Hello all! A little background on me: My name is Josh. I medically retired from the US Army (due to wounds sustained in combat) on January 15th of this year. My wife and I moved here to Van Alstyne, TX (I lived in Fort Worth Prior to the service, my parents and brother still live there), where we set up in our new home. I took a job at PACCAR Leasing (Peterbilt's Leasing Co) as a diesel technician working on late model Peterbilt and Kenworth Rigs.

The job is great but it comes with a LONG commute (100 miles per day round trip) , and a 50% pay cut from the service. So rather than take a hit in the quality of lifestyle department, my wife and I decided to sell our boat which we had not used in a year, and trade in our pickup. We had a 2011 Ram 1500 Big Horn. We LOVED it and it was paid for, but the fuel economy with my commute, and the fact that I have land 80 miles in both directions I want to be able to frequent, and the pay cut I had to take when I left the service, meant there was just no place in our lives for the Ram anymore. I always told my wife that if the truck ever became a burden, I would sell it in a heartbeat. That was the ONLY condition she had with me getting one to begin with, and of course, I agreed. So, last monday, I put the boat up for sale. It was gone on friday. I hadnt used it in a year, its been sitting, I just haven't had the time to even think about fishing.

In comes the CX-5. Purchased at Eldorado Mazda on 21 June 2014, it was literally the most painless buying experience I have ever had. I have had more anguish over buying a TV. We got a SMOKING deal. They quite literally paid us to take it. It has minor hail damage and because its an "old" 2014 (oct 13 build date), they dropped the price to 23k. Then gave me a $1,500 rebate, then a $500 veterans discount, then subtracted another $3k for the hail.

Then we talked trade in, AFTER we agreed on the price of the car. They ended up giving me just over $28.5k for my Ram after some back and forth, which I took, paid for the car, and walked out with the difference stashed for some goodies LOL.

So without further delay, our new 2014 Mazda CX-5 FWD Touring in Sky Blue Mica:



































First mod is already done-6000K HID's. They were in my Ram

 

That's a great deal!
Love the blue and tinted windows. (my car is also blue and tinted).

 

Nice car! Excellent deal! I never walked out a dealership with real money in my pocket!

Buy your wife a little something from Blue Nile. You guys deserve a little self indulgence after your deployments and the resulting aftermath!

 

The tint was done by the dealer, they do it to all their cars. This is TX, and its HOT. LOL, all kidding aside, Sales guy said they put it on all the new cars due to the soft touch materials on the dash and doors.

Also, all the new cars on the lot had the MAZDA sunscreens in the windsheilds. They were REALLY careful to take good care of all the new cars. I think thats why they gave us such a large discount on the hail damage, which is honestly minimal. I can't pick it up in pix, and if you stand 5-10 ft away from the car you cant see it at all.