studies came out.

 

[dmitrik4]

can't lose w/ an acura.

don't know if this makes a difference, but the current GTI is on its way out. what about a new civic Si? seems to be in your price range, and it's hella sportier than either the 3 or the GTI. plus its resale value will be head and shoulders over the others.

 

[paintbaler1587]

Do you want a quick car? If so the SRT-4 is the only quick car on the list.
If you want a car thats more practical for daily driving Id say the 3GT

 

[Puckpimp71]

Are you prepared for the maintenance issues when you buy the VW? Even when leasing, you are still stuck with the car until the lease expires, which can be a very long time when you have warranty issues that haven't been resolved satisfactorily.

FWIW, I almost bought a Jetta 5 years ago, but every VW dealer in St. Louis pulled sleazy tricks on me like you described with your mazda visit and they wouldn't sell me the car under sticker either, so I bought an Acura instead and ended up smelling like a rose when the Consumer Reports and JD Powers studies came out.

Thankfully, VW now has a 48 mo warranty, which longer than most people lease their cars.

 

[avs]

Just get the 3. That's all i have to say. You won't regret it.
My previous car was a 00 Miata. Love that car every seconds of it. Only season for selling is because i need a daily driver.

Anyways.. I have driven a scion sc. It's a nice car and stuff. Toyota reliability, the tc is only 200 lbs heavier, the handling feel so sluggish compared to the 3. The 3 is so much more fun to drive, quite, practical and it's nice looking too. The 3 handles very well for a FWD car. Way better than the Civic.

I got my 06 3s touring hatch for a little over 16k + tax + misc fees and also -500 with my zoom zoom coupon.

 

[CZ-75]

Thankfully, VW now has a 48 mo warranty, which longer than most people lease their cars.

Actually, I gathered that. I just meant to say that if the warranty service is bad, which it often is, you'll still be riding around in a junkwagon for quite some time until you can get out from under it.

 

[MadAsHell1982]

Here is what has happened so far:

Tried to get the tC w/ SC. First problem I ran into is that they didn't want to do the financing of the SC w/ the car. I didn't want to pay out of pocket for it. Later I thought, well.. I'm trading in my car, why don't I do my trade in for the SC and do the financing for the car. I brought up the idea w/ the sales guy and he went for it. But, then he only wanted to give me what I owed on my car. We argued about it and I left. Later he calls me and tells me if I can find something on Kelly Blue Book or something like that showing I should get more for my car then he could work w/ me. Next day I checked online and found 2 Corollas that they were selling from the dealership, one had the exact same miles mine did, but they were selling it for 5 grand more than they offered me. I know they have to have a little room to come down, but still... they aren't going to lower the price 5k. So, I went back. Went thru it again, and walked out again. So, I've given up on a SC tC.

Drove to the VW dealership. They played a lot nicer than Scion. They dont have a black GTI w/ moonroof in stock anymore. According to them there is only 1 in the state. But, again I played tug of war w/ the price of my car and they just didn't see me getting the GTI at the price I wanted. They have a black GTI on the showroom floor that doesnt have a moon roof and they got the payments to 323 a month (I was shooting for an even 300). But, it doesnt have the moon roof. This was something I was REALLY looking forward to having. I'm somewhat up in the air over if I should get this or not. They lowered the price on the car and gave me more for my car... Its a little more than I was hopeing for w/ a little less than I was hoping for....

I think tomarrow I will go to Mazda and see what deal I can swing with them. I know I can get the GTI for 323 a month. I KNOW I can get a non-SC tC for just under 300 a month. I'm not sure yet about the Mazda 3s GT becuase I havn't had a chance to play hard ball yet.

Once again I'm somewhat up in the air over which one to go for. I like the speed and pep the GTI has, but I cant get it w/ a sunroof and its smaller than the other cars. I like the looks and style of the tC, and I LOVE the features the 3s GT has (leather, climate control, xenon headlights... blah blah blah).

 

[CitizenPro]

Good luck on whatever you get (thumb) I know the hassels of buying a car........

Looks like you already gave up on the Tiburon..........but i must say that it is a very nice car inside and out. I got the '05 Tiburon SE V6 with the 6-speed tranny for my wife, and it has been one hell of a car........i give it all praises, except for the small headroom and tiny back seats.

Aftermarket seems ok, especially with the few companies that carry superchargers for it.

Talked the salesman down from $22k to $18k + TT&L........they will work with you.