Hello All,


I’m new to these forums and need some advice. Here is my situation. Currently I work in Delaware but will be moving to Philadelphia at the end of this month. It’s about a 40-50 minute commute each way for a total of 74 miles each day.


Right now I drive a 2010 Acura TL. It’s expensive, not great on gas, and not an ideal commuter car. And I don’t want to/can’t afford all the wear and tear I’d put on it. It would also cost me around $200 - $240 a month in gas.


Aside from taking the train which would also cost around $200 a month, I’ve been thinking of trading the Acura in for an inexpensive Mazda. I’d accrue a little bit of negative equity because I still owe money on the Acura but not much. The Mazdas I’m looking at are either a 2008 Mazda 3 i with 100k miles for around $6900 or a 2010 Mazda 3 i with 75k miles for $10,900. I figure either would be a good car to use as a commuter car, could handle all the miles that’d be put on them, and either would only cost about $120 in gas a month.


Any suggestions guys on which Mazda to go with and/or if trading in the Acura for the Mazda is even a smart move? Thanks!

 

we have a 2013 mazda3, and i dont know anything about the older mazda3's, but based on our 2013 here is some food for thought. first off, fuel economy aint that great. ours is a 2.0 base model, and we get about 27 mpg, mostly city driving. on a long distance commute, i would be looking for comfort. this sucker rides like a truck. on a smooth road, it is nice, crisp handling, good steering response. on a less than smooth road, it rides like one of my old bmw's that i had set up for autocross. unacceptable road noise. kinda like being inside a drum. the worst is the a/c. here in north texas, summer days easily get into the 100's. if the car is sitting out in the sun, it will take about 15 minutes to get it to cool down to about barely tolerable. it will NEVER cool down enough to be comfortable. and the windows are tinted with the best i could find. we also have 2 99 millenias, and both will be ice cold after about 2 miles. the mazda3 will NEVER reach that level of cold in 40 miles. heat is about the same, you will freeze for about 10 minutes. we would NEVER take the mazda3 on a long trip, i think 40-50 miles one way would be torture in the mazda3. i would keep the acura, and go train