Hi all

First-time Mazda3 buyer here. I've always driven junkers but now that I can afford it I'm gonna buy something nice. I've fallen in love with the Mazda3's I've test-driven and I've got a deal that I wanted to run past you guys to see if any red flags pop up.

My candidate car is a 2008 i Touring 4dr automatic. ABS/SAB/SAC but no other options. It's pretty much exactly to my specs, except that it's gray and I think the Phantom Purple is really sexy. It's got 15,000 miles, a clean Carfax report, and was traded in by single local owner. Sticker price is $14995, my price is $13995 + taxes & fees - my $200 junker trade-in. I'm in northern Washington state. We've shopped both new and used and in our experience this is a good price, though there might be better out there.

We haven't purchased this car yet, we will have our mechanic inspect it this week before we finalize the deal. Here's the gotcha: there is some very light body damage on the car a 1" wide dimple on the roof of the car above the driver side door, and a 3"-4" long crease near dead center on the roof. Neither piece of damage is very deep, but they are quite noticeable. They seem purely cosmetic to me, but what do I know about body damage?

The salesman says that this damage is from a falling tree branch, and they have promised to fix it before we finalize the deal (and they will, or it'll be no deal). My partner and I went over the car carefully and there is no other visible body damage no scratches on the windshield or windows, no paint or glass damage from sap, etc, etc. I'm confident my mechanic will catch any major issues with this car, but I'm wondering if the lot's repairs might void some part of my factory warranty, since they are not a Mazda dealership or service center. The factory warranty is a big deal for me.

Also, I have no service documents from the previous owner. If I do need some warranty work done, do I have to document all the servicing (oil changes, etc) that's been done to the car? I've had aftermarket warranties on other cars and I needed to mail them receipts for all the regular maintenance I did on the car, is it the same with the Mazda warranty? Does the shop have any incentive to not do warranty work for me? I want to make sure this warranty will be there for me, because it was a priority for us to have a car with some factory warranty on it.

It's been a long haul to find a Mazda3 with the safety features we need at a price we like, but I'm willing to dump this one and move on if there's major red flags around this body damage problem.

 

just get it checked out and you should be good. congrats on if you purchase it. you will not be dissapointed. i personally love my mazda3. best car for the $$$. dont be worried about the dent. that doesnt seem like much. make sure the car looks good, drives sound. although without the paperwork that the previous owner never did is interesting.. that may be something to watch for as he may have just not given a **** about the car and drove the **** out of it. however hope all works out. let us know and welcome to the forum

 

In most cases, unless the car has a bunch of Aftermarket stuff done to it like an Exhaust or Cold air intake they don't hold anything before you bought the car against you for warranty issues. Just keep all your records from Date Of Purchase if something goes wrong.
Welcome to Mazda Forums also [8D]

 

thanks a lot, guys! It goes to the mechanic tomorrow.

Jaimie, I'm definitely gonna tell my mech to go over it with a fine tooth comb. The tires seemed to have more wear than the other 15K miles cars on the lot, so it might very well have been ridden hard and put away wet. We'll see what the mech makes of the tires and brakes and so forth.

What are the other signs of a car that's been driven too hard? Anything visible to a layperson like me?

Siber, I don't think I'll be modding this car out with aftermarket stuff. It's handsome and sporty just the way it is. I just wish we could've found a purple one. The mazdaforum maintainers have great taste, putting the purple Maz up there on the header.

 

I know a bunch of people have complained about the OEM Tires wearing prematurely if the tires were not rotated often enough, so except for the worn tires I don"t think it is an issue.
Now as for Phantom Purple Mica, my 07 that was traded in on my 08



Issues with the bang up job the dealer did on the original clean up and they screwed up the paint, so they traded me out of it.

[IMG]local://upfiles/14512/C746D22753B94FB7BA122438606990F8.jpg[/IMG]

 

the purple mazda3 :P i remember that one. you had a few issues with that one. but you were unique with being the only person with that colour on the forum iirc. anyhow seeing as how its a newish car and the price is right. and chances are nobody drove it hard. butttttt then again make sure its not a renta car. otherwise STAY AWAY FROM THE RENTAL CARS. people drive them like they stole it aha

 

bad news. The lot "fixed" the body damage by throwing some bondo and paint on it. There were visible paint bubbles on the roof and clear coat overspray on the back window. And the engine had a mysteriously rough idle that my mechanic's computer couldn't diagnose. The battery was pretty weak and the tire wear showed bad alignment. Said no thanks to this one and now I'm searching again.

 

Good call. plenty of cars on the market right now.