Want to purchase my first Mazda but hae some questions.

eteran4

Member
:
Mazda 3 2013
Hello all,

Im new here from Arizona. I have been very interested in purchasing my first Mazda. It would be a 2013 Mazda 3 I Touring Hatchback Automatic that going for 8,500$. It has 133,XXX miles which is why I have second thoughts. The dealer says they are highway miles more than anything but they could be saying anything. They also said the have maintenance records handy but before I look at them what type of maintenance should I be looking for with amount of miles the car has. I other words what problems should I expect to run into lets say 1-2 years down the road. The car has a clean title with no exterior or interior damage. I honestly feel that something is expected to go wrong with that many miles and that low of price. Please help! I'm trying to get something economical and fun.

Manny
 
Is that really a good price for a 2013 Mazda 3? I have that very car with roughly the same mileage and when I looked at valuations, I didn't think I could get that much. I haven't had any issues with my car apart from the front side window trim getting loose for no appearant reason. Just time, I guess. First the driver side and now the passenger side. It's an easy fix but check dealer pricing on the parts. That's not likely something you'd find in the aftermarket. I also had a passenger side mirror glass spontaneously explode. No sign of damage to the mirror housing; just the glass. Could have been vandals... the most random thing I've had happen to a car.

Oh, the other thing that comes to mind is that I had to have the entire dash replaced because it deformed in heat. It appears this is a known issue and Mazda may even have a recal repair. In any case, check to see if it has been done. My guess is that it's highly likely that the dash would have already warped in the Arizona sun so replacement on that car is likely. If the repair wasn't done properly, you might experience some extra squeeks and rattles.

Other than that, I still love the car. I just slapped some mudflaps on it and took it to an SCCA RallyCross event the other weekend. The car performed flawlessly and it was very fun to flick around. I love the speed of the automatic trasmission when shifting in manual mode. It feels as quick as any auto from Porsche or BMW (dual-clutch aside).
 
I honestly thought the same thing about the cars value especially with that many miles. But when I checked what KBB valued the car at with that many miles it priced it at $7000-$9000. I will ask about the dash board to see if it did get replaced but if you don't mind me asking how much did the dash board replacement cost you?

Thanks for your input!
 
I suggest that you check an online owner's manual to see what the maintenance schedule is for that car. Mostly, oil/filter changes, air/cabin filter changes, (possibly) coolant and spark plug changes are some that are important. Brake pads and brake fluid flushes may have been required, also.
 
Mazda replaced the dashboard at no charge. If the dealer asks you to pay for the service, call factory customer service. They should be able to help you out.
 
Back