Mission Accomplished! I bought a thing!

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/22/2014 at 21:40 • Filed to: None

Today my wife and I picked our new 2015 Mazda CX-5! Sorry for the crappy pic, I didn't get a chance to snap one in the daylight. It's a Grand Touring AWD version. Full review and better pics to come, but suffice to say it is NICE! After we got it, we went straight to the Weather-Tech Factory Direct store for a full set of liners.

After weeks (months?) of posting about bad dealership experiences, now I get to post about a good one! We bought it from Pugi Mazda, in Downers Grove (Illinois). I'm putting their name in, because they were great to work with. Their price was as low as any dealer in the area. Their trade-in value was better than it's competitors (some dealers offered a higher trade-in, but on worse prices). There were absolutely no games, BS, or surprises in the whole process, and everybody there was very friendly and helpful. 10/10, would buy from again. They also have a Hyundai and a VW franchise.

I will miss my wife's '06 Mazda 3 that we traded in. She bought it new, right before we met, and it never, ever did us wrong. Somebody will be getting one great little car, and I hope they take good care of it. No lie, my wife started bawling when it was time to leave him at the dealership.

I feel sorry for whoever buys my '11 Malibu that we also traded-in. That car was trouble from the word go, and it's the only vehicle I've ever gotten rid of, that I was happy to never see again.

DISCUSSION (38)

Tom McParland > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 21:48

Nice choice!

Manny05x > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 21:48

Thank you with your purchase you have helped the Miata stay in production.

shop-teacher > Manny05x
11/22/2014 at 21:50

Glad I could help!

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 21:51

Congrats on the new Mazda. I love the color.

shop-teacher > Tom McParland
11/22/2014 at 21:53

Thanks! Your articles were very helpful in the shopping process, so thanks for those too.

dogisbadob > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 21:54

I hope the CX5 is as reliable as the old 3 :)

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 21:58

Congrats on buying what is probably the most fun to drive mainstream crossover on sale right now. Certainly better than the two fat Theta pigs GM is selling right now. I also love the color.

Also, you and my uncle has almost identical Malibus. His is a 4-pot though. But the same beautiful blue.

shop-teacher > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
11/22/2014 at 21:58

Thanks! Its my favorite of the current colors. I like Sky Blue Mica a bit better, but they discontinued it.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
11/22/2014 at 22:00

Hey, the Equinox isn't that bad.

shop-teacher > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
11/22/2014 at 22:03

Thanks! None of the GM SUV's were any interest to us. We test drove a 4 cylinder Terrain, ugh. The CX-5 is actually fun to drive.

Hopefully your uncle's Malibu is treating him better than mine did.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
11/22/2014 at 22:07

Yes, it is. They came out right after GM's bankruptcy and it shows.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 22:08

Oh god, a 4 pot Terrain sounds torturous. At least the V6 can actually get up and move the damn thing. There's a reason my parents didn't get a 4 cylinder Vue.

It has actually. The only problem hes had is with his automatic climate control screen. It froze up like yours did.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
11/22/2014 at 22:09

2013? Maybe because it's the only CUV that I've driven but it doesn't seem that bad. Of course I told my grandparents to get something different but no...

shop-teacher > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
11/22/2014 at 22:10

My father in law loves his, but it doesn't interest me at all.

shop-teacher > dogisbadob
11/22/2014 at 22:11

Me too! I didn't buy an extended warranty, so I'm banking on it.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
11/22/2014 at 22:11

This design was released in 2010.

There are much, much better CUVs out there. Shit, even the Vue is better, and it shares a platform! The only thing that would make them okay is the 300 horsepower V6.

shop-teacher > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
11/22/2014 at 22:15

It was scarey slow! There's no way you could merge onto a highway at any kind of reasonable speed.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
11/22/2014 at 22:17

Well it has that 300 horsepower V6! It's alright. The Envoy they had prior, although different, was and is better.

