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2010 Mazda3 - READ ONLY

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What is this discussion about? Mazda MAZDA3, Future Vehicle

Messages Page 64 of 84

#629 of 832 Re: Traded in my Jetta for the 3 [texasnightowl] by jeffyscott

Sep 29, 2009 (6:40 am)

Replying to: texasnightowl (Sep 28, 2009 10:40 pm)
Rather than relying on anecdotal information...FWIW, Edmunds shows very little difference in estimated repair and maintenance costs for a Jetta vs. a Mazda3. Based on 5 years and 75,000 miles the total for the Jetta is $3154 for maintenance and $930 for repairs, total for the Mazda3 is $3261 for maintenance and $812 for repairs. So the total repair and maintenance costs are essentially identical, according to Edmunds anyway
 
We've only got about 32,000 miles on our Jetta and full warranty just ended last summer, so no repair costs yet. There have been a number of problems fixed under warranty, but ours is a 2005, so one of the first of the new model.
 
Oil changes do cost more, because of the synthetic oil requirement...ours cost about double. But then they are required only once per year for my wife's Jetta vs. 3 times per year for my Mazda. I think I've spent much less on maintenance than the other poster, I ask for only the maintenance that is required according to VW's schedule.

#630 of 832 Re: Traded in my Jetta for the 3 [texasnightowl] by eldaino2

Sep 29, 2009 (6:57 am)

Replying to: texasnightowl (Sep 28, 2009 10:40 pm)
texas,
 
i can attest to jeffyscotts post.
 
not to mention that several of the vw dealers in my area have service costs that are basically on par with the japanese automakers.
 
it costs like 15 bucks more for my wife to get a fully synthetic oil change and tire rotation for her new beetle than it does for me to get a regualr oil change and tire rotation at my honda dealer for my fit.

#631 of 832 Re: Traded in my Jetta for the 3 [texasnightowl] by dilbertsdub

Sep 30, 2009 (5:22 pm)

Replying to: texasnightowl (Sep 28, 2009 10:40 pm)
nightowl, If you're like me you'll probably enjoy the extra giddyup and go of the manual. I too had the 3s in automatic to drive while my vehicle in my specified color/options was being delivered, you can put the automatic in manual mode and it does a good job with the shifting much better I find than it does in regular mode. However I don't regret the manual, there does not seem to be too much in gearing ratio change between 5th and 6th gears however but seems to be quicker than the automatic.
 
as far as maintenance cost, I'm sure prices do vary, but speaking on my experience, and in the dallas market the VW w/ sythetic oil does cost more than a Japanese vehicle. approx $78-80 at 10000 miles intervals for the 2.5 engine. its not too bad since the intervals are longer than the 3000 miles for the MZ3 w/ regular oil this cost will probably be a wash. However, be prepared to stash some cash for future predictable unreliability on the VW. You will love the way it drives and absolutely love to hate your service department when they tell you they can't duplicate the issue/problem when they do arise.
 
Best of luck.

#632 of 832 Re: Traded in my Jetta for the 3 [dilbertsdub] by texasnightowl

Sep 30, 2009 (8:05 pm)

Replying to: dilbertsdub (Sep 30, 2009 5:22 pm)
Thanks for the followup on your experience. It's not necessarily maintenance costs...oil changes, brakes, tires, etc. that bother me...I worry about the longterm reliability of the VW...I've been paying for synthetic oil changes on my current car for 9 yrs...so $70 each 2 or 3 times a year (whenever the change oil light comes on, roughly at the 4000 to 4500 mile mark, or if I hit the 6 month mark) is nothing new.
 
I'm more worried about necessary repairs based on a 10 yr/100k use period. It seems like the Jetta may be more likely to cost more in repairs as you either will end up at the dealer or at a select group of shops vs the Mazda or Ford where you will more likely have a better range of options for repair shops.
 
I've test driven both an auto and manual Jetta S last week and do like both overall...a couple of niggling little things bother me...one being the spacing of the clutch/brake/gas pedals. In my current car there is a lot more space between the clutch and the brake pedals than there was in the Jetta. Also, the 5 spd manual at 60mph was running about 2500rpm while the auto at 60mph was running closer to 2000rpm so on highway trips it seems like the auto would def. average better mpg
 
I'm definitely going to go back in the next week or two and drive the manual Mazda 3s. And the VW salesguy is supposed to let me know when they get a MT TDI for me to try. Plus, dealers are still recovering from C4C (in terms of still replenishing their lots) and getting 2010's in so I'm going to continue looking for a while longer. I am luckily in no real rush.

#633 of 832 Re: Traded in my Jetta for the 3 [texasnightowl] by jeffyscott

Oct 01, 2009 (10:56 am)

Replying to: texasnightowl (Sep 30, 2009 8:05 pm)
You may see the same sort of thing in the Mazda3 wrt the rpm in manual vs. auto. The rpm in 5th in my 2007 Mazda6 auto is about 25% lower than the manual, IIRC. Another way to look at it is 4th gear in the auto is nearly the same as 5th in the manual (both the manual and auto were 5 speeds for the 6 at that time).

