2013 and Earlier - Mazda3 Prices Paid and Buying Experience

gazelle2

Wow, that's the exact car I'm looking for--everything but nav. Where did you find yours? The NJ dealers are saying that exact trim configuration is still in Japan and is 5 weeks away! I'm about to rationalize my way into taking one with my trim "wish-list" plus nav and xenon lights for $20, 895.

lavaorange3

Uh, found it in Hawaii, and only because I started the hunt in early November...so that doesn't help you. There's only one other leather 5sp available out here right now...a red one that lacks the 6 disc/sunroof... I was lucky.

pat

We have just the place for your question about how the REX stacks up with the MZ3. I've moved your question and one response to the discussion at this link: Mazda3 vs. Subaru Impreza/Impreza WRX. Join us there!

guskim

Dealerships are still trying to figure out what types of colors to order for their showrooms.

The few in Toronto that I've been to are partial to Titanium & Silver because they show so well *in-person* for this car.

On the other hand, Winning Blue, looks better in the photos, but not as good as silver or even gold, IMO.

Whatever the preference, certain cars look better in certain colors. I really liked the previous Protege5 in blue and silver. Not so much in black though (although black is awesome on other cars)

harrymccracken

When I bought the Saturn SL1 I just replaced with a Mazda 3 back in 1996, purple was an "in" color--in fact, I remember reading an article saying it going to be a big deal in car colors fromthen on. Naturally, I bought a purple SL1--but that was the only year that Saturn made such a car, and I don't know if *anyone* makes purple cars anymore. That turned out to be fine by me; I liked having a car that almost *never* encountered its exact twin on the road. (My 3 is Strato Blue--which I realized, after buying it, is a purpley blue that's quite close to my old SL1.)

When I went to the San Francisco Auto Show last November, I saw a bunch of orange cars a la tha Lava Orange Mazda 3--they looked pretty sharp, but I predict that orange will come and go as a car color quickly. Titanium, on the other hand, looks classy; I can't imagine it will date badly.

-- Harry

ish2l

Darn salesmen, I went in the dealer to test drive a 3s and ended up ordering one a couple hours later!!! No pressure though from them, I've been wanting one forever and today seemed like the right time...Anyways, here's my deal, it's not great but it got me what I REALLY want. I didn't want to settle for a base 3s which they had tons of in the lot so I ordered this:

3s Manual Titanium Gray
+ leather
+ sport package
+ moonroof, 6 cd changer

MSRP: 18,895 USD
Invoice: 17,534
Paid: 18,249 (700+ over invoice)

tax: 559
fees: 335

- college grad rebate 500

total OTD was about 18,643

What do you guys think?

ranga2

Just got a Mazda 3 Hatchback yesterday for 500$ over invoice in the LA area.

Cloth Interior
Automatic
ABS/SBS/SAC
Moonroof/6-CD

Was charged a 150 $ LA assessment fee.

I recommend Galpin Mazda - Was treated very professionally.

thejackal1

I'm meeting with my dealership tomorrow to get a quote on a Mzd3 GT w/GFX package 5spd. I'm bringing back a leased black Protege LX Touring. The question I have is:
 Should I get the Raised rear spoiler.

 I haven't seen one yet and wonder if it'll look good. The only way I've found how it will look is by building an Mzd3 on www.w-tune.com... Havent seen any pictures of one either! I guess it could look good with the gfx pckg and the 17" wheels...

 Also, I'd like to know what price people paid in Quebec? And is the .5% reduction on a lease tricky to get?

carjob

Just bought a Silver Mazda 3 GT sedan w auto trans and GFX package. After freight & PDI, admin fees, air c. tax, and various other bizarre charges that appeared (and then disappeared when questioned). I paid 23,400. Add to this my graduate cash award and the final total price was 22,800 + Sales tax (PST and GST). My question - What is this like in comparison to what other people in Canada have paid? I think I did "ok", but am curious to know how other guys have done.

jason444

I just left the dealer here in Fort Worth, TX and have on the table a Titanium gray 3s 5door, with ABS/SAB/SAC, Moonroof/6 CD package. They are giving me $300 over invoice of $17,790
I was wondering if I should keep looking at other dealerships for a better deal, or if this is fair enough?

waiting4thebus

Congrats on your purchase!

