Almost joined the ranks of MS3 owners
 

I nearly joined the ranks of MS3 owners today, but the dealership thought that I was a moron, didn't want to sell me the car, or just thought that since I make a decent salary I'd be ok with paying too much. I didn't like the 2nd gen the first time I drove it, but I like it more now. I also LOVE the Velocity Red Mica color.

Alas the search continues.

Seriously, they quoted me black book value for a 2013 with 14k miles and no tech package as $27-$29k. I humored them for a bit but eventually just walked out.

Civic time.

Oh hell no. I needs my torque ... and a hatch. I'll just keep driving my MSP until I find the right MS3.

Del Sol time.

You need a hatch?

Prius time.

I would probably commit suicide before driving a Prius.

The new camry looks nice.

Should be able to find a decent one for under 12k

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I found a private one for sale in utah with lots of goodies and upgrades for $21k. 2013 CWP with Tech package and 36k miles.

Ill give you a bargain on my MS6. Was looking for $18k but ill give it to you for $15k?

Disclaimer: Needs a new Motor

Good luck in your search...there are a bunch down here near me (NJ near NYC), if youre willing to drive down from Rochester.

Not that I'm biased or anything, cough cough. but the 2013 VRM's are defiantly my favorite. The black mirrors, gunmetal rims, gunmetal rear valance, and the upgraded tech package really make it nice. Plus the metal flake in the paint really pops when its nice and waxed.

Lol $27-29k, I didn't even pay near that for mine new.

27K?!?!
I'll sell you mine! It's a bargain at 22k :D

Thanks for all the feedback. I know there are a lot for sale around NJ/NYC it's just trying to find the right combination and dealerships that are willing to work with me. There's a black on near Harrisburg with Tech and around 33k miles for under $20k. I really want VRM though after driving the one yesterday and seeing that paint pop in the bright sun.

There's an '09 for sale near Pittsburgh I'm working with the dealership to get as much information as possible as well. BM, GT, 43k miles, $15k. Dealership sent me a video of the undercarriage since rust will be a concern with 5 winters in PA/WV.

I paid $20300 all said and done ($18400 for the car) for a 2012 non-tech with 27K miles. The car you looked at seems a bit overpriced. I would offer no more than $19K for the car.

I would have been at around $20k, but now that I've done a little more research I want a 2013 with Tech packge. So it looks like I'll be waiting around a bit.

The 2013 with the tech package is nice. The Stock HID with AFS and the blind spot monitoring system are very useful. I got mine at $20k at 3%.

How many miles? That's right at the price I'm looking to get it for. If I lived closer to Chicago I'd snag this one: 2013 Mazda Mazda3 Mazdaspeed3 Touring Nav 6-Speed Manual Buffalo Grove, Illinois | Lux Cars Chicago.

i got mine with 15k miles.

That one you posted is using a vented oil cap breather instead of the red Mazdaspeed aluminum oil cap like i have.

If you donate, you can run a autocheck on that car, so you can see if carfax missed anything.

Weird I didn't even notice that. What would the point be of the vented cap? The one I looked at locally had a normal red mazdaspeed cap.

I had donated in the past. Does VIP status expire?

As for why it has a vented cap, i searched and i found it on built block or Big Turbo MS3s.
a vented oil cap is to relieve crankcase pressure mostly when it goes over 23+ psi.
It looks like this one.

VIP status expire after a year.

Thanks for the note. I'll get around to donating again.

Can someone take a look at this picture. There's some knob attached by where the driver's right knee would sit. My instinct tells me that's a boost controller.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/photos.ecarl.../zH/Hw_800.jpg

Looks more like an aftermarket subwoofer level adjuster to me. I have a similar looking knob for a Polk amp in my truck.

Could be, or a controller for a Blow Off Valve?

Maybe you can email them to get closer pictures of it?

Bet it's a sub adjuster.

I already sent them a note asking about it. Likely won't hear anything for a while though. Any opinions on Gen1 versus Gen2 and which is "better"? I haven't driven a Gen1 and Gen2 back to back, or even within a month of each other, so it's tough to gauge.

So the dealership called me up because he was confused looking at the pictures. Talked him through it and he looked at the car and it is indeed a sub woofer controller. If it was closer I'd definitely look at it soon, but I won't be able to look at it until mid August, so it will probably be gone.

MazdaspeedKills, thanks for the link, but I'm leaning towards a 2013 VRM with Tech package.

