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Lov our PEEVEE
Tj
Another club member reported being charged a Miami assessment on his S-plan. So, I guess this is a regional/local charge.
To people to bought under S-plan: Can you check your records and find out of this was on your pricing sheet ? Does anyone else know what this charge is for ?
It was hard to find an LX loaded with all the goodies in an '03. I started out by asking several dealers to look, most passed when I told them that I was shopping them (their loss as far as I'm concerned, I made clear that I was a buyer, not a looker), but I ended up finding it myself via Mazda's web site.
Sales experience wasn't too bad. They tried to jack the price by $300, blaming it on "the computer" (sigh, when did lying through your teeth become acceptable?), but didn't give me any trouble otherwise. I couldn't really walk, so I didn't make a fuss.
How's Lakewood been? They're a lot closer to me. Need a dealer for service on the northwest side of town.
John Elway North on 104th and Federal was actually a good experience, we drove one of their cars, and worked with their internet manager until I found the deal at McDonald's. (I've had mixed experiences with John Elway) - no haggle pricing was actually competitive for a change, but they didn't have a vehicle I wanted.
-brianV
'02 ES, btw.
-Brian
Really, it's not terribly difficult.
Based on your last MPV 'adventure' a trip to Lake Superior would be a breeze. Heck a trip AROUND lake Superior would be less risky. Well at least in the summer (July - August) and on the main roads.
Fall colors are what we usually try for, but catching the leaves changing requires some luck as they change & fall off pretty quickly...
MPV content - I doubt I could paint our MPV in watercolors - seems that Silver would be especially tough to do.
I just drove a 2003 MPV today after walking out of a Honda dealership last night. I'm sick of the "Honda" attitude! I did a lot of research on vans prior to now but always overlooked the MPV for the universally loved sienna and odyssey. I was absolutely impressed with the power, handling, interior, exterior design, etc. The Edmunds TMV for these cars was also quite impressive compared to those other vehicles. What is a bit confusing to me is all the factory installed options that seem to plague the vehicles on lots around Houston. I asked if they had a base ES available and then got the line "the sales manager is really going to give the best deals on the vehicles on the lot." Well the vehicles on the lot have $3500 worth of stuff I don't want on the car. How can I get a car exactly like I want it (silver ES w/ fogs, spoiler, power doors)? Will dealers be unwilling to sell car near invoice if it needs to be ordered from port? Any info. anyone has based on personal experience with similar issues would be appreciated.
1. Ask a dealer to locate one with the options you want and do a "dealer swap" for it.
2. Send out a blast email or fax to a bunch of dealers within a distance comfortable to you seeking quotes for a van close to what you want.
Ordering is another possibility but as you've guessed, dealers generally are more interested in moving stock on hand. Good luck!
Steve, Host
Except you and me and a few others who like to be able to park our vans in our garages at night.
Steve, Host
We get lots of good comments on our MPV. The MPV rides nice over the rough roads of Wisconsin... The mirror compass sure is handy. Easy to get lost in the woods; the roads never run strieght. The MPV is fun to drive and the AC works great. Best car I ever owned.... My only complaint is the the shift indicator is hard to see in shadows.... Getting 20mpg around town (that is good for Appleton) and 24 highway...
Lsinc is right, I should have got the power sliding doors. That would be handy with all the rain here... Next time for sure...
Tj
This has been a running dispute/gag around Town Hall for the last week - the fun continues in:
AWD, FWD, RWD Wagons - Which is the Best? and
Which is better? AWD, FWD or RWD?.
Steve, Host
Bottom line is, while minivan's aren't what some people would term as 'cool,' full size vans (the A-Team aside) are even less so... imho,.
Steve, Host
JAVA just likes it when a plan comes together. Yuk, Yuk...
moonpie: Did you check Munday Mazda out on 1960?
I looked into used Odyessys as well, but it didn't take long to realize I would end up paying as much for a used Ody as a new MPV. Odys are nice, but they ain't worth what they're going for.
You're right about the Ody's. An '02 EX is going for more then a loaded up new '03 MPV LS. Heck it's hard to find an average (never mind low) mileage '01 EX for the price of a new MPV. And it's not like their aren't a ton of the Honda's around. But, I have to keep trying since the wife simply adores the Ody. I did manage to get her to look at an MPV, but we both have to drive it yet. Hoping that along with some great dealer incentives will convert us into the looking-for-MPV category.
Mazda MPV ES trim (includes 17" alloys, traction control, leather seats), Coastal Blue exterior, Gray Leather interior with 4-Seasons package, Power Sliding Doors, Power Moonroof, Security Package (includes fog lights and Auto-dim mirror), 6-CD in dash, Cassette player, Roof rack, rear step plate, mud guards, wheels locks and cargo net. MSRPed at $30,145. Got the S-plan price of $27,774 + $40 for front and rear mudguards. Took the $2000 rebate for a total of $25,814 + 5.1% WI tax + registration. The loan is for an even $20K @ 4.49% for 48 months (paid the rest as down payment). When we took the first test drive the odo had 5 miles on it. By the time we took delivery it had 16 miles (That was just me doing the test drive). By Saturday eve, it had about 66 miles on it.