Can you clarify the following:

"After freight & PDI, admin fees, air c. tax, and various other bizarre charges that appeared (and then disappeared when questioned). I paid 23,400."

Is 23,400 just the price of the car (before additional fee's)? Or did you mean that 23,400 already included Air/Gas $175, Admin $295, Frieght & PDI $925?

mazdabuyer

Hi,

I had originally ordered a Mazda 3 in black with every option on it, but I was told these are rare so I would have to wait 2 months for it. I have since been offered the same car, but in Titanium. The only problem is it is being transferred from another dealer out of state, so it will have 500 miles on it when it arrives. They are offering it to me for about $400 above invoice. I will only buy if the car is in perfect condition, but do you guys think I should push for more discount? Is there any law that says a car is used if it is over a certain mileage?

Thanks in advance for your help!

ish2l

How much above invoice was your deal originally?

mazdabuyer

My original deal was $600 above invoice, so I am only getting another $200 off. I think I will push for invoice price. However, I have read that as they have transferred the car from one dealer to another, the dealer I am buying from loses their holdback money, giving me less bargaining power on the price.

stevefl

Understand that if they are obtaining it from another dealer, you will have to sign a purchase agreement and leave a non-refundable deposit before they will proceed. In other words, you must buy the car sight unseen. Further, any extra mileage put on the car for delivery purposes is put on the car AFTER you have bought it.

mazdabuyer

stevefl - Actually this isn't the case. The car is on its way and will be at the dealer tomorrow, and I haven't signed anything. I have been to the dealer previously and they ran my credit etc, but I have told them that I will only buy the car once I have seen it. I may be able to cut a deal when I go to see the car, as they have gone to the time and expense to get it there, so I know they want to sell it quick. Another Mazda delaer told me they don't like to have these fully loaded 3's sitting on their forecourt, as not many people are coming in to buy the ones with nav, as it is seen as an expensive option for a car in this price range.

mbennett674

Check other dealers - I got my 3 at invoice (fully loaded except leather).

harrymccracken

...at least here in Northern California--I too paid exactly invoice for my loaded 3.

-- Harry

jc106

I got my 3S 5 door (titanium) for invoice in the Boston area. The salesman tried to pump up how "hot " this car was and that they don't move much on price, but it was all blustery talk. I did an inventory search in the Boston area and there were dozens of cars available.

deemma

Im also in the boston area, might i ask which dealer you were able to get invoice? most around me have said 400 over...

mrteeny

Hi, can you explain what the $150 assessment fee was, and why you paid it? Thanks.

jc106

I bought it at Mazda Gallery in Norwood. Maybe the invoice pricing had something to do with the fact that it was on sunday during the Pat's playoff game and they wanted to get us out of there. Good luck!

stevefl

If you haven't signed anything yet, you're free to negotiate. Considering the expense and time your dealer put into obtaining the car, I think they would be very anxious to push it. It certainly can't hurt for you to try. Good luck.

nyquist688

Hi everyone,

    Justed want to let you know that the MZ3 that I wanted will cost;

The vehicle has an MSRP of $18315. He can sell the car for $300 over invoice. That makes the selling price $17423. Sales tax is $1219.61, tags $88.5, clerical fee $120. That makes for atotal of $18851.11. Is that a good offer?

Thanks

pofigist

Hello,

Please help me evaluate the following deal in NJ:

Mazda3 S
4-Speed Auto
Moonroof & 6 CD
ABS/SAB/SAC

Invoice (including dest): $18118
MSRP (including dest): $19515

No rebates

Out of the door price, including 6% NJ sale tax quoted by the dealer: $19,944.82

Estimated dealer profit w/o holdback: $600. I assumed that DMV fees are approximately $100.

