It's mine now

"Ram_Riot_6" (tony-ram-riot) 07/16/2019 at 11:17 • Filed to: None

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Paid off the Mazda yesterday .

It was a graduation present to myself after college. Graduated on a Thursday and bought it the next Monday. Definitely not the wisest decision I’ve made but I wanted to be financially irresponsible once and couldn’t think of a better way.   Still love it and I have enjoyed 36k t rouble free miles. Hopefully that continues and lasts another 7+ years.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 11:23

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Nice. My parents just traded in their 2016 touring for a 2018 grand touring reserve ( I asked, it didn’t come with a case of wine ) with the turbo that had 1,600 miles on it . I got to put it through it’s paces on a properly good road for a bit this weekend, but I haven’t written up my thoughts on it yet. The turbo definitely fixes the biggest flaw of the car, but it does change a few other aspects of the car.   I’m a fan of 6; they’re very good cars.

Chariotoflove > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 11:24

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Well done!  Great color too. 

Party-vi > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 11:28

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Congratulations! I’ve got another 4 years on mine.

Ram_Riot_6 > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 07/16/2019 at 11:29

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See for me, the turbo would make me look elsewhere if buying today . I don’ t need the extra power, decreased fuel economy, and increased cost of maintenance that comes along with it. I have never felt that the NA 2.5 has been under powered and it was one of the reasons I choose the 6 over competitors. Most only have the top trim with a higher output engine which isn’t all that useful when cursing at 70 on my commute.  

Ram_Riot_6 > Party-vi 07/16/2019 at 11:31

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Thanks! I’ m sure those 4 years will fly by as I cant believe I’ve been driving mine for over 3 already.

Bo Knows > Chariotoflove 07/16/2019 at 11:31

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Mazda’s blue and red paint are great looking , imo.

E90M3 > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 11:35

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Wonderful feeling! I just got the title in the mail for the 3. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 11:53

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Congrats. She a beaut. At this pace, you could still own it in 30 years!

(We rack up miles on our family/trip car at about 5x what you do.)

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 12:01

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That’s a sharp looking ride.

Ram_Riot_6 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/16/2019 at 12:02

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That’s the plan! Going to run it until it dies. That’s a huge amount of miles. I’ve put another 15k+ on rentals over  the same period which helps keep my miles/expenses down.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 12:04

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Do you regularly rent a car for road trips? 

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 12:05

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I’ve always thought the NA 2.5 was fine when I’ve driven it around Albuquerque with just me in the car, but loaded up with 3 or 4 adults and luggage at attitude on a trip it felt pretty under powered, especially when passing on two-lane highways. There were a number of times I had to abort passing attempts after pulling out and otherwise being used to driving things with so much more acceleration. It also makes them not a high-speed cruiser. I’ve driven the NA 2.5 in a mazda 3 and liked it a lot better in the slightly smaller and lighter car.

The turbo isn’t a sports sedan, but it does make it feel like it has adequate power in all situations. I’d call it quick, but not fast. That is to say, it feels like how I expect a car to accelerate in 2019. So far, they’ve found the mileage difference to be a couple of mpg. My take on it was the 6 with a turbo and the higher-level trims is that it feels like a legit entry-level luxury car for just over average family sedan money.

I do have mixed feeling about the heads up display, though . I generally don’t like them, but being full color is a nice touch. I also managed to freak out the safety nannies once on the drive. Coming over a crest and dropping down into a very tight ~150 degree hairpin bend with a rock face beyond it, it started flashing “brake” at me after I had already braked all that I was going to and was rolling back on the throttle at turn-in, presumably because the collision avoidance stuff fixed on the rock face and didn’t pickup the road going around that tight of bend. Coming in at about 9/10ths, it might have gotten interesting had that system applied the brakes in a big way.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 12:07

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Always nice to not have a car payment anymore. I am waiting for 2020 April . But then I’ll start getting the itch and be on Autotrader/Cars.com every hour lol

Ram_Riot_6 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/16/2019 at 12:08

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I travel for work a fair amount and don’ t take a large number of local road trips so all the rentals except for when my car is in the shop have been outside of Texas.

