This is my new car 

"JDMatt" (JDMatt) 01/26/2016 at 00:56 • Filed to: Mazda3, mazda, 3, car buying, bay area, shift, san francisco, small cars

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The last time I talked to Oppo I asked you guys if !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . At the bottom of that post I said I was also looking for a Mazda 3, but had difficulties finding a decent one. I looked at online car marketplace websites like autotrader and cargurus for hours & ran about 20-30 carfax reports, and I really couldn’t find a clear winner.

Then this car hit the market. It was black, it was a hatchback, and it had only 71,000 miles. Unlike every other mazda 3 hatchback in my price range, it didn’t have a salvage title or a high miles. The “dealer” (who I’ll talk about in a minute) did post pictures of wear and tear on the car, and there were scratches on almost every panel of the car. For many people this would be an issue, however, living in San Francisco means that your vehicle is going to get plenty of scratches on it, and 100% of those scratches are caused by people who hit your car while parking.

This car will never be as fuel efficient as a Civic, and a Jetta feels more solid, but at the end of the day that didn’t give me buyer’s remorse. My previous car was a 2000 Nissan Pathfinder, and while I love it to death, it just wasn’t the right car for the city. My Mazda 3 is easier to park, It won’t guzzle gas, and I get to have a car that’s actually fun to drive. It’s not just marketing! The 2008 mazda 3 hatchback feel like a big miata on twisty roads.

Now for the buying experience: I purchased this car for $8,860 through a company called !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Shift acts as service that delivers test drives to car buyers. Originally my parents were going to purchase the car for me on last saturday, but a family emergency happened and we needed to expedite the buying process. I test drove the car on wednesday and my parents signed the papers on thursday. Between both days, the entire process took less than 2 hours. They said for most customers, transactions can take only one hour. I have a 7 day/250 mile return policy, which as of right now I don’t think I’ll be using. If you’re in Los Angeles or the SF bay area, check them out...and no, I did not get paid nor did I get a discount on the car for writing this last paragraph.

Question I might get asked:

Am I gonna modify it? Maybe.

Is it manual? No.

Am I afraid of rust? Sorta. I live near the ocean so I’m concerned that the air might oxidize the metal. I know that in the northeast and Canada mazda 3's like mine rust out prematurely. But there’s no rust on the car as of now, and the carfax shows that it’s been a california car for all of it’s life.

How long am I gonna keep it? until I can afford a used Lexus IS350 F sport.

What’s going to happen to my old car? My old pathfinder is going to stay in the family. We purchased it new on January 1st, 2000 and there’s too much sentimental value in the car. I grew up in the back seat, it was my first car, and it still runs well. Not driving that pathfinder anymore feels like breaking up with a girlfriend I still have feelings for, but driving my Mazda 3 feels like being in a new relationship with a girlfriend who’s way more fun and better in many ways.

Last but not least: Thank you Mom and Dad!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 01:07

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Super low miles yo

I was looking at these for a bit but ultimately chose the Vibe. I sometimes mull over the idea of a speed3 for myself in the future.

Bytemite > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 01:11

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Why do people keep saying a Mazda3 feels like a Miata?

It doesn’t. It is a Corolla competitor and it certainly feels better than a Corolla or Civic. But there is nothing comparable to a Miata. I’m not even saying it’s a bad car, just saying it is nothing like a Miata.

Btw, nice car :)

CompactLuxuryFan > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 01:19

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Ah, somebody else in SF proper (right?). Anyway, yeah, a 3 hatch is a great car for here, if maybe actually a bit too long for those really tight spaces.

I wouldn’t worry about rust at all in SF. Would worry way more about that big rear glass being shattered, a pic of which was on my fb newsfeed just this morning (on an identical black Mz3 hatch even!). And yeah, shitty people who can’t pull out of a space without ramming your rear bumper (but never your front, for some reason).

Shift has their headquarters right off Market and Castro, you can go complain in person if something foul turns up heh

Congrats on the ride! NP, by the way!

JDMatt > Bytemite 01/26/2016 at 01:20

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Point taken. Given that the Miata has an FR layout and the 3 has an FF layout, the 3 will corner like a miata. Plus it’s not a convertible with pop up headlights

Steve in Manhattan > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 01:22

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If you are happy driving it - AND IT IS YOUR NEW CAR! - then who gives a flying fuck what anyone else says. Drive it, make it prettier, and don’t do mods that drive the value down. That’s my opinion. But damn - you got a good car, and you can drive it anywhere you want!