So how do things work at Carmax and their no haggle price, especially when it's overpriced? Will they haggle? Do they lower the price when it doesn't sell? I'd sell mine in the blink of an eye if I thought I could get that kind of money.

No, they will not haggle. Best case scenario is they give you a bit more for your trade in, but I have not heard of this happening either. If the price is too high, which it almost always is, then you just don't buy from them.

I was looking at that 2013 MS3 at Lux. I talked to them about the vented cap. If you noticed the battery box is open weirdly, and the signal line to the BPV has a T in it. It also has been debaged, windows are tinted, and both the front and back MAZDA emblems are painted black. I am an hour away and I want a 2013 MS3 w/tech. I bought one new for just under 24K two years ago. I just haven't taken the time to drive out there. It's been a long wait trying to find a decent 2013 MS3 w/tech around here.

Thanks for the heads up. I don't mind cars that have been lightly modded, but something sounds/looks a little fishy about that one. I think I'll wait until a cleaner one shows up. Maybe next year there will be a few more when they come off leases. I noticed that with the Civic Si. There are A LOT of 2012s for sale in my area right now.

So I might have done myself a disservice. For giggles I decided to drive a 2011 GTI and a 2014 Civic Si. Both cars are nice. Driving something N/A was very different. Power delivery in the Si reminded me of a toned down S2000. It was nice, but I don't feel it would be very fun for daily driving since you need to get into the high revs to get grunt. Only complaints about the GTI other than this used example had a lot of scratches was the super light clutch and it has that ever present aura of poor VW reliability around it.

Then I looked at the stats of the new GTI. I don't get how that car measures so close interior wise to the MS3. Do they just measure things differently on the inside? Because the new GTI looks like it beats the MS3 in every manner especially if you throw the stage 1 APR tune on it (from 210/258 to 305/371). It's 300lbs lighter and gets way better mpg.

Car / Width / Height / FHR / FLR / FSR / RHR / RLR / RSR / Cargo Up / Cargo Down / Total Interior
GTI / 70.5 / 168.0 / 56.8 / 38.4 / 41.2 / 55.9 / 38.1 / 35.6 / 53.9 / 22.8 / 52.7 / 116.3
MS3 / 69.7 / 177.6 / 57.5 / 38.9 / 42.0 / 54.9 / 38.0 / 36.2 / 54.0 / 17.0 / 42.8 / 111.6

Not sure I trust VW though. What do you guys think? If the MS3 got better mpg it would be a no brainer for me to pick it because of Mazda loyalty and familiarity. But stupid me went ahead and test drove one and now I've got to add it to my list of options.

Anyone live east of Pittsburgh?

Used 2013 Mazda Mazdaspeed3 Touring Hatchback in Velocity Red Mica/Black For Sale | Greensburg PA

2015 Volkswagen GTI: Clicking, beeping, and trying to stay cool [w/video]

Yeah.

Ha ha. My friend told me the GTI is the best hatch hands down blah blah blah and it "has it's quirks like any other car". Well some quirks are ok to deal with (MSP rear suspension clunk) and some aren't. Thanks for the article link.

I did like the '15 GTI with performance pack, but not enough to warrant $10k+ over a user MS3. If the local MS3 at CarMax was red I'd be buying it (their price is actually reasonable for a cange). I have a 2012 picked out and if it doesn't sell I'll be checking it out next weekend. Now I just have to clean up my MSP in hopes of a quick local sale or "not getting raped" trade in value.

So now that I'm VIP, can a mod run an AutoCheck for me on this VIN: JM1BL1L4XC1550941? CarFax looks legit and I couldn't find anything fishy with a google search on the VIN. AutoCheck free only shows 5 records, which I am guessing is for the basic sale/resale/titles.

Here is the link for the AutoCheck Thread

Thanks. Now time for me to secure some financing while I wait for Raider.

Does the 2012 with Tech have USB in the center console? From the pictures I'm seeing it does not.

I put a deposit down on THIS ONE. They dropped the price to match an old CL ad they had posted so it's $18994, which according to market, year, and mileage is about right.

No usb port in my 2012 tech package, but the aux jack in the center console is useful for playing music from my phone.

sent while being very unproductive at work

That stinks because I currently only have a Sansa device and I don't think it resumes autoplay once it has power. Does an iPod have that feature? Although for less than an iPod I could buy a dual din radio with USB, have a better radio, and still use my old MP3 player.