Buy 2010 now or wait for the 2012's to arrive?

[millhouse]

Should I wait until January (or whenever the new 5's arrive) to buy a 2010 Mazda5?

I have pretty much ruled out purchasing a new 2012 based on the photos I have seen. I can't get over the new "waves" on the side and the new rear/front ends.

I am however ready to purchase a 2010. Should I take advantage of the 0% financing now and just buy one of the remaining 2010's or should I wait til the dealers have both models on the lot and use that as a bargaining chip to get a cheaper 2010?

From what I can tell the price point of the new model(s) is essentially the same. Seems like it will be tough to move the old ones when a consumer can get the latest one for the same price (assuming they like the new one better).

I also talked to 2 different sales managers about when to expect the new 2012 models. The first one said It would still be 6 - 7 months even thought the press release says January. The other admitted Mazda wasn't the best at hitting delivery deadlines, but he anticipated February. I am no that desperate to buy immediately, but the warranty on my current vehicle is expiring at the end of this year, so I am motivated to buy sooner then later.

I appreciate any feedback anyone may have.

Regards,

 

[wilkens21]

I was in the same exact boat as you until I bought my 2010 M5 about 2-3 weeks ago. With the same questions/reservations...

The 2012 is just hideous to me. It's like something out of "Jaws 3", and the fact that if you get into an accident and damage the door(s), it'll cost even more to fix it if you want the wavy look to be consistent on both sides of your car.

If you can wait til Jan 1, the price will drop quite a bit on the 2010 (as it'll be "last year's model"), and I would strike then. Talking to the Mazda dealer about it, he agreed that it would be at least $500 off, and probably a whole lot more depending on your negotiation skills/patience to grab a good deal out of him/her.

I couldn't wait til Jan 1, because I have another little one on the way.

Best of luck.

 

[DKaz]

You can't beat 0% financing, that's like being given free money. They could up the incentives if you wait (or not, that's the chance you take) but if you need one now, it's a great time to buy.

 

[wilkens21]

I think Mazda always has 0% financing to stay competitive and to have people just stay there and not shop for the Honda/Toyota/etc that they might otherwise do after leaving the dealership....I bought a 3 from them a few years back with the same deal.

When I bought the 5 recently the dealer said I could take the 0% for the "5" and they would need to hold back some other incentives or pay cash and get past that barrier for a better price.

Either way you can't lose.

 

[Foolish]

We're buying ours tonight, 2010 5 Sport, 5MT. We got it for 14,900. Hell of a deal. We shopped it here, because we saw this price online, but they offered too little on our trade, and this dealership chain has a piss-poor reputation that dates back to at least the 1960's, so we got one from Brown's, and they matched the price and beat the trade! They had to get it brought down from PA, so we're picking it up tonight!

 

[millhouse]

We're buying ours tonight, 2010 5 Sport, 5MT. We got it for 14,900.

Are you using the 0% financing? If so did you encounter them removing certain incentives like another poster mentioned?

 

[Foolish]

We couldn't get that price and the 0%, as the incentive is $2000 rebate/customer cash or 0% interest. We got a pretty nice rate through our Credit Union, though, and the dealer is going to try to beat that, so we'll see.

 

[wilkens21]

14.9 is a sick price for a new mazda 5.... good job there...it's getting near Toyota Yaris pricing if you know what I mean!

 

[Heat]

I'd wait, there are often good incentives in January or February. I bought my Mazda5 in February '09.

If you are looking for a manual transmission, wait for the next generation to get the 6-speed manual transmission (I'm not sure if the '11 has a 5-speed or 6-speed manual). The five-speed manual stinks at highway mileage, it's actually worse than automatic transmissions since it runs at higher RPMs. That is, if you are driving at 70 mph, in an automatic your engine is running at about 2400 RPMs (around there, not sure of the exact number) while if you were in a manual your engine would be running at a little over 3,000 RPMs.

The reason why the EPA estimate shows good mileage numbers for the manual transmission is that the average speed for the highway test is around 45 or 48 mph. Well below interstate speeds.

 

[Silentnoise713]

I'd wait, there are often good incentives in January or February. I bought my Mazda5 in February '09.

If you are looking for a manual transmission, wait for the next generation to get the 6-speed manual transmission (I'm not sure if the '11 has a 5-speed or 6-speed manual). The five-speed manual stinks at highway mileage, it's actually worse than automatic transmissions since it runs at higher RPMs. That is, if you are driving at 70 mph, in an automatic your engine is running at about 2400 RPMs (around there, not sure of the exact number) while if you were in a manual your engine would be running at a little over 3,000 RPMs.

The reason why the EPA estimate shows good mileage numbers for the manual transmission is that the average speed for the highway test is around 45 or 48 mph. Well below interstate speeds.

I am in the same situation but can't seem to pull the trigger on a 2010 b/c I do a lot of HW commuting and want a manual. Gas savings and comfort can easily cover the additional cost over the 2010 model.