JDMatt > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/26/2016 at 01:24

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A speed3, why not zoidberg?

I kid. But in all honesty the speed3 would be a really good sleeper car. And the vibe wasn’t a bad decision either. I was considering the first gen matrix actually, but then like you said...super low miles yo!

JDMatt > Steve in Manhattan 01/26/2016 at 01:31

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Thanks, I needed somebody to tell me this.

As for mods I’ll be really selective. No engine mods because I’m not interested in street racing, and no suspension mods because it handles great already and I don’t wanna make life hard for myself because I deal with pothole infested roads every day. Maybe just a tint to keep the summer heat out, Rims because the stock ones have plenty of curb rash, new door speakers, and black and yellow vanity plates.

By the way, Is Manhattan still dealing with the snowpocalypse?

for Michigan > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 01:39

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Nice! I’ve had my 06 for 5 months and 11K miles so far and I couldn’t be happier with it.

Rust shouldn’t be a problem for you. The issue has been blown more than a little out of proportion, it’s supposed to have been fixed with the facelift, and there’s no road salt to worry about.

Happy motoring.

smobgirl > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 01:39

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Yay! Sounds like you found the perfect compromise. I've always liked the Mazda3 :)

JDMatt > CompactLuxuryFan 01/26/2016 at 01:41

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Yes! I’ve been a proud resident of the sunset district for 4.5 years. I’m glad I’ve found another opponaut who understands the struggles and wins of car ownership in San Francisco!

I’ve been pretty lucky with avoiding car break-ins with my last car. I always used the cargo cover whether or not I left something valuable back there. I’ll be doing the same thing with the 3.

5 semesters of parking on the street when I took classes at SFSU have taught me not to love my bumpers too much. We all want free parking, and I’ll admit that I’ve traded paint to get it.

Thanks for telling me that their headquarters is on market. If something comes up -which I doubt it will- I’ll take the muni metro there. Now that dolores park is open again parking is gonna suck in that area every time the sun is out.

Bytemite > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 01:43

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No it won’t corner like a Miata either. It will corner like a well-handling front-drive compact. That’s not a bad thing. But they feel completely different. I drive a FWD hatch too and, yeah it can corner, but the way it feels compared to the Miata is different. When you push a Miata through a corner too hard, it oversteers and helps tighten your line through countersteering. If you push a FWD car like that too hard into a corner, you just turn your steering wheel a bit more to compensate.

Have you had some time in a Miata? If you live close to SF south bay, you can try mine out.

Steve in Manhattan > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 01:49

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The underground subway never stopped, and the above ground trains were restored late on Sunday. The SigOther and I went and looked at an apartment at 1PM on Sunday (we need to buy something and be adults already) and the streets were pretty much walkable. I got some cold slush in one snow boot, but it’s all on me - misjudged the depth. We did lots better than DC. Sorry my birthplace, but we deal.

JDMatt > Bytemite 01/26/2016 at 01:52

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Weirdly enough I haven’t had any seat time in a miata. I used to be a valet and I think miata & Scion FR-S owners just don’t trust us. If there was room I’d let the miata owner park next to all the other sports cars.

I live in SF city proper. I’d love to take you up on the offer, although I can’t guarantee that I’ll ever make it out there in my spare time.

Bytemite > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 02:00

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I don’t think the typical Miata and FR-S owner goes to establishments with valet service. But I wish us SF Oppos were more closely-knit. If we had some facebook group or like some subblog for those that want to keep anonymity, that would be cool.

JDMatt > Steve in Manhattan 01/26/2016 at 02:01

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As an outsider, I applaud the NYC subway for still running! San Francisco public transit is alright, but when the weather turns bad it makes the already unpleasant experience even more suckier. There’s one station here that always floods, and unfortunately it contains integral switching tracks.

Would you say it was it a good idea to go apartment hunting with that much snow on the ground? Like did the snow scare other renters away?

JDMatt > Bytemite 01/26/2016 at 02:03

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I wish the same. I know that we’re out here.

promoted by the color red > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 02:10

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Ooh nice. I was also shopping for a new car recently and it was hard to say no to a 3 hatch as it’s the longest car you can comfortably park any of the residential districts.

