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Izalco

Member
Started following the forums since the release of the new 3. I'm in the market for a new vehicle as my aging 99 integra with 300k mi is ready to retire. I also need something more practical than a coupe. So the extra back middle seat and trunk space is a plus since I do a lot of outdoor activities.

I've narrowed it down to getting the iT w/tech or iGT 6MT HB builds. I'm deciding if I want to spend the extra $2k to get the GT for leather and moon roof.

I have some questions for current owners:
  • How is the leatherette seats in the iGT model so far? (I have never had leather seats before and concerned about cracking/wear long term)
  • What price are you guys paying for the iGT? (Most quoted prices are $24-25k depending on what accessories the dealer has slapped on)
  • Has anyone seen the Titanium Flash in person? It looks brownish on the web. Is that true in person?
Planning on going to the auto show this weekend to check out the car in person and go for a test ride. Just wanted to get some feedback from the forum. Thanks guys!
 
The dealer incentives is low currently "kickback money often given with customer satisfaction with dealer".
They are not motivated to make you happy.

Be aware of the dealer tactics bate a switch cars "they tried to sell me the old tech package on the 2.5 and not the new one after reminding them about this detail 10 times, they only way i caught this was a VIN check with the paperwork and the window sticker". They had 2 cars identical to each other one with the old tech package and one with the new.

Hidden fees in your paperwork. Get them to write down all of your fees upfront before dealing, it will save you time. Do not hand them a dime or sign a paper till you have finished with the details. I would suggest finding financing someplace else. If you have USAA insurance I got 72mo at 2.0% no fees.
 
The leatherette is awesome so far! I can't speak for durability as I've only recently got the car, but it feels better than the real leather in the volvo XC90 IMO. Could just be a preference thing, but yeah it feels great. In terms of price, i got it for somewhere in the mid to low $23,000 markthough we did buy two cars at once from them, so that surely sweetened the deal ;)
 
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Same Road

Izalco said:
Started following the forums since the release of the new 3. I'm in the market for a new vehicle as my aging 99 integra with 300k mi is ready to retire. I also need something more practical than a coupe. So the extra back middle seat and trunk space is a plus since I do a lot of outdoor activities.

I've narrowed it down to getting the iT w/tech or iGT 6MT HB builds. I'm deciding if I want to spend the extra $2k to get the GT for leather and moon roof.

I have some questions for current owners:
  • How is the leatherette seats in the iGT model so far? (I have never had leather seats before and concerned about cracking/wear long term)
  • What price are you guys paying for the iGT? (Most quoted prices are $24-25k depending on what accessories the dealer has slapped on)
  • Has anyone seen the Titanium Flash in person? It looks brownish on the web. Is that true in person?
Planning on going to the auto show this weekend to check out the car in person and go for a test ride. Just wanted to get some feedback from the forum. Thanks guys!
Click to expand...


I just purchased a 2014 Mazda3 iGT 6MT HB Meteor Grey Mica and I had the same questions and looked at the same configs you are...

Here is what I was looking for when I started.
2014 Mazda3 iT 6MT HB w/tech...any color but light blue, silver, or white (I just do not like those colors). I was determined to purchase by the end of December to try and get the best deal. I am really cheap at heart.
After weeks of looking, I only found one in the region and it was silver...argh.

I decided to see about the same config in the iGT. Here I had more options but again it is not common to find a car in a manual in a higher trim.
Most of the manual trans were in the iSport or were sedans.

I was able to negotiate what I think was a good price for the iGT. The MSRP is $24,040 (with destination...not including title, docs, taxes). I was able to get the iGT for $22,499 (with destination...not including title, docs, taxes). The invoice is, from what I have seen, about $23,100 for this car.

I believe I was able to swing a deal below invoice because I was buying at the end of year and negotiated between 12 dealers.

Getting to your specific questions...

Jury still out about the leatherette seats. I have the same concerns but I comfort myself in thinking that in a higher trim class like the iGT they should be of high quality. The seats really are perfect, they are just right amount of comfort and firmness. I plan just to wipe them down once in a while and hope for the best.

About price, I already covered that above. If you are negotiable about color and even going with a sedan, I think getting a great price should be possible. I would not give up on the 6MT, though...I think this car was meant to be this way. Consider waiting till the end of the month to buy and check out 6 plus dealers in the area.

I went with Grey but it was a toss up with Titanium. The dealer had both these in the config I wanted but the Grey had lower miles so I went with it. The color in person is much better then in pictures.

I wish you he best of luck in your search and hope you find what you are looking for.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys.

I drove several cars over the weekend at the auto show. The two cars I am deciding on are the Mazda 3 and Subaru Impreza Sport HB. I also drove a BMW i3 just to see what an EV felt like. After the test drives the 3 wins hands down. Although the Impreza was a contender the styling of the 3 (int/ext) won me over.

G^2/cxpmaz how hard did you have to negotiate to get $23k price for the iGT? Most of the 6MT iGTs in SoCal are going for $24.5k+ (w/dest but pre TTL). I would settle for the touring but it seems like the GTs can be had for under $24k. This will be my 3rd car in the last 17yrs and my first new purchase. So dealing with a sales person will be a new thing for me.
 
Izalco said:
Thanks for the feedback guys.

I drove several cars over the weekend at the auto show. The two cars I am deciding on are the Mazda 3 and Subaru Impreza Sport HB. I also drove a BMW i3 just to see what an EV felt like. After the test drives the 3 wins hands down. Although the Impreza was a contender the styling of the 3 (int/ext) won me over.

