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I'm new to Mazda
LIandy
5/31/2007 1:30:52 PM
Hi everyone. I'm new here. I've been a Honda owner and a Nissan owner (both excellent cars). Recently I was in the market for a new compact car and was looking for something sporty; but "Daddy sporty" not "Street car racing" sporty. So the Honda Civic Si was out (plus I was not happy with how Honda redesigned their car this year) and the BMW was too expensive, so I settled for the Mazda 3 S Touring (manual trans).
I love the way the car drives. But after being with it for a week I notice what I feel to be cheap quality parts in the car. In terms of the quality of the visors, the knobs on the AC, the pad/liner in the trunk, the cloth interior, etc... I know these are small things, and I am not worried that I will break the sun visor or rip the carpet and cloth in the car, but what worries me is, if Mazda skimped out on the interior quality, did they do the same on the transmission or any other important engine parts?
My concerns stem from reading posts that engine mounts are breaking and cars are being broken into just by knocking into the side of the door. So far my only negative experience (and I've only had the car for a week mind you) is that when I picked up the car from the dealer, the gas tank read 1/4 full. I asked him where's my full tank of gas? He said that the tank was full and sometimes on the Mazda the tank will read 1/4 full but as I drive around I will see the needle go up. OK, that's weird. Never had that problem before with my other cars. I drove the car around for a couple of days and the needle went up to just above the halfway mark towards 3/4 full. However, is this going to happen everytime I gas up? Or was this a one off thing since it was filled up and driven for the first time? Has anyone had similar experiences?
I was looking for a reliable car... did I buy one in the Mazda 3? What has been your experience.
shalezoom3
5/31/2007 2:06:58 PM
I have a 2004 3i with 62,XXX miles on it. Other then..lol...breaking the visor clips, i have had no problems with my 3. Yeah teh carpet could have been better...but i was happy with it since i only paid 16k out the door.
My fuel always reads accurate for the most part...it goes up a little after the full mark when full, but alot of cars do that.
Engine has been strong...mine is modified and i autocross it....pretty much i drive the car like i stole the bitch...lol.
I suggest using synthetic fluid for the oil changes...i also swithed to synthetic gear lube for the man tranny fluid as well.
any questions feel free to post afterward.....but you bought a good, reliable car.
and as far as the engine mount issue...that is pretty much a speed3 problem now...expect for the #3 on the basic 3...but that item is covered under warranty.
LIandy
6/1/2007 12:10:01 PM
So far I only have 80 miles on it. I need to make a trip to Philly from New York City next week. Is it a bad idea to take the m3 and break it in? It will be a lot of mileage all at once and I will be driving above 80mph most of the way. Is that a bad way to break in the engine?
virgin1
6/1/2007 12:54:54 PM
Sure! Why not. Only try not to maintain a constant speed throughout. It is recommended that you vary your speed... and if I know that route, you may not have a choice. 
UrbanmanUSA
6/1/2007 9:05:41 PM
Fill your tank full. If your fuel gauge does not immediately show full, it does not work, take it back to the dealer.
I would not break my engine in by driving it 80 mph. Take the train, don't wreck your new vehicle.
dannewitzm
6/2/2007 8:12:26 AM
If you fill the tank with the key in the ignition, or the car running, the computer doesn't like that (same with Fords). Make sure the car is off, and the key is out the next time you fill. It should re-set itself, if not, take it to the dealer, and they can re-set it for you in 5 min (free). The sales guy had a shop kid take the car over for gas, and for all the knowledge that 16 year old kids have, they need to lay off the pot (at least until your 30). My two cents.
HorsySce
6/5/2007 11:50:12 AM
Congrats on your purchase. I have an '06 hatch with 25,000 miles on it. I've never heard of the 1/4 full issue, so I'd force the dealer to fix that.
I LOVE my car and will be keeping it for the long haul. I don't recomend a long 80 mph trip be taken during the breaking in period.The issues, which haven't really bothered me, have been:
Goodyear Eagle RS/A's are impossible in the snow. Get snow tires if needed since these freeze up.
Rear brade pads wear fast. Mine will be gone at around 30,000 miles.
Had dealer replace the clock module. It would often jump back for no reason.
Had dealer replace the plastic hangers that hold up the muffler, due to swaying.
Carpet is thin - I recomend aftermarket plastic mats to preserve them.
