2013 and Earlier - Mazda3 Prices Paid and Buying Experience

peterdh2000

Planning purchase of 3s 5-door hopefully in Titanium Gray with 5-speed, Leather, 6CD/Moon, ABS/SAB. Would probably still buy car with Xe/TPMS also but don't need it.

Any experiences in the NW with Mazda dealers, good/bad/ugly? Especially if anyone has had luck negotiating by fax or email up here. As a lurker around the prices paid boards, it seems like NW dealers often march to their own drums.

Thanks in advance--we will be sure to post our price and experience upon purchase.

FYI--visited University Mazda in Seattle today, about 15 3s 5-doors that looked fresh off the truck. One white 3s 4 door 5sp, 6cdmoon, ABS/SAC, Xe/TPMS was sale-tagged at $1000 off MSRP. Also Sound in Renton had at least 15 5-doors...with "adjusted market value" of $2499. HAHA!!

essengy

essengy

ok so i went to a dealership in an attempt to negotiate some prices. I didnt tell them i knew wut the invoice price was rite off the bat too see wut they would offer me....told me an offer thass wayyy too much.....395 dollars a month for 60 months.....i knoe invoice is 17,086 for a 3s with a/t n sports.....so im thinkin around 315-320 a month...is that not reasonable?

npaladin2000

Why are you negotiating a "per month" price, especially if you know the invoice? Negotiate the bottom line price FIRST, and THEN worry about how much per month financing (because that depends on other factors).

Ideally, you should be approved for a loan for X amount already, and know what the rate is, so you can figure out what your payments should be if, say, you financed a $20,000 car for 5 years.

harddrivet

Hello,
What is S Plan?
Thanks.

runin

Tell the dealer you want a price before TT&L. If he has any 'fees' he can include them in that price. You should already know what bottom line price you can afford and how much it will run you per month. Negotiate on total price before TT&L. If you negotiate on monthly payments, extra fees and charges can be easily snuck in without you knowing. Tell them to forget about trade ins, down payments, and monthly payments and just give you a price. Once you get it, add your TT&L and figure out what your payments will be from there.

osu1298grad

Which dealer is offering this?
And what are you referring to when you mention they are kind of a pain??
Thanks!
osu1298grad

kyfdx

Jeff Wyler Mazda.. They are in Batavia on Route 32.. By being a pain, I mean they just do all the stereotypical car dealer things.. Adding fees, changing finance terms, etc.. But, if you know what you are doing, and keep it simple with no trade, you can get the advertised deal.. It just isn't real pleasant.. I've heard good things about Kings Mazda though... I think I would try to get them to match the advertised price from Wyler, before I would try them again.

regards,
kyfdx

tonytouch

harddrivet,

S-plan is special pricing available for employees of companies that deal with Mazda, Ford, etc. You basically get the car at invoice price.

osu1298grad

Where and when did you see the ad for Wyler? Unfortunately I am in Columbus and did not see this. So far, the Cincy area has a much better selection of the 3's and I'm willing to make the journey for the right price. I currently have a '97 Civic I was hoping to trade in. Any additional insight you can provide?

Thank you much!
osu1298grad

kyfdx

It was in Saturday's Cincinnati Enquirer.. I checked today, and the ad isn't running... check here again this weekend, and I'll see if they are running it again. There was a poster on this board (graphicguy?) that had really good experiences at Kings Mazda at the automall at Exit 19 on I-71. He bought an RX-8 there.

regards,
kyfdx

harddrivet

I am going to check them out in Shrewsbury, but they do not have a online inventory. They do not even have an email address listed. Do you know if they have many M3's in stock?

fnac78

I was able to negotiate my mazda3 for $300 below invoice with an additional $500 grad cash incentive for a total of $800 below invoice. I think I got a great deal. I went through Edmunds.com and was able to price out exactly what I wanted, requested quotes and communicated primarily through email. It took me about 3-4 weeks before I actually bought my mazda. Generally, you can check mazda inventory through the www.mazda.com website to see if there is a car with the options available in your area.

fnac78

Try Capital One Auto financing. It's much easier to walk into a dealership knowing you can negotiate a price and not have to jump through hoops there. Always negotiate a total price and don't tell them about any incentives you qualify for until after you settle on a price. Gets them every time!