Statements made by the dealer that I do not know whether they are true or not:

1. Strato Blue cars are extremely rare
2. If I want leather, I will have to get 1SP sport package as well

Thank you for your help.

stevefl

Both are true. There is not much demand for Strato Blue, and fewer cars are delivered in that color. And according to the Mazda3 brochure, the sport package is required on the 4-door for leather seats. The 5-door already comes with the sports package.

hdg

Mazda? Someone just suggested to me that I consider the M3 instead of the Honda Civic I was looking at. The M3 is a cute car with good options, but I seem to see a lot of "Ford" in some of these posts. But I also see people mentioning the cars being made in Japan. Help! I've had terrible luck with American cars and I am read to go back to foreign. How foreign or not is Mazda? Thanks!

bsitterle

In reference to message #119 by jason444, how did you go about negotiating that price? I am looking at purchasing a 3s 4 door with everything except leather and navigation system in Houston, TX. It lists for $18,815.00. The salesman is already telling me that they can't keep these cars on the lot, so I was curious as to how you got $300 over invoice? I know they are going to try and sell it as close to sticker as possible.

Thanks for any help you can give me

carjob

Hi bus man,
To clarify: After all those factors (freight, gas and air tax, admin fees) the total price was 23,400. That's including these things. Additionally I received $600 off that negotiated price (graduate rebate or something) to get a final sale of 22,800 plus taxes (GST, PST).

Again, just to keep the record straight, I bought a silver Mazda 3 GT sedan w auto trans and GFX package. Do you think this an acceptable price paid, an average price, did I get completely burned or do you think this is outstanding.

I have no real gauge to compare to, since Canadians aren't exactly the majority of posters here (although there are quite a few of us), and we aren't really posting what we paid.

There also seems to be confusion as to what in fact is the total price that a person pays. Some people include taxes, some don't. Some mention monthly payments but without a final price it's meaningless (unless you know how much was put down, what finance rate they got, and if it was a sale or a lease). Even I'm not sure if my graduate rebate was for the pre-tax total or taken off after the taxes were added.
And then of course there's the "big fish" posters. You know who I mean - people who basically exaggerate how much they paid to the point of deception. "I got it for $1000 under invoice" .. but they don't mention other fees that negate that discounted price. Nobody wants to think that they got taken.

Which is where I am. What do you (or other Canadians, or anyone who bought in the Canadian market) think about my deal. Please let me know as my money is spent, maybe we can use it as a bar to gauge how other guys do.

thejackal1

Ordered mine last night. Titanium grey, M3 sedan GT w/GFX package, 5spd and the dealer gave me the raised rear spoiler(533$).
 No down payment, no first monthly payment and a .5% lease rate reduction due to this being my second Mazda.
 Added the "if I crash it they replace it" thing-a-ma-bob. Came up to $25,190cnd, gave $2766 cash down(including a/c taxe, tire taxe and license transfer). Comes down to $381/mth.
 Taking delivery 3/18.

Will I sleep until then..?

gandrigo

That is a fantastic deal for Canada, especially considering the $600 grad rebate is supposed to be applied after taxes. That saves you an additional $150 all told. I paid $23,950 before PST and GST for a 3 Sport GT with AC and roof, though I did also get the X-box (probably a $150 value at best). Your deal looks very close to invoice price plus freight/AC tax/gas tax. For a new car in high demand and with limited availability (at least in GT form), that's amazing.
Congrats

stevefl

hdq, the Mazda3 is definitely NOT the right car for you. The is too much "Ford" in it. And it's too cute. Stick with the Honda Civic.

carjob

Check this out - bought the M3 on the weekend, went to 2 dealerships here in Toronto.

