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Comments
Two things happen during break in: the engine loosens up and so does the suspension. I will ride
a little softer as mileage builds.
fowler3
The stick has lost much of the mechanical notchy feeling, too. It still may not equal Honda's stick feel but it is quite good now.
Either that or I'm just getting used to it.
I guess what sold me on the 6 was the test drive(s). The first test drive of the 6s (back around November) was after months of anticipation, and it did drive like a dream. Great suspension, lots of power (unlike my sluggish Golf), great noise dampening (honestly seemed like I was isolated from the outside), and wonderful steering.
My concern with the auto transmission goes back to the car I have now. I'm not sure if it's a general VW trait, but there are awkward shifts even after 5000 miles. Sometimes I will literally bounce out of my seat due to it (nothing detected by the mechanics at the dealership). If there is a break-in period on AT's, then mine must still be going on.
In terms of options, it really is a pain trying to find a car with the options you WANT. Finding a 6i with AT and ABS/Traction control is easy, but trying to get that AND a sunroof is impossible. Without having to resort to ordering, is there a way to locate a car with specific options? I've already tried Mazda's website, but finding cars within 150 miles limits my options. Also, how is the standard stereo system in terms of sound quality? Would I be better off with aftermarket equipment or a Bose system?
On the issue of price, in Atlanta I've seen a couple of dealers who are consistently offering the car each week (base 6i, manual) for $14,900 and another one for mid $15k. Those prices included S-plan pricing (available to everyone for now) plus I think a $2,000 or $2,500 dealer discount. I don't think the college grad discount of $500 was taken into account in those prices, so even more savings for those who qualify. I'm not sure what options are included in the base, but that's a pretty incredible price for this car.
By the way I'm a current Honda driver, but not for much longer....If only I can wait for my sport wagon next spring!
When you say "I had to really rev the engine to get the power" but "I wasn't shifting in a super-aggressive manner though", I'm a little confused. What RPM did you run it up to?
Akumaz, to get around the 150 mile limit on the website, I have tried entering the zipcode of another city 200 or so miles away. You may have to do a google search to find the zipcodes. It takes a while, but it is one way around the limitation.
http://www.usps.com/zip4/welcome.htm?from=global&page=2132fin- dzip
REV the engine? hey, that is where the fun is. this is not a GM "gobs of low end power" cruiser.
dealer. My carsdirect contact didn't seem too eager to put me in a new car - was quite lazy about answering my emails and didn't seem to be paying much attention. The internet guy from the local Mazda dealer was on the contrary very quick
to answer all the question and provide all info I
requested, and he also agreed to negotiate
the price from invoice - either in person, on the phone or through email so I decided to go with the
dealer. I kind of had to give up on my color preferences, because sepang green and lapis blue
turned out to be extremely hard to find, and decided just to choose one of the cars sitting on
the dealer's lot. There were only two 6s with automatic tran (unfortunately my significant other vetoed the manual) and few options (I didn't want
the sport package and other stuff) - a black one
and a silver one with Bose package. I decided to go with the silver - it had sticker price of $23,275. After very brief negotiations the dealer
offered it to me for $100 over the invoice of $21,739 - in fact he let me look through their
inventory book with all the invoice prices in it.
I was pretty happy about the price, but there was one problem - I wanted to replace the standard cd
player with a dealer installed mp3 player and I didn't want to have to pay for a 6 CD changer that
comes with Bose package, but has to be taken out
if I want mp3 player. So I told the dealer that
I'd like them to put an mp3 player in, but subtract the cost of the changer. Initially the
dealer refused to do it, and suggested me to keep the changer in case I want to put it back in,
but after I said that I will continue looking elsewhere, he went to talk to the manager. When he came back they agreed to subtract $400 for the changer. So in the end their offer was: $21,839 - $400 (changer removed) + $500 (mp3 added) that I accepted. They also offered several options to extend the original 4yr/50000mi warranty and managed to talk me into buying the 10yr/100k bumper-to-bumper warranty option for $1,499
(adding extra warranty also knocked 0.5% off my
APR which saved me ~$200, so it's effectively $1,299). I've picked up the car yesterday and so far completely happy with it.
Anybody else buy the 10yr/100k warranty? If so, for how much?
and other times, people just hit the button twice.
As for the inventory searches, I thought I would build my 6 on Mazda's website to see if I could locate a 6i with ABS and moonroof. It turns out that it wouldn't let me do the combination, which would suggest why there were no 6i's with both the moonroof and ABS in their inventory. However, sites such as Carsdirect suggest that it can be done. Am I to assume that I can locate one, or that I'm crazy?
If I were to get a 6s, finding one with the moonroof would be no problem- due to ABS being standard. However, I wouldn't want to pay the extra $2000 or so- not to mention the increase on my insurance due to me being under 25. Are there any ways to get around this and get a good deal?
