Today, I am happy to say that I am now officially a member of the Mazda 3 Family! I got a 2008 I Touring with ABS, 3.9% Financing, and a Free Garmin Nuvi 360 GPS System!

After playing chess with the dealers, I finally got a deal that made sense for me. It the most fun part of buying it was deciding whether to get the Black Micha or Carbon grey. AFter long deliberation i got the Black one, it just looks more sophisticated and expensive, especially with the silver rim and accessories of the i touring.

I absolutely love it and I am now in the process of buying car alarm systems and wheel locks and other crap like that. I am extremely happy with my purchase and right now I'm just trying not to do anything to mess it up!

Let me know what you guys did when you first got your 3 and what are some things I need to do now. (Accessories to buy, ways to protect the car, things to replace inside and out, ect.)

I want to drive it right now! In fact, I will! Zoom Zoom! Peace!

 

u better buy wheel locks. someone might steal your rims.

 

Congrats and Welcome, Kevin!
First and foremost, invest in a professionally installed "invisible" bra and avoid the paint chips. Black looks terrible w/chips all over the front end. It will likely cost several hundred dollars, but is well worth that cost. I wish I had, believe me. I'm looking at new paint before too long ($$$$.)
Second, several coats of a good quality wax (Mother's, Meguiar's, etc.) will help protect the paint and make it shiny. (Can you say "BLING!!")
Third, the wheels locks you mention are good, cheap insurance.The dealer price is (was) only $32.00 the last I knew, and when I bought mine too.
Fourth, stay away from the aftermarket electronics... especially car alarms and remote stating systems. They are not designed for the car and many others have complained of problems. Also, you take a real chance of voiding parts of your warranty. If you must have an alarm or remote start, go to the dealer or Mazda USA and ask what they have and how much it will cost. I'm sure it'll cost more, but again, cheap insurance.
Fifth, do you live in an area w/snow, ice, gravel or sand on the roads, or lots of broken pavement? Consider mudflaps. Yeah I know they look stupid and like an old man drives the car, but it'll help keep the sides of the car free from stone chips and the rear bumper cleaner. The i model is the only one that has contoured flaps available (F&R) for it, so they will look like they belong there. And on black you will need all the help you can get.
Sixth, if you live in a snow belt, save enough $$$ for and extra set of wheels and winter tires. Most find the OE All-Seasons (Toyo's?) don't make it in bad weather. And while I'm on tires....
Seventh, if you want better handling in the dry, do not go by the recommended 32/32psi. Pump up the fronts @ least another 4-6 psi. You may have to experiment to find what works best for you. I am now running Kumho's myself and in good weather am running 40/33 in them. Before that I ran Falken's and had the set @ 38/31.
Eighth, a K&N panel filter is a good first performance mod, but don't expect the world from it either. If you have the bucks afterdoing all of the above, consider a CAI and exhaust.

How's that for a start? Is your head spinning yet?

 

I can'tbelieve I forgot to mention 3 of the most important things:

1.Add this site to your favorites and log in often. There are other Mazda forums, but this one is the most friendly, and we try our best to be helpful. If you do not get a reply from someone in short order, it is probably because we don't have an answer to that particular problem, not because you are being ignored.
2. Read the manual from cover to cover and understand it. This will help the dreaded "RTFM" tag that you will likely get if you ask a noob question.
3. The Search function, andMostPopular Threads buttons are there to be used.Check these before starting new threads on existing (and often worn out) subjects.There's been plenty of talk about the standard bolt-on mods, as well as the other minor annoyances indicativeof the 3 model.

OK?

 

mkkay richard you made me learn a few things hahaha. but as well for me i must buy wheel locks.. its on my to do list.. in fact on monday im gonna go to crappy tire and see how much they are. and kevin congrats on the mazda3. you wont be disappointed.. its a great car and good on gas.. and can fit 5 people relatively comfertable (5 people 4 rims and tires.. and everyone was fine!)

 

about $50 -$70 jaimie

 

Wow, thanks a lot virgin! that really helped. To answer your question about the snow, I do live in Chicago. In Chicago, there are no rules on the street, its every person for themselves. But I'm used to the aggressive style of driving and the zippy 3 should help out a lot.

Today I am going to buy some wheel locks and probably the Club for my car. I know its not 100% effective, however, i love the fact that people can clearly see that my car is protected. I also want to buy some cheap mud flaps if they are available. I have the I Touring so hopefully it doesn't look weird or out of place.

As for the tires, I actually may wait until next winter to buy some real ones. I know everyone says to buy new ones, but there's no reason to not try these out to see for myself how they work before spending $600 on new ones. Thats a lot of money and if I can survive without them, then i'll wait.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I've been posting for a while on this site but I never had the car until yesterday! So I know how fun and welcoming it is, thats why I keep coming back!

 

1st adam: wanna get me a cheap deal on the wheel locks LOL.
2nd: kevin: the club would be a good idea but have you ever seen the movie Gone in 60 seconds.. people know how to take the club off. but unless its a car reallllly worth taking (no offence as my mazda3 is my baby) most people wont bother. i thought about the club but being in ontario and where i live.. nobody has stolen cars so i have noo need to but people have broken into cars and stolen **** soo i make sure i have nothing of value in my car.

 

Directly from one of the forums sponsors... Their prices are pretty good too... considering what the dealership want for the same thing.
http://www.mazdaparts.org/mazda-wheel-locks.html

 

hmmm that would be something to get.. thats extremely cheap. but is it canadian or americano?