fnac78

I can concur with z71bill. I asked my salesman how they could allow me to pay $300 below invoice for my car(something that was in high demand) and they said it is offset by their sale of used cars. This sounds like a lousy way to do business but the way I see it if a dealership creates a good relationship with a new buyer there is a higher likelihood that this customer will return to buy another car or at least refer them to someone who is looking.

osu1298grad

Great! Maybe I will hit up my local library too, they usually have major city newspapers. I'm curious to know if there are any "fine print" exceptions on the 3's. Thank you so much for all of your help!!

osu1298grad

audia8q

only 300 below invoice??? gee, we are giving them away for free....we make it up in volume.

fnac78

It was actually $800 below with my grad cash incentive. Practically giving them away? Not really. I dealt with several dealerships and test drove my mazda at 2 different dealers before buying mine from another dealership. The first 2 were not willing to budge very much on price but I didnt care I wasnt planning on buying it from them anyway. I got a great internet price.

mazda6s

Just think, some naive buyer paid MSRP or got robbed on their trade-in so you could get that deal.

fnac78

Honestly, I would NEVER pay sticker price for a car no matter how "in demand" it was. In that respect, if you pay sticker you're practically padding the salesman's wallet. Even when VWs were all the rage in 2000, you could find a place willing to sell it for near or below invoice. That's not my problem that other people are willing to pay MSRP for a car.

runin

I agree. Especially in this day and age there is no reason to not be an informed buyer. Congrats on your new s, that's a great color for it. I was qouted 17,200 on the same car with only auto tranny as an option.

lowbrow

I just got off the phone with one of the Friends @ Mazda Team members (who search for cars for you). I asked about the 2005 changes. She said:

* No price increase!
* Dropping Yellow
* Lava Orange Mica only on 5 Door
* Sirius Satellite radio compatibility option!!
* S-Plan offered!
* Orders for 2005s are now being accepted by Mazda, and should arrive in around 3 months.


This has pushed me over the edge to order a 2005 5 Door Lava Orange with exactly what I want!!

Tom

fnac78

Runin,

My Mazda3 S sedan is auto, ABS, 6 CD+moonroof, rear lip spoiler, with autodimming rearview mirror and compass, I got for $17,900 plus tax, license, title.

Originally I just wanted a base model i but I needed AC and auto and the difference in price between an i and an s weren't substantial when I added the options that I wanted. Later, I figured if I was spending that much I might as well get what I really wanted. It's my first NEW car

My only advice is to do your research and be willing to walk away.

runin

What part of the country are you in? I've walked away from 2-3 dealers already and I'm running out of close ones. haha. Just curious about where you are.

birdman579

For everyone who's paying at or near invoice, is anyone in the MD/VA area? What dealer did you buy from? I called and emailed several in my area and everyone quoted MSRP. It also assumes you like what they have on the lot and that's typically nothing. Deals are available on the i model with auto. I want an s with the 5-speed.

birdman579

I also qualify for the s-plan, but dealers are not honoring it in my area. They have waiting lists with people willing to pay more. I need to move out the midwest so its not so expensive. Houses, cars, its crazy here in MD.

audia8q

remember....very few people jump on the internet to bragg about paying MSRP. Don't lose any sleep over what people are claiming they paid for a car. Ego's get involved and everyone loves to feel like the dealer lost $2000 to sell them a car.

runin

I'm finding that in NC the dealers are pretty much sticking to right around $300 over invoice. Of course I know somebody who just paid $1100 over invoice but because they are very young and this was their first buying experience and they didn't negotiate at all. Still, seems that the lowest they are willing to go here is about $300 over invoice. For how well the car is selling around here (most lots are have very few available), this price doesn't seem to bad to me. I hope to have mine bought within a week and I'll report back on what deal I get.

birdman579

My problem is that I wanted a specific color and options that are difficult to get. I could've gotten a good price on the one I test drove, but I want Xenons, a sunroof, and Lava Orange and that car didn't have any of those features. In the end, I'll be much happier with my decision. Its tough to keep reading about people paying just a few hundred over invoice. At least I get the loyalty cash back

iwantonetoo

Try sentrycars.com and click on buy a car. They do have their inventory online.

harddrivet

Yes, found that inventory. Thanks for the follow-up.
Did you try any other dealers in the area, such as 128 Mazda and Gallery in Norwood, or was Shrewsbury your only choice? Just wondering how the other dealers are.
Thanks again.

fnac78

I live in the Chicagoland area. I gave them all the specs/options I wanted including car color (either titanium gray or black mica), etc and they were able to locate the car I wanted from when it was shipped to when it arrived at another dealership. They had to requets for a transfer.

