Car shopping, part 3: Mazda 3 Wagon (plus Alternators!)

[dvandom]

Taking more advantage of the lovely weather and an extra open hour in my schedule I don't normally have, I headed to the Mazda dealer to try out the 3 Wagon. Then I went to the OTHER branch of the dealership on the other side of town that I'd forgotten existed since it's not on a road I normally drive on, and tested a 3 Wagon there. Sigh.

Short form: I like it best of the four cars I've tested so far. Nothing blew me away, but everything was good. The one on the lot has pretty much all the features I want, and as it's a demo model with a hundred miles or so on it, I would be able to get a price break if for some reason I had to make a quick decision. However, I'm not thrilled with the color, and I don't want to rush into this anyway (May is my target month for buying), so I won't be heartbroken if it's gone in a month. They say they'll have a wider variety in stock by next month as well.

And on the lot (which is also Ford, most dealerships here multitask) I saw the inspirations for Alternators Grimlock, Wheeljack and Mirage (which is dark blue, lending credence to my theory that the black version seen online is just a bad photo).

Comments

[susp.livejournal.com]

Why don't you get Grimlock and earn yourself a rep as the coolest prof on campus?

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Hm, the base price is within my range. :) Maybe I'll test drive one later. I do plan to try some non-wagons too, I just wanted to get the wagons looked at first.

[z4nd4r.livejournal.com]

Get Mirage....GET MIRAGE.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

(looks up price) GKKKKK. Um, no. The GT is six years' after tax income for me. No thanks. I doubt they'd even let me test drive it without proof of six figure income. :)

[z4nd4r.livejournal.com]

hehehe.

*sigh*
It's so beautiful...I wonder if I could afford one of them 10 years from now, used...

[foomf.livejournal.com]

Well.... in my various test-drives, I think I liked the Scion best.

Which is odd. It's a cheesebox. It's pure ugly.

Yet, it's incredibly comfortable and it somehow has very good gas mileage.
I wonder if that's because you can't go super-fast in it. I may have to test-drive it again to see how well it handles freeway speed and wind.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

It's a ricer fave, so it must have decent speed. It's just a really light cheese box, so anything it loses in drag (which is less than you'd think, despite the boxiness) it makes up for in lightness.

It's just that it's is indeed too ugly for me. Also, if I'm going to spend that little (around 11-12K), I'll go for a 4-5 year old used car like I did last time (my current car cost me 11K, down from 35K originally).

[z4nd4r.livejournal.com]

well don't get the xB. Go for one of the other Scions... the other 2 models they make are really swank.