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Opinions from mazda fans

I had a Mazda years ago and while it was comfortable and fairly reliable until I wrecked it, I don't think I'd buy another one. Several times I've taken a Mazda as a rental and frankly I wasn't impressed with the newer ones. The last one was a CX-7 and it guzzled gas, plus the visibility was awful.

Not to mention if you've ever had one of the newer Mazda's come up behind you they look like a character from Disney's Cars movie, grinning at you. ;)
 
Hello and welcome to AF!

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.... Ok... Bad joke... ;)

Minimal mazda experience here. Sorry, can't help!
 
I have a 07 3 5 door with 53k miles and zero issues. Before that I had a 02 protege5 that had 167k miles when I traded in for my 3 again zero issues. My 3 is an auto while my protege5 was a 5speed. I really miss the manual. On the protege all I ever did was replace the timing belt at 100k the throw out bearing was starting to squeak when I traded it in.
 
Kelmar said:
Hello and welcome to AF!

Please remember that many of our members have day jobs and may not see this thread right away. People will answer, just give it time.



.... Ok... Bad joke... ;)

Minimal mazda experience here. Sorry, can't help!
Click to expand...

Whoops forgot we can't all sit at home all day.:rolleyes:;):D
 
I have a 3 and like it overall. It has been a good little car, it is making a grinding noise now in the rear so I need to get that checked. It is an '04 and is starting to rust around the fenders, it was not rust-guarded.
Gas mileage is great (5 speed) and it has been very reliable for me.
 
Now, please be aware that this is based solely on those "zoom zoom" commercials with that creepy kid.

Mazdas are crap. Only a crazy person would buy a car that has a creepy kid in the commercial for it. ;) Seriously, I wouldn't buy one because of that reason...

Petty? ....Maybe.
 
I used to sell Mazda. The 3 was a nice little car, I think you would be very happy with it. Touring is going to have some decent options on it too. Its peppy and handles great. Mazda usually does not have much in the way of rebates unless you get one at the end of the year. But they have low apr in lieu or the rebates so if you plan on financing a lot you wont have to pay much interest if any. Also; there is not a lot of markup in them. So expect to pay closer to msrp than other cars. You should be able to get one for close to invoice if you get one at the end of the year before the 2012's roll in. But be aware that selection might be pretty poor.

All in all I like them. Thats my take on it.
 
Drove a 6 not too long ago. Was not impressed. Compared with our Jetta it felt cheap and tinny. The "manual shit" auto was not good at all especially compared with the DSG auto on the Jetta. Have not driven a recent Mazda true manual, so I cannot compare it with the solid shifting of our New Beetle manual. For the money I think VWs are in a whole other league. Much more solid vehicles.
Same thing with the Camry. Was not not impressed at all.
VW seems to do well with the basics. Engine, transmission, suspension. But I will be honest enough to say VW does NOT do good with interior controls, knobs and the like. They seem to break and lose their paint and peel too easily. It depends on what you want the vehicle for. If you want it to last and stay solid-feeling, a VW is a much better choice. If you want the interior parts to stay in one piece, there are much better choices. Interior parts can be changed easily though ;)
 
I'm a Mazda fan. I've owned a 03 MPV and have had nothing but regular maintainence done. Amazing reliability. Unfortunately, the North American culture 'loves' the SUV / Cross-over type, mini-vans were thought of as soccer-mom vehicles. Well, my vehical can carry more load and more people than most cross-over and get better milage doing it. ....oops, Mazda 3 topic... ok...

I've driven a Corolla, Civic and a 3. Never been a fan of VW, Apple owners drive those. ;-) The 3 handles great and has the reliability reputation as well. Personally, I'd get one if I didn't need the extra seating i require.
 
We have 3 VWs currently (had 5 total, 4 of them being diesel). Never owned one Apple product. Why the label?
At least I don't own a Prius. Now those people you can label :). Enviro nut jobs.

I did have 626 in the day and was pleased with it. Quite possibly the best driver's seat I have had in any car. But it was tinny(as were the VWs of old). You could break into the 626 waaaay too easily because there was no frame around the windows.

Looked like this, only blue:

http://www.autominded.net/brochure/mazda/626 0405.jpg
 
andruoid said:
I'm a Mazda fan. I've owned a 03 MPV and have had nothing but regular maintainence done. Amazing reliability. Unfortunately, the North American culture 'loves' the SUV / Cross-over type, mini-vans were thought of as soccer-mom vehicles. Well, my vehical can carry more load and more people than most cross-over and get better milage doing it. ....oops, Mazda 3 topic... ok...

I've driven a Corolla, Civic and a 3. Never been a fan of VW, Apple owners drive those. ;-) The 3 handles great and has the reliability reputation as well. Personally, I'd get one if I didn't need the extra seating i require.
Click to expand...

I had a '93 MPV 4WD and it was as you say, roomy and more versatile than most SUV's. My problem was that it was designed to me a utility vehicle but wasn't sturdy enough. I hopped curb and broke a wheel, bent a strut and came down hard on the transfer case. Several month later the transmission failed. And, you know you're in trouble when the transmission shop starts the conversation with "did you know you have the most expensive tranny on the market?"

I think that's the general philosophy of Mazdas ... design before utility.

Before you buy I'd recommend test driving a lot of different makes to see which one feels more like a fit for you. You can list features all day long, but if the seat feels uncomfortable, you'll hate the thing from day one.

I'd also like to recommend you at least look at a Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback. (The wife just got one)

3LANCER.jpg


If you can get past the "dustbuster" front end look ;) (I happen to like it) it's remarkably roomy and a heck of a lot of fun to drive, when she lets me have it. :)

EDIT: Just looks up the spec's on the Mazda 3 ... "Up to 29 mpg" which mean's what, 26 normally? The lancer get's normally 36mpg and I've gotten over 40 if I drive like a gandpa ;) Not to mention it comes with a 10yr/100,000 mile warranty ... okay, I'll stop being a spokesman.
 
bigbadwulff said:
We have 3 VWs currently (had 5 total, 4 of them being diesel). Never owned one Apple product. Why the label?
At least I don't own a Prius. Now those people you can label :). Enviro nut jobs.
Click to expand...

Not really a label, more of an observation. I've seen more Apple logos on VWs than any other vehicle.
 
Never seen one myself. Then again I'm not an urbanite. Left that cesspool a long time ago.

And a van? If you are comparing it to an SUV.......don't try to do much towing with it. That is what SUVs are for. Much stronger frame/suspension and transmissions. Been there, done made that mistake. Right now I have a Ford Excursion with a 7.3L diesel AND even more beefed up suspension. Just plop anything on the receiver, thank you very much. A small van? No thank you.
 
I've owned 34 cars that I can remember; my '86 Mazda 626 Turbo was the fastest by far. Their Wankel (rotary) engines are a fascinating concept as well: the engines RPM are limited only by the rest of the cars power-train.
 
Leased a 2001 Miata for 4 years.

Fun car, bullet-proof reliability, good build quality for the price range, mediocre gas mileage for its engine size.

The Mazda 3's are very popular here in Canada. It's a good car, but Hyundai and the Civic are competitive as well.
 
i currently own a 2005 Mazda RX-8 and I lovvve it. I'm still amazed at how well it takes corners. Haven't had any problems other than some moisture in my tail lights which is a known issue for that car
 
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