[Vroom Vroom]

Hi, i'm new here...sort of...I've been viewing this board for about a month or so and checking out what everyone got and what kind of price they were able to pull. I plan on purchasing a new car at the end of this month or at the end of the first week of feb. Right now, it's between the Mazda3i and of course, the always dependable Honda Civic EX (right now i own a 92 civic). I'm a young guy which means, the insurance company will have a field day with me if i did get this car and thats where the problem comes in. Today i went to a dealership and got the vin number of a Mazda3i with the power pkg and air conditioning to get an estimate for insurance. I'm Trying to keep the costs down for the first quote. If i could, i'd buy the 3 in a second if it wasn't because of the tight budget. So, my question is, whats a good price for this package?(if it matters, i'm in southern california) I've been looking at other topics but i can't find anyone that got the kind of options that i want to see how much they were able to get it for. Also, since i'm new to this whole buying a car deal, what kind of tips would you give on negotiating and lowering the price. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks (sorry for the lengthy post, whoops)

 

[LeeLee]

Why buy a 3i when you are going to put it within $800 of the 3s?

3i: $16,240, $15,069 (Base+1PP+AC1)
3S: $16,925, $15,855 (Base)

For $800, you get the more powerful 2.3L engine. This alone is worth the extra $800 to me. The brakes are also much larger on the 3s. But you also get

* sport type bumpers
* body colored grill
* fog lights
* clear lense taillight
* upholstry with black/red inserts
* Leather wrapped steering wheel
* Leather wrapped shift knob
* Silver instrument panel insert
* Silver door speaker bezels and glove compartment latch
* Black center instrument panel side
* 4-speaker audio system
* Gauge illumination button
* Electroluminescent gauges
* Delayed courtesy lights

All this for only $800 more!!! And that's not even counting the intangibles, such as feeling better about owning a higher end car (if you care). Go for the 3s. Try to get it for invoice and not much higher than that.

 

[TellyDSP]

I would say to first go to edmunds.com and find the MSRP and Invoice for your car. When it comes to negotiating, be informed. I went in with more knowledge about the car than the dealer, and he knew he couldn't really screw me around too much. Wound up paying 300 over invoice. Know what they pay, what the MSRP is and what you want to pay.

As far as insurance, a funny thing to think about. I was choosing between the Civic LX(I think, the top one), and the MZ3. After getting quotes from my insurance company, the MZ3 wound up being cheaper than the Civic, and then the MZ wound up even cheaper when I did my final insurance paperwork. Not too bad considereing the MZ was 4000 more than the Civic. Just something to think about.

HTH
Craig

 

[neoriffic]

I completely agree w/ you TellyDSP. I'm going to buy 2 new cars in the next few months (MZ3 HB for me and Civic EX 4dr) for my wife and the premium on the Civic is about $50 higher than the Civic. I'm not complaining though! Best rates I have found were from Geico. Anyone had experience w/ Geico? Good / Bad?

 

[imported_Mazda03]

I agree with Leelee, get the S version, you'll be much happier. Plus, when you're considering options you should consider finances, but also consider the "Will-I-be-proud-to-be-driving-this-car" factor. That alone is a big reason to go for the 3 over the Civic.

Also about dealing, know what you CAN pay, know what you WANT to pay, and research everything like crazy. Also keep in mind that the dealer makes money even if they sell it to you AT invoice. Usually dealerships get a kickback of 3-4% once they sell the car. The best way to find out what price the dealership actually pays is thru a new car pricing service by Consumer Reports (consumerreports.org). That means you could get a base model Mazda3s for just under $16k (US). To give you an idea, I got mine for only $100 over invoice. So it goes to show that dealers are willing to make deals. They really want to get more 3s on the road, because the more they are noticed the more 3s that are sold. Also, make sure you get the car before March, they are less willing to budge on price in March and April because people are getting their tax returns back.

Insurance also isn't too bad. I'm a 22 year old male and with full coverage I'm paying $700 for 6 months. Compare that with $400/6 months and only getting liability on my 1973 Super Beetle...I think it's fair to say that insurance on the Mazda3 is not bad at all!

 

[Vroom Vroom]

Thanks a lot guys for posting back, it is all well appreciated. I did some more research and basically ran the monthly and total for two packages on both the i and the S. It gives me a clear idea, of how much it'll cost me with each package and car type. I did this at edmunds.com, thanks to telly. Also, LeeLee, i honestly didn't know thats how much more standard functions you got on the S over the i. Thanks for that, it made me think and, monthly it'll cost $16-$18 more on the S than the i. I'll be looking at this very closely while making my final decision. But, the only thing that will hurt me, may be the insurance on either car. I'm 20, 21 in March, im under my parents and i got a quote from the insurance on a 2004 honda civic ex 2 door for $750/6 months. How did you manage to get $700/6 months full coverage on the mazda, with its HP being decently high and it being such a new car? I'm just asking because i should be getting a quote for the mazda on monday and afraid to know what kind of deal i'll be getting, which will ultimately either give me the green light to buy or it'll destroy my chances. One other thing, when trying to make a deal with the dealership, when is your cue to approve the price without going overboard and coming back after you rejected the dealership and asking for the deal back? I'd hate to be that moron. Again, thanks for all the feedback.

 

[NASTY]

about insurance, this car costs me less to ensure than an echo hatchback would've!

 

[imported_Mazda03]

Look around for insurance. My old insurance was going to charge me $1000+ /6 months. This prompted a quick move to Progressive Insurance. Progressive was the cheapest I could find that still was reputable.