10 Year Mazdas247 Member Preparing to Return (re: 2012 MS3- Need Insight)

LazerBlueP5

Member
:
2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe // 6spd
Hey guys, I've been a member here- wow, a decade now. This is, by far, the longest membership to any online forum I've ever had and even though I tend to move around in cars a lot in the past I've always kept this community on the map checking back frequently to get my fill of Mazda News. It truly is a wonderful community and am happy to have been a part of it, even in a small way, for so many years.

In the past 10 years I've owned several cars, two of which were Mazdas. A Protege5 back in 2002, and a Mazdaspeed3 in 2008. I traded my Protege5 in 2005 for an STi, and my MS3 for an SRT6. The former being a huge upgrade (in terms of performance) and the latter for something different (which turned out to be a wonderful car in it's own right).

Now a decade later I've gotten the itch again and am looking to get back into a Mazdaspeed3. I plan on adding this car to our stable (I'm currently driving a 2011 BMW 335i x-drive). Part of the excitement when I got my first Mazdaspeed back in 2008 was the unreleased Cobb Accessport. I was very fond of it on my Subaru and had high hopes for it for the Mazda. When it was released it was almost uniformly trashed by the comment for the apparent small gains it yielded.

From what I've read they've learned quite a bit more about these cars since then and with proper fueling (HPFP internal or full upgrade) a substantial amount more power can be unlocked. Is this correct?

It appears there are only two options for the newer MS3's- with or without tech package. Is this true? What is an honest to goodness fair price on each? I see they sell for about 24,xxx and 26,xxx respectively. What is a realistic number I should expect to pay on either car? Also what are the finance rates you guys have been able to get through Mazda? I'm 34 years old and have top tier credit (close to 800). Finally what's the best interest rates you've seen with 60 vs 72 months?

I'm heavily leaning toward something new but am not 100% sold on buying new. I say this because I may opt to do some major upgrades (ie bigger turbo, built engine). Speaking of which I've found excellent speciality shops in my area (South Jersey/Philadelphia) for my BMW and my previous Corvette. Shops that specialized in just BMW and just Corvettes/LS engines. Granted I don't expect to find something like that for a Mazda (smaller market) however are there any suggestions for shops that would be well versed with working on DISI Mazda engines?

Anyway- thank you kindly in advance! PS If I do go new I'm torn between white and liquid silver.

PPS Here's a shot of the current other obsession:

my335xi.jpg
 
You are correct. It's either the base touring or touring with tech package. I used TrueCar.com to get my price which was 24,260 with the tech package. It was basically no haggle since the dealer participated with truecar, so what they quote is what you pay. Not sure what interest rate Mazda is offering currently, but most credit unions are around 2.75-2.99% on a new car for 60 months.

I love the white, but it is a pain in the rear (literally) to keep the back of it clean. You can detail it, then as soon as you drive it down the road it blows black soot all up the back of the car and it really really stands out on the white. I heard a tune and new exhaust help with the soot though. I'm still waiting for Hypertech to release their tune for the 2012s and I'm not sure if Cobb has a tune out for them yet either.
 
Spent some time at a local dealer today they were offering a 2012 Liquid Silver (non-tech) for $22,600. Not bad- however I don't like what I hear about Cobbs tune not working on the new 2012's, is this correct??? Cobb's website says 2010-2012 MS3.
 
They must have recently added 2012 support then. When I bought my Hypertech and found out it didn't support the 2012's I checked Cobb and they hadn't added support yet either... Why is Hypertech being so slow.. :(
 
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