Hey Everyone,

Well I traded the 04' Mazda3 's' 5-door and got what I should have gotten in the first place...My new XB. What a difference in quality it has over the Mazda3.

That Mazda lived in the repair shop for more things than I care to mention and I mean even from "day 1". If you need distinct details, feel free to ask....but it is "quite" downright scary. I honestly can say that I will ''not ever'' consider Mazda again....and their "customer service"??...what a joke. :rofl:

But all seems right with my "automotive" world now and I realy hope it continues :pray: to stay that way as I feel I really need it to be right after what I have been through with Mazda. Once I cleaned out the last item from the "3", I closed the door, said "good luck" and walked away, never once looking back.

I do not miss it or anything about it....not even the 160 h.p.

"Go Go Scion" :)

Tell us more.

congrats! welcome to the crazy family

Thank you for posting this I was down to two choices for my new ride, the mazda 3 or the xb. Lets just say I don't think I'll be buying the 3 now after reading your post. :P

Yes, many thanks, I had been considering the 3 when I bought mine, now I am glad to hear that I made the right choice

If there was not an xB, I may have bought a Mazda 3. After test driving both, I wanted the xB hands down, but it's good to read that for confirmation.

After all, the 3 is just a restyled Ford. I like the 6 a lot though....and now the MazdaSpeed version is coming out. Mmmmmm

yeah we looked at mazda 3 before the xb. but the mazda was nice and all, but they just dont have the options for the price like the xb,. the value just isnt there. the mazda6 is a dope car with the v6, but for the price its not that good of a deal. the xb has value written all over it

What's so bad about the Mazda3, mechanically? Could your car be a lemon? I see glowing reviews from many sites and people so I'm curious.

Wow...I seriously considered buying a Mazda 3 back when I was shopping because my brother bought one for his wife, and they've been very happy with it. I ended up getting an xA, and I'm really glad I did. I LOVE it. After reading this, I'm even more glad I did. :relief:

I have had some great Mazda's and still own one. I had an '89 323 that kicked tail and still have an MPV. Well, they're really classified as my wife's cars, but they are great.

After crashing my XB, I was seriously considering the 3, but the dealer would not negotiate the pricing comparable to the XB. AC and power windows/locks are options??? c'mon! The 160HP is the high end option too. I think you're looking at 130 HP base and the car is heavier and a sedan. You're looking at near $17K for anything coming close to decent.

Did we do it cause it looked cutting edge on those commercials...lol....To me the mazda 3 looked awesome....:-)

But when i got to the dealer and discussed the cars options and the pricing...WHO EVER HEARD that if you want a/c and anit-lock brakes you have to buy 2 other packages that you don't want...MAJOR TURN OFF....you'd spend an Xtra 4 grand on 2 packages you didn't want...not to mention the one package was an overpriced tire upgrade...I LAUGHED.....

Then there was scion...TO THE POINT...a/c, anti lock brakes, POWER EVERYTHING....although i got the xa, i'm a gurl, lol....go figure...But even the xb was better quality then the Mazda 3 minus the power...but who cares...you can upgrade for the price of the a/c package of the mazda..Haha...and your right their customer care...OUT THE WINDOW....

well, what i tell customers is that the mazda 3 is engineered by mazda...so it is a good car in that sense....but it's built by ford. that is pretty much all i have to say:P

congrats on the purchase and choice!

hmmm , i knew about the unfortunate package buying deals but theyve gotta be pretty quick. hmm please tell about the shop experiences

That's "cool" but you're "seriously overusing" "quotes."

On the real, it's kind of surprising to me that cars don't come with power windows and locks, AC, remote keyless entry, and CD players standard these days. It's 2005, they're expected features.

That's "cool" but you're "seriously overusing" "quotes."

On the real, it's kind of surprising to me that cars don't come with power windows and locks, AC, remote keyless entry, and CD players standard these days. It's 2005, they're expected features.


I have to agree with you on that. With all the technology we hav these days and all, you would figure that, but Car companies are cheap.

It's not that they're cheap as it is the accepted practice for the industry. It's another change Scion is driving, alongside Pure Pricing. Give the customer what they want at a price that's clearly stated. The package thing is standard with almost all carmakers. It kinda kills the concept of mass-production if each car is being made custom, so they grouped things for efficiency, but then realized they could sell the "packages" as a way to inflate the price while getting a sense that you're getting a bunch of stuff.

I hate most car ads because they do this:

Starting at $14,999
*As shown $35,999

At least with Scion, even when they throw several goodies on its like a 2 grand difference at most... and it still looks good IF you do go plain stock...

That's "cool" but you're "seriously overusing" "quotes."

:rolling:

I hate most car ads because they do this:

Starting at $14,999
*As shown $35,999

At least with Scion, even when they throw several goodies on its like a 2 grand difference at most... and it still looks good IF you do go plain stock...
lol thats a wee bit exaggerated but yeah alot can easily be 3-7k more than sticker.

