2016 Mazda3 - From New to Eternity(ish) (First Update)

"Green Mountain Car Guy" (williamleedy) 11/03/2016 at 11:23 • Filed to: None

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Update 1: Ohh, sure. Current Est. Costs: $4,424.90.

10/25/16, 5122 miles: Installed 16" Snow tires. I went with a basic gray 16" wheel and General Altimax Arctic tires to get me through the winter!

Cost: $851.96

Zoom Zoom

10/24/16, 5069 miles: Finally, a break. This one is just the first oil change!

Cost: $59.29

10/21/2016, 4900: A few days after getting the car back from the body shop, I run over a gigantic bolt and put a hole in the tire. Thankfully we were able to plug it!

Cost: $13.65

9/29/2016, 4765 miles: While driving home I hit a damn deer. Further elaboration can be found here:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Total Damage est. $3,500 (Thank you, insurance!!!)

Update 0: The Beginning

Hello all, A new day has dawned! As a Mazda dealership employee, I decided it was time I have a full-time Mazda in the household (other than my wife’s CX-5...) As a result of that and some help from Mazda, I have recently signed the paperwork on a shiny new Mazda3! It’s a 2.5L (S) Grand Touring with a Jalopnik friendly 6-speed manual transmission. I went with a Deep Crystal Blue exterior color and, despite my wife’s disapproval, coupled that with the lovely 2-tone Almond interior.

I picked up the car from the original dealer (we bought it from them so I could buy it from us) with 4 miles on the odometer and 0 miles of range. It’ll make it at least another 3 miles!

I’ve just about used up the first tank of gas (about 350mi) with an average of 35mpg - a 10mpg jump from what I’ve been driving for the last couple years - a fact enjoyed by both my wife and my wallet.

My plan is to update this post every day 5,000 miles or so with updates on services, scheduled or otherwise, and other expenses like tires, Calvin stickers, waffle makers, and the occasional Porsche Boxster.

Ladies and gentleman, prepare yourselves for probably the least exciting maintenance blog available anywhere! I hope.

Feel free to ask any questions about the car in the comments below!

Zoom zoom.

Ram_Riot_6 > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 15:23

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Congrats, it looks great! I picked up a deep crystal blue 6 GT a few months ago with the parchment interior. The dark blue and light leather is a fantastic color combination!

mazda616 > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 15:23

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Congrats! Nice car. I have a 2016 6 in Deep Crystal Blue. I love the color. I've had mine almost a year now (got it in October 2015).

Steve in Manhattan > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 15:39

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I generally do not like blue cars, yet I approve of this purchase.

Green Mountain Car Guy > Ram_Riot_6 07/30/2016 at 15:51

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Congrats on the Mazda6 too! If I could get a GT with a stick, I would’ve!! I guess that’s what I get for being a manual snob!!

Green Mountain Car Guy > mazda616 07/30/2016 at 15:51

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Deep Crystal Blue is such a nice color!!

Green Mountain Car Guy > Steve in Manhattan 07/30/2016 at 15:52

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Once you go blue, you never go back!

Steve in Manhattan > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 15:57

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Had a dark blue 300D - did not like the color, but it was the last one on the lot and they gave me a helluva deal.

Funktheduck > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 16:21

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I've got a 2015 with almost 85k on the clock. Only a set of tires, many oil changes and a set of rear brakes (about to need those again).

Khalbali > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 17:18

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It's very lovely but I can't help but wish they had a deep crystal green too. That said my wife will probably end up in a deep crystal blue mazda 3 in the next year or so.

samssun > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 17:38

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Give it AWD and the Ecoboost 2.3T, and you have one awesome Mazdaspeed 3.

mazda616 > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 17:58

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I wanted Soul Red Metallic but the dealer only had a Grand Touring in that color and I couldn’t afford it. So, I got my Touring in Deep Crystal Blue and I love it. I’ve had it 10 months and 9,600 miles. :)

Green Mountain Car Guy > Steve in Manhattan 07/30/2016 at 20:59

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A deal is a deal!!

Green Mountain Car Guy > mazda616 07/30/2016 at 21:02

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So fresh and so clean, clean. At at like 380 miles and it’s already dirty. Guess that’s what I get for living on a dirt road.

The touring is pretty well equipped. Only thing our customers complain about is the lack of heated seats...but it is Vermont after all.

Green Mountain Car Guy > Khalbali 07/30/2016 at 21:03

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It's a pretty good car!! Sounds like some pretty subtle changes for 2017 so it should still look as good as it does now!

Green Mountain Car Guy > Funktheduck 07/30/2016 at 21:04

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Holy hell, that's even more than I drive!!! Pile those miles on it man!! What trim is yours?

Green Mountain Car Guy > samssun 07/30/2016 at 21:05

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Ecoboost not necessary. Just use the 2.5T from the CX-9!!

Funktheduck > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 21:29

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2.0 touring 6MT

Takuro Spirit > Green Mountain Car Guy 07/30/2016 at 23:01

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4 miles? Do you even PDI, bro?

Green Mountain Car Guy > Takuro Spirit 07/31/2016 at 10:12

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Ha! Apparently not! ...I picked up the car from another dealer (was the last car out there in the equipment/color combo and it was too late to have it shipped direct). They put the room fuse in it and that was about it...which isn't unusual for a swap.

