2005 Vs. 2007 Mazda 3

I just got a fantastic offer from the dealer: 2005 silver Mazda 3, 34K miles, one owner, Leather seats, Sunroof, basically the top of the line model. All for $14,500!

I was dead set on getting a 2007, or at least a 2006 3. But after seeing the 05, there is really no way I can turn this down! What are the major changes made between the 05 and 07 models? I know theres this variable valve timing thing, but has anyone driven both of them? Is there really THAT big of a difference? So much so that  I should spend 4K more to get the 07?

Oh, and one last thing, is the interior light display on the 05 model still blue, then red, then white? Thats an awesome feature that I'd be kinda bummed out to lose..also, does it have an place to plug in my IPOD?

Please let me know ASAP, I have to make my decision soon! Thanks!

i dont believe it has an auxillary plug in for your ipod. but you can buy one of those things that can plug it in. i am not sure how it works. i ahve an 08 and it has one of those. there are probably a few things with the 07 that are different. but hell man thats a good deal. it all depends really. if you by the 07 only you have driven it (unless its used) but with the 07 you have the nicer taillights, and whatever. ill leave that decision up to you haha

1)  Given the 08s are out, if you are willing to buy a new 07, you should be able to get quite a deal.  I don't see why a new 07 sitting on the lot would be fetching a price north of $18K. 
 
2)  I own an 07, there were lots of little improvements between 05 and 07, biggest would be the suspension/handling were tweaked (improved) effective the 07 model year.  The interior cloth was also improved.  I drove the 06, and didn't like the handling, when I drove the 07, it was better.
 
3)  I wouldn't consider $14500 for an 05 with 34K miles necessarily to be that great a deal.  Have you checked the blue book price of the vehicle?  Most of your warranty is gone, important to keep that firmly in the front of your mind.  You might end up paying a bit more for a new 07 with a few less bells and whistles, but it would be a NEW car, fully warranty in place, you know it has not been abused.

True, but I know that there has only been 1 owner. They kept the car extremely clean and there is a report on the vehicles maintenance. So I know the car was not abused in any way. Also, the 05 car still has the warranty on it, so its not like its a really big problem. A new 2007 GT with sunroof and spoiler would be around 24K after taxes. The deal being offered to me would make the car 16K after taxes.

Should I spend 8K for  less bells and whistles just to get slighly improved handling? ...seems like a lot...I think knowing I got a good price would over rule the other stuff.

I think in the consumers report mag that I have. 
 
The 05 had some issues.  I am at work and don't have access to the book right now. 
 
If I remember later, I'll post.
 
The 3 is supposed hold it's resale value.  Better then most, except for maybe the "ho hum" Toyota's.

I'd second Urban's opinion, and go with a 07 model. I have a 07 i touring auto w/ 1AB option (ABS & airbags, curtains), paid little shy than 17K before tax, 0 down 0% for 3 years. Like Urban said, for an 07, you get full 3 years of warranty. You might feel you'd pay more for the 07, but you'll have a higher trade-in value because it's a newer car.

If you do like the runroof, bell and whistles etc on the 05, make sure all the recall work is done with the car before you take it, and if you like, take it to an independent shop for a thortough inspection (60 bucks or so?) A kept-clean car does not translate to a problem free car.

I recently sold my 3i w/53,000 miles all decked out with Mazdaspeed stuff (exhaust, springs, camber links), 2 sets wheels/tires, & custom interior for $10.5K which matched the KBB value.  I maintain my vehicles like a lunatic.  You could have eaten off of the engine bay.

I think that this is a great deal, and i've been seraching for a long time. I haven't heard any complaints about this version of the car. It looks very nice and the driver report is flawless.
 
Buying a usd car nowadays isnt like buying it in the past...its a 05 model...not 95. I don't think that after 2 years of having an excellent driver that this car is going to go to hell soon. If that were the case then Mazdas would have such great resale value.
 
IF the car is so great, I should be able to buy an 04 -06 without any fear of getting a tanker. Mazdas are reliable cars. Please give me more input, I'm going to test drive it this weekend. IF I  love it, i'll buy it. I'll test drive the 07 again just to make sure i'm making the right choice.

