Buying a Mazda 3GT

Cbray

Member
:
Mazda 5 GT
Hi everyone
Just looking to see if this is a decent price.
I'm looking at buying a 2010 Mazda 3 GT with tech package . Fully loaded, with leather, sunroof, nav. Push button start , 18inch alloys, 6 speed manual with a 2.5L. Bose system. It has every option ticked off. It has 42,000 miles on it, and it's only a one owner. Not a scratch on the car, looks real nice. Is $9000 a good price for this? And anything I should look out for?
Thanks.
 
Low mileage can be a concern, if the 2010 car was bought new in 2009, and the oil was changed every 6 months as directed, you should have about 16-18 oil change receipts.

However if, your previous owner only changed the oil every 7500 miles, then you will have only around 6 oil change receipts.

Since you are in rust country, I would make sure to get it in the air and inspected on a lift.
 
BUT if the owner used synthetic oil, he or she could've changed the oil and filter every year without issue. I change my oil every year with 5000 miles driven per year but I could theoretically go 14 months or so between changes.

Also relevant is the typical length of time driving. Short (<8 or 10 miles, depending on ambient temperature) trips could necessitate more frequent oil changes, as would using non-synthetic oil.
 
Since you are in rust country, I would make sure to get it in the air and inspected on a lift.

He should certainly get it up for a look regardless but Canada's a big country, not all of it is 'rust country'.
 
He should certainly get it up for a look regardless but Canada's a big country, not all of it is 'rust country'.

You are correct. I was wrong to generalize, and I am sorry if I offended any. There are just so many posters on this forum from Canada who complain about rust being an issue, it seems to be a common thread. To me "Rust country" is also including the mid west to the upper east USA.
 
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BUT if the owner used synthetic oil, he or she could've changed the oil and filter every year without issue. I change my oil every year with 5000 miles driven per year but I could theoretically go 14 months or so between changes.

Also relevant is the typical length of time driving. Short (<8 or 10 miles, depending on ambient temperature) trips could necessitate more frequent oil changes, as would using non-synthetic oil.

Agreed! Some people can get hung up on "low miles", but my experience has taught me that with used cars, it comes down to how the car was driven and maintained that makes the difference.
 
You are correct. I was wrong to generalize, and I am sorry if I offended any. There are just so many posters on this forum from Canada who complain about rust being an issue, it seems to be a common thread. To me "Rust country" is also including the mid west to the upper east USA.


No offense and yes I would say it's more descriptive of the central/Eastern parts of where our two countries join that it's of greater issue.

There's TONNES of 20 year old Mazda's here on the left coast with little/no rust (even despite all the rain). Though I'm sure it's nowhere near as good as in the sun belt (though that has it's own issues with fading and cracking etc).
 
I have done my due diligence to the car, and it was only ever serviced at the Mazda dealership, as the sales manager owned it. It has 14 sevice records all of which include oil change.
 
I had it up in the air as well, looks good, no rust. Undercoated very well. It's been undercoated since new. So is it worth buying at $9000? It drives real nice and love the 2.5 mated to the 6 speed. Fun car to drive! And love all the options it has.
 
The first thing I do when gauging cost is to look at similar vehicles in Craigslist or Autotrader.
Then I look at the Kelly Blue Book value, which takes into consideration the area in which the owner resides, along with many other factors.
Back a couple of years ago, my son bought a 2012 3/Touring with about 50,000 miles on it for $10,500, so I think $9000 is a good price, based upon that single data point.
 

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