64Mali > Green Mountain Car Guy 11/03/2016 at 11:50

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I love my 2016 3i Touring Hatch (autotragic though). Its already towed a trailer a few times, been Tboned, and still running good. 5 months, owning 4 months driving it and 6k miles already. Mazda FTW. (I also have a 16 6i Touring bought in may with 11k on it )

Green Mountain Car Guy > 64Mali 11/03/2016 at 12:40

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Hey, at least it’s Mazda’s Autotragic! The manual mode is more willing to play ball than most!

Pile those miles on, I know I will be! And, from what I’ve seen from our service department, these cars really don’t mind it at all!

64Mali > Green Mountain Car Guy 11/03/2016 at 16:15

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It’d actually my 6th mazda

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Green Mountain Car Guy 11/03/2016 at 19:18

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Pretty sweet ride. If I had to replace my 2012 Mazda5 6MT, this is probably the same car I’d get. Mine had 129 miles at delivery (although I probably put on about 10 of those test driving it); it was the dealer’s heavily-advertised loss leader and I got it for a song.

Green Mountain Car Guy > 64Mali 11/04/2016 at 08:50

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Nice, if we count my wife’s cars, this is #5 for us!

Green Mountain Car Guy > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 11/04/2016 at 08:57

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Nice!! It’s amazing how much of a difference tinting the rear windows changes the look of the Mazda5!

64Mali > Green Mountain Car Guy 11/04/2016 at 13:12

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Sadly 2 of my past mazdas got totaled.

Green Mountain Car Guy > 64Mali 11/04/2016 at 13:25

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Well, that’s not good. Though, I’m assuming you fared well in the accidents or you wouldn’t have bought more! I’ve been fortunate in that the deer is the only significant damage I’ve ever caused (or had caused to me...). But, one of the 5 was a rusted out Protege purchased purely so that my wife could comfortably learn to drive stick and another was an RX-8 which was an expensive adventure.

64Mali > Green Mountain Car Guy 11/04/2016 at 13:36

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No one was driving, one got totaled in a flash flood, the other the engine blew up due to a cracked oil pan (bought it used off a friend).

I’m also a Officer in New England Mazda Auto Club Inc. so I might be partial to Mazdas.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Green Mountain Car Guy 11/04/2016 at 14:07

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Thanks!

Well, it looks even better when the front windows are tinted as well. Mine were/are, and the left still is; you’re looking at a replacement window I haven’t taken in to have the tinting replaced. Last January, on my birthday, a nice snowy day, I stepped out only to find that someone had smashed the window and grabbed my GPS. I was unemployed and broke, but managed to find a replacement window at a junkyard just across the river. One of these days when I scrounge up a few bucks I’ll get this fixed. 10 months later I’m still finding chunks of the old window, and short of a full interior disassembly I’ll probably never get them all out.

Green Mountain Car Guy > 64Mali 11/04/2016 at 14:24

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Gotcha!

Well, perhaps one of these years I’ll not be working on Saturdays and can join in the Mt. Washington climb!

Green Mountain Car Guy > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 11/04/2016 at 14:27

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Yeah, glass get’s friggin everywhere. You could replace it with a whole new car and still find bits of glass in all the crevices.

I’m sorry to hear about the theft!! Where are you located (not precisely, lol, just a general idea!)?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Green Mountain Car Guy 11/04/2016 at 18:44

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South City St. Louis in a 123 year old house, so no garage. :(

Shortly after moving here I was talking to a homeless guy that did some cleanup in front of an interesting local Chinese restaurant (it’s based in a former Shell station) that is across from the projects. He told me about all of the neighborhoods he’s lived in over the years, and when I told him where I lived he said, “Oh - I wouldn’t go down there”. Great.

I’ve gotten used to the sound of gunfire, and I’ve learned to hide or remove all valuables from my car. It’s an up and coming area, with lots of restorations and new construction, but it’s not fully gentrified yet. My street is a little too busy, with 18-wheelers driving down sometimes, and people driving a tad faster than should be allowed. There was some talk of blocking off a lot of access from the main roads in order to cut down on the shortcuts. I was against it in the past, but after nearly getting run over a few times I’m starting to reconsider.

Green Mountain Car Guy > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 11/05/2016 at 13:54

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Yikes! Remind me not to come to your house! The Vermont town I live in doesn’t have the best reputation...but, nothing like that!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Green Mountain Car Guy 11/05/2016 at 18:44

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Nah, it’s not really that bad. It could be better, and it’s getting there. I could make the flight out to the suburbs, but I like being near the city. The abandoned properties are either being leveled or restored, and I suspect that once the values go up further the section 8 housing next door will probably be sold. There’s an architect in the neighborhood that is spearheading a bunch of the restorations/rebuilds, and he’s done some pretty amazing stuff, fully updating the interior whilst leaving the classic exteriors. He lives in them for a while and then moves to the next project, much like my grandfather used to do when he was a general contractor, and then rents out the old place. The last tenants across the street from me were a couple of twentysomething nurses - no complaints from me!

I wasn’t terribly interested in the suburbs, but I visited a friend of mine recently and discovered a nice neighborhood filled with cool mid-century modern homes. The big downside was that those houses didn’t have basements, something I would like to have if only to store the extra crap I tend to accumulate. Also, by living in the city I only have a 2.3 mile commute, and that is such a relief after years of commuting 20 miles each way. Without taking any major trips I managed to put exactly 15,000 miles on the 5 in the first year I owned it, whereas I’ve put maybe 3,500 miles on it since April when I changed jobs.