I'm a newbie to this board and I have to say that it is the best I have seen so far. I bought a 2004 mazda3 s sedan in winning blue on 07/08/04 at Villa Mazda in hemet California. The car came with the safety package (ABS, SAB, Etc.), sports package, and the 6-cd changer and moonroof package. I also paid the dealer to have auto/compass mirror, rear wing spoiler, lower door moldings, upgraded pedals, wheel locks, cargo net, and tints put on the car as well. I know some of you said I could of put some of this stuff on myself, but this was after the fact and I just wanted to have the conveniance of picking up my car and that's it. i'm not planning to do any mod's, at least not quite yet.
This car put me back financially a bit. This was my first car purchase and I have to say it was a learning experience to say the least. As I reflect on it now, I paid much more than I should of. But, in early July in Southern California there was literally only a couple of automatic sedan 2.3L on dealer lots or on the boat (not already reserved) and I had to travel 80 miles from my home just to test drive one (Turns out, this is the one I bought). The salesman seemed to know of the shortage in Southern Cali and told me many other dealers in the area were charging $1000 markup. What the F*k, The 3 is an AWESOME car, but it's not a BMW M3, what gives? BS or not, I couldn't wait 6-12 weeks like some others to special order or wait for a dealer trade which seemed unlikely to happen, b/c I'm starting law school soon and I didn't have a car in cali to drive in the meantime.
So, I paid the price. I paid the price BIG time. Including the labor for the parts that needed to be installed (which they said they could not budge on, even after i said that 8 hours seemed quite a bit for what they were installing), I paid about $300 under MSRP or a whopping $2000 over invoice, And I was paying for the car w/ cash in full! Oh well, boy do i feel stupid paying what I did when I have read some of you purchased your 3's for just $500 over invoice. Edmunds.com did say however that the TMV for the winning blue sedan that I bought was about $200 under MSRP in my area (San Diego, CA). I missed the Student college grad $500 rebate by 9 days, (it expired June 30th), and I am only now learning about the revitup coupon which I hope I can use when I pick up the car. At least I will have my 3 to drive around right away and I won't have to take public or rent a car for 6 weeks.
Anyways, sorry for the long post and the complaining. I should stop obsessing over the past and look to the future. Zoom Zoom fellow mazda owners. I will post pics of my car when I can. Any thoughts on the winning blue color on the sedan? Do you guys like it more than grey or black? just wondering. Oh, Does anyone know if the Winning Blue color is a metallic or a mica paint? I think the mazda brochures say metallic, but some websites like Edmunds.com say it's mica.
This car put me back financially a bit. This was my first car purchase and I have to say it was a learning experience to say the least. As I reflect on it now, I paid much more than I should of. But, in early July in Southern California there was literally only a couple of automatic sedan 2.3L on dealer lots or on the boat (not already reserved) and I had to travel 80 miles from my home just to test drive one (Turns out, this is the one I bought). The salesman seemed to know of the shortage in Southern Cali and told me many other dealers in the area were charging $1000 markup. What the F*k, The 3 is an AWESOME car, but it's not a BMW M3, what gives? BS or not, I couldn't wait 6-12 weeks like some others to special order or wait for a dealer trade which seemed unlikely to happen, b/c I'm starting law school soon and I didn't have a car in cali to drive in the meantime.
So, I paid the price. I paid the price BIG time. Including the labor for the parts that needed to be installed (which they said they could not budge on, even after i said that 8 hours seemed quite a bit for what they were installing), I paid about $300 under MSRP or a whopping $2000 over invoice, And I was paying for the car w/ cash in full! Oh well, boy do i feel stupid paying what I did when I have read some of you purchased your 3's for just $500 over invoice. Edmunds.com did say however that the TMV for the winning blue sedan that I bought was about $200 under MSRP in my area (San Diego, CA). I missed the Student college grad $500 rebate by 9 days, (it expired June 30th), and I am only now learning about the revitup coupon which I hope I can use when I pick up the car. At least I will have my 3 to drive around right away and I won't have to take public or rent a car for 6 weeks.
Anyways, sorry for the long post and the complaining. I should stop obsessing over the past and look to the future. Zoom Zoom fellow mazda owners. I will post pics of my car when I can. Any thoughts on the winning blue color on the sedan? Do you guys like it more than grey or black? just wondering. Oh, Does anyone know if the Winning Blue color is a metallic or a mica paint? I think the mazda brochures say metallic, but some websites like Edmunds.com say it's mica.
