2013 and Earlier - Mazda3 Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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Comments

  • dgmiadgmia Member Posts: 1
    Hello,

    I am interested in buying a 2005 Mazda3s. Do you know if the AC problems you mention are happening with the Mazda3s also ? or just with the Mazda3i ?

    Thanks
  • reechzreechz Member Posts: 50
    I just did the smartbuy (35 months and the optional ballon for month 36) for the Mazda6 and gave the dealer the certificate that mazda sent me for the Gerber rebate. He looked at it, was puzzled, but filled out a rebate form for the check to come straight to me.
    I did not have the original ad that was referred to, but the dealer didn't have a problem with it, (he said the rebate comes right from mazda so it was no problem for him to fill out).

    thanks to whomever first referenced this offer! You just saved me $500!!
  • mm3mm3 Member Posts: 4
    Question 1 about Navigation System:

    Someone told me that there are about 6 different DVD's that cover different parts of the country for the Nav system. Does this mean that if I move say from Los Angeles to New York, my nav system will not work in NY unless I buy a new regional DVD?

    I move around the country a lot and a Nav system would be expensive and useless to me if this were true. I was hoping that even if I bought my car in LA it would work all over the country w/o having to make additional purchases.

    Question 2:

    Is there any yearly or monthly fees for navi?

    Thanks for any help!
  • mm3mm3 Member Posts: 4
    I was wondering what the theft deterrent system in the SP23 Secutity package is? Is like a car alarm, or car disabler, or tracking, etc.

    Thanks
  • rws0131rws0131 Member Posts: 27
    Did Mazda email you the certificate or did they send it via mail to you?
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    My 2005 Mazda3s hatch has icy a/c that cools my 280-pound body just fine.

    Meade
  • smariasmaria Member Posts: 279
    Mazda emailed the certificate to me, and I printed it out. I think that's their standard procedure.

    Also, someone asked about the ACOG rebate, so here's my experience: the ACOG rebate works the same way as the Gerber rebate (you go to www.mazdausa.com/ACOG, fill out the form, and Mazda emails you a certificate).

    I got both certificates (ACOG and Gerber) emailed to me from Mazda, but they look identical and they both say "only one certificate can be used per car". So, only ONE of these two rebates can be used at a time, not both.
  • mm3mm3 Member Posts: 4
    How long did it take to get the Gerber rebate from Mazda? I signed up yesterday and haven't received one yet.

    Also, how long did it take people to get the ad from Gerber?

    thanks
  • smariasmaria Member Posts: 279
    It took me 3 business days to get the rebate email from Mazda. My email's spam filter thought that it was spam, so I found it in my spam folder.

    I don't remember how long it took to get the ad from Gerber, but it was roughly a week (a few days for them to put the ad into the mail, and a few days after that for it to get to my mailbox).
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    I bought a 3 last weekend. I had applied online for a Gerber rebate, and received an E-mail from Mazda about three days later with a 16-digit Mazda $500 cash back bonus certificate number.
    I wasn't sure how it worked (thought I might receive $500 cash back weeks later), but presented it to the salesman. The finance office said they'd never seen one before, but deducted $500 from the purchase price.
    Last night, the salesman called and said that the finance office thinks that I should've presented some other additional certificate, though he thought the certificate number should be enough.
    Sure is confusing! How is it supposed to work?
    Love the 3!
  • chacobleuchacobleu Member Posts: 228
    Any idea what ACOG represents???
  • smariasmaria Member Posts: 279
    The instructions on the $500 certificates that Mazda emails out say "present this certificate, with the original ad, to the dealer". Gerber mailed out a Mazda advertisement, and you're SUPPOSED to have that ad in order to get the rebate. Dealers have been giving the rebate to people without the ad though.