G^2/cxpmaz how hard did you have to negotiate to get $23k price for the iGT? Most of the 6MT iGTs in SoCal are going for $24.5k+ (w/dest but pre TTL). I would settle for the touring but it seems like the GTs can be had for under $24k. This will be my 3rd car in the last 17yrs and my first new purchase. So dealing with a sales person will be a new thing for me.
Click to expand...

I got this price with not too much negotiation. Unfortunately, I think you missed out because dealers were giving great deals just before the year ended (bought mine on NYE). My salesman had been helping us through a decision for the better part of a month, so he was friendly with us. Originally we were set on the iTouring, but as soon as he saw how I loved the iGT they had there, he said "I'm going to go talk to my manager, I'm gonna get you blowout pricing on this." Between that and the 6 we bought at the same time, we said we needed to stay at 500 a month for both cars. They adjusted accordingly and here we are today.

Also, FWIW the night before I made the purchased, I test drove the Impreza sport followed by the 3. The Mazda is absurdly better looking, has better interior, and drives nicer.

EDIT: Just realized you said that dealers were consistently quoting you 24k plus... what constitutes this price? MSRP is only 22,745, you should be able to go a bit lower so out the door it's 23 and change. Also, Mine had the moonroof visor, window visors, rear trunk guard, and others--they said it was $700 on top of the MSRP+ destination. Fortunately they came down a lot.
 
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Like G^2 mentioned, the end of the year was probably the best time to catch a deal. This is because many dealers are looking to make year end quotas.

This does not mean good deals are not out there.

You really do not have to negotiate that hard. I find a set of dealers say within 200 miles and I send them an email on what I am looking for and you are looking for the best price.

They will respond and you can use those quotes to try and get the other dealers down.

As you settle on a few dealers to negotiate with start to get specific around out the door pricing so you know what add ons they have like vin etching etc.
 
G^2/cxpmaz: Thanks for the input. I managed to find a dealer that has an iGT 6MT of my preferred color . I originally sent a internet request quote to the dealer through Mazda USA site. I received a phone call about an hour later from the internet manager at the dealer. I was quoted $23,200 and was told that this is a temporary price. I told him that I was a serious buyer and looking to buy within the next couple of weeks. I also told the manager that I am 150mi away from his dealership and looking at several other dealers. I was re-quoted with a discount at $22,800 because he noticed my serious interest. Compared to the prices you guys posted that appears to be an acceptable price.

I plan to go to the dealership this weekend to see/test drive it. My only concern now is how many miles are on the vehicle. It shouldn't be wrong for me to ask for the mileage on the car especially since I am coming from out of town? I just don't want to get there and see 100mi+ on the car.

GasSaver14 said:
Hidden fees in your paperwork. Get them to write down all of your fees upfront before dealing, it will save you time. Do not hand them a dime or sign a paper till you have finished with the details. I would suggest finding financing someplace else. If you have USAA insurance I got 72mo at 2.0% no fees.
Click to expand...

I've compared rates with my bank and credit unions. The best they could do is 1.9% so I plan on financing with the dealership since Mazda is offering .9% through their lender as their current special offer. Will be putting at least $10k down and paying off by the end of the year. I will take note of making sure they show me all fees so I'm not blind sided by something random. Thanks for the tip.
 
Great work! Just make sure you are completely aware of dealer/other hidden fees before you make the trek, your out the door price could be higher after they reel you in with the temporary price. Also, it would definitely be a good thing to ask about the miles. Good luck with the purchase!
 
I would not see anything wrong with asking for the odometer reading before making the trek out there.

You can also request the "out the door" price so you can see what taxes title and tags will be.

Is this car in the same state as you?

Also look up the dealer on bbb.org and dealrater.com. These sites are not great but you can look at what others think of that dealer.

Best of luck with the deal.
 
cxpmaz said:
I would not see anything wrong with asking for the odometer reading before making the trek out there.

You can also request the "out the door" price so you can see what taxes title and tags will be.

Is this car in the same state as you?

Also look up the dealer on bbb.org and dealrater.com. These sites are not great but you can look at what others think of that dealer.

Best of luck with the deal.
Click to expand...

I'll be sure to ask for the OTD price and odometer reading before I make the trek. Yes the car is in the same state. Just a couple cities north. The dealer is BBB accredited and has a 5.0 rating on dealerrater (40+ reviews in last 24mos.).

So far everything checks out well. I have had solid communication with the dealer and they appear to be a quality dealership. All that's left is for me to see the vehicle and make sure everything is good. Weekend can't come soon enough!

Thanks again guys! (2thumbs)
 
Well I can say I am part of the club now!

Just took delivery of a Meteor Gray Mica 3iGT 6MT HB over the weekend. I originally wanted an iT but could not find a gray one in my area w/tech. I really didn't want the "leatherette" but it's actually growing on me and they feel really comfortable. The moonroof is a plus also on this trim.

I was able to negotiate a price of $22,600. Most dealers in the area were quoting just under $23.5k and for colors that I didn't want. I checked bbb and truecar fair prices and it was still lower than their average prices were. I felt that I received a decent deal. The build date happened to be the month of my birthday so I guess it was meant for me heh. The dealer is one of the top dealers in the greater area too so I had a good feeling from buying from them.

Funny story. I was driving on the freeway back home. There was a '14 Corolla and Panamera both in white on the 1 and 2 lanes to my left. I was in lane 3 and a '14 Meteor Gray Mica CX-5 on lane 4. We all had dealer signs in our rear license plate holders lol.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the 3. Thanks again Gas, alex, G, and cx. It made the buying experience that much simpler from help with the M247 community. (yippy)
 
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