Traded in my Spicey Orange for a Titanium last night

[Mark94]

Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the spicy orange color but I just recently found out how much my wife hated it. With that in mind, and knowing that in two years we'll probably try to start a family, I thought it was the right thing to do. The orange attracted a lot of attention and I would hate to have young kids try to race me with a newborn in the back seat. I thought it was time to switch to something a little less "eye-catching".

I went back to the dealer and they had 4 yellows, 4 titaniums and 2 silvers so I had my pick. I didn't have a choice of blue because they didn't get those in yet but I wouldn't have picked the blue still because that is still very flashy even though I love the lazer blue mica. Anyway I thought the titanium was a beautiful color and I had never seen one in person. The pictures of it on the web just don't do it justice (pictures don't do any of the MSP colors justice for that matter). As they were pulling it in to get cleaned up, I knew I made the right choice because it looked classy, more sophisticated, but still sporty.

I was concerned about the wheels because I'm a fan of classic silver wheels but the darker finish suites the grey color and there is plenty of contrast against the dark color of the car in my opinion. I actually love the new spoiler and the oval exhaust. The fact that it has no fogs lights doesn't even bother me, the new lip makes up for the fact that they are not there and I don't think I'll even try to place some in there because the front appeals to me the same way the 03 did.

The clutch feels much stiffer than the 03 and the knob is MUCH bigger which seems akward right now but I'm sure I'll get used to it. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the yellow stiching - it should have had a light grey or a blue. I also didn't like the new MazdaSpeed mats. The 03 mats had the MazdaSpeed logo ebroiderred in grey and the new mats just have this rubber heel pad with a raised rubber MazdaSpeed logo. My sales guy let me take my 03 mats out of my car so now I have both 03 mats and 03.5 mats.

I didn't get killed too much on the trade in either. My car was 7 months old and had 4800 miles on when I arrived at the dealer. It didn't have any dents or scratches and still had the protective film on the MazdaSpeed doorsills. They ended up giving me 16,488 for the car and then I got a lower interest rate of 3.9% so my payments only jumped $54 a month.

It's worth it because now I have a happy wife.

Overall I'm very happy with the transaction but just so everyone knows the spicey orange color was truely a nice color too. While I was waiting for my new car to come to the front, many people stopped to look at the Spicey Orange.

Hope I have as good a luck with this car as I did with the last.

Mark

 

[seth]

i hate the new version compaired to the spicy orange version

 

[bcbadboy]

Hey good luck with the new Speed. I had the same thing with my wife but I told her that it was my car and whatever color I wanted is the color I am going to get. I got the spicy orange and my wife hated it. She is getting used to it already and that is that. Happy to see that you stuck with Mazda though. You made a good choice on the Titanium color.

 

[Mark94]

That;s what makes the world great, it would be very boring if we all were driving Spicey Orange MSP's.

The titanium just suites my future lifestyle. I'm turning 27 next month and I need to grow up. I have a beautiful VTEC Prelude that I have put ALOT of money in sitting in the garage for the past 3 years and I'm slowly losing interest in it as well. My priorities have changed over the last year.

I now have a wife and house, instead of looking through Sport Compact for parts to buy, I'm looking through Home Depot catalogs.

Oh well... it was the right choice for me.

Newf: I can see why you are sooooo happy with the titanium color!

Mark

 

[Mark94]

Hey good luck with the new Speed. I had the same thing with my wife but I told her that it was my car and whatever color I wanted is the color I am going to get. I got the spicy orange and my wife hated it. She is getting used to it already and that is that. Happy to see that you stuck with Mazda though. You made a good choice on the Titanium color.

Thanks bc, she never told me that I had to get rid of it. It was my car and got what I wanted so she had nothing to do with it. She supports me no matter what I do. She just wasn't crazy about orange.

She is happier, so it's just an extra bonus for me.

I loved the MSP, it's not the quickest thing out there, but it got me on the highway quiclkly and looked good while doing it so I decided to stick with it. It's four door so insurance is cheaper and I had good luck with the Spicey so it was a no-brainer to stick with another MSP.