    Oh, and ACOG stands for American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist. They mailed out an ad to their members too, just like Gerber did.
  • reechzreechz Member Posts: 50
    I got the certificate emailed to me in one day. I brought it in with-out the ad and the dealer filled out the Mazda rebate form to mail and (hopefully) mailed it into Mazda. There is no provision on the Mazda rebate form for an ad- in fact, it is a standard form that Mazda uses for any rebate going back to the customer.
    I also requested the ad from Gerber, so if I don't get the rebate in a few weeks I should at that point have the ad and will take it up with Mazda.
  • dd123dd123 Member Posts: 53
    Hi

    You can'nt use 2 cash back bonus ie gerber + ACOG together according to mazda website:

    (1)To receive the $500 Cash Back Bonus, take new retail delivery from dealer stock. Limit one (1) $500 Cash Back Bonus Incentive per eligible vehicle. Offer is only valid on 2005 or 2006 Mazda vehicle purchases made between the dates denoted on the Mazda $500 Cash Back Bonus Certificate. Offer is transferable within household. The $500 Cash Back Bonus can be combined with any public incentives and must be processed through a Mazda dealer. Offer ends 60 days after $500 Cash Back Bonus Certificate is issued. See participating dealer for details.
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    Replying to my own message - Here's how Mazda responded to my question:

    "The original offer is the offer that was either mailed (Gerber) or
    given to the prospective customer by the ACOG Gynecologist. The
    Magazine would be from the American College of Obstetrics and
    Gynecologists (ACOG) Plum Magazine. Unfortunately, I do not have
    access to this coupon and would not be able to send it to you.
    I was also informed that once you receive this offer, it must be provided to the
    dealership prior to purchase. If you purchased the vehicle before
    giving this coupon to the dealership, you would not be able to take
    advantage of this offer."

    I've already purchased the vehicle, presented the E-mail from Mazda with the certificate number (not the "original offer" mentioned above), and the dealer deducted $500 from the purchase price. The finance office has since had the salesman call - looking for the "original offer."

    Here's hoping I don't here anymore from them. Seems like there should be a market for the "original offers" on Ebay.
  • mm3mm3 Member Posts: 4
    so...are we sure that the gerber certificate and the acog certificate can't be used together.

    i have a gerber ($500), acog (500), customer loyalty (500), and graduate rebate(500). I was hoping to use all...does anyone know which of these i can use together?

    thanks
  • chacobleuchacobleu Member Posts: 228
    Customer Loyalty

    My wife bought a brand new MPV a few years ago; it is partially financed through Mazda American Credit (48 months - I cosigned); there's approx. a year's worth of payments remaining.

    Does this qualify (her or I) for the customer loyalty rebate?
  • robby1robby1 Member Posts: 7
    Maria,
    is ther a way I can get the original advertisement that is to be combined with the coupon?
  • gompsgomps Member Posts: 5
    I am looking at the inventory on the Mazda website for dealers in my area.
    Is it meaningful to look at what they have alot of and conclude that they have too many of those and therefore you'd get a good deal?
    Conversely one could look at what they have only a few of and figure that you'd be hard pressed to have a strong bargaining postion...i.e. lava orange/5-door.
    On the other hand maybe the inventory is self correcting so that it meets fairly well the demand of buyers?
    How can I find out what they are trying to get rid of?
  • greatbritgreatbrit Member Posts: 4
    We just bought an awesome, oh how we love it, white Mazda 3 5 door, auto, pretty loaded with the ABS pack, Sunroof pack, Xenon pack, cargo mat. Invoice for all of that is $19,636 (incl. dest.) The car also had all around tint, priced on the sticker at $375, but during negotiations they told us it costs them $200. (Almost every new car in Vegas seems to comes tinted, they do it before they hit the lot, maybe more to protect them while they are sitting there than anything else).

    On the hand written part of the sticker it also had "Valley Protection Pack" for a couple of thousand (at another dealership it was called "Desert Protection Pack"), in New York it would likely be called Mafia Protection Pack. It's something about if the paint peels in the hot Vegas sun they fix it, I doubt that isn't already included in the regular warranty. So basically this is all another term for "dealer markup". In fact only one of the three dealers even mentioned it during negotiations, the others didn't even try to include it in the price.

    The good news in Las Vegas is that they have three Mazda dealers, the bad news is that they are all owned by the same person! But oh what a difference between them. People's Mazda was the ultimate in pressure, with the salesman telling us that every Mazda comes in totally basic, then they add the features, so he said they could put together any features we wanted, right down to ABS and a sunroof, navigation, heck, he could even add a remote trunk release to the 5 door. They did not want to deal, we couldn't come anywhere near close to our price, and nor did we want to, we were so happy to get out of there, I give them a D-.