My favorite things about my car? Reliable, hot looks, wonderful handling, pretty good engine response.
digit
6/5/2007 11:56:58 AM
my car barely reached 7k and i have no problems. not even the fuel guage acting up. love the car even though ford owns mazda.
virgin1
6/5/2007 1:15:11 PM
Careful digit. Dissing Ford like that will get you into a lot of trouble from @ least one poster on this forum. I know... personally. And I wasn't even really dissing them (Ford) either. He's a bit touchy on the subject. You might want to be more careful.
ohioguy
6/5/2007 1:29:15 PM
HA HA HA!!!! I'm new too. About the dissing ford thing, I'll try to keep myself from doing that, but we'll see what happens. I really want to buy the ms3 and I'm going to start posting and reading up here to see what everyone thinks of the mazda's. I've had no luck with my focus, but It was just that, luck. So i'm still going to go with a Ford product. Give em' another chance. Anyway, I hope to hear good things from everyone
sstlaure
6/5/2007 3:02:50 PM
quote:
ORIGINAL: virgin1
He's a bit touchy on the subject.
Having an opinion doesn't get you in trouble at all...being a top poster on here doesn't come with any kind of authority (nor would I want it to.) I don't have any problem with people having their preferences...I just hate it when people say things like "I love everything except for this one thing...that must have been the Ford influence (referring to the one bad item.)" or "this thing broke on my car....must have been Ford." That type of bias is unfair. I'm glad he's giving Ford another try, the new Focus is going to be very nice, and Mazda is in the Ford family of vehicles.... I wish people truly understood the impact that buying American only cars (or all products for that matter.) would have on our economy. There would be no recession and you wouldn't see foreign companies sweeping up American dollars in their multi-billion dollar profits....
ohioguy
6/5/2007 5:29:43 PM
quote:
ORIGINAL: sstlaure
I wish people truly understood the impact that buying American only cars (or all products for that matter.) would have on our economy. There would be no recession and you wouldn't see foreign companies sweeping up American dollars in their multi-billion dollar profits....
I agree with this completely. I just wish that we all bought american cars, but we do also have to face the quality of the cars that we make. USUALLY they aren't anything to compare to foreign cars-because they put more money into making them. I just hope that we can face it that honda and toyota are more well rounded cars and come up with a good idea on how to make ours better then thiers. It's just going to take time... (but how much)
UrbanmanUSA
6/5/2007 5:45:27 PM
quote:
ORIGINAL: sstlaure
I don't have any problem with people having their preferences...I just hate it when people say things like "I love everything except for this one thing...that must have been the Ford influence (referring to the one bad item.)" or "this thing broke on my car....must have been Ford." That type of bias is unfair.
I wish people truly understood the impact that buying American only cars (or all products for that matter.) would have on our economy. There would be no recession and you wouldn't see foreign companies sweeping up American dollars in their multi-billion dollar profits....
Unfair? Ford is hemorrhaging money for a reason. I wouldn't trade my M3 for anything in the Ford or Mercury lineup. They can't even make a decent oil dipstick ... the one in my M3 has FOMC stamped on it, and its about as easy to read as a Ouiji board.
So, the world would be a better place if everyone in the world bought only their own country's products? I guess we'd be happy to give up all the money we earn whenever anyone on the planet uses a Microsoft product on their computer, flies on a Boeing plane, wears anything with the Nike logo (Chinese manufacturing, yes, but much of the profit comes to America), watches an American TV program or Hollywood movie, etc, etc.
Ask anybody familar with the pre-Berlin-wall-falling world of Eastern Europe and Russia what you get when you block imports. You don't get a wealthy, recession proof land of opportunity. You get crap products and poor people.
sstlaure
6/5/2007 5:55:24 PM
I'm all for free trade...I just think it needs to be fair. Ever heard of the trade deficit. That's imported goods vs exported goods. The deficit has reached record proportions because we buy so many things from overseas.
There is no electronics industry in this country anymore because we couldn't compete with S.E Asia (labor costs.) I see the same thing happening with cars. Except 1 in 5 jobs in this country are either directly or indirectly involved in the American auto industry, without those jobs here, you are talking 20% unemployment (1 in 5) .....that's great depression scale unemployment.
