2013 and Earlier - Mazda3 Prices Paid and Buying Experience

npaladin2000

They couldn't find your red one because I'm driving it. Same option package...I paid about the same too, and got the in-dash MP3 player as an add-on.

wvw

Lucky you! Actually, I'm very pleased with the grey and excited to have the car.

mazda3dpp

We are looking for a similar car in the LA area. Right now, the local dealerships seem to be pretty low on 3i ATs, so we might wait for the 2005s.

Would you be willing to say where you purchased your vehicle?

Also, I'm interested in aftermarket leather, but heard that it could interfere with the side airbags...you must have found differently. Any thoughts on this, or on price for the aftermarket leather?

Thanks much!

brc2004

I visited a few car dealerships last weekend, among them a Mazda dealership, testing the 3 hatchback.

Today the sales manager called me, and I took the opportunity to ask him how far above invoice they are selling the hatches for. He gave me a story about how today (October 4th) was their 'end of the month', and said that the sales ending today determine their allocations for the next month. So, he was prepared to make a 'special deal' if I bought today, and offered a few hundred dollars above invoice.

I ended up declining, because I don't like being pressured, and haven't made up my mind which car to get. (I'm also looking at small SUVs.)

My question: How can Oct. 4th be the 'end of the month'? Was he making up the story just to get me to buy a car? If I go back in a few weeks, are they likely to offer the same price? What do people think?

Kirstie_H

I'm not sure about the October 4 end-of-month statement, but were you looking at an 04 or an 05? We have True Market Value pricing on the 2004 model, and in my area, it looks like most people are paying about 1/2 way between MSRP and invoice. We don't have 2005 TMV reports just yet, but you might want to go to the Mazda Vehicles page and check what others are paying for the Mazda3. Even if it's a 2005, you can get an idea from the 2004 report.

It's possible that you were honestly being offered a good deal!

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

fuzzboxer

If you aren't ready to buy, then don't. Typically, the end of the month or the end of the quarter is the best time to buy a car because they want to get rid of their inventory. Sounds like he was just telling you that to get a sale. I would use Edmunds price quote feature to get an idea of what you can bargain with.

You can always find another dealer to work with.

z71bill

Many companies "keep the books open" for a few extra days at the end of the month/quarter/year so they can make their sales goals. This is - obviously - not good accounting practice - and any auditor worth $.02 would catch this when they test the company's cut-off procedures. They will try and say the sale was actually "made" before the end of the month - the customer just did not pick up the vehicle until the following month.

I actually caught a few companies (not car dealers) trying to record sales made in January as December sales - and then trying to record the purchase of the product in January. So they in effect sold something that they did not even own yet. In this case they overstate sales and profit and understate inventory. Many states charge property tax for the year based on what is on hand as of 12/31.

bunk1968

Are there any serious price reductions on the '04's yet??
Aren't the '05's coming just around the corner??
I really thought that there would be good deals on the '04's by now.

npaladin2000

That's only assuming people have any 04s left...

akarli

In Canada, there is not much of a price reduction for the 04 Mazda3. I asked around and the discount they could give me is around $300-$500 + my grad rebate. The dealer encouraged me to get the 2005 c'uz they are sold out of 2004!! I just ordered the 2005 and they are selling the same price as the 2004. I got a discount of $700 + the grad rebate. He even throw in some extra stuff. I was happy I got the discount already, as I heard other dealers said they don't give discount to the 2005 cars. The max can get is $100 or so.

My 2005 Mazda3 just arrived yesterday, and is ready to pick up in a week! I can't wait. Even the car I am getting now is the last one in stock (ppl booked the car in Aug), and the rest has to wait till the end of November. Everyone wants a Mazda 3!!

Cheers
Akarli

fuey

hey akarli,
i am in TO.
i am thinking of getting one too. how much did u pay "on the road" including ur discount? and what extra stuffs did u get? thanx.

cheers,
fuey

lsmiles13

I got a quote today for a 04 Mazda 3 s, manual, moonroof & 6 cd pkg, ABS pkg, sport pkg, cargo net and wheel locks (strato blue). She said list price is $19385 but she would sell it to me for $18781. (I emailed her for a quote.) Edmunds TMV price is $19340. Good deal? (For anyone in Eastern PA, the dealership is Young VW Mazda in Easton, PA.)

This particular dealership does not have the car that I want in stock, they would have to go to another dealership to get it. She said both prices included destination fees.

z71bill

Looks like they are asking $800 over invoice - IMO they are $4-500 to high.

But the real problem is they don't have the car you want. Have they located the car already?

Why negotiate with someone who does not even have what you want? Go to www.mazdausa.com and do a search for the car you want - call the dealership that has the car in stock and offer them $18,200 - $18,300.