    Courtesy in Henderson is pretty laid back, Eddie the internet manager is very cool and almost gave us our deal, except when it came time to sign there was suddenly the $395 doc fee they'd failed to mention. The other problem there was our salesman was incapable of putting together a sentence that didn't include a lie. But overall, B+.

    Where we ended up buying was Magic Mazda on West Sahara. The greatest thing here is that the license plate frame says "Las Vegas Magic", but on a more practical note they were an extremely helpful and knowledgeable sales staff, with BS at an all time low (until negotiation time at least). We had quite a battle when it came time to talk numbers, but got a fantastic deal in the end, and the manager was also a very nice guy and very up front with us about his costs. The finance guy was awesome, didn't even try to sell us extended warranty! I give them an A (and A+ if they keep their promise to replace the dented door with a brand new one switched from another car).

    So, after reading through all the posts on this fantastic forum we decided that $200 to $400 over invoice was our price target. But we hit two snags, one is the mystery "$200 Las Vegas Assessment" fee which shows up on the dealer invoice (but not on the MSRP sticker), anyone know if that's legitimate?, the other is the exorbitant $395 doc fee. If we were to succumb to those two items we'd be $600 over invoice before we even got started.

    So anyway, at the end of the day we ended up paying $20,100. With invoice at $19,636, tint at $200, we factored in what we considered a 'reasonable' doc fee of $40 (of course you could argue that the doc fee should be $0), plus a couple of small items (title transfer was one) adding another $36 (no idea if those were legitimate either) we end up at about $19,900. Now we have to add in the Las Vegas Assessment for $200 giving us $20,100. So if the assessment is legit we got the car at invoice, if it isn't we paid 200 over, which still seems like a good deal based on the rest of the posts here. Plus we have a license plate frame that says "Las Vegas Magic", that's got to be worth a few hundred right there!

    zoom zoom.
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    Anyone shopping for a particular option package of the 3 should check the MazdaUSA and dealer web sites.
    I tried to purchase a 3 from the local dealer where we bought my wife's Tribute. They were quoting sticker price (!) and wanted to sell me a vehicle that was on the lot. When I E-mailed the dealer (and two others in the area) with a list of exactly what I was looking for (Red 5-door, MT, moonroof/6CD, SAB/SAC, leather), they couldn't locate one. Heard that they were "hard to get" - you'd think I wanted a Rolls Royce! I told one of them that I could see over 40 3s in stock at other dealers online inventory.
    I spent a night checking all of the dealers online inventory within a reasonable distance, found the one I wanted, and the next day made the deal over the phone at a cheaper price than any of the local dealers were quoting for vehicles that I didn't want to buy.
    This is our fifth new Mazda (two GLCs, a Navajo, and the current Tribute and 3), and we love it so far.
  • audia8qaudia8q Member Posts: 3,138
    don't forget that the consumer locater lists cars when the dealer orders them...so many of the cars listed have not left japan yet. I show 62 mazda 3 on the consumer locater but we only have 12 actually on the ground at the dealership.

    Hardly a day goes by that somebody doesnt stop by with a print out of a car they found on the mazda website only to be surprised when I tell them it will be here in 9 weeks....lol
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    Good point.

    I found that the car I purchased was listed correctly (MT) on the Mazda site, incorrectly (AT) on the dealer's site.

    Dealer sites display a wide range of sophistication. Some are excellent - providing all details about the vehicles, others don't indicate anything other than body style.
  • squirrelysquirrely Member Posts: 1
    I am picking up my first Mazda today (Mazda3 i sedan), and though I've had to wait almost a week to get it, my dealer seems to have done a good job locating the car that meets all of my specs, since they didn't have it on the lot (it's "the last one in the country," allegedly). We signed on a price that was reasonable, and they aren't charging us for locating/transporting the car to our local Mazda dealership. All in all, this has been a fairly painless process...a little intimidating at first, and I am still just hoping that everything will be okay when I check over the car today.

