My new car (That I will be getting in December)

[Oldgringo]

Congrats! You are long overdue for a new ride.

[Kevinf2349]

Is there plenty of room for the 'secret onboard protection system' and a '30.06 compliance compartment'

Congrats on the new ride.

[Kevinf2349]

Good for you.

[joe817]

WTG Russell for standing up for your rights!

That's a GOOD looking car!

[Wisewr]

Not sure if you just don't care about having a good sounding system in your car or couldn't tell the difference between the standard system and the Bose system, but, for what it's worth, I have a Bose system in my car and I think it sounds awesome. Hope you enjoy it!

EDIT: I forgot to tell you that depending on how they have the speakers setup (with amps or without) it may be expensive to replace if you ever have to do that. A door speaker for mine cost $235. It has the amp with it which is why it's so high. It's also a 1995, that may have something to do with it.

[Bob Wolff]

I bought a 2008 at end of model year a little over a year ago. Currently 28k miles.
I get approx 30 mpg driving toll road 38 miles twice a day at toll road left lane speeds.
Has been very reliable. Have changed oil evry 4000 miles. One thing you will find is that the oil filter is a cartridge type and obtaining filters is a dealer or internet deal. There are conversion kits to change to a spin on. This is the same engine as the ford focus (duratec 2.3 or 2.5). Yes you have to remove the underside splash shield to change oil.
Have made a claim to MAzda for new carpet floor mats. Bought them as a factory option and the driver side had a hole worn in in less than a year where your right heel rests. Mazda USA made good with a gift card to purchase the all weather (rubber) mats....musch better.
You will find it has the wimpyest horn you can imagine. I have added twin FIAMM horns.
In the summer my AC must be on full fgan, coldest setting and max ac to keep up with thermal load. This is due to window glass allowing to much radiation into the cabin. I am investigating new ceramic window tints.

several websites to check out for info (one even has how to section):

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/index.ph ... 03e5477a5a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mazda3club.com/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lots of aftermarket stuff available

this is an online copy of the shop manual (don't think it covers 2010 though)
http://www.mazdaclub.net/mz3ws/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bob

[hheremtp]

Russell,
check out this website before you buy, I highly recommend it. I used one of the spread sheets when I bought my new car. It gave me a good starting price for negotiating from. It also has a lot of tips on what to watch out for as far as dealer scams.

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/

[hheremtp]

Thanks for that! I have filled out that spread sheet so that I know what to expect. It looks like according to that spread sheet I should be paying $1000 less than what they offered, however according to edmunds and yahoo what they offered me is about $100 less than what the "market" is getting, so we will see if I can get them lower when the time comes.

Just out of curiosity, what interest rate is considered "normal"? I was hoping for 3%, however it looks like 5.99% is normal for a 72 month loan? I expect to pay it off a lot quicker, however I wanted to go ahead and go for the long term just to keep the required monthly payment as low as possible.

I would check around with different banks and credit unions for going interest rate. If the company you work for has a credit union you might want to check them out.