Hope you have fun with it! Just don’t back it into a certain red Camry with a scratch on the rear driver’s fender...

JDMatt > promoted by the color red 01/26/2016 at 02:16

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I’ve put 200 miles on this car in the past 5 days, which is alot for me because I love driving this thing.

I’ll do what I car to park next to your camry with care. I’m guessing that the scratch on your fender is somebody else’s fault?

Amoore100 > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 02:17

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Yay!! More Oppos on the Ford P1 platform! Honestly though, it’s a damn good platform for what it is and both Mazda and Volvo did a pretty good job adapting it for their use. I hope you have many good miles in your new little DD! (P.S. My parents have told me that I will help my little brother with his first car shopping in around three or four years so I’m hoping these will have dropped to around the $5k range by then...)

JDMatt > Amoore100 01/26/2016 at 02:29

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Thank you thank you. I assume that your family’s V50 is a much more luxurious version of what I’ve got. Since my car was in such good mechanical shape when we bought it I think my parents are finally gonna let me drive to southern california.

I shouldn’t hope that the values of these cars doesn’t drop to the $5K range in 3 years because of resale value haha. I reckon this generation of mazda 3 will be in the $5,000 in 3 years and the second gen (the one with the giant smiley face) will be around $9,000-$10,000

promoted by the color red > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 02:45

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Nah, the off-colored driver’s door is. I scraped the fender against a wall because it’s significantly wider than my last car.

Amoore100 > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 02:46

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Well, not necessarily...the V50 only has standard features like sunroof, cruise control, etc. but nothing my dad’s V70 has like front fogs, heated seats, any of that fancy stuff. Even with 150K miles it seems to be pretty solid since it’s the non-turbo with the indestructible I5 (a whopping 168 hp!) Still, it seems it needs a new battery since it didn’t crank this weekend and unfortunately all compatible ones are $100+ Still, once everything is sorted out I plan on getting this thing to the moon (238K) as I use it for the next few years! Probably going to school down South as well, although heading North might be an interesting option too...

Well we always buy cars in the 150K+ mile range since they’re all Volvos and by then all the major services for the first part of their lives has been taken care of. I would expect most cars to be similar, so even in three years we’d be looking at 150K mile 3's of around that generation. As my dad says, if I buy a $5K car and put $5K into it, then I have something both relatively nice as well as reliable that cost me way less than a new one.

JDMatt > Amoore100 01/26/2016 at 03:09

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I always thought “Driven to the moon and back” was an expression. I never knew that the distance to the moon was a figure that’s somewhat attainable. I hear that super commuters who drive from the central valley to the bay area 5 days a week put 30,000+ miles on their cars in a year!

The pathfinder I just left behind is at 146k, which is super low miles for it’s age. Your father is right about buying cars with 150k miles, because at some point everything under the hood has been replaced at least once. You should have no trouble finding a 3 with 150k on it for 5 grand in 2019.

As for colleges, I’d try to match the college with your personal preferences and your major. I picked SFSU because 1) I didn’t get into Davis 2) I’m far enough away from my parents, but I can still be home in 2 hours in an emergency 3) I’m a business major, and living close to the financial district works to my advantage. For the record, I also got into UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara; and I have a list of reasons for not attending those schools. If you need more advice let me know.

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 04:28

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Congrats on picking the right car!

Long Live the Longdoor > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 07:26

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Nice ride! That is my favorite year of styling on the Mazda3, I almost bought one.

I to an biding my time until I can buy a used IS350, such a nice car

mazda616 > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 07:52

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I had a 2008 Mazda3 hatch for six years and it was a wonderful car. You’ll love it. And I never had any trouble with rust on mine.

CALUSA > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 08:40

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Nice car, always liked this model!

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 09:23

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Unless you’re right on the coast in the salt spray range, you shouldn’t have any problems with rust. I live on an island in the middle of the Puget Sound and we don’t have rusty cars here. The vast majority of that rot is from salt on roads, which you won’t encounter in the city. They’re great cars and my girlfriend has one. By this era, rust problems are far less common, too.

The automatic in this car is the only one I’ve ever encountered that wouldn’t bother me that much. It does it right.