    For those of you that have had to pick up their Mazda after waiting on it to be delivered, is there anything I should be wary of the dealership trying to pull on me at the last minute, even though we have already signed all of the paperwork and paid our down payment?
  • smariasmaria Member Posts: 279
    Robby,
    I went to the Gerber website (www.gerber.com), registered, and then sent them an email asking if they could mail me the original ad for the $500 Mazda rebate. They put it in the mail and I had it in a few days. So, if you don't want to risk not having the original ad, you can get it from Gerber.

    Good luck!
  • gompsgomps Member Posts: 5
    Does anyone think that a consideration for waiting to buy the '06 would be Mazda's fixes of little things (ac, buzzes and rattles, etc) that they have looked at during the first two model years?
    I know that there isn't a redesign but would I be getting a better quality vehicle?
    I figure there must be precedence with other models throughout the years from other manufacturers.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    The longer they produce the same model, the more refined it gets.

    I will say that my 2-month-old Mazda3s hatchback is darned near perfect, and I've enjoyed each of the 2,300 miles I've put on the car so far.

    Meade
  • renraw3020renraw3020 Member Posts: 4
    That's what I'm going to do. To me the A/C is not a little thing, if I could be sure the A/C worked well I would buy today.

    Mazda will stop production of the 05's at the end of June and start putting together the 06's the 1st of July. From what I hear these will be showing up on the lots around September. If I buy now in about three month I have last years model, I will just have to deal with the old clunker for a few months longer, at least its paid for anfd the 06's do have a few more bell's and whistles.
  • zoommazda3zoommazda3 Member Posts: 8
    I was wondering since the 06's are about to come out in Sept. will the 05's go down on price so they can get rid of them. Also does anyone know how much the 06's are going to cost and know of a site i can see what it looks like and specification of the 06's.
  • unlimitedunlimited Member Posts: 4
    I've tried at least four times in the last three weeks submiting the form at the Mazda website but I never got any email back. I've even tried with different email addresses in case a spam filter was blocking it but still no go.

    Anybody got an idea on what I can do now? I have the ad from Gerber, but not the special code from Mazda.

    Thanks
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    I received the E-mail from Mazda with the certificate number after about three or four days.

    My problem is getting the ad from Gerber. They supposedly sent it to me five days ago - I still don't have it.

    The dealer took $500 off the purchase price when I bought the 3, then called the next week looking for the Gerber ad. I'm hoping it arrives soon - I E-mailed Gerber again yesterday.
  • ltr2ltr2 Member Posts: 5
    Hello everyone.
    I've just bought a Mazda3 S 5 doors with AT and ABS/SAB package, priced at 17500 (+ window tint of 199). Total out of the door for 19000. Is it a good deal? I love this car by the way. Oh, the AC is icy cold (and I am in Texas here)!
  • dd123dd123 Member Posts: 53
    hi
    i think you did good but could have done litle bit better may be $200

    dd
  • ukdanukdan Member Posts: 1
    I think you can, I bought a 2005 3i, and the dealer knocked $2200 off the sticker on mine, along with giving me $750 more than my trade was worth. I got a Mazda3 with a sticker of $18,280 for $16,080 les my trade of $4250 (which was only worth around $3500).
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    The rebate coupon from Gerber finally arrived today. I spoke with the finance office at the dealership, and will mail it off to them tomorrow, with another copy of the E-mail from Mazda.
    What a relief.
  • chacobleuchacobleu Member Posts: 228
    Why don’t we trade? You need to receive the certificate? I can help! Of course I’ll need your home address; I’ll have the certificate sent to my e-mail address. But I need a copy of the ad; just a copy. Mazda said they didn’t have anymore ads (that was about a month ago), but others are still receiving them at this time (mail must be slow). Though Mazda states I don’t need the ad. But just in case, it would be great if you can scan and e-mail it to me in its original form/size. Anyway, think about it.
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    I mailed mine today to the dealer.

    You have the Gerber ad (5 x 8 card), right? You need the E-mail from Mazda. I don't think I could forward mine to you, because it contains a unique certificate number.

