Why so many used MZSPD3s?

[redspeed3tk]

i love how people complain about the payment as if they didnt know it when they bought it.....

 

[camrycev6]

my answer is $500+ a month add in inssurance and speedining tickets. and the fact there has been 3 major recals out

The MS3 has only had two recalls, and only one of them major. Let's be fair now...

http://www.automobilemag.com/am/2007/mazda/mazdaspeed3/recalls.html

 

[redspeed3tk]

i dont see where recalls are bad most company's just ingor the problems i like how mazda is proactive and issuse recalls when there are problems to get others fixed before they have problems...i worked for toyota before and they have a bunch of recalls s*** they recalled 1980 trucks from head gaskets and this was in 06 i see nothing wrong with a company willing to pay to have it corrected before you have a problem

 

[jungleradio]

And finally, I read about everyone getting like 350-370 miles to a tank of gas, and she barely gets 300 if she's lucky. And this is without pushing it!!! So gas is eating up the pockets.

this is my only real complaint too. i get about 250 miles until the gas light comes on. that's from a full tank. i plan to get to the dealership to check it out. me thinks a bad coolant sensor, a necessary reflash or maybe some loose seals.

i have some clunky sounds coming from the rear suspension. i'll bring it to the dealer to see what the deal is.

 

[redspeed3tk]

i only get 250 to a full tank but thats within the range i do all city drivin so 21 22 mpg is expected...bad sensor would throw a code...loose seals? you would smell gas if it was leakin ha you can get 350 miles if ur goin 60 on the hw in 6th gear but not if ya stop at all the lights in town and the such

 

[dan1101]

What bugs me is a drive it like a granny 80% of the time and still get less than 300 miles a tank.

 

[SPEEDYONE]

Meah,,, blaming fuel economy i think is just silly. Look what we drive """"baby sport cars""", I guess its just how you perceive the situation. I get 25, 26mpg driving to school and back, and just had 30 on nice lil highway trip. My last car a honda crv only got 24 highway. To me the speed was a great improvement, plus who bought this car for economy?

 

[dan1101]

It's a 4-cylinder, I figure if I stay off the turbo it should return some decent mileage.

 

[Je5ter]

My mileage SUCKS way more than you guys get.. I"m in Canada and get like 300 km per tank that is like 190 miles per tank.. WTF???

 

[cornflaykes]

I live in the DC suburbs as well and there are a ton of speed 3s in our area. I see at least 1 a day if not 2 most are black and red. I love mine so much best all around car for the money. what other car can you get HID's with hieght adjustment for under 25k and that is just one item to talk about. I am 30 years old and bought this car based on performance, the other cool things that came with was a bonus for me.

 

[Hikaru9]

Meah,,, blaming fuel economy i think is just silly. Look what we drive """"baby sport cars""", I guess its just how you perceive the situation. I get 25, 26mpg driving to school and back, and just had 30 on nice lil highway trip. My last car a honda crv only got 24 highway. To me the speed was a great improvement, plus who bought this car for economy?

(iagree)

I would've purchased a Fit or Yaris if I wanted excellent fuel economy. Others might see our cars as "cute little commuter" (some old lady said about my MS3 the other day), but you know nothing could be further from the truth.

Also... the "majority" of us averaging 350~370 a tank can't be entirely true. I usually get 280~300 with mixed driving. I'm doing an experiment with the current tank of gas to see what kind of mpg the car will return if I kept the rpm lower than 2500. I would upshift at 2200rpm and keep my hwy speeds at the speed limit (cruising around at 2300rpm) in order to stay off the boost. It looks quite promising so far as I hit 260 miles today, and I still have more than 1/4 tank of gas left.

Anyway... that's just an experiment, and mind you I did not purchase this car so I could drive like a grandma everyday. *^_^*

 

[CTGrey02]

I bought mine to satisfy my road rage. Unfortunately you just as ****** in traffic with a mid powered car as you are with a low powered car. I'm gonna trade it for a Prius.

 

[BlackCherry06]

Local ad on Cars.com: Must have been an impulse buy. Might end up being an expensive mistake. See bold red text.

$22,400

About This MazdaSpeed3
Mileage: 6,770 Body Style: Hatchback Exterior Color: Black Interior Color: Black Engine: 4 Cylinders Transmission: Manual Drivetrain: FWD Doors: 4

Features: Cruise Control, Power Locks, Power Steering, Leather Interior, Airbag: Driver, Airbag: Passenger, Airbag: Side, Alarm, Anti-Lock Brakes, Fog Lights, CD Changer, Premium Sound, Power Windows, Rear Window Defroster, Rear Window Wiper, Tinted Glass, Alloy Wheels, A/C: Front
Selling Points: DALLAS area. Grand Touring edition - top of the line. Turbo charged and intercooled DISI all aluminium engine. 18" alloy wheels automatic on/off xenon headlights rain sensing wipers Bose audio system with 7 speakers 6 disk CD changer 36mo/36,000 mile warranty 24 hour roadside assistance tire pressure monitoring system Dark tinted windows. Prefect condition. Ipod direct connection. Homelink. Many, many more features. I have shoulder problems so I cannot drive a manual transmission.
Condition: Garaged. Mobil one used with authorized Mazda oil filter changed at @ 3,000 miles. I have many more photos so email me and I can send them to you. Please put mazdaspeed in the subject line of the email please so I do not delete as spam.

 

[camrycev6]

I get about 22-24 MPG very consistently no matter how I drive it. I think for the power of this car, that is very reasonable.

 

[CHICO2003]

I agree the car is a keeper but $500 a month is no joke and if u dont have your s*** in order reality hits pretty fast.

Yet another example of how screwed up some/most people are when it comes to money. Most reviews praise the enormous bang for the buck this car offers and how it's a veritable bargain. While that's certainly true, as has already been discussed, combining the $25kish OTD cost with relatively high interest rates equates to a pretty steep monthly payment. Granted, all things being relative, it's certainly less than a car costing twice as much (anyone ready for a $1k monthly payment?) But it's still (even for someone with a 6 figure income) a pretty large nut to crack. Especially when you have (good) debt to worry about... like a mortgage payment or the cost to run a business.

Sadly, most people are in debt up to their eyeballs. The amount of people I know who own (or lease) cars they have no business having... just for the prestige I guess... is ridiculous. These are also the same people who keep 10k+ floating around on their CC each month. pure insanity!! Probably preaching to the choir here but... just in case, Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a must read.

 

[camrycev6]

I completely agree with you. I was doing a $800 / month G35 payment for a while, and I thought --- what the hell am I thinking? I need to pay down my mortgage first -- get something a little more reasonable. $500 / month was something my brain could consider reasonable, and I have no doubts I made a good choice.

 

[kilik2]

I was looking for a used ms3 gt for a long time and I finally got it about 3 weeks ago (21,500 with CAI, BOV, NAV, IPOD functionality 4986 miles) I thought they were pretty hard to find or maybe a good deal was hard to find(alright) but I have excellent credit and I am only paying 386/mo for this car.

 

[Habuzaki]

Yeah, I'm paying off my MS3 this month. It took me nine months of spartan living, but it will be nice to have the car payed off within the first year. And as far as gas mileage, I get about 300 miles on a tank. I take it very easy around town, but I routinely drive 85-95 miles an hour on the empty freeway coming home from work at 4:30 am.

 

[BSTD3]

Glad I paid cash for my Speed3. No car payment here (spin)

 

[camrycev6]

I paid cash for my first MS3...but that was stolen. I took a $7000 loss selling it, so now I have a car payment on my second one. I have good credit, and it was $25.5K out the door, so I am right around $500 / month.