And I’m down with the cars with clean interiors, good maintenance, good handling, and mediocre body condition. Nobody cares about their car as much as me, so if the car is already rough, I don’t have to worry about where I park it or who parks next to it. Owning a perfect brand new car has been more than a little nerve-wracking because I always have to think ahead about parking, be very selective about parking spots, etc.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Amoore100 01/26/2016 at 09:49

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You mean the C1 platform, right?

Yeah, there weren’t any bad cars built on this platform. They’re all nice, reliable, and have decent handling. Of course, they were only Mazdas and Volvos in the US. It’s too bad the US didn’t get the C1 Ford (which was my first experience with the platform - a rental RHD diesel Focus hatch with a 5-speed)...

It’s sad that a platform like this may never happen again.

Amoore100 > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 01/26/2016 at 10:29

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Well yeah, everyone called it something different: C1 from Ford, P1 from Volvo, and BK from Mazda. Still, they were developed very closely with executives from all three companies, probably why they were able to agree and build something to suit all their needs. Yeah, the C1 Focus is supposed to have been “the best handling contemporary FWD car ever driven” from Clarkson, so that must mean something. It’s bitterswede that this sort of partnership may never happen again; on one hand, it was very good and pulled the companies through the recession, but on the other hand it somewhat limited what Volvo and Mazda individually wanted to do.

Steve in Manhattan > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 12:44

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Not renters - for sale, we have to buy something. The open house started at one, and there were 4 other couples there while we looked. Acceptable apartment, but she decided it was too far of a walk to 1/2/3 train (she has minor mobility issues).

JDMatt > Steve in Manhattan 01/26/2016 at 14:42

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Wow! the biggest snow storm of the year won’t stop the madness that is the NYC housing market. Because of mobility issues, are walk-ups unavailable to you guys?

Steve in Manhattan > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 16:06

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Not currently under consideration - this is the last apartment we plan on living in. My mom, way back when, had a choice of a split, ranch, or colonial in a new housing development. The parents chose the split - suddenly she was an 80 year old woman living in a 4 level split and facing stairs every day. We’ve learned from this, so we’ll buy something we can live in for the next 35 years without worrying about such issues as we age. So it’s doorman, elevator, some bells and whistles.

CompactLuxuryFan > JDMatt 01/26/2016 at 22:02

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The Mission and SoMa seem to be the hot spots for smashed windows (out of places people actually street park, anyway), but you could get unlucky pretty much anywhere! I actually leave my cargo cover retracted all the time and just never ever leave anything valuable. Also, I try to never park next to anything that’s not a residence or business that stays open late (e.g. never ever leave your car here: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.76980… ).

We’ll see if I make it anywhere near 4.5 years without a smashed window, though! Already had a lovely 3 series totaled while it sat parked in the Mission like a year and a half ago :(

Soo glad I’m like a 20 minute walk from the park! Can’t wait for spring! :D

greasemonkey235097 > Amoore100 01/27/2016 at 16:29

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Im glad you like this fomoco 2.3 pos, at 73xxx miles had to replace an engine because shatter valve in #2 cyl, replaced with 2.5 from fusion, now steering rack leak, JOY fomoco...

Amoore100 > JDMatt 01/28/2016 at 22:55

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Hah, driven to the moon is a milestone for Volvo owners to get to, and Barton sells stickers for just such an occasion...none of our commutes are that long, but with enough road trips and daily driving it definitely gets up there!

That Pathfinder must be in great condition! I have a soft spot for them because my mom’s younger sister had one for quite a while as a college car I believe (while my mom piloted around a gigantic Impala). 150K is definitely a sweet spot although on Volvos suspension bits tend to need replacing around then, but as my dad says, a $4500 car with $2000 in work is better than a new car that loses as much as $10K in a year.

Not sure what I want to do yet for colleges, but staying in state is what my parents want me to do for financial reasons, although if for whatever reason I get offered money elsewhere they wouldn’t disallow it. I might come and talk to you again later, after I start the college decision process. Thanks for the offer!

Amoore100 > greasemonkey235097 01/28/2016 at 22:59

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Well everyone has their own experience. We’ve never had a car with the Mazda 2.3 since the Volvos all use the durable modular I5 so I’ll keep in touch to see how the Mazda engines age.