My car still felt and drove just like new when I sold it with 53K miles.  I wouldn't hesistate at all if you have a reliable history on the vehicle.

Okay you didn't say if this were an "i" or "s" trim model.  Assuming it's the "s" then that's not too bad a deal.  My '05 has 32k miles on it right now and I would feel no problem buying it used in it's current condition.

Things to keep in mind.  In '05 the SAB/SCA packages weren't standard.  Also HID headlights were an optional add-on (vs. the full GT package that's now offered).  The HID's are the one thing I wish my car had but I can live without them.  I would not buy this car without side airbags however as the crash tests without them were poor.  If it doesn't have the HID's then the other things different between it and the '07/'08 GT are the taillights and the heated seats, as well as the Bose stereo.  The only '05 model to have the Bose was the SP23.

As for the instrument cluster....... again this depends on the trim level.  Assuming this is a S-trim (since it has leather) then it has the electroluminecent gauges.  When off the face is black.  With the ignition on it's black with red numbers/indicators, and you can dim it through about 6 levels of brightness.  With the lights on it's black with red numbers/indicators plus the blue rings around the gauges, and you can swtich it between night/day mode (bright or dim) red stuff.  Only the I-trim had/has the white face.

Ipod-wise there are lots of options.  They didn't put the ACI in the console until 2007 so there's no built in one for you and you'd have to add one.  If you're just looking for a simple audio input (i.e. no control of the ipod through the stereo) then and auxmod or a PIE adapter would work perfectly for you.  If you wanted to control the ipod through the stereo and charge it at the same time then the audiolink from RPM would be my first suggestion.  If you want to do all of that and have info. displayed on the LCD then I'd go with the AXXESS method.  Check out THIS thread for more info. on all of those methods.

Hope that helps, let us know if you have any other questions.

Thanks a lot man! That really helped me out! To answer some of your questions, yes it was the S model, it was the top of the line model for 05:
Spoiler
Sunroof
Leather Seats
Compass Rear View Mirror
Side Airbags
ABS
In dash 6 disc CD changer
 
It does not have the HID headlights but that doesn't really concern me. I don't really need to control the IPOD through the stero, thats not a concern either.
Most of the options that are missnig on the 05 model aren't that big of a concern for me, especially not big enough of a concern to warrant me spending 8K more for them.  

Well technically it wasn't "top line" as it lacks navigation and HIDs..... those are pretty much the only things missing. ;)

i have one word for you... WARRANTY. haha. consider this the 2005 as yes it is nice and loaded. it has run out of warranty... or soon will. at least with the new one the warranty will be good for 3 years and you wont have to worry about a thing. consider the 8k as a saving grace for when and if it ever came down to some huge repairs. why do you think i bought a brand new car instead of some POS corolla or civic.

quote:

ORIGINAL: jaimie08mazda3

i have one word for you... WARRANTY. haha. consider this the 2005 as yes it is nice and loaded. it has run out of warranty... or soon will. at least with the new one the warranty will be good for 3 years and you wont have to worry about a thing. consider the 8k as a saving grace for when and if it ever came down to some huge repairs. why do you think i bought a brand new car instead of some POS corolla or civic.

Well if warranty is a concern for him (which it doesn't really seem to be) then he could easily buy an extended warranty package from the dealer for much less than $8,000.  Personally I have a 10k mile 10 year warranty on my car (bumper to bumper and power train).