First dealership - Downtown Lakeshore Mazda:
Walked in and said that I was going to buy a car. Probably my first mistake. As we all know, this is a game. I wish it didn't have to be, but it is. Until the day that dealerships put a hard un-negotiable price on their cars (like Saturn), don't add extra "admin fees" and are straight with ALL costs, it will be a game. I read somewhere that the average consumer would rather go through root canal that the car buying experience. I concur.
What I should have said is that I'm *thinking* of buying today. Long story short - the sales guy got his mojo up, thought that the sale was already a done deal and refused to budge on anything.
My offer was not what he wanted to hear. It was low, but I expected him to counter-offer which he wouldn't. He just kept saying "How can you justify that offer?" I didn't feel I had to justify anything, it was my offer, either take it, counter-offer or leave it. (Jeez. did I have to coach this guy through it??)
At one point, as he was bringing an offer I made to his boss, as he was getting up, his demeanor changed, he became kind of .. angry (for lack of a better word) and said something about having to feed his family and how was he going to do that with this offer.
Like I'm personally suppose to feed his kids?
I kept increasing the terms of my offer, but got nothing in return so eventually I decided that the whole thing was a bust and that it was time to leave.
At some point in the whole fiasco, the salesman asked for my credit card as a "sign of good faith". I suppose that meant that they wanted to see if they could pre-authorize anything on it or run a quick credit check. I asked him repeatedly if they were going to charge anything to it. I was assured nothing would. When it came time to leave and I asked for it back, I again asked "Are you sure nothing was charged on this card" His response was "Well actually my wife went shopping with it to make up for my time that you wasted today".
Excuse me? I didn't know what to say. It was like I'd just entered the twilight zone of amateur high school car sales people. I responded with "I didn't think we were wasting time, I thought we were trying to make a deal" He then said, without looking at me, "I was just kidding"
He wasn't kidding, he wasn't smiling and he was certainly wasn't friendly. I left wishing him future luck, (he had nothing to say to me) and went to dealership number 2:

Second Dealership - Gyro Mazda:
Arrived, expressed interest in M3, made an offer to buy. Salesperson knew it was low, made a counter offer. I made another proposal based on what salesperson moved on. Salesperson countered and we signed a deal.

If anyone in the Toronto area wants the name of the salesmen involved at either dealership I will gladly offer it you in a private email. I believe that salesman #1 shouldn't be in this business and that salesman #2 deserves a good reference.

scottdude

I also had a lame salesperson incident happen recently so I really enjoyed your story. You are so right about not going in and saying you're ready to buy a car. Let them see you about to leave so they'll ask "Is there anything I can do to get you to buy this car today?" then say "Well, let's talk about it."

Strangely enough, I had a root canal this week and it actually wasn't that bad (kind of like getting a filling). I would instead compare playing the car buying "game" to something more like having hemeroids.

mazda6s

nne3jxc

From the tone of your message, I suspect you've already made up your mind, but here you go:
Ford currently owns 33% of Mazda.
The Mazda3 is made in Japan.

Draw your own conclusions, but don't disregard American cars as being problem vehicles. All car makers have made good and bad cars. Judge a car model on its own merit. Even Honda has made some pretty lousy cars. (In fact, the late '70s Accord just made Forbes list of the 10 worst cars produced after WWII.)

mrteeny

Wantapassatnow, you mentioned a no-haggle discount for USC alumni at Galpin Mazda - you paid $300 over invoice - is this on every Mazda3 there? As a USC alum, if I just walk in and ask for the USC discount, will it be $300 over invoice? Did you have to contact someone in particular there? Thanks!

kaiserhead

I know four people that bought at the first dealer (including myself) in 2000 and the service was excellent, no pressure or games. However, I do believe they have gone down hill since moving next door. I went there for an oil change in the fall and had to wait around after hours because they didn't fix the problem I wanted them to look at (at least reset the check engine light if you're going to fluff-off a customer.) The general manager was walking around the sales floor talking to the sales people and managers. The conversation was really disrespectful towards their customers and I haven't been back.

chem2k2

I put a deposit on a 3s two weeks ago with the promise it will arrive next week or so. I've called the dealer for an update, but they can't pin down the arrival time. Is there a way to track my 3? Shouldn't they have a better estimate of when their allocation is supposed to arrive? I guess I'm just getting impatient.

