Hi to all, getting a 2008 mazda 3 touring edition on saturday. not sure on color blue mica or metropolitan gray?
new to the forum and i apologize ahead of time if not doing it right. Live in ontario,ca and just love the mazda 3 \ another family member owns one and love the looks of the car.

 

I vote for the blue mica. Grey is just... gray. Blue has some spark to it. That's what I woudl go with.
Congrats and welcome ELSALV39!!

 

Go with the blue mica. I regret having bought a grey vehicle myself...though, luckily, Malibus aren't dimes a dozen around here like Camries and Accords.

 

Thank you for your input, but the metropolitan grey is soo cool. I drove my mazda home and love it. got it with just 4 miles on it. what do you recomend my firts hundred miles on driving it should be? I mean take it slow or go a bit fast on for the next few days to break in the motor/ Any help would be appreciated. Than you in advance.

 

From what I've heard, you don't really need to break in new cars. Drive normally.

 

This is pretty typical advice for a modern car,however:
1) Don't make a habit of driving at consistent speeds for too long. In other words, no long trips on cruise control for a while. If a long trip is in your future, vary your speed and make occasional stops, etc...
2) (This one should always be on your mind) Allow the fluids in the engine and tranny to fully warm before "getting on it." 5-6 miles (9-10 KMs) will normally do thatfor you, unless it's REALLY cold outside.
3) Don't redline theengine at least until afterthe first oil change.
And onthat last subject, be aware that modern cars have a program that logs such information on the ECU. Redline it, or run it up to the rev limiter and your dealer will know. (Big Brother is watching.)

And, keep in mind that the engine is not the only thing that you arebreaking in either.
Try to avoid hard stops using the brakesfor the first 200-300 miles (300-500 KMs.) Allow the pads and rotors to break in together and wear off any break in or protective coating(s) that may have been applied.

 

if ur in the toronto area AVOID taking the 401 for a little while especially in bad traffic. i dont think its good for a car if its stop and go especially if its a manual. if its an automatic its not as big a deal but with my experience when i was in stop and go traffic in guelph. my car didnt like it. now its fine but for the first little while it wasnt that great

 

Great info \ virgin1- That does realy answer a lot of questons that I had. It's been really hot in California 103 to 108F. Will be tinting the windows really soon. Have a good start of theweek and thank you again.

 

just asking \ how do i go about removing the license plate frame on the front of the car? will it look funny or it cant be done. will there be a problem in doing so.

 

You mean... like this?


It's fairly simple to do and make it look good. Here's what I did:
1) Remove the 2 self-tapping bolts that hold the bracket/mount on the bumper.
2) Using your finger, a small nail, etc push in the remaining plastic back into the hole.
3) I used clear epoxyto fill the holes and a sharp razor blade to trim off the excess, but a plastic welder would probably be better.
4) Use several coats of your touch-up paint and cover the scars, and you're done!