You'd have to have a ton of things go wrong to rack up 8 grand in repairs.  I still think the 05 is a much better deal....at 34,000 miles, he still has 16,000 miles left in the factory warranty.  I'd be willing to bet you could replace both the engine and transmission for much less than $8K.

lol thats true but im just saying that this way he wont have to worry about it. okay say iut like this. you pay for the car already buy the new one. you lease it or finace it or whatever. your fine. for however your warranty in USA is. but you buy a 05 you are happy and you have extra money. then all of the sudden for some strange reason your car breaks down you need a new tranny. soo there is 2000 you have to pay there. thats why i think warranty is soo important. but i have to agree after seeing whats going on. buy the 05 i must admit cuz that is a sweet deal

UPDATE:
 
So......the dealer called me today and told me that the car was sold to someone else today. I was so pissed...I definately was going to but it...But now  I may have to wait a couple of months...Thanks for all your help though! I'm glad I found this forum! You guys are great.

you have to wait?! that kinda sucks. well they dont have the one your looking for at the stealership. and if oyu have to wait a few months that kind of sucks. considering it took me a week and a half to ge tthat beautiful call. who knows though.

Pure cash flow, I agree, buying a used car can be superior. 
 
But having the superiority of the 2007 model year versus the 2005 ... all the little quality and feature improvements ... that is worth something. 
 
It's not just engine and tranny to think about, the whole car is a few years old, which means its a few years closer to all the things that can go wrong, all the increased maintenance of an older car versus a newer on, a few years closer to the paint fading .... and so on.  And when a car breaks down, or needs significant maintenance, its not just the repair bill, its also inconvenient and time-wasting to you as an owner.

quote:

ORIGINAL: kevinlamar

True, but I know that there has only been 1 owner. They kept the car extremely clean and there is a report on the vehicles maintenance. So I know the car was not abused in any way. Also, the 05 car still has the warranty on it, so its not like its a really big problem. A new 2007 GT with sunroof and spoiler would be around 24K after taxes. The deal being offered to me would make the car 16K after taxes.

Should I spend 8K for  less bells and whistles just to get slighly improved handling? ...seems like a lot...I think knowing I got a good price would over rule the other stuff.

 
For 8K more, I would go with the new vehicle. Even though you know the sevice records for the vehicle, you have no idea if the previous owner drove the crap out of the car. In fact when we were buying my son his 08, we looked at getting a used unit, say an 04, an 07 and an 08. The cost differntial between the 07 and 08 was negligable, however the difference in costs of a slightly used car, was about $4000 not including taxes. It just made no sense going used based on the cost of a new 2008 as these vehicles have a high resale value.

quote:

ORIGINAL: BLEXV6

quote:

ORIGINAL: kevinlamar

True, but I know that there has only been 1 owner. They kept the car extremely clean and there is a report on the vehicles maintenance. So I know the car was not abused in any way. Also, the 05 car still has the warranty on it, so its not like its a really big problem. A new 2007 GT with sunroof and spoiler would be around 24K after taxes. The deal being offered to me would make the car 16K after taxes.

Should I spend 8K for  less bells and whistles just to get slighly improved handling? ...seems like a lot...I think knowing I got a good price would over rule the other stuff.

For 8K more, I would go with the new vehicle. Even though you know the sevice records for the vehicle, you have no idea if the previous owner drove the crap out of the car. In fact when we were buying my son his 08, we looked at getting a used unit, say an 04, an 07 and an 08. The cost differntial between the 07 and 08 was negligable, however the difference in costs of a slightly used car, was about $4000 not including taxes. It just made no sense going used based on the cost of a new 2008 as these vehicles have a high resale value.

 
and it is probably the best thing ever. considering that my friend bought a 93 civic and his car will not pass safety. thus why if i bought a used car id have to worry about any repairs, safety, e-test and all taht stuff. sure yes i need the safety and e-test but my car would pass no problems but a used car id have to do aloooooooot of work to. it just made more sense to buy a new car

All years of 3's have a high resale value.  Actually it's good enough that it kind of sucks.  Why would someone pay $16k for my 3 in excellent condition when they could buy a new one for only very slighly more?

which is why i bought mine..

quote:

ORIGINAL: jaimie08mazda3

which is why i bought mine..

You bought yours so you wouldn't be able to sell it for what it's worth?  My point is the resale value is so good on these cars that it's hard to sell it for a high price since someone can just pay a little more to get a brand new one.

yes that is why i bought mine. why would i buy a 18K used car when i could for like 6 k more i could just buy a brand new one. never made any sense to me. that way i know it hasnt been driven the crap out of and its all good to go