Yeah, well the one that comes to mind is the Magnum, it says starting at around 22, as shown, 32. You KNOW that extra 10 grand is for all the things that make the car desirable...

Here is what some of you wanted to know (and I will not use """ to make Max2k happy...lol - no hard feelings Max)

Rattles, noises, pops, creaks and cracks with.....

Dashboard, door panels, all 4 door windows, passenger seat when empty, rear seat, rear hatch, rear cargo management system, sunroof glass, sunroof sunshade, headliner , 3rd brake light assembly, clutch arm and more

Mechanically and some of these repeatedly ....

Replaced all rear brakes, replaced front brake calipers, replaced rear shocks and springs, replaced clutch switch, replaced entire hydraulic system on clutch, transmission clunking, replaced window regulators, replaced drive shaft bolts that just simply fell off and almost stranded the car- dealer had no excuse on this one, auto-down window worked only when it felt like it in Summer heat, front suspension clunking, front left hub assembly ringing, power steering problems and i just remembered this one... most of the duct system for the HVAC completely loose hanging on the steering shaft, and more groans from other places.

Some rare times the dealers were helpful , other times they told me to live with it or just turn the radio up cause they could not fix it (saying it was normal on some of the items listed above) or would not...I dont know. Most of the noises listed were never cured or the dealer gave up. Mazda 1-800 customer service was rude. I am exhausted now and just want to forget about the whole hellish ordeal.

But the one thing: It did drive awesome when it was on the highway. It really did.

There is your list. Is that enough? It was for me.

Well, just so you know and don't get the feeling the same is happening with your xB:

Some people have had a "rattling" around 2500-3500 RPMs coming from the speedometer area. There was a TSB issued by Toyota/Scion to correct the problem by lining the speedometer ring with felt.
It's was talked about here in early '04, so they may have corrected the problem at the factory.


That's it. Other than that it's rated the most reliable small car and there are no known problems, after having been built for like 5 years :relief:

It's another change Scion is driving, alongside Pure Pricing. Give the customer what they want at a price that's clearly stated.

I was really surprised at how few cars I had to add a lot of options to to get where I wanted when I was car shopping earlier this month. Only the Mazda3 and Kias came with zilch and required a lot of stuff thrown on top. Toyotas, Subarus, even Fords all come with just about everything you want. I didn't consider any real options for any car I was considering.

this is so awesome to hear! :D

well, what i tell customers is that the mazda 3 is engineered by mazda...so it is a good car in that sense....but it's built by ford. that is pretty much all i have to say:P

No. Actually it's not built by Ford.

I wish people would let go of that.

It's not a f-cking Ford, people. Get it through your heads.

The platform was co-engineered by Mazda, Ford and Volvo.

It is built BY MAZDA in JAPAN, for the 9,334,454th time.

Say what you will about the Mazda 3 but it is an infinitely more capable chassis than the silly Echo underpinnings with prehistoric torsion beam rear suspension we are pimping.

The 3 is easily the best handling small car you can get for under $20k, the fit and finish are superb.

This guy got a lemon, that's all. These are excellent cars. If I did not insist on the utility and space offered by the xB I might be driving a Mazda3 myself.

/rant

i'd definately rock a mazda3i if they stayed near the 15k starting price. i figured thru building it online i'd be leavin the dealership at over 18k.

You get what you pay for.

I love how people here _____ that the Scions aren't available with HID's, engine options and navigation and features you NEVER get in economy cars---- then when someone makes an economy car with all of that and more available, they complain because it doesn't all come for free at the $15k base price.

Come on.

The Mazda3 is an excellent value for what you get and it's a superbly well engineered little sedan. Closer to a "poor mans BMW" than any VW Jetta ever was.

Anyone who's driven them and looked at them closely ought to know that.

It has been interesting what everyone has said on here.

But unfortunately, I have to disagree with Nest "and" agree with him at the same time.

You see, I felt the same exact way he does now before I bought that 3. I also felt it was "superbly well-engineered, fit and finish are superb, handling is the best for under 20k". I absolutely agreed with what he said.

But,,,

there is a saying that goes (and forgive me for the quotations) "You do not really know someone until you live with them". Nest has not lived with a Mazda3, I have. And it was, without a doubt, one of the most miserable experiences.

I am not the only one. Yes, it has recommendations and awards by magazines (although I never filled out any surveys on it ), but through my own very intense research over the past few months talking with other owners(many who did not fill out surveys either), I am not the only one who has suffered. Yes, there have been some that were ok with a 3, but there is a high number who are not ok. It can happen to any auto make, but it really seems to be happening at Mazda. The 6, RX-8 and MPV all have very well documented issues as well from many owners. And my Mazda dealers did tell me, that even though it is built by Mazda in Japan, there are many Ford parts on that 3.

It all comes down to quality control, Monday and Friday cars, and other things I guess. And I do understand his words, but I hope he understands mine as well. Its funny, when you do a search in my area, I have counted over 30 used Mazda3's on used car lots for sale. They are not rentals either (I checked). I only counted 1 Scion. And they both came out at the same time.

Peace