The 2005's are almost here - why overpay for a year old car?

billyd_88

Honest, polite replies will be most welcome ...

Spent the better part of an afternoon test driving Mazda 3's with a dealer in Morrow (Atlanta), GA. I put down a deposit on the following vehicle today:

Mazda 3s Sedan
Velocity Red/Red-black cloth interior
5 speed manual
ABS/Side airbags package
Moonroof/6 CD package
Sport package

I drove 45 minutes to work with this dealer that was recommended to me by a close friend (her family just bought a 3i and a Tribute from the same guy). Very pleasant buying experience and the guy seemed honest enough. Did get that last minute "good news, bad news" comment ... good news was that he found the car I was looking for (he had to find it in South Carolina), but the bad news was that the SC dealer did not want to trade car for car with my dealer. So, my guy said that he had to include the $400 dealer holdback since they were buying the car for me, and not just trading one of their cars for the one in SC. Couldn't talk him out of it, and believe me I tried. Did I get hosed?

Final sale price on the above car ... $18,625. "Drive out" price after TTL and graduate rebate ... $19,318 ... How did I do?

And ... will having the car driven from South Carolina before I take possession devalue the car in any way? Should I have asked for another $100 or so off the price since it will have at least 250 miles on it when I get to take it home?

Also drove 2005 Altimas (not bad, but felt cheap inside and the dealer was annoying), 2004 Accords (reliable, well built, but plain), and 2004 Solaras (nice interior, but just didn't feel comfortable). Been driving a 1997 Civic LX for 7.5 years and it's been great, but getting it fixed these days costs more than 20% of the Blue Book Value every time. Time for a new car, and the Mazda 3 seemed like the best deal and best fit for me.

Thanks! Billy in Atlanta

mzda

Beach Mazda, Huntington Beach.

The dealer installed the aftermarket leather, and they said that it uses break away stitching allowing the side airbags to work. I'm expecting that they know what they are doing, but obviously would be more skeptical if it were installed by a third party instead of the dealer.

By the way, the leather was already on the car, not my request. Since it only had 21 miles on the odometer I think it was just a dealer choice to make the car more appealing (and it really does), rather than for some other potential buyer.

nopattern

I recently test drove a titanium gray Mazda 3 S with the following added options: Automatic, leather interior, compass/outside temp autodim mirror, moonroof & 6 cd package, moonroof wind deflector, rear wing spoiler, wheel locks, abs/sac package, sport package and cargo net.

the sticker price is $21,495, that includes destination. they are telling me they could take it down to $20,900 but i have a thing for working car dealers until they are begging me to buy...how much lower do you think i could realistically go on this deal? i plan on going in monday to negotiate and buy. any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

birdman579

For everyone looking to buy a Mazda3, don't pay more than $500 over invoice. That's the standard good price around the mid-Atlantic area. If the dealer knows you're ready to walk out, you'll easily be able to get this price. If you're good, you can work a better deal. And get a rev-it-up coupon for an additional $250 off (I can't say for sure if these coupons are still available).

nopattern

im going to the dealership tomorrow. the invoice price for what im getting is 19,850. youre saying try not to go higher than 20,350?
they told me last week they would go down from 21,376 to 20,900. i want to work them down even more.hopefully to around 20,300

secretariat73

I was talking to a Mazda dealer yesterday, and he asked if I would like him to start looking for a 2004, "to get the incentives". Since the only ones listed are the 4.9% financing and the $500 recent grad rebate (for which I'm not eligible), does anyone know of any other incentives (in the New Hampshire area) to which he might be referring?
-Steven-

nopattern

hey everyone - i am new around here but i just thought i'd share my excitement with everyone. i got a 2004 mazda 3 s yesterday, titanium gray, fully loaded minus the navigation system. i love it! see some pictures at: here

philly5

That's great, how did you go as far as price?

eoghan1

If yours is a 5 door I have a twin to yours and just turned 1K miles. I am thinking of buying the auto dimming mirror, compass thermometer and adding it. Undecided if I want to install myself.
Mine is a standard with leather. I would like to compare experience with the paint. Note other buyers are springing for the 3M saran wrap covering as the paint tends to get chipped around the wheel wells and rocker panels. I am in Connecticut and would like to also compare experience with mileage, service etc. etc.

nopattern

no i got the 4door.

price after taxes was 22,618.
sticker price was 21,495 and the average edmunds 'what others are paying' price was 21,376. i got it for 20,795.

not bad..im thrilled with everything about it so far.

sensei

I bought 2004 yesterday with ac and manual. I paid $14000. Thank You to everybody on this site because I had some idea about the car. Thank You.

runin

nopattern, very nice car. Congrats on your new buy. I'm sure you won't regret it. Now you just gotta get that HUGE dealership sticker off the back and replace that monster antenna with a nice little stubby one and your well on your way. Check out the other mazda 3 forum too.

rutger3

Can someone please explain to me why the prices for the 3 are in the camry/accord/mazda6 range?
Even thought the 3 seems like a very nice car, isnt it competing with the civic/corolla?

kyfdx

The 3 is a brand new design.. Both the Civic and Corolla are a few years old.. It is just where it is in the product cycle..