In terms of dealing with the internet people at Mazda dealers, does every place have one? That would be great to be able to get a good deal.
Your German Shepard will love this car :-)
I live in the Chicago area too, and I've been searching in vain for a MZ6S with air bags, but w/o sports pkg., for weeks and I haven't found one.. did you??
and which dealership did you purchase from?
oh, and lest I forget.. congrats!
1) 2002 Good Design Award (G mark) (Japan) Oct.1
2)'02-'03 Japan Car of the Year: 10 Best (Japan) Nov.1
3)Hall of Fame: Excellent Developer Award - Japan Nov.6
4)2003 RJC Car of the Year - Japan Nov.20
5) Japan Car Design Award: Golden Marker Trophy (commercial production) - Japan
6)Car & Driver: The 2003 10 Best U.S.A Dec.11
7)Fleet World Magazine: Best Newcomer Award U.K Jun.2
8)Britain's Auto 1: Car of The Year U.K Dec.17
9) Great Austrian Automobile Award Austria Oct.7
10) New Car of the Year Scotland Oct.26
11)Semperit Irish Car of the Year - Ireland Nov.22
12)Car of 2003 in Czech Republic - Czech Republic Nov.11
13)Family Car of the Year Sweden Nov.11
14) European Car of the Year: 2nd place(highest placed Japanese car) Europe Nov.19
15)Auto Blic magazine: Croatian Auto 1. Croatia Dec.11
16)Best Car in Lithuania in 2003 Lithuania Dec.16
17)Le Moniteur Automobile: Family Car of the Year - Belgium Dec.19
18)National Business Review (weekly newspaper): Car of the year New Zealand Oct.18
19) New Zealand Company Vehicle and Executive Car Magazine: Business Car of the Year - New Zealand Dec.9
20)Australia's Best Car Awards: Best Mid-Size Car Over $25,000 Australia Nov.6
21)The Straits Times: Best Medium Family Sedan/Hatchback Singapore Oct.19
22)Auto magazine: Car of The Year (chosen by readers) Israel
23)Auto magazine: Best Premium Compact Israel
24) Scottish car of the year award 2002
25) What Car- Best Estate Car 2003 - U.K.
Carsdirect and other services may not know the exact combinations of options possible, so I would assume Mazdausa is right.
So, pick one I guess, or wait til 2004 model; the options allowed may change.
P.S. Or get an aftermarket moonroof installed.
You need to click on some other link and then come back to get rid of the "post the message" code in the URL. After you do that, you can reload all you want.
Good old Web Crossing... what else can I say?
combo is also very rare, but the dealer actually had one silver 6s with just sab option and nothing else, they sold it several days earlier, so no luck for me. I've bought the car from Bill Jacobs VW/Mazda of Aurora and would recommend them without any hesitation. Our second car is a '01 Protege, that we also bought from this dealer.
I've also had a very negative experience with Pugi Mazda in Downers Grove and would advice to stay away from them.
the one I drove was a 6s, non-sport, cloth seats. I was disappointed in the seat comfort. My back was fine, but my behind was getting pretty sore after 20-30 minutes, which was disappointing considering all the positive "drove all day, didn't feel a thing!" posts from owners on this site. (I've gotta boney butt, in case anybody's wondering).
I did adjust the seats several times. didn't help. When I got back to the lot, they had a car with aftermarket leather installed by a company they've dealt with for years. I sat in that one for about 20 minutes and it felt better. The seats were firm like the one with OEM cloth, but these leather seats seemed to have LESS padding. Whatever the difference, it felt better.
I'll probably go that route. For the $150-200 more they stated, it seems worth it. They can also put in seat warmers too, if I want.
I've been leaning towards steel grey, but if the redfire didn't have a beige interior, I would prefer that exterior color. I don't like how light the beige is, both aesthetically and from a keeping-it-clean standpoint.
I've been comtemplating getting a darker beige called "driftwood" for the leather seats, and the other interior accents. I must decide if the three interior colors will compliment each other. The driftwood color almost exactly matches the darker top color of the dashboard and doors. Still wouldn't be able to change the light color of the lower dash/doors though. We'll see. (Btw, there were about 50 different leathers to choose from!)
As far as the drive, the engine did seem quite punchy/jerky, but I'll attribute that to newness (30 miles on the odometer). Regardless, the power was more than adequate for me.
I did push it hard on an entrance ramp, and it started drifting/sliding (or something.. don't know what the auto-experts here would call what happened to me, but it was kinda scary).
Overall, it is a quiet car, just not bank vault Camry-like. Most would be happy with that aspect of this car. Wind noise is low and engine noise is low, except when pushed. Road noise intrusion on bumpy pavement was the loudest aspect of the car (on 16" wheels, I assume even worse on 17's).