First impressions: Quiet engine, smooth tranny shifts, excellent acceleration (gets to freeway speeds seamlessly), does NOT feel like a mini-van at all - very car-like ride and feel (Reversing and sharp turns felt very easy). HUGE moonroof (I could stand side facing through it with plenty of shoulder room), crisp audio sounds (Tried FM and CD). Excellent visibility all around (I could see through the rear window, blind spot checks were a breeze due to the BIG slider windows which sit low, big side view mirrors, HUGE windshield). The RPMs were impressive: 700 rpm at idle. When I get to about 50 mph, the RPMs were still at 700. At freeway speeds, they still stay below 2K. When starting from a light, the RPMs are in a hurry to get to about 2K to give the required boost off the line. All the controls are VERY well laid out and intuitive. I did not have to look at the user manual yet and I have tried almost all the controls (This is in complete contrast to the new Sienna!) The power sliders work like a charm - a simple tug at the handle, a slight shove and off they go sliding on their own at a nice pace: Not too fast, not too slow. The pinch protection also works nicely. And 11 beverage holders in the MPV ?? That would make me stop at each rest area !! But, for now, I will stop here and continue my praise in another post ... ZE MPV ROCKS !!!
Welcome to the club Ace!
-Brian
BTW, Does anybody have any cool links to some Mazda MPV backgrounds/screensavers ??
Thanks for all the great input. I quit dealing w/ the sales staff at Joe Myers Mazda when they refused to make any effort to find a car outfitted the way I wanted it. They were hell bent on selling me a totally loaded up car that I didn't want for "A GREAT DEAL" which was just 2% over invoice price which included all the options I told them I didn't want.
Anyways, I went to mazdausa.com and did an inventory search and found the perfectly equiped silver ES. I did a quick quote, heard from the dealerships in moments, and bought the car that afternoon. I bought at Mazda of Clear Lake for 1.5% over invoive w/ 0% for 60 months. They also gave me $1000 more than the Honda dealerships in town for my 98 Civic.
I probably could have done better on the deal but I was so overjoyed at the experience, and the fact that the car was exactly what I had been looking for, and the car was thousands less than the Odyssey's I had been looking at previously, I just said "OK!"
I would highly recommend this dealership to anyone buying a new or used Mazda or Volvo in the Houston area. The Internet/Fleet/Credit Union Manager was great. He actually knew about the cars he was selling, not one of these guys who knows less about the car he is selling then you do.
The financing side was a little less enjoyable because they step up the pressure to sell all the warranties. We ended up buying the 6 yr/100k mile warranty for $1350. I have no idea if this was a good deal. He started at $1950 for the same warranty. What I didn't like about thw whole thing was that they sell you the car telling you how trouble free the car is and then they sell you the warranty telling you how the car is bound to have problems which you'll have to pay thousands to fix after 50K miles.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the experience, completely love the car, and am very happy that I didn't end up buying from Honda.
------------------
ZOOM-ZOOM
On our home computer, I use the picture of our MPV that I have in my avatar on mpvclub. What's better than a freshly washed/clayed/klassed ride?
-Brian
;-)
Steve, Host
I'm not sure how true the info I'm about to put out here is, but I heard a story on public radio about it. Perhaps anyone considering which vehicle to buy to look into it further.
Anyways, this researcher was talking about a study he had just conducted about the dangers of suv's. Aside from the comments about fuel economy and bad handling, this guy was saying that drivers of suv's are something like five times more likely to kill the people in the other vehicle when in an accident. I guess he was contributing this to height and mass. The taller center of gravity and higher bumpers contact smaller vehicles above the point at which these vehicles are designed to take impacts. These sort of info. leads alot of people to the "HIGHWAY WARFARE/SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" arms race. "Well, if that guys going to threaten me with his big vehicle, I better get a bigger vehicle to protect myself." This mentality seems to make sense for protecting yourself if you don't particularly care about killing others until you hear this second tid-bit of info. Drivers of these SUV's are also something like ten times more likely to be paralyzed in this same accident because of roll over.
Apparently, minivans don't have this same problem because most are built on car platforms, are lower, lighter, and handle better. Anyways, this guy then went into some long conspiracy theory about the big three auto makers, the petroleum industry, and the US government keeping this common knowledge from coming out to sell cars and fuel. This does seem to make some sense.
Just some food for thought.
My profile has pictures of my Klasse'd fleet.
-Brian
Lots of MV/SUV discussion going on over in Minivans vs SUVs.
And for those who have never heard of the "cult" of Zaino:
Zaino Car Polishes/Products--Your Experiences (Part 2)
Steve, Host
But then everyone will have to turn down the brightness on their monitors.. )
Please post your MPV pics, using whatever polish you desire.
-Brian
When you start up from a stop or low speed, is there a noticeable hesitation before you get into gear?
We've driven one MPV and it was there every time we accelerated.
I'm wondering if maybe it was just that one, because everyone loves the acceleration and seamless shifts...I certainly noticed those once we were really up over 25--*very* smooth, but from really low speed or stop, there was that hesitation that just *bugs* me.
What's your experience with your MPV?
thanks in advance
Store Bought Waxes Part II (No Zaino Posts)
And you thought the Apple/PC wars were bitter :-)
Steve, Host
Ok....I may be very sorry I asked this but...what the heck is Zaino?
ajacat1...read your post to ace and just wanted to say that hesitation is not normal for the MPV. If anything, my MPV wants to move! I've actually hit the accelerator too hard and......Zooooom!
Just my 2 cents.
Leslie
Zoom-Zoom!
But in everyday driving when starting from a complete stop, if I ease-in on the accelerator, the RPMs do seem to be in a hurry to get above 2K and it does appear that the vehicle is hardly moving forward (compared to the RPM increase), but then around 30-35 mph, you can feel the pull and the raw power available at your (foot)finger-tips.
Try test driving another MPV on the dealer's lot ...
Steve, Host