Also, the 3 seems to be a little up-market from those two cars.. Even though they compete, Mazda can point to advantages the other two don't have (longer warranty, more power, etc.)

IOW, price isn't everything.

miboman

When are the 2005's going to start arriving? I've been periodically checking the Mazda USA site and see nothing about the new model year. I've also checked my local inventory in a 75 mile radius of where I am and there are not many cars out there. Only about 15 hatchbacks listed here in SoCal after seeing around 70 or so typically being listed over the summer. Either local dealers sold them all or the inventory feature no longer includes vehicles in transit.

audia8q

There are a few 2005's showing up now to fill some holes in dealer inventories....There is going to be a bit of a product gap/shortage. The factory lost some production due to two typhoons last month.

akarli

Fuey,

 I got it for 27 368 on the road. I got the wheel cover locks, and get discount from the dealer if I buy anything extra at Mazda.

Akarli

carking

What did you pay? I'm interested in the same car.

carking

The MSRP was 20,025. What can I realistically negotiate it down to? Since the 2004's are a year old by now.

z71bill

My MSRP was $20,005 - I paid $18,883 (before TT&L)- that was back on January 21 st. In Houston this time of the year you should be at invoice - or maybe $100 - $200 under.

dan2fuzzywu

I purchased a titanium 2004 mazda3 hatch, fully loaded except DVD navigation. I paid about $20,340 before TT&L. This was with Gillman Mazda in Rosenburg, TX (outside of SW Houston). I'm very happy with the car, price, and dealers.

rafiki

Hi All! I have been snooping around for awhile now. Joined the chat today as well. Very informative site! Wondering if anyone in Canada could share what the DEALER COST for a 2004 & or 2005 Mazda 3 Sport with A/C, 5Spd & Metallic Paint? If you have what you paid that would be helpful as well. Detail such as taxes PDI etc would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

rafiki

Hi there! Does anyone have pricing details about purchasing a Mazda 3 from a relative who has A or Z Plan privileges from Ford? If my brother in law worked at Ford am I eligible?
Canadian pricing would be helpful. Cheers.

dcmz3

I just bought the a titanium grey S model fully loaded, including navigation, and excluding leather for $19,869 before tax, tags and destination. It was a demo with about 3,000 miles on it. Im also a first time buyer; was that a good deal?

fuzzboxer

I think you got a good deal on the car, but I'm not sure I would have bought the demo car. Its usually driven pretty hard. But, for all I know it didn't hurt anything. Anyways, congrats on the new car! My car is titanium gray and its an awesome color.

quickreply

We just bought a new 2005 Mazda 3 for $18,000 in Portland, OR. MSRP was $20,040. It is the ‘s’ with an automatic, leather and sunroof/6 CD.

The dealer was advertising “2 @ $11,997” for one of their stripped Mazdas in the newspaper. We wanted the ‘s’ not the ‘i’, so we asked them to match the discount amount on the advertisement on an ‘s’ that we like – $2,200.

At first they said we weren’t being flexible, so we came up $200, and the discount ended up being $2,040 in the end. They showed us the invoice slip – somewhere around $18,650 or something.

Couple of notes, this dealer had a lot (100+) Mazda 3s on their lot, so I’m sure they had to more some. We had no trade, put $1000 down and financed through them @4.29%.

dinglenutz1223

First post. I been reading these forums for months and I have finally bought my Mazda3s Hatch. I got a 2004 model in black mica with these options:

- automatic
- moonroof & 6CD in dash package
- ABS / side curtain airbags package

I got the vehicle price to $19,000 before TTL. The dealership is the biggest Mazda dealship in the US, from what I know. Wayne Mazda, but they said only 1 Florida dealerhship has more sales, because they're open till 12 midnight and on sundays. Jersey closes on sundays, blue collar laws.

Anyways, I love the car, and want to thank all the good advice and tips about buying. I didn't even plan on buying the car, more to see the colors I was interested in. But, when we sat down and talked pricing, I was going to walk away no matter what, because I wasn't ready to deal....but, then the price just seemed too good, and I couldn't pass up. end of the month, and I got it this saturday 10/30.

For anyone interested, Wayne Mazda has a huge inventory and they got some great people there. The sales manager is great, and he pretty much closed the deal. "What do I have to do to close this deal?"

Sticker price was : $20,245. I think I got it for $100 under invoice. I liked the deal. My first time negotiating for a car too. I did well, up until I got into the finance room. ugh....