I was telling them to get something different. Not necessarily a CUV. At least it's a GM, even if it's not the best thing they have built. Maybe that LTZ is a bit better, I dunno. I was pushing more for an AWD car or something that would still do what they needed. Well I guess we'll see how it is in the long run. Only has 3,500ish miles on it.

mazda616 > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 22:25

Congrats! I hope it serves you well. Ours has been great. :)

shop-teacher > mazda616
11/22/2014 at 22:27

Thanks! We're planning to keep it for a long time.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 22:41

No lie, my wife started bawling when it was time to leave him at the dealership.

That's love. I sold my '05 3s hatch to a friend, so I still get to see her from time to time...

shop-teacher > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
11/22/2014 at 22:45

I totally understood when she did that. It was her first new car, and it was a great vehicle.

P5guy now GTIguy > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 22:47

Great buy! We picked up a '15 like yours but in blue reflex from biggers mazda in Elgin. for my mom in June and proceeded to take a 1000 mile trip to Texas in it. Needless to say it has been amazing. I can't wait to try it out in the snow when I get back from school. The dealer experience was great and they undercut the second best dealer by 500.

shop-teacher > P5guy now GTIguy
11/22/2014 at 23:00

Interesting. The '06 3 was purchased at Biggers, and my wife hated dealing with them. She bought it before we met, so I have no opinion of them.

gawdzillla > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
11/22/2014 at 23:10

i rented an Equinox once, horrible

i wish i can rent a CX5 somewhere , i like those

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 23:22

Yes it was/is. I had a great time flogging mine around town for 7 years and 90k miles. I'd still have it if my wife would have been okay with me getting a little RWD sports car to go along with it.

EL_ULY > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 23:22

dude awesome!

shop-teacher > EL_ULY
11/22/2014 at 23:26

Thanks!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 23:28

congrats on the purchase! I hope your new CX5 serves you for many happy, trouble free miles!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > shop-teacher
11/22/2014 at 23:33

Kinja'd!!!

What's going on with the trunk?

shop-teacher > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/22/2014 at 23:36

I had popped it to clean it out. Then I decided to take a pic, but I was too lazy to close it and reopen it.

shop-teacher > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
11/22/2014 at 23:37

Thanks!

mazda616 > shop-teacher
11/23/2014 at 08:39

I really wish we would've gotten a Grand Touring. Ours is so base model, it's sad. The only options we have are automatic transmission, Bluetooth, and roof rails. :( But we still like it a lot.

shop-teacher > mazda616
11/23/2014 at 08:53

There was no way in hell my wife was giving her beloved 3 up, unless it had heated leather seats. That made the Grand Touring the only option. We did pass on the Technology Package, as I have a deep hatred of navigation systems, and the idea of automatic braking freaks my wife out.

DonKeybals > shop-teacher
11/25/2014 at 17:38

People on this site rip apart the Camry as being a snore to drive. Most of them are wrong, as most of them have never driven a Malibu. I've driven the base model all the way up to the loaded LTZ version. And while the larger engine's quick acceleration is fun, fighting the torque steer is like trying to calm a kid down after eating all of his Halloween candy in one sitting.

It's a terrible car, and I frawn every time when I get to the counter, and that's the only car left. The new Impala, which I know is larger, seems to be pretty nice, but not as nice as the Avalon, which could pass for an entry-level Lexus.

shop-teacher > DonKeybals
11/25/2014 at 17:40

Mine was a V6 LTZ. I found it quite nice to drive as a simple commuter vehicle. Didn't matter though, it was unreliable, so it had to go.

DonKeybals > shop-teacher
11/25/2014 at 17:47

Was it a prior rental? While I harp on how crappy the car is in general, the Impalas and Malibus are actually pretty durable, as I see a lot of them being used for government vehicles and taxis. But in the hands of renters, you basically triple the odometer. If the odometer says 50k miles, it will have the same amount of wear as a 150k regularly driven vehicle.

shop-teacher > DonKeybals
11/25/2014 at 17:52

Not a rental. I'm not the sharpest spoon in the shed, but I know what I've done to rental cars in the past ...

These are known to be durable, and I thought I was being a responsible family man by buying it, and at least the V6 had enough power to put a grin on my face when I mashed the gas pedal. But I was averaging a major problem every 1100 miles, including three break downs. Luckily it was certified, and therefore had a warranty, but there's no way I'm driving my family around in a car that unreliable.