#634 of 832 Re: Traded in my Jetta for the 3 by dilbertsdub

Oct 01, 2009 (8:34 pm)

Texas night owl, funny you mention the clutch take up on the jetta. You are correct it does seem to be a bit awkward at times. I must have stalled the Jetta at least 10 times even after 3 yrs of ownership. Just kinda felt like I was having to re-learn or get used to my own car even after owning it for years. My partner had the same issue as well with the Jetta.
 
The mazda on the other hand has a fantastic shifting manual and a very easy to learn clutch. FYI, on the highway, if in 6th gear in the MZ3, don't bother shifting to 5th for extra oomph,..you'll probably wish for 4th at the very least.
 
You are right to be concerned about cost to own/repair/maintain etc with the VW, i have owned 6 Nissan/Infiniti products before buying my VW and all of them had their various issues most of which either occured at either 60000 miles or 100,000 but in all honesty they were/are to be expected of any brand (timing belt, spark plugs, most of the normal stuff) so I too was leary of the VW but was smitten with the way it rode and handled like a teutonic bank vault.
 
My VW on the other hand required the following:
 
4000miles new fuel filler door and trunk latch (trunk and fuel door refused to close at any temperature below 50 degrees)
 
17,000miles New Catalytic Converter
 
24,000miles Car does not recognize the key or the key does not recognize my car.
 
29000miles Moonroof gets to decide on its own when it wants to open/close or just flat out take the day off. Side windows and door locks follow the same clown show shortly thereafter.
 
38,000 miles Intermittant issue where car won't start, CEL flashes incessantly, dealer cannot locate any fault codes or duplicate my vehicles issues after 6 trips and two separate dealers have crawled all over my car (and fingerpainted on my headliner) to locate a problem to no avail. VAG (Volkswagen of America Group is of no help here)
40,000 miles, battery dies,
40,400 miles, altenator dies,
41,000 miles, ignition control module dies,
 
48,000 miles, headliner begins to bubble and fester and pulls out completely from the rear anchors in the C pillars. (oddly, dealer happens to have 3 headliners already on order for other customers as well,...this seems to be an odd yet all too common issue) Dealer replaces headliner and is finally able to duplicate the sunroof and window issues with a wire they found?!?
 
50,991 miles, (991 miles out of warranty), CEL comes on, dealer is magically able to locate the supposed problem with why my vehicle had its starting issues back from 38,000 miles and now wants me to pay $308 and change for a purge regulator valve citing that my engine was flooding itself with fuel why it would not start?
 
I think not, slap her together so I can buy any Japanese Vehicle,.heck I'll even consider a Mitsubishi at this point!
 
So I hope you take my warning with the VW, but if you do go buy the VW I can certainly understand,..it is a very enjoyable car to drive and the TDI I hear is even better,..Hopefully you'll just have better luck than I did.

#635 of 832 Re: Traded in my Jetta for the 3 [jbbevel] by dilbertsdub

Oct 03, 2009 (5:49 pm)

Replying to: jbbevel (Sep 27, 2009 10:29 pm)
Thanks for letting me know about the "smart turn" feature on the Mazda 3, i think this is a rather cool feature to have, even though its odd you can't personalize this feature in the settings preferences. I had my dealer activate my personal settings,.only took 10 minutes!

#636 of 832 Re: Traded in my Jetta for the 3 [texasnightowl] by roddys

Oct 04, 2009 (12:06 pm)

Replying to: texasnightowl (Sep 28, 2009 10:40 pm)
I just took my new 2010 Mazda 3 GT HB (manual) on a cross country road trip. I put about 7000 miles on it hitting mountains, plains, desert and lots of rain in the South. It held up great with no problems. It was a blast to drive through the mountain scenic highways and had no problem passing (thankful for the manual transmission). My average mpg for the whole trip was easily 30 (mostly highway driving). It's doing great in the city (Chicago) as well. Getting about 25 mpg (80% city/ 20% highway).

#637 of 832 The Sky is Blue [autonomous] by autonomous

Oct 08, 2009 (2:43 pm)

Replying to: autonomous (Sep 21, 2009 3:23 pm)
From a Mazda Press Release for the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show
 
"Mazda SKY-G is a next-generation direct injection gasoline engine with significantly improved fuel economy and output performance due to enhanced thermal efficiency. ... Specifically, fuel economy and torque are improved by approximately 15 percent compared to Mazda’s current 2.0-liter engine. This was achieved by adopting next-generation fuel injectors and a highly functional variable valve timing mechanism. The engine enables fuel economy equivalent to the current Mazda Demio (known as the Mazda2 overseas) to be achieved in a vehicle the size of a Mazda Axela (Mazda3)....Mazda’s next-generation SKY-Drive automatic transmission ... improves fuel economy by approximately five percent, due to a complete redesign that significantly reduces mechanical friction, a revised torque converter and clutch with minimized slip, and an optimized lock-up mechanism."
 
It sounds like Mazda is moving in the right direction for its future vehicles (like the 2011 Mazda3?).

#638 of 832 Re: The Sky is Blue [autonomous] by shipo

Oct 08, 2009 (5:16 pm)

Replying to: autonomous (Oct 08, 2009 2:43 pm)
If I'm not mistaken, the SKY-G designation is simply Mazda's version of the Ford Eco-Boost technology.
 
Anyone?
 
Best regards,
Shipo

Messages Page 64 of 84

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