Sorry, I wasn't bragging that I got a great deal I thought I was merely sharing my buying experience. I consider myself a very educated buyer and did my share of research before I made my decision.

z71bill

I had 3 sales people tell me that the Mazda3 was so hot it could not be discounted - and that many dealers were selling them ABOVE MSRP.

This was back in January - so it really was a new model back then, I ended up with a $344 over invoice - (plus a $50 doc fee so really $394 over) deal. What was all the "we can't discount the Mazda3" talk? It was just talk - I hate to use the word lies because that is a little bit off - it is just part of the negotiating process.

Just understand that the sales people are trained like parrots to say these lines.

runin

What's up with the DOC fee? What exactly is this? Is it part of TT&L?

z71bill

DOC fee is an amount charged to put the documents together - it is a complete rip off - find any other business that charges you a fee to print out the contract.

I agreed to pay $18,589 for the car - It was broken down as $18,539 for the car and $50 for the doc fee. Hard to complain about how they put it on the contract as long as the total is what I agreed to pay - now if they would have tried to charge me $18,589 PLUS the $50 I would have made them take it off.

kyfdx

The ad is in the Cincinnati Enquirer again today:

AT LEAST $1980 off MSRP on all MAZDA 3. Plus $500 college grad or Mazda owner rebate.

NO GIMMICKS --80 to choose from.

Jeff Wyler Mazda I-275 exit 63B RT 32 in Eastgate.

I'd give you the 800 number, but not allowed to in this forum.

regards,
kyfdx

marcvill

I have been waiting almost four months for a factory ordered Mazda3 hatch. (Winning Blue, manual, ABS/airbag and xenon packages, that's it!) Missed out on a couple of rebates because I haven't taken delivery. Do I still have room for getting the price down from sticker on a car I had special ordered? The dealer seems to think this taking much longer than normal. Any advice or past experiences would be greatly appreicated.

mazda6s

Did you give them a deposit or sign a purchase agreement? What price did you agree to when you ordered?

ecb1168

I recently purchased a Mazda 3s a couple of days ago and was completely unaware of the college grad rebate. I took advantage of the 3.9% financing, but I believe that I could of still received $500 cash back for being a grad. I am contacting my dealership in regards to this and I am hoping they can still honor this. Anybody know any info on why they would not be able to honor this and would contacting Mazda directly help me out since the dealer never informed me of this?

Thanks

osu1298grad

Thanks for following up for me! I wasn't able to get my hands on that paper over the weekend.
I requested a quote on a 3s last Wednesday, and was offered $1980 off MSRP, just like the ad stated. Does this sound too good to be true? I'm wondering if they will skimp on financing or my trade-in, like you were warning about. Unfortunately Wyler is the only dealer in OH that has the one I want, Titanium Gray w/moonroof package.
I asked what the offer would be without TT&L, to compare/contrast what additional fees they were going to add. The response I received on Friday, 6/18, was he would get back with me, but I have not received a reply. Should I just drop this? I'm in no hurry to purchase, but would like to buy no later than the end of August... do you think there will there be any left then?

Thanks for your continued help!
osu1298grad

kyfdx

They won't run out of Mazda 3s... That is a big dealer.. Last October, they had 100 Protege's on the lot, with the Mazda 3 only a couple months away.

I have no way of knowing what they will offer you for your trade, but I'm sure it won't be what you want for it, as almost no one gets what they think their's is worth.

Have financing lined up before you go.. from a credit union or local bank.. That way, you know what you can get, and maybe bargain for a better financing deal through the dealer.