That said, I also believe Jan onward will have the best price for 2010s. $14,900 is pretty good, but once you factor in taxes, titles, fees, etc.. it will bring the OTD total to about low/mid $16K. Toward the end, Mazda was discounting Mazdaspeed Miatas about ~4500-5000 after the new �06 was coming out but your selection is severely limited.


Some other points to consider.
-Considering the 2012 sport 6MT MRSP is $19,990, I am going on a limb to say you can prob get it OTD for ~19K. This makes the OTD difference about $3,000 between the 2010 and 2012. The 3K nets you the extra gear, minor bump in torque, and updated interior (only 3 benefits I can see).

-The 2012 will hold depreciation value better b/c in 2013 it is a one year old car whereas the 2010 will be 3 years old. Come resale time, the 2012 should hold atleast $1,500 more than a 2010. So now the real difference is ~$1,500 over the life of ownership but you get the 3 added benefits above with a 2012. If it does return better MPG, say even 1-2 HW MPG over the life of ownership, then the cost difference is about a wash... Depending on how much mileage you put on, MPG can save you a lot of money!

-This also means Mazda is stuck with the same chassis/specs until they can release the 2013 model sometime in 2012 (I'm guessing they'll resume the normal fall release). 2013 fits perfectly with Mazda's schedule to release the Sky-G (hopefully Sky-D too) for the Mazda 5 (my speculation as nothing is confirmed). I would expect the 2013 Mazda 5 to produce similar numbers to the Mazda 3 Sky-G test car.
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/10q3/mazda_sky-g_and_sky-d_engines-car_news
"Starting from the ground up, Mazda has impressively leapfrogged its previous gas engine, to the tune of estimated EPA fuel-economy ratings in a Sky-equipped Mazda 3 of 30 mpg city and 39 to 40 highway."

-Fall of 2011, we'll see the Ford C-Max (7 seater, slider doors).

-Way out in the limb but Hyundai or Kia is speculated to release a Rhondo replacement (2013/14?) based on the new 2012 Elantra (7 seater, starndard hinge doors). If you don't know about the 2012 Elantra and what it has to offer, I recommend looking it up!

-There'll always be something better/cheaper tomorrow so the question is how long can you wait??

 

[millhouse]

"The 2012 will hold depreciation value better b/c in 2013 it is a one year old car whereas the 2010 will be 3 years old."

You raise a valid point with that statement. Is Mazda screwing over consumers from a "resale" point of view by not having a 2011 model?

It seems that buying a 2010 in January could be costly. But that fact could also be used as another negotiation point.

For me the idea is to buy a car that will last my family longer then just a few years. I am selling my '07 Audi because the cost of ownership is just too high after my warranty expires (this month).

An automatic transmission is preferred for my family, so waiting for a new manual dosen't make sense. Not to mention my overall disdain for the new exterior.

Based on your logic above what would be a realistic OTD price for a 2010 Grand Touring bought in January? My thinking is that this model would be the hardest to move once the new models arrive.

 

[mpvue]

'getting a deal' depends on a lot of factors; do they have it in stock? are they having a bad month? are you financing through them?
some people think they can get a better deal if they have cash; not so. the dealer makes a LOT of money on financing, so a 'cash deal' takes money from them.
all car dealers have monthly goals, so waiting until the last day of the month is a good time to shop, or at least the last few days.
even then, they are really never giving anything away, unless you have the perfect storm of buying a car that they've had sitting on the lot for a few months, they haven't hit their goal, and the weather is bad.

 

[DKaz]

I don't think the new model or skipped model year will have anything to do with the resale values. Mazdas don't tend to hold their value quite as well as Toyota but if you look at the first gen Mazda 3s they're still pretty decent even though the current gen Mazda 3 sales are currently through the roof at least in Canada.

My Mazda 5's resale value plummeted the minute it hit 100k kms so it's a moot point for me.

 

[flcruising]

Who cares about resale value with these things? I thought we were all on this forum because we like our vehicles so much that we're being buried in them?

I don't foresee my wife ever letting us get rid of the 5. She still mentions how much she enjoys driving it.

 

[DKaz]

Of course I love my 5, it's like driving a spaceship. I smile everytime I drive it.

I admit I test drove a Dodge Journey last night and a Sienna SE a few weeks ago, neither did anything for me. With the Dodge Journey I was scared I would miss the oddly placed brake pedal and rear end someone, the driving ergonomics in that car is just so off it's not funny, but interior fit and finish is really not bad and other than the cheapish seat material and the 7th seat is nice... but otherwise meh... The Sienna was ok but $36k is just out of this world.

 

[jred321]

You will likely have better luck negotiating with a dealer at the end of this year instead of waiting until the beginning of next. Depending on how the dealer/salesman is doing getting another sale on the 2010 books could be much more valuable to them than getting one at the beginning of the 2011 books. If you're interested it's worth paying them a visit to see what they can do, just be sure to say no a few times and wait until the very end of the year to see what they can really do

 

[Heat]

I didn't realize that the 2012 model will be released in Janaury and that they are skipping the 2011 model.

Anyway - sure, wait for the 2012 model in January. If you *really* like the 2010 model you will find killer deals at that time, though I think the changes for 2012 are nice. Besides, you can compare them side by side in January.