Enough jacking this guys thread.
ohioguy
6/5/2007 6:02:55 PM
quote:
ORIGINAL: LIandy
Hi everyone. I'm new here. I've been a Honda owner and a Nissan owner (both excellent cars). Recently I was in the market for a new compact car and was looking for something sporty; but "Daddy sporty" not "Street car racing" sporty. So the Honda Civic Si was out (plus I was not happy with how Honda redesigned their car this year) and the BMW was too expensive, so I settled for the Mazda 3 S Touring (manual trans).
I was looking for a reliable car... did I buy one in the Mazda 3? What has been your experience.
Sorry we got off the subject. We need more input about the quality of the mazda 3. I promise not to post anymore in this thread about foreign and american stuff... I want to hear more about the 3 too
UrbanmanUSA
6/5/2007 8:44:41 PM
quote:
ORIGINAL: sstlaure
I'm all for free trade...I just think it needs to be fair. Ever heard of the trade deficit. That's imported goods vs exported goods. The deficit has reached record proportions because we buy so many things from overseas.
There is no electronics industry in this country anymore because we couldn't compete with S.E Asia (labor costs.) I see the same thing happening with cars. Except 1 in 5 jobs in this country are either directly or indirectly involved in the American auto industry, without those jobs here, you are talking 20% unemployment (1 in 5) .....that's great depression scale unemployment.
Enough jacking this guys thread.
So your gonna throw out your little blast, and then say enough? I don't think so. One jack too many on your part.
When the electronics manufacturing went offshore, did the country collapse? No. For all the whining about the exporting of jobs, unemployment is much lower now than it was in the 70s when all those jobs were here.
Hmmm. How did that happen? Try having some confidence in your own country. We're not some little one dimensional weakling on the verge of collapse. We'll always end up fine, because we're talented and innovative. Let the other countries have the crappy repetitive manufacturing jobs. We'll find better, more lucrative things to do with our time!
sstlaure
6/6/2007 5:26:09 AM
FYI...those "crappy manufacturing jobs" pay on average $60-75K/year before overtime....I know of many people with highschool educations making 6 figure income. The cost to Big3 with burden (health care, etc.) is around $75/hour (@2080 work hours/year) that's $156,000.
But yeah...let other countries have those crappy, low paying jobs and pay someone 1000 pesos/week (about $100)...currently the going rate in Mexico...China is even cheaper.
We should start a different thread to continue this.
sstlaure
6/6/2007 5:27:33 AM
quote:
ORIGINAL: UrbanmanUSA
Try having some confidence in your own country.
Exactly my point...buy American.
sstlaure
6/6/2007 5:44:19 AM
quote:
ORIGINAL: ohioguy
quote:
ORIGINAL: LIandy
Hi everyone. I'm new here. I've been a Honda owner and a Nissan owner (both excellent cars). Recently I was in the market for a new compact car and was looking for something sporty; but "Daddy sporty" not "Street car racing" sporty. So the Honda Civic Si was out (plus I was not happy with how Honda redesigned their car this year) and the BMW was too expensive, so I settled for the Mazda 3 S Touring (manual trans).
I was looking for a reliable car... did I buy one in the Mazda 3? What has been your experience.
Sorry we got off the subject. We need more input about the quality of the mazda 3. I promise not to post anymore in this thread about foreign and american stuff... I want to hear more about the 3 too
You "settled" for a much nicer car than the Civic....I have put 52,000 miles on my 3 with only a broken #4 motor mount (just before 50K) replaced at the dealer with no issues, even with a ton of Mazdaspeed acc. installed on my car.
UrbanmanUSA
6/6/2007 8:33:13 PM
Thanks for explaining why manufacturing is booming in Asia, and dying here.
LIandy
6/13/2007 7:43:08 AM
quote:
ORIGINAL: dannewitzm
If you fill the tank with the key in the ignition, or the car running, the computer doesn't like that (same with Fords). Make sure the car is off, and the key is out the next time you fill. It should re-set itself, if not, take it to the dealer, and they can re-set it for you in 5 min (free). The sales guy had a shop kid take the car over for gas, and for all the knowledge that 16 year old kids have, they need to lay off the pot (at least until your 30). My two cents.
FYI...
I gassed up my car this weekend and the fuel gauge issue was no more. That was exactly the case... someone at the dealership must of filled up my car while the engine was still running.
Thanks!
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