(friday) At least they sucked.
It'd be dangerous to add a turbo. That would really suck. (bowdown)
It'd be dangerous to add a turbo. That would really suck. (bowdown)
Well, all in all it's been fun...
- Thread starter airman_slacker
- Start date
It's a total effin shame that folks would turn away from a perfect family truckster in the name of fashion. There is not a vehicle produced today that is as versatile, comfortable and family-rearing-friendly as a minivan. NOTHING.
BTW, every growing family should have 3 cars. One minivan, a beater for work and one car that you WOULD be caught dead in.
+1!
airman_slacker
Member
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- 00 Ford ZX2 S/R, 02 Toyota Sienna (formerly a 06 Mazda 5)
Yeah, we're still looking around and weighing our options. We have an insider working on our side @ the Dodge dealership (therefore eliminating all mark-ups and then some). I tried a 2007 Grand Caravan out but I really did not like the way it drove at all. I know it's not going to compare to the 5, but even the Odyssey that I drove way so much more comfortable, spacious, and drove sooo much better. Turns out though, due to the gracious favor of someone keying our 5 all the way around (hood to tail), our 5 would only get an $8000 trade value (which is stupid). My new Nissan is just as much upside down as our keyed 5 so I am attempting to sell both cars for as much as I can and just take a loan out for the difference (reducing overall debt and getting more value for each car). That is my plan as of so far.
airman_slacker
Member
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- 00 Ford ZX2 S/R, 02 Toyota Sienna (formerly a 06 Mazda 5)
We decided to claim the keying on our insurance and took it in Monday to get it repainted and we got a Town & Country for a rental. I was a bit impressed with the comfort of the seat (and spoiled with the power doors) but I don't like the squishy feeling like I'm driving a boat. I knew i needed to get a minivan after having this for a few days.
So our Mazda should be out of the shop in about a week with a much higher trade in value. Shortly thereafter, it will probably not be with us much longer. I have found the replacement for our Mazda. A 2006 Ford Freestar SE with 34k miles on it. Unfortunately, it is an ugly Beige color inside and out, but the price is right, it's what we need, and we will actually owe less than we do now going into it. I really hate to see our Mazda go, but with so much space and... rear air... I think we will be okay. I tried driving it and it feels so much more stiff and solid than the Chrysler. Lot's more pick-up too. Though the features and cargo room may not be as charming as the T&C (because of the 2nd row hidden storage space), I liked driving it a lot more. My insider at the dealer is going to hide the van at the dealership and hold onto the keys for me until I can get the Mazda back for the trade in.
Looks like I'll be buying my 3rd Ford. That was a bit unexpected, but I realize how much I actually like Fords. I hope they can get their business together.
So our Mazda should be out of the shop in about a week with a much higher trade in value. Shortly thereafter, it will probably not be with us much longer. I have found the replacement for our Mazda. A 2006 Ford Freestar SE with 34k miles on it. Unfortunately, it is an ugly Beige color inside and out, but the price is right, it's what we need, and we will actually owe less than we do now going into it. I really hate to see our Mazda go, but with so much space and... rear air... I think we will be okay. I tried driving it and it feels so much more stiff and solid than the Chrysler. Lot's more pick-up too. Though the features and cargo room may not be as charming as the T&C (because of the 2nd row hidden storage space), I liked driving it a lot more. My insider at the dealer is going to hide the van at the dealership and hold onto the keys for me until I can get the Mazda back for the trade in.
Looks like I'll be buying my 3rd Ford. That was a bit unexpected, but I realize how much I actually like Fords. I hope they can get their business together.
airman_slacker
Member
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- 00 Ford ZX2 S/R, 02 Toyota Sienna (formerly a 06 Mazda 5)
Well our Mazda is gone now. It got out of the shop yesterday and immediately after taking it out of the body shop at one end of the dealership, we took it over to the other end to get it looked at for trade in. We found a fully loaded 2003 Toyota Sienna XLE with 73k miles on it for $16k. So they gave us $13k for our Mazda (as opposed to the $8k before the keying...money WELL spent!) and we did the deal. I feel horrible having to get rid of a perfectly good car that our entire family loved, but it needed to be done.
Somethings I think about to make myself feel better is; everytime I sit in those leather seats, it feels like I'm sitting in a lazy-boy recliner, it's a Toyota so it is going to last a long time, and I don't have to worry about buying new tires every 10k miles.
All in all, I have never felt more confident in a vehicle purchase and will never forget our Mazda5. It has definitely left a very good impression of Mazda's on my wife and I and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.
Somethings I think about to make myself feel better is; everytime I sit in those leather seats, it feels like I'm sitting in a lazy-boy recliner, it's a Toyota so it is going to last a long time, and I don't have to worry about buying new tires every 10k miles.
All in all, I have never felt more confident in a vehicle purchase and will never forget our Mazda5. It has definitely left a very good impression of Mazda's on my wife and I and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.
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- 2003 Black Mica MazdaSpeed Protege
I know you'll miss your Mazda5...maybe put a Zoom-Zoom sticker on the Toyota? 
Once I hit the 2 kid mark I became the most pragmatic person alive. Minivans are among the best, most practical, versatile, safest (in most cases), easiest vehicles to move your family around in. Why the vanity?!? Who effin cares what you're driving? If you show to my house in a minivan I'm not gonna talk bad about you or sneer at you. (Course I'm a geek and would come out and talk minivan with you)
It's a total effin shame that folks would turn away from a perfect family truckster in the name of fashion. There is not a vehicle produced today that is as versatile, comfortable and family-rearing-friendly as a minivan. NOTHING.
I'd have one in my driveway again if my wife wasn't like some of you!
BTW, every growing family should have 3 cars. One minivan, a beater for work and one car that you WOULD be caught dead in.
I will never own a minivan!!! NEVAR!!!!!!! I'm staying way from SUV's too. Since the wife and I are only planning to have 2 kids, our family hauler is goign to be something of this variety:
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- 2008 Mazda5 5MT Sport w/ Popular Package
Yeah, I don't disagree with you, but wait until you have at least one little one and you'll see there is a big difference. I said the same as you do (I also don't like SUVs nor minivans)... until we checked out the last 2 cars you list (Mazda6 and Subaru) as we knew the family needed to grow.
Both look great, yet trying to fit/install a car seat, getting a toddler in-n-out w/o effort nor hunching and w/o hitting his/her little head, packing stroller, groceries, etc. are a pain.
This past summer we got borrowed a sporty 5MT S40 to drive the baby around. The more we drove that thing, the more we missed the Mazda5, and the MZ5 is not a minivan, yet is closer to it than the rest of the wagons (i.e. Sliding door: funky, but thumbs up!, height: another plus).
So I would say the minivan design and functionality for families surpasses the personal resistance
.Possibly that is why everybody here is so happy with the Mazda5 as it still combines both worlds well...starlightmica
Member
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- 2007 Mazda5 Sport
Congrats, and good luck! We're very happy with our 2nd gen Sienna.
Don't forget to check in on the 1st gen forum over at Siennaclub:
http://www.siennaclub.org/forum/index.php?showforum=5
Don't forget to check in on the 1st gen forum over at Siennaclub:
http://www.siennaclub.org/forum/index.php?showforum=5