    You should send an E-mail to mazdavisitors@mazdausa.com and ask them why you haven't received their E-mail. I E-mailed them a couple of times, inquiring about the Gerber ad, and they responded the same day.
  • chacobleuchacobleu Member Posts: 228
    The Gerber ad is what I don't have. I have the certificate from Mazda. But thanks anyway. Glad to know you're squared away.

    Does anyone have the Gerber ad? Scan and post?
  • chacobleuchacobleu Member Posts: 228
    Dealer says (as of today) that the 3 doesn't have a Loyalty rebate but other cars due. Is this true? A current event? By region or state (though I'm inclined to believe that if they have it for other cars, my region/state qualifies)? If not, how much ($)? Expiration date?
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    Chacobleu,

    I made a color copy of the coupon - I could scan it tonight and E-mail it to you.

    You might get by with it. When I called the finance office at the dealership yesterday, they were going to let me fax it to them.

    Rich
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    Here's an E-mail address for Gerber:
    parentsresource.gerber@gerber.com

    Following advice from a previous poster, I had registered at Gerber.com, then logged in and requested the Gerber $500 cash back coupon. It took a little over a week to receive.
  • rulysteverulysteve Member Posts: 2
    Hi, could you send me a copy of the add? I e-mailed Gerber yesterday and i'm still waiting for a confirmation about getting it in the mail. I'm hoping to buy a M3 sometime this week.

    Also, do you guys know if the dealer can just take the rebate amt off the invoice? Technically we're supposed to mail it in and get the check in the mail right? It would be a lot nicer to just have it off the invoice. Is it pretty much just up to the dealer, if they like you?

    Steve
  • gcruzgcruz Member Posts: 1
    Anyone mind posting what they APR they got?
  • z71billz71bill Member Posts: 1,986
    I wish all rebates would just be taken off the price at the time of purchase - it is a real pain mailing them in. I saw a study that was done - I think it was for a blow (hair) dryer - if cost $19.99 and had a mail in rebate of $20.00. So they were paying you $.01 to buy it. (limit one per household BTW)

    After this promo - many thousands of blow dryers were sold - but only about 10% of the customers took the time to fill out the form and mail it in.

    Now with a $500 rebate you would think that EVERYONE would be willing to take the 5 minutes to fill out the form - stick it in the mail and - 3 months later - get a check in the mail for $500. But I bet that less than 75% of the rebates ever get redeemed. If you want to know why companies don't just take it off the price - this is why.
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    I thought I'd have to present the rebate and wait 3-4 months to receive it, but the dealer took the $500 off at the time of purchase.
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    I just sent you two E-mails, one with the front of the coupon attached, the other with the back.

    Good luck!
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    Ever receive the Gereber coupon? I could E-mail one to you, but your E-mail address isn't in your profile.
  • rulysteverulysteve Member Posts: 2
    I got the coupon! thanks again!
    I'm just waiting for mazda to e-mail me the certificate now...

    I took my e-mail address off my profile for security reasons.

    thanks again!
    Steve
  • bunk1968bunk1968 Member Posts: 119
    I have been looking for a Mazda 3 hatch with ABS and moon roof packages and manual trans. I found a dealer who was willing to give me the car with the S-plan for $17,200.
    I know that the S-plan price for this car is supposed to be $17439.
    I did not think that they could go under the S-plan price? Can anyone tell me if this is a great price or could they go even lower?
    ** Also, please could someone tell me if all of the 2005 have been sent out. I have been waiting for this dealer to get me a Titanium hatch for weeks now. He recently lost contact with me. I am wondering if they are not getting any more shipments and this guy is done dealing with me for the 2005's.
    *** He said he could get one in Black, should I just go for it in consideration of the deal he is offering me and knowing that the 2006's may not be such a good deal?
    Also I have the Gerber rebate and I think it only lasts until the end of July.
    **** Please give any advice!! Please!
  • richmlrichml Member Posts: 156
    You might expand your possibilities by contacting other dealers. Have you looked at the online inventories on the MazdaUSA and dealer sites?

    I used the Gerber rebate, and neither the Gerber coupon or the E-mail from Mazda with the certificate number indicated when the promotion expires.
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