Bought A new car today...

Well, Mrs. Mini did. Bought a Mazda3, 5peed ,air, cruise, yada, yada, yada, pretty basic model. It was exactly what she wanted. Told the salesman what she was looking for. He called back told her she could have an '09 (one of 4 he had-she was looking for a left over '08)for the $$ she wanted to spend and they would add the cruise.Total out the door was less than $15K. It sounded too good to be true, but we went today to see him at the dealership. Drove 75 miles to Rochester(John Holtz), through a couple of good snow squalls, fully expecting a song and dance or the old bait and switch when we got there. Not only was the salesman, Joey Eldred, prepared, professional and all around nice kid, but the deal was even a few hundred bucks less than we had expected. No running back and forth, or playing games for a couple of hours. It actually was a good experience. All dealers should be this easy to do business with.

I've found Holtz's sales department, especially the internet/phone guys, to be pretty professional and very easy to deal with. I'm none too pleased with the BMW service department though - my 750 just spent 8 days waiting for a part that should have been overnighted, and they "could not duplicate" three of the noise issues I had, one of which is an obvious suspension clunk, one is an obvious electronics issue, and one is a noisy sunroof seal.

Enjoy the Mazda3, they're big fun for the money and make nice daily drivers. PM me if you have a challenge car or similar fun toy you need a hand with sometime (I'm southeast of Rochester).

Scott

Is the 09 the restyle or the same as an 08? I really like the current/old MS3 but never had a chance to drive a base model, though I suspect it's still fun and peppy. Sounds like you and her did well, congrats!

I bought my MS3 from an internet sales guy. Best buying experience EVAR. Maybe Mazda is getting the hang of selling to people who want speed and convenience instead of games and time consumption.

Congratulations on the new purchase! They are almost like a super poor man's 3 Series. Even though I drove one of the earliest models years ago, that was probably one of my favorite cars i've test driven ever (this includes an R32, a Merc Slk350 and a VW Touraeg V10 Tdi)..

The '09 looks like the '08. The ride and handling are far superior to the '05 Jetta she just sold, but it's new, so we'll see once we have 20 or 30k on it. The last of a particular body run is usually the best of the breed. That's why we pulled the trigger now. It has the 2.0 instead of the 2.3, but with the 5-speed, it's plenty snappy for what she wanted and should give her better mileage. The <$15K included N.Y. 8% sales tax, new tags, title fee, and all the other little B.S. they tack on (although at this dealer, it was a minimum). Besides the ride and handling being better than the Jetta, the seats are much more supportive and there seems to be more room. We also looked at a Cobalt, but the seats sucked, and a Focus. While we liked the '07 Focus, we don't like the restyle they did in 08. We liked the Mazdaspeed 3, but couldn't justify the extra$$$ - don't forget, she also has a 911SC for fun. For the money spent and being an 09, I don't think she could go wrong.

Datsun1500 wrote: One of the local dealers has a used 2009 Mazdaspeed 3 5 door with 600 miles on it, wonder why someone got rid of it?

maybe they got laid off right after they bought the car or something?

I will bet that the MazdaSpeed3 with 600 miles was an accident victim or a stolen recovery.

Mazda3 are the best buy in that market slice. The 5sp with 2.0 should return 35+mpg on the highway all day and still be somewhat entertaining.

I bought a 2.3 HB version last year and love it. Some very simple mods and tire really alter this car into a class beater. Great cars... cant wait for 2010.