Topic: Mazda 3 Questions

[ssddfm]

Hello Everyone

A friend of mine is interested in purchasing a 2005 Mazda 3 GT with the GSX package and she had a few questions that I thought someone on this forum probably had an answer or opinion for.

1) The first thing she noticed was that the dash had bright lettering against a dark background. However the brochure shows the dash as having the red against an indigo blue lighting. When she mentioned this to the dealer he said that the dash was always like that and there was no dash with the blue light background. ( I actually saw it in the brochure myself ). Was the dealer misinformed or had the pictures been brushed up in the brochure.

2) One of  her relatives is also strongly against her buying this car saying that its a bad car and that there have been product issues with it and it has a very bad resale value. I don't remember seeing any product recalls on this car ( its still fairly new model ) when I was considering purchasing it myself. Any Mazda 3 owners out there with reccomendations against purchasing this car?
Also does anyone know what the resale is like for this car now?

3) She mentioned also the price she was going to get for the car was something just under 28,000 . I asked her if this was the on the road price and she seemed to believe it was.
Does anyone have an opinion on what a good price would be for a Mazda 3 GT with GSX package year 2005 of course.

Thanks in advance everyone for your comments and feedback. I have always found the people on this forum very helpful!

[S60]

Welcome to the wonderful world  of having salespeople tell you whatever they feel like,Hmmm.

In regards to the not so good info from salesperon whom you asked about dash lights-
The gauges are big and easy to consult and the steering wheel controls light up. In both of these cases, the lights are a blend of a fantastic disco blue-orange theme. info from
http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/roadtest,view,Mazda.spy?artid=30527&pg=1

To say the Mazda3 is a bad car is ridiculous. Its the best car in this class, bar none.

Pricing I can't help you on that one, but there a few regulars here that drive the Mazda3.

Good luck shopping, and try to educate yourselves on the cars that interest you before shopping, as you do not want to appear ignorant in front of most salespeople, its a weakness car sales people will feast on.

[random006]

Ssddfm wrote:
1) The first thing she noticed was that the dash had bright lettering against a dark background.

Is it possible that the brochure shows a foreign version of the car?  It would not be the first time that a company dresses up a car differently for different regions.

[AVToller]

Consumer Reports not only rates the Mazda3 as being one of the best small economy cars to drive, but also gives it their highest reliability rating. Short of buying a Toyota/Honda, it's hard to do better than the Mazda3 for reliability. No, it is NOT a bad car. As a side note, I found it to be very comfortable and a ball to drive.

[84im]

Or she could wait a month or two and compare the Mazda to the new Honda 2006 Civic.

[kelefe]

Don't have the brochure in front of me, but the picture might have been showing the US version of the 3. Lots of companies do that.  

I'm in the same predicament as your friend, and am also waiting for the new civic to come out so that I can compare the two. With the GFX pkg and leather ~$28 on the road sounds about right, but she can probably knock of a grand or so considering it's an 05. They're selling real good too, so it depends.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

The Mazda3 GX and GS sedans have different dash illumination. It's only the GT sedan and 3 Sport hatch that have the red with the blue 'atmosphere' around the needles and the mood lighting coming from the lower section under the HVAC controls.  

The early '04MY vehicle did have quite a few little issues I think. Some transmission qwibbles, and little things. Also, the car is produced in more than one plant, so some variance. My understanding is that Mazda has worked a lot of this out.

Resale value is strong on the car as far as I know. It's the #2 selling car in the country with very little by way of incentives. That right there tells you it's in demand and should have respectable residuals. There will be lots of them out there, but resale should be decent. And if it's a hatch, there's few competitors offering the 3's combination in that bodystyle.

[Wetson]

It's a great car.   (too many on the road IMO but still a great car.)  The only recall I know of from the 3 is Airbag sensors.  Someone I work with had to take theirs in for that.  She's had it for 2 years and no problems with it and loves it.