I purchased the unnecessary extended warranty, which I am going back to the dealership to remove. Hoepfully this won't be a problem, since I have talked to couple of guys already. However, you never know. Wish me luck.

michem

Hi,
  Can anyone tell me what they paid for document prep fees? Did anyone negotiate a good price on that. The dealership wants me to pay $240 and said it was not negotiable. Any info on fees would be helpful.

fuzzboxer

Documentation fees are pretty standard. It should be included into the final price of the car. Some states charge more than others. Its usually a way to get a higher price out of the customer. Ask to see what the out-of-the-door price is, including TTL(this should be tax, dmv fees, and documentation fees). If you feel like you are getting ripped off, go to another dealer.

slowracin

okaaaayy... who has the skinny on the Special Edition? How close is the Carbon Gray to the Titanium gray or the M6 charcoal color? Is the brown leather a dark brown, a medium brown, or darker than beige brown? All I see is the little blurb in the 2005 brochure. I am most interested! Anybody have an idea on the lead times to order one?

combustible1

post it over on the main thread for "mazda 3" and you'll more likely to get a response there.

Kirstie_H

and here's the right one:
Mazda3 (Hatchback)
or
Mazda3 Sedan
(don't know which one the special edition is!)

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

harddrivet

I was at a dealer today for some recall work on my 3, and one of the workers there asked me how I like my 3. I told him I like it very much. He then asked me if I heard about the increase for next year, I said no. He said rumor has it that the Mazda 3i and 3s will be increased by $3k in January 2005. Now I do not know if this is true or not. But I do honestly think the 3 is worth it after having owned it. I probably would not have paid $3K more prior to owning the 3. It also seems like a hefty jump. Anyway has anyone else heard this rumor?

miboman

I have not heard rumors of a $3K jump, but I would be expecting some sort of price increase. Car has been selling well in many areas, so it is a bit on the scarce side. In addition, the 3 are all manufactured in Japan and the dollar has been falling against the yen. I wouldn't be surprised if Mazda increases the price on the 3 just to maintain margins. $3K however does seem rather steep.

autonomous

This seems surprising unless the rep meant the MazdaSpeed edition of the Mazda3. I believe that edition is rumoured to come out next year. If you compare the Volvo S40 and its turbo, S40T, I believe the price difference is $3K. I think the Protege also went through a similar experience when it got the MazdaSpeed treatment.

birdman579

There's no way Mazda will raise prices on the 3 by $3000 unless they add a bunch of standard equipment. If the Mazdaspeed3 is only $3000 more, I need to get on the waiting list ASAP!

slowracin

Awww, come on gang! Can't all of you techie types out there read a little REAL page in the 2005 Mazda 3 propaganda brochure?

Well gee, I hate to disagree (:, but I think this is the right forum, 'cause I want to buy a hatchback, and all I am asking is if anyone knows what color Carbon Gray Mica is -- Its right there in the back page of the folder!

See?!??!?! ... it says so! Did'jya find it yet??
It says Special Edition with a Bose and 7 speakers including powered sub woofers, EQ and an in dash 6CD changer -- leather BROWN or black interior, heated front seats, rain-sensing wipers, auto headlights, pollen filter (LED taillights on the 5 door) -- for the 4 door S OR the 5 door!

So... any one have an idea? The local dealer says his Regional contact in and around the western NC flatlands sure don't know -- all I get is a ... " ...well, it must be a new name for Titanium Gray," or... "...about the same color as Titanium Gray," or other such helpful, deeply penetrating insight. Its enough to make me go get a 5-speed Altima or a Jetta TDI or something...

The color strip in the brochure, I swear, is the SAME color as Black Mica!

The Mazda.Com site doesn't say near enough, at least when I last checked it, or even had anything on the 2005s. I get more information from the translated German or Japanese based web sites than I do from the North American site (sorry, but true -- like the Turbo Diesel powered Mazda I read about....hmmm? If gas prices keep hitting the roof, 48 MPG sounds awfully good for a torquy little clean burning diesel)

So what's the real deal? I DO plan on buying a manual hatchback with most of the goodies -- who needs the high dollar exterior appearance package on the hatchback or the navigation package -- this car is gonna be fun gettin' lost in!

I have just about settled on a Strato Blue or Black Mica with leather, the Xenon package, the ABS package, and the Moonroof/CD changer package, depending on which one shows up first, but I am very curious about this new color. I may even lose out and get with a Winning Blue the dealer says he has located for me, but I might regret my current, highly impatient salivating if the Carbon comes out and it is THE color I like!

If the Carbon "pops" like the Velocity Red, but has a tint about the same color as the Mazda 6, then I want it!

So please, all you great gurus that might have "deeper knowledge," take pity on this old man and let me know before I go nuts...!!