Ram_Riot_6 > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 07/16/2019 at 12:19

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I’ve had 4 adults and luggage before a few times and felt it was adequate but certainly not excessive and takes planing unlike when driving a hemi Ram that’ll pass anything at anytime. I am a very conservative driver compared to most so I know I have lower expectations for speed and passing.

The couple mpg difference is enough for me to stay away. I see 40+ on the highway as long as there is minimal wind and I would hate to give that up. I do agree that the new ones are even more so than mine a legit competitor to luxury cars as they do all have turbos.

I have freaked out the nannies as well with taking turns too quick. O nly had it auto brake for me twice in those situations and it is quite startling because I know there is nothing wrong and takes a few to realize what just happened. I had a Seat Leon do the same to me in Scotland. Not fun at all.

Funktheduck > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 12:23

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Congrats. I paid off mine last month. Got the title in the mail last week. It got hit in a parking lot last weekend. 

Ram_Riot_6 > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 07/16/2019 at 12:25

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For sure. I’ve got the house itch now which has replaced my used to be daily car search.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 12:26

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I hear you on the passing thing. My expectations have also probably been influenced by the two cars I regularly drive being a 300hp S550 mustang and my F-150, with a 325hp, 400 ft/lb torque, 2.7 ecoboost in a regular cab /shortbed 2wd truck with the shortest possible gearing. Before the truck, my daily driver was a 93 LT1/6-speed vette.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 12:26

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Gotcha.

I know some people rent cars for trips, to keep miles off their cars, and I always wonder how that works out in the long run. Doesn’t seem like it would really work for our family. 

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 12:29

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Congrats!

Ram_Riot_6 > Funktheduck 07/16/2019 at 12:29

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That’s really unfortunate. Hopefully it wasn’t a hit and run as most parking lot run ins. Mine has been in two accidents and recently acquired a lovely 4 in door ding I need to polish out.

Ram_Riot_6 > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 07/16/2019 at 12:32

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I can see that making a huge difference. This is the most powerful car I’ve owned personally. Driven many cars with double or triple the  power but never for more than a few days/weeks at a time.

E90M3 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/16/2019 at 12:35

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I think the problem with a lot of things like this is no one actually knows what it costs them to drive their car. I know, at least for the M3, it costs the same to rent a car and put fuel in that car then it was to just put fuel in the M3, if I go far enough. I did this for a few interviews where the round trip was more than 650 miles. I know my dad rented a car when we took a trip from Atlanta to DC; he used points and got the rental really cheap.

Like a lot of things, there are so many variables to determine which is the best course of action. 

Ram_Riot_6 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/16/2019 at 12:35

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I’ve looked into it but I only see it working out if your daily gets horrible mileage and you rent something with better for a long distance trip. I dont see it working out in the vast majority of cases. I’d prefer to drive the car I know most everything about on a long trip than one I just picked even if the cost worked out.

Funktheduck > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 13:30

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She might have run but I saw it happen and immediately ran out. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > E90M3 07/16/2019 at 13:49

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Very good point! Per 500 miles, at $3 a gallon, the difference between 20 mpg and 30 mpg is $25. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 13:54

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There’s something to be said about intimately knowing the performance of the vehicle you’re taking a long interstate road trip in. You never know when you’ll need to come to a panic stop, swerve to miss something in the road, or accelerate hard to get out of a bad spot. 

E90M3 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/16/2019 at 14:06

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It’s even greater if it’s 20 mpg using premium or 30 mpg using regular. Plus if you only get 20k out of a set of rears, 500 miles is 2.5% of their life, which also adds up. Basically, if you have high running costs, it’s probably beneficial to rent a car, if taking the cheapest option is the goal.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Ram_Riot_6 07/16/2019 at 19:47

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Very nice blue!