Oh yeah... while I was waiting to do the paperwork, my salesman was with another customer so he tossed me the keys to a 6-speed RX-8 and said go have fun. That car is beautiful, It's a little sluggish down low but past 6000 RPM it really takes off. The sound of the engine and exhaust is amazing and it handles great. The interior is gorgeous and the attention to detail is amazing, plus the line of accessories is impressive. All around great car!

Thanks for the well wishes bc!

Mark

 

[AGR]

If I had it to do over; I would go with the new Laser Blue. But; I still like the 2003 style overall.

 

[MazdaDryvr]

The day my wife tells me what colour car to drive I will be trading her in. I'm 36 and the spicy orange rocks! You sound like you're sliding comfortably into the socially expected norms there Mark. lol. You must resist assimilation! Next thing you know you'll be wearing a tie!

 

[Mark94]

Yeah, everybody here at work has been saying that I'm joining the masses and I no longer have individuality.

My wife never told me that I had to get rid of it. If I was happy she was happy. She just wasn't a fan of an orange car.

The spicey color does rock, when it was clean and in the sun it was stunning. The titanium is just more low key which is what I want right now. Who knows, when I'm going through my mid-life crisis, I may end up with a spicey orange speed again!

I'll never wear a tie to work though

Mark

 

[MazdaDryvr]

I saw a titanium down at my dealer the other day, you're right, it sure is classy looking but sporty once you look closer at it. The darker wheels really suit it too. I wouldnt have any probs driving it around. <stealth mode> lol

 

[loj68]

I was lucky...my wife actually chose the Spicy Orange....I didn't know how to feel about the color at first and was really pushing for the black....but once I saw the Orange sparkle in the sun I was sold. The Titanium is sure sweet though.....you didn't take too bad of a beating so you as long as you got what you wanted then that's what matters....it's still an MSP babeeeeeeeee!

 

[SpicyRay]

i originally was pushing for black too, but apparently i wound up with orange, couldnt be happier ...well, maybe the blue one...

 

[Newf]

never thought I would hear this.

two different cars, two different personalities.

I had someone put it to me this way

The orange is more for the person that has the "boy racer" in them and is begging to get seen.

The titanium is more for the person that wants a classy, more rich sporty looking without the boy racer image.

...at least you never got rid of the lude

 

[Limited Edition]

If i had to do it all over again too, it would be a Titanium!

just had to add that.

 

[Tex]

In my opinion, of course, an excellent choice. I love my titanium MSP.

 

[SilverproES]

Mark94, at least you weren't trading it in on a minivan!!

I admire your choice. If was to choose right now I would have to flip a coin between titanium and lazer blue. Can't go wrong with either one.

 

[NeverSober]

I love my black MSP. I dont think I will ever get rid of it.......maybe for an orange tho

 

[DiscreetSpeed]

yes great choice, titanium is the best looking IMO

 

[unwrittenLaw]

black is the best..when its clean

 

[Fakhelek]

Oh yeah... while I was waiting to do the paperwork, my salesman was with another customer so he tossed me the keys to a 6-speed RX-8 and said go have fun. That car is beautiful, It's a little sluggish down low but past 6000 RPM it really takes off. The sound of the engine and exhaust is amazing and it handles great. The interior is gorgeous and the attention to detail is amazing, plus the line of accessories is impressive. All around great car!

Mark,

How does the handling of the RX-8 compare to the MSP? I know it will be better but I wonder by how much. I really wanted an RX-8, but went with the MSP because of price. I'd like to think that I am not losing tooo much by my choice.

 

[Mark94]

Thanks everyone, I didn't want to turn this into a "my color is better than yours" kind of thing. Either way, it's a great car and the price is right, that's why I stuck with the MSP. Sure I could have gotten something else but I don't think I could have gotten this much car for the price anywhere.

Feak, The RX-8 is a different experience. It feels like a true sports car because of how you slide in the car and sit so low. I wasn't very impressed with the acceleration of it though. It wasn't anything special down low. You really had to wind it up to get some power out of it. The interior was very well laid out and there were some nice touches like the metal door handles. It seemed like it handled very well. The thing that stood out the most was the sound of the engine and exhaust.

The gear box was very smooth, it made the MSP feel slushy and notchy. The accessory line was also very impressive (hid lights, fogs, lip kit, metal grill trim, etc.).

It's a nice car but it is about 10k more than the MSP.

Mark