I have to say how much I was impressed by the clearnessof thought and the writing of your op.You have obviously done some research and are pretty clear about what's available and whatyou want.If you hadn't stated that you were only 16, I wouldn't have guess it.

Having said that, first and foremost, buy a used car. I assume your parents will be taking the brunt of the cost and expenses of your first car, so think of them. And as others have said, as a young and inexperienced driver, you are much more likely to make a mistake in judgement and have some sort of accident with it.Mine was mybeloved '57 Chevy 6 months after I got my licence. Two months after I had installed a rebuilt 327/4bbl and while the bumpers were out being re-chromed, and maaaann did that ever smarts, believe me.Let's hopeyour first isnot a fatal one for you, any passengers or whomever/whatever you might hit. Even being aware enough to watch out for other stupid and bad drivers takes time to develop properly.
I was 47 when I got my first new car. Can you guess what it was? Right, my current Mazda3 HB. I drove used cars for over 30 yrs, and y'know what? There's something to be said for doing it that way too.
It amazes me how many parents think their kids need to drive new cars these days. That wasn't even an option when I was growing up, unless you were some snotty rich kid who couldn't give a damn and with the attention span of a gnat.

Mazda makes a good product and you could get years of use out of it. As Mr. Spots suggests, they aren't that old and often can be had at a much reduced rate over new.With that in mind, you would have more $$ left over to "personalize" it to your liking. I of course am partial to the HB, but I have had many HB's before.
Hope you can find a nice one and get a good deal on whatever you decide to do. Worry less about amenities right now and focus on getting a good, reliable vehicle.

Anyway, welcome to this forum and I hope too that you will hang out with us, no matter what you decide to get. i.e. VB up there doesn't even own a Mazda and is always welcome to add his 2 cents. He adds all kinds of funny stories and his own brand of insight, as we all do,to this forum.

Welcome hsaleen101!!

 

wow richard thats basically an amazing and well said response.. now its sad of a few rich kids at my school who are like omg my dads corvette is awesome better then your POS. me yes i bought a brand new car... yes im 18.. but i am in no way a snobby rich kid ya know.. its all about payments and what not. yes the parents helped me but i pay every month and i work for my money so there ya go.. although basically i am always ahead of my payments loll.

 

Thank you all for the prompt and very informative responses, I really appreciate it


And I believe that, for me, the best way to go is to go for a used hatchback with standard transmission. As read in one of the previous posts, it would be great to be "connected with the car"

And thank you especially to virgin1, I really appreciate the complement.

So I will continue to discuss what i'll end up getting with my parents. I really do thank you all for your time, hopefully the hatchback will fit all my future high school and college endeavors


hsaleem101

 

good luck.. today i saw the hatchback i wanted for 19000 today.. i was pissed! lol

 

Thank you. And I was not talking about you.I know you're not a snobby rich kid and that you work for what you have. That's a good thing.
I wasreferring to 30yrs ago when no kids I knew had nice, new cars. We all (well, most of us) had POS and made the best of them cause it was better than borrowing mummy and daddy's family sedan.


Oh and "H," you might remind your parents that it's extremely hard to talk on a phone or text message when driving a stick. That it requires more concentration on the driving itself.
Good luck!!

 

i can do that.. i can both text and talk on the phone and drive.. its easy once you get the hang of it lol. and i know you dont think of me like that. considering i consider my car my princess haha cuz i love it oh soo much

 

(Why are you giving a new driver such ideas??) Besides, it's a good argument for getting the stick!!

 

it is but since i drive a stick.. and i can do it.. it reallllly defeats the purpose right hahaha lol. although i taught myself how to do it annd now im quite good at it lol. i realize its a plus for new drivers but after driving for about 9 months now ive taught myself stuff i never thought i would before. its quite amazing

 

If your gonna go used, I wouldn't go further back than 2006. The Mazda3 came out in 2004, like any totally new design, they didn't get everything 100% right, the vehicle has IMO been quite refined from 2006 forward. No offense to owners of 2005s and 2004s, but if you've been paying attention, you must agree this car has gotten progressively better over time.

This Edmunds review is worth looking at: http://www.edmunds.com/mazda/mazda3/review.html Edmunds is a very respected auto reviewer, the fact that they had very positive things to say, combined with Consumer Reports vouching for this vehicle's reliability, were big factors for me.

I drove a stick for years, was fun, but am very happy with the auto I now own (it is a "sport shift" which is cool). Young person that you are, you may enjoy a stick, it's a personal thing, I don't think one is hands down better than the other.

I agree with VB, the "touring" trim level is a good level to buy. And I agree with Jaimie, the Mazda3's looks beat those of Civic.

I have the 2.0, it has plenty of punch, very decent fuel economy if you take it easy. I think if I bought the 2.3, I'd be in trouble with the law ...

 

I must disagree with Uber once again...but not too much.
Yes, the 3 has undergone some improvements over the years, but not all are for the better.
What is for the better, and not mentioned in that Edmunds article that I agreeis generally a good source (I used it before buying my 3 too,) is that in '07, Mazdachanged the suspension geometry to improve handling... slightly.That's a good thing. Is it worth the price of admission? I doubt it.
The fact is that you might buy an '04 or '05 that is perfectly suited to the task for much, much less than an '07. And w/o trying to be condescending here, would you as a new driver really know the difference?
After '05(?) Mazda made it more difficult to get the options you wan while leaving those out that you don't by creating the Sport, Touring and GT trim lines. Now many options are "packaged" and are not available any other way. I HATE that!!!

As far as auto vs stick is concerned, I have been nothing but a stick driver for nearly 35yrs and wouldn't have it any other way. If I lived in NYC, or LA...? I'm not sure how I'd feel about it. I do live outside a major city (Austin, TX) and drive in city traffic every day. I don't have a problem, except that there are so many slow-poke, bad-assed drivers out there who would rather talk on their cell phones, or play w/their stereos, or stick their fingers in their ears/up their noses or up their assesthan simply enjoy the drive.
Many younger 3 drivers I know that opted for the auto (man-u-matic, as I like to call them) have been ultimately disappointed... one to the point of trading his very nice '04 HB in on a Speed3 (6-sp.) The other notable young man wants to convert his '06 to a manual... not a very easy or cheap task in a modern car.
Mileage and power suffer w/the auto and goes against what Mazda has been trying to tout an accomplish these many years w/their "sporty car" image.

TheTouring trim is a good choice. If I had it to do over again it would be a toss-up for me between the LED tails and HIDheadlightsof the GT or the cloth interior, which I prefer, of the Touring.

The 2.0L is a great engine and should not be looked over just because of the 2.3. This I whole-heartedly agree.