"Where have all the lightweights gone?" (sniderjadam09)
01/08/2014 at 00:48 • Filed to: NEW CAR!!!
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"Where have all the lightweights gone?" (sniderjadam09)
01/08/2014 at 00:48 • Filed to: NEW CAR!!! | 4
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Before this wicked cold air rushed into the Chicagoland area, I jumped on a 2013 Mazda3 hatch.
It's an i Touring model, 6AT. I haven't driven a manual car since I was in high school, and I am not up to re-learning in the winter time. This is the first new car I've bought and a big jump over what I had before, a 1999 Accord.
Before you say anything, I did look at the 2014 3, and I didn't like it. I thought the feel of the car was similar, and the interior on the 2014 was awful. I even had a couple friends trying to come up with a good deal, but it didn't work out.
Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
> Where have all the lightweights gone?
01/08/2014 at 01:10 |
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What I did when I was shopping for my S2k was I emailed about 5 dealerships in the area with what I wanted, and let them know that I was already approved through my own bank for a loan, and that in three days I was buying the car. It was up to them to decide where I bought it. I ended up getting it for a little under list, when cars on the lot had the $5,000 "just because we can" dealer tax
Congrats on the 3 btw, I have heard good things about them.
DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully
> Where have all the lightweights gone?
01/08/2014 at 01:17 |
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You'll love it. Now, for what you should do, as soon as the weather warms up:
Grippier tires. The stock ones suck, majorly. Just changing the tires woke my 2013 up.
Stiffer rear sway bar. I got the Corksport one, it's pretty nice. Makes the tail a bit more lively.
Muffler: Cut it off. It won't be /that/ loud, and it'll net you an extra couple miles per gallon on the Skyactiv cars, to offset the losses from good tires. (I see the blue ring around the projector, I know it's a Skyactiv...
A short-ram intake will get you another 1.5-2mpg as well, but it /will/ make noise while accelerating. It sounds like it'll eat your children.
Lowering: I'm doing it to mine this weekend, it's up to your road conditions, really.
Lighting: Swap a set of 9011s into the high-beams, stat. As far as the lows go, they're okay. Make sure they're aimed properly, and a set of H9s will swap into the projectors with minor modification. The highs need the help more than the lows, though.
Also, related RobotPotato picture:
Edit for better RobotPotato pics and lighting advice...
Jayhawk Jake
> Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
01/08/2014 at 09:16 |
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That's a smart way to do it.
Did you include all the dealers on the same email? That would have made it clear that you actually had emailed other dealers.
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Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
> Jayhawk Jake
01/08/2014 at 10:05 |
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Oh yes, and I even made it plural when I addressed "them" to let them know that if they wanted the sale, they had to give me the best price they could on the options that I wanted. I didn't go with an open"bid" system, which might have made sense in hindsight, but it worked well enough for me as it was. An email to say that "hey, I have received offers from 3 of you so far, "x" dealership is winning offer might have done the trick.
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Jayhawk Jake
> Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
01/08/2014 at 10:33 |
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I think an open bid system might have pissed them off a bit too much.
If I wasn't happy with the offers that came back, I might make an email on the last day saying "best offer is 'x', can anyone beat that? I'll be purchasing the car by the end of business today from the best offer"
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Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
> Jayhawk Jake
01/08/2014 at 10:43 |
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that's true, it might have angered more than insipired. But I do like the idea of a blind best offer getting put out, just to see if anyone could top it. That's a good idea.
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Jayhawk Jake
> Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
01/08/2014 at 11:00 |
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And if you really want to game the system, email all but 1 dealer what the best offer is, without saying who made it. They can put it together. Bonus points: The excluded dealer is one that either didn't respond or wouldn't give a good offer
JACU - I've got bonifides.
> Where have all the lightweights gone?
01/08/2014 at 14:36 |
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Congratulations on your new car! I drove a rental 2013 for a bit and thought it was really neat. Show it lots of love and it will convey you for years.
Stef Schrader
> Where have all the lightweights gone?
01/08/2014 at 16:40 |
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Congrats! Those are fun.