Hey all, very excited to be here. Just bought a 5-door Mazda 3 S GT. It's a bittersweet purchase, but I'm excited nonetheless.

In 2006 my parents bought me my first car, an '02 Mini Cooper S with 42k miles on it, whom I named Diego. I loved that thing more than anything in the world. Ten years later, I've put 98k miles on him, and he comprises 100% of my car memories through high school and college.

Over the years my parents and I funneled $13k into it in maintenance alone. It's now old, and wrinkly, and scratched up, and uncomfortable.

I'm super pumped to have bought an S GT 6-speed (being delivered tomorrow!). It's such a comfortable, eleagant car that doesn't destroy my bank account, and has maybe the best styling I've seen on an Asian car. I will never love a car like I love Diego (the Mini) but I'm so relieved he'll have a new home (more accurately, not my home).

Any advice or shared love for Mini, or the 5-door, please say hi.

 

On Monday I will drive my 2010 MINI Clubman to pick up my new 2016 Mazda3 Hatch iTouring. While I have loved driving both of my MINIs, the first an '03 Cooper, almost 285K miles in 13.5 years, I too am really tired of the expensive maintenance and reliability issues.

I'm a newbie here so I hope I can use this site for info not coming from the dealership or Mazda Inc. Looking forward to the Mazda ride.