6yearoldpassat

Any recommendations or warnings about who's the best Mazda dealer to work with in Austin?

anu0

The Mazda 3 is built in Japan. It's built on the next generation Volvo (also owned by Ford)S40 chassis. Its suspension is designed by Ford England. Engine and tranny are both Japanese products.

speedracer007

The company that I work for has an agreement with Ford & their partners (Mazda) allowing us deals on their vehicles. Going to the FordPartners website allows me to print out a price sheet for the Mazda3 with their S-PLAN price (which is the same as the Invoice). I can go to a dealership, show them my Company Badge, and get the vehicle at dealer invoice (plus tax, title,license) Sounds like a pretty good deal. Has anyone bought a Mazda3 with the S-PLAN pricing plan and what was your experience?

oldmonk

I got a orange hatchback yesterday at exactly the s-plan price which is $18569 (with auto transmission, moonroof, abs). This is approximately $10 below invoice. With s-plan there does not seem to be any room for further negotiations. However I was charged a $45 doc fee which is not supposed to be charged for s-plan members. Arrrgh! But I love the car and its color! I qualify for the college rebate too and so it was $19819 out the door.

tiredofmanual

S-Plan is a set price. Tell the salesman right away and you will receive excellent treatment and a streamlined buying experience. Not only do you get a good price, but you get an excellent experience. If you've never had that before, you have no idea what that's worth.

You'll need to bring in your PIN number as well as your badge, as they will need to verify that. You will get a copy of the vehicle invoice when you buy, which specifies the S-Plan price as well as MSRP, invoice, and E-Plan. There is no negotiation. If you think you can get it cheaper (and for some cars you might - but probably not the Mazda3 - at least not yet), don't even bother mentioning S-Plan and go straight to the haggling.

155palma

I just bought an M3 hatch on SPLAN. Two local dealers (in the Boston area) still tried to play the "hide the ball" game and were only willing to discuss numbers when I was "ready to buy." Mazda Gallery, however, played the SPLAN game exactly as it's supposed to be. Gave me the invoice, got me the financing and rebate - and I'll be taking delivery next week. Just be sure to have a PIN, it doesn't work without it.

On SPLAN, though, any dealer will likely give you the screws on a trade, so I'll be selling my '96 Explorer (which is mint) on the private market. If you're eligible, SPLAN is the way to go. I negotiate things for a living, so I'd rather not have to on the weekends!

Good luck!

mrjex43

I got my Mazda 3s sedan in early Dec. from McDonald Auto Group in Denver, CO. I worked exclusively through their Internet Sales Mgr. (who I found to be much more laid back than the average dealer), was upfront about being an S-Plan customer, and got excellent service through the entire process. He was also trying to hit his end-of-year sales goals, so he gave me the dealer-installed window tint and clear nose mask for cost (about 25% of the sticker price), waived all of the doc and processing fees, and even gave me a gift certificate to a local shopping center for Christmas! I did, however, get dinged on my trade-in value, so it pretty much evened out.

Dealers don't have to honor S-Plan pricing, especially in a new and/or popular model (the RX-8 was out for almost a year before dealers would accept 'special' pricing plans). My advice is to call or e-mail area dealers (Edmunds has an excellent tool for this) and be upfront about S-Plan pricing. At the very least, it saves you a wasted trip to the showroom and possibly a burnt bridge down the road.

oldmonk

Has anyone gotten the casette player or the auto dimming mirror with compass and temperature? How much do these parts and installation typically cost?

monstermash

Anyone tried leasing a Mazda 3? I am torn between buying versus leasing. The Edmunds leasing calculators indicate a poor residual value, and therefore a rather high lease payment. What payments have dealers been quoting?

thejackal1

I'm leasing a 3 GT sedan and the residual value is about 48%

monstermash

Thanks for the reply, is you residual based on 36 months or greater ...39,48 etc.