I wouldn't worry too much about not getting a call back.. Most dealers are terrible about follow-up. They want you at the dealership, because very few people buy over the phone. It is only a couple hour trip from Columbus... You could come down on the weekend and scope it out.. Just get a feel for them. According to the ad, they are also open on Sundays.

regards,
kyfdx

kyfdx

If you come, Kings Mazda is right on the way.. It wouldn't hurt to stop in there and see what they can do as well.

regards,
kyfdx

osu1298grad

Thanks again for all the information. I'm starting to get the impression Wyler is like Ricart up here... he has quite the reputation.
Kings has one in silver, but I really like the Titanium. I wonder if they would be willing to locate one while matching the quote I received last week?
I know the trade-in is going to be an issue, but I really don't want to go through the inconvenience of selling it on my own.
On another note, do you think it is wise to buy a car in it's first year? I've generally heard to wait a year or two so the manufacturer has time to work out the kinks.

Thanks,
osu1298grad

marcvill

Mazda6s, I have a $1000 deposit and have not signed anything on an agreed price yet. Missed the college grad rebate for me back in May because the car had not been delivered. I was to have a trade in, but that car had other plans. As the weeks go by I am saving more for a down payment. So as one can see. Pricing is in a state of flux. And as when the car is to be delivered...your guess is as good as mine. Hope this info helps.

lakegeneva

Had a deal all lined up in Crystal Lake for a Mazda3 black. They called back today and said they can't find the one (within a 8 state area)with the options and color that we want. They want to bounce us to an
s. We have now left the 16,500 stage to the 18,500 price range.
Should be consider it or should we even wait for the 2005 models.
Thanks for your input.
Lake Geneva

kyfdx

Hmm... I've never bought a first-year.. not because I wouldn't, just hasn't worked out that way. I guess I usually avoid it because of the higher price when they first come out. That said, I was ready to buy a TSX in December.. and that model was only out 8 months at the time.. If you can get a good price, and its the one you want, I see no reason not to get it now, or soon.

If you have to trade, try to get a good idea of what its worth before you start shopping.

regards,
kyfdx

osu1298grad

Unfortunately I'm pretty conservative, so I tend to favor options that give me peace of mind. My other selection is another Civic Coupe (currently I own a '97), but it is difficult to overlook the new Mazda, especially considering how outdated the Civic is, it looks too much like a Focus, which I don't care for. However, I have a great relationship with a local Honda dealer and I know they will not be shady.
I've been educating myself here and there, I actually love to play the sales game. I have a pretty good idea as to what I expect for my trade, my range is between the KBB and Edmunds TMV. Do you think this is a fair expectation? Honda was offering me the KBB value two years ago when I was looking at another Civic.

Thanks,
osu1298grad

mazda6s

Hmmm, a $1000 deposit but no price agreement, that's interesting. Sounds like you are free to negotiate the price, unless they cashed the deposit check. What was the agreement for conditions under which they would return the deposit? Let me guess, you didn't agree on that either.

I would say that if they didn't cash the check and you don't agree on a price, just stop payment on the check and walk away.

kyfdx

Drop a good description of your car over in REAL WORLD TRADE IN VALUES.. Tell them year, mileage, condition, options, color, location, what shape the tires are in, etc... And Terry will give you an idea what you can expect. Read back about a hundred messages in the thread, and you will get an idea what info he is looking for. That number will be closer than either edmunds or kbb.

Good Luck,
kyfdx

runin

Went into a Mazda dealer last thursday and agreed on a price for a 3i. I don't have a credit history so I knew I probably wouldn't get the 3.9% financing they are advertising for. My father suggested I try to see what they would give me first and then if I needed he would co-sign. Turns out I was only eligible for 8.5% (they found this out within about 2 hours). I then said I wanted to get my father to co-sign because I knew he could get a better rate than I could alone. We filled out the application and had it in Thursday evening. It is now Monday evening and they keep telling me they can't get an answer on the application (all the while trying to convince me to buy the car on my own to build my credit). I'd rather not do it on my own and pay the extra $2,000 over the life of my payments (preferring to build credit in other ways).

Am I getting the run around from the dealer or what? It seems odd to me that it would take this long to get a financing rate approved when I had check in hand ready to put a down payment last week. Each time I talk to the salesman to find out what's going on, he says the people at Mazda are not in or in a meeting or they lost their password. Of course each time he reminds me that I'm clear to buy it on my own if I want. The experience with these guys was great until this and they gave me a good price quote. Any suggestions on if you think I'm getting jerked around?