Finally, I know some have criticized the turning radius of this car. Not that I spend much lots of time doing U-turns, but this concerned me a little. So, I tested it out in a parking lot by doing tight U-turns, and it seemed pretty good to me.. felt pretty compact in making these turns. It's no longer a concern of mine.
The dealer is searching for a car with side-air bags. I'm not holding out a lot of hope though. I might just skip 'em, which is disappointing (and I don't think my car will hold up for the 4 months it would take to order a car with them). The sales guy did say that the side curtains are still being debated for their safety concerns due to the closeness to the head when released.. could've been a line to dissuade me from them, however...
Well, I AM getting closer to a decision. any year now! ;-)
As for the 4 cylinder, I drove one with AT and it felt just fine off the line. It was so peppy and powerful, I was nearly fooled into thinking that it was a V6. Except that it was noisier. Still, I checked the sticker when I got out, to be sure. I don't know how many miles were on the odometer though. To give my comment some perspective, I've been driving strictly V6 cars for the last 5 years, so I'm used to that type of power. The 6i did not disappoint me, even in AT, I was very impressed. I still ordered by 6s, but I think I could have been fine with the 6i. Or maybe I'm easy to please. Just my 2 cents.
It's interesting to see someone else who was torn between the blue and the green as well. Congrats on your purchase! My wait has just begun. **Sigh**
The 6 is 5db quieter than the Accord at idle, within 1db at speed, and several db louder at full throttle.
Darn nice variation if I do say so.
Mark. : )
My dealer had many 6i's with Side Air Bags.
Mark.
I had a spoiler and fog lights installed at the dealership.
Haggling was a little hairy, but I finally negotiated 1500 off msrp, after the installed options and after the 750 dealer incentive.
The only 2 quibbles I have are 1) The fuel pump noise when you first turn the key on is a little intrusive. Any one else notice this? 2) My car, since it was driven from Missouri to Kansas, had almost 700 miles on it when I took delivery. I'm a little bit in a quandary about what to do about the break-in period now. Do I still bother with it? Do I go ahead and change the oil and assume that what's done is done and simply not bother with the break-in period?
The car is simply sweet. I'm passionate about my cars and am looking forward to the love affair with my new baby....:)
Glad to be in good company with you guys. Looking forward to being a member of your community.
Respectfully yours,
Quinn Adkins
As for the options (or the hassle of getting them), could I e-mail Mazda and inquire about them? I'm intrigued about this aftermarket moonroof, and I wonder how the quality would be in comparison to the factory one.
The next time I test drive the 6i, I'll insist on putting the car on the highway to rev the motor up a bit. That'll be the determining factor on whether or not I get the 6i or 6s. Color has been another issue as well. I like the look of the Steel Grey Metallic, but after owning a black car I worry about swirl marks and dirt showing up easily. Anyone own a 6 with Steel Grey?
I was hesitant about this color at first, but simply love it now. In direct sun it seems to change color at times. The paint on my car is perfect, and seems an inch thick.
Mark.
I was also wondering if you 6 owners like the center arm rest... is it comfortable?
Picked up the new Mazda Fuel magazine (Vol 2-Issue 2) and there is a pic (rear view) of the '03 Miata Shinsen in Titanium Gray metallic, and I can truly say, SWEEEET COLOR! The '03.5 MZSPD Pro will also gets that color. Mazda would do themselves, and potential new buyers, an injustice if they don't offer it for the '04 and future MZ6 sedans, hatches and wagons!
I've dealt with a guy over at Pugi a couple of times, and he was very laid back, friendly and helpful. Didn't know the car extremely well, but how many salesman do? Although it was a little troubling the first time I sat in a 6 at the showroom and (what turned out to be) the sales mgr. didn't think to tell me the seat height was adjustable, as my head was hitting the roof. Sitting in other 6s's later, I discovered that the seat must have been on the highest setting that day. Why didn't he point that out? I'm not that tall, afterall!
And don't me get started on the color options for the 6. Pretty poor in my opinion. However, I love the titanium gray, which only the Europeans get. I would chop off a finger for that as a color option! well.. not really, but I think I've made my point.
I would like the armrest to be 2-3" further forward. But that's JMO. The padding is nice and firm.
Mark.
626 armrest and headrest restraint 3" to provide
proper support. Cruising in our zoom/zoom is more
like sitting in an easy chair now. First time I've
owned anything with seats this tall and I love it.
Not so on the non-sport, where side air bags are very few and far between. In fact, if you were to order the car, you can get them, but you must sacrifice the Bose system, and even the leather and comfort pkg. too. (When attempting to configure on the Mazda site, at least). They make you decide between safety and luxury.
screwy.
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