Today I went looking for a car for my son who will be graduating from college this year. Since he didn't stay in the dorm we saved a lot of money so I'm putting that towards a new car. We were looking in the $20k range and we first looked at a Honda Civic, which we both really liked, but I said let's go see what Toyota has too. So we drove a Corolla and it was pretty much the same except not as nice looking inside and out. So I said let's go look at the Mazda3 on our way back to Honda. I thought they were more expensive and although the sticker was about $1000k higher, they were able to offer a better deal on the price + they gave me a customer loyalty discount because I had a CX5. So they ended up discounting the price like $4k off the sticker, which I thought was a great deal. They can also upgrade the infotainment system to ApplePlay for $295. To get that in the Toyota or Honda required moving up another level in trim, which was $2-3k more.

So, before I pull the trigger on this car on monday, are there any problems I should be aware of with these cars? Anything to watch for?
Here's the car (I'm pretty sure): https://www.blaisealexandermazda.com...7c5739988a.htm

 

There have been problems with the red paint. With all the problems with this paint, I would buy any color other than Red. Beyond that, the Mazda 3 is just as good or better in every way than the Civic or Corolla. The Mazda 3 is a great car and should be perfect for your son.

The prices are so low for two reasons. They are coming out with a new Mazda 3 in 6 months or so and as a result the 2018s are marked way down. Second, small cars are not currently popular.

If I had to buy a new car and had less than $40,000 to spend with my preference for small fun to drive cars, I would not hesitate to buy a 2018 Mazda 3 to replace my 2015 Mazda 3. If I had more than 40,000, I would buy a 2 series BMW, however, I doubt it would be as good overall as the Mazda.


To confirm that you have the best deal, and since you are in the area, check out Fitzgerald (www.fitzmall.com) and Heritage (www.heritagemazdatowson.com). Both of these dealers have a huge inventory and give their best price over the internet when you enter an email address. I have taken online offers from Fitzgeralds to other dealers several time and the local dealer beat the offer every time.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

Thanks for the links. Hadn't heard about any problems with the red paint. My 2014 CX5 was the same color and I never noticed anything with it.

 

Okay i've read up on the chipping problems with the Soul Red. I'll have to talk to my son about it. It will be his car. I'll also mention it to the dealer on monday. Don't want to spend all that money for a car and have the paint basically fall off. I remember they tried to sell me some kind of paint protection when I bought my 2014 CX5 if I remember right. Would that cover these kinds of chips? At the time I figured it was a waste of money. Not sure what they charge for that or even if it's worth it. I'm guessing not. Are other colors okay? I think there was a gray that someone said was just as bad.

 

Wasn't sure if it was only the 46V soul red or the 41V soul red that has the chipping problem. Some seemed to suggest it was just the 46V. I checked this car's door jamb just now and it's 41V.

 

Based on the conversation on this forum, it appears that the problem is primarily focused to the single newer paint code. The other colors do not seem to have the magnitude of problem based on the non-scientific view represented here. If we were talking about a cure for cancer, I would take the conversation as a single data element and do significant additional research before making a life-changing decision. Since we are talking about the color of a car, my next Mazda will be blue and not red unless the conversation changes. If I were trying to make the most economical purchase for kids to drive to college, I would avoid all options that do not add to safety or significantly to the drivability. Yes to automatic transmission no to a paint color upgrade for any color. The GPS for $400.00 may be a good purchase to keep the kids from keeping their phone front and center when driving.

 

If I can get the AppleCarPlay upgrade I won't need to buy the nav. It will be able to access the Maps and Google Maps apps. I think we're going to go ahead and go with the red if we can get the upgrade.

 

On December 21, 2018 I bought a 2018 Mazda3 Hatchback, Sport basic with Manual Transmission (2.0L). I used this vehicle as my daily commute in heavy traffic in Seattle, 37 miles one way. In term of fuel economy, it depends on your driving behavior, but on avg my driving reads b/ 36 to 38 mpg on the display. The side mirror on both sides, i thought is a bit unusual on the position. I can see the gap b/ the mirror and the door trim so sometime I'm confused. The display control panel (radio, Nav, etc) is located in the middle console isn't ideal for me because I have habit of resting my right hand on the console and most of time it touches the controller which i don't like. Since this is my first Mazda those are strange compared to my Acura and Toyota models. If you are looking for torque and horse this model isn't the one. Hope this helps.

 

We went ahead and bought the Mazda3. My son really likes it so far. We got them to install the Apple CarPlay for nothing to seal the deal, so he can use Google Maps for navigation. I'll have to ask him how the gas mileage is looking. He's in another city right now doing his student teaching. That's why i needed to give him his car as an early graduation present.

 

I'm sure your son going to love this car, I do. My intention was to buy this car and swap with my daughter older car before we ship her off to college. she will be in the dorm next fall 2019. But she must learn how to drive stick shift to get it...