I made a big decision..... and now I have a new toy!

[pointdablame]

Well, with me starting my job in about a month, I've been looking at getting a car.  I wasn't sure if I was going to buy new or used, but I made a decision yesterday.  I had bounced between a lot of options in the past few weeks, but I'm really happy with my choice.  I present my newest toy... 

It's a 2007 Mazda 3 Touring 5door
Black Mica with Black/Red interior

Had 7 miles on it when I bought it.  I'm really loving it so far, and spent practically all yesterday in or around it.  Today will likely be the same.  Of course about 2 hours after I got it home, it started to rain, so it's full of water spots right now     This is the first major purchase I've ever really made unless you count student loans, so it's been a pretty big deal.



Full Size Links:
http://home.comcast.net/~pointdablame/Pics/Mazda_1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~pointdablame/Pics/Mazda_2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~pointdablame/Pics/Mazda_3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~pointdablame/Pics/Mazda_4.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~pointdablame/Pics/Mazda_5.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~pointdablame/Pics/Mazda_6.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~pointdablame/Pics/Mazda_7.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~pointdablame/Pics/Mazda_8.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~pointdablame/Pics/Mazda_9.jpg

[ChadTower]

Heh, the first big purchases are a bit scary.  Nice looking car.

Key question:  can you fit a cab in it?   

[JackTucky]

Can it haul plywood?  How would you do that?

=J

[pointdablame]

Yeah it was a bit scary.. and I could have got a used car instead to save a bit, but I'm very happy with the decision.

Good question on the cab though... I'm not sure.  Rear seats fold perfectly flat and the hatch is pretty big, so maybe it's doable heh.

[pointdablame]

Can it haul plywood?  How would you do that?

=J

Nope, unfortunately not.  If I wanted to haul plywood I would have needed to get the Official Plywood Hauling Apparatus, but I thought it looked a bit silly on the back of the car.

here's a pic of the option    :

[JackTucky]

Can it haul plywood?  How would you do that?

=J

Nope, unfortunately not.  If I wanted to haul plywood I would have needed to get the Official Plywood Hauling Apparatus, but I thought it looked a bit silly on the back of the car.

here's a pic of the option    :

I have something like that.  It doesn't have great traction on very steep hills

=J

[pointdablame]

or even extremely tiny inclines....

 

[patrickl]

Hey congrats. I got a new car last friday. Black too and indeed it rained here the day I got it too 

[shorthair]

I have something like that.  It doesn't have great traction on very steep hills

=J

Well, it's a ford.

[bfauska]

I bought a Black Mica 2007 Mazda 3 Touring 5door with black and red interior 6 months ago and have loved it every day since.  The black can be a bummer though, especially here in Seattle.  Don't plan on hauling too much stuff, the back is somehow smaller than it seems.  MAYBE a cocktail, maybe. 

Congratulations, and enjoy your "zoom zoom"

[pointdablame]

I'm really loving it so far.  As far as hauling, in all reality it won't really be a concern.  I have both an unfinished upright and cocktail in the house already, and I probably wouldn't use the car to haul cabs anyway with the ease of grabbing a truck around here.

It is however a good bit of space for those occasions when I need to haul a bunch of stuff... just not necessarily BIG things like cabs.  That's one of the nice pluses I see with the hatch, besides the fact that I think it looks a million times better than the sedan.

[boykster]

The black can be a bummer though, especially here in Seattle. 

I hear ya.  I have an '06 Lexus IS that is their dark dark grey, and with the rain it's hard keeping it looking super nice.

Can it haul plywood?  How would you do that?

=J

Nope, unfortunately not.  If I wanted to haul plywood I would have needed to get the Official Plywood Hauling Apparatus, but I thought it looked a bit silly on the back of the car.
 
here's a pic of the option   :

I have something like that.  It doesn't have great traction on very steep hills

=J

and isn't yours pink with the Barbie package? 

[bfauska]

besides the fact that I think it looks a million times better than the sedan.

At least a million, if not more.

[JackTucky]

and isn't yours pink with the Barbie package? 

No.  It has death metal scrawlings all over.  It's tough.

=J

[pointdablame]

and isn't yours pink with the Barbie package? 

No.  It has death metal scrawlings all over.  It's tough.

=J

yet it's still stuck in that ditch. 

[boykster]

and isn't yours pink with the Barbie package? 

No.  It has death metal scrawlings all over.  It's tough.

=J

Oh ok....I didn't know that Barbie was considered "death metal" these days...

[ChadTower]

Oh man my wife would get all hot and bothered over that truck.   

[shardian]

Congrats on the new car. I don't think I'll ever get a new car myself. Partly because I am cheap, mostly because I have an intense love/hate relationship with my used cars. There is just this excitement you get when you go to turn the key that can't be replicated by a new car. "Will it start? Will it stall on the interstate? Will the engine explode?" Exciting stuff I tell 'ya. You haven't lived until you've thrown a rod at 80 miles an hour. Nor until you go to shift gears on the interstate in traffic and the clutch freezes at floor level...oh I could go on and on. 

[pointdablame]

Congrats on the new car. I don't think I'll ever get a new car myself. Partly because I am cheap, mostly because I have an intense love/hate relationship with my used cars. There is just this excitement you get when you go to turn the key that can't be replicated by a new car. "Will it start? Will it stall on the interstate? Will the engine explode?" Exciting stuff I tell 'ya. You haven't lived until you've thrown a rod at 80 miles an hour. Nor until you go to shift gears on the interstate in traffic and the clutch freezes at floor level...oh I could go on and on. 

I've had 2 cars already that gave me those worries.  I had my last car just die on me on the parkway while I was doing 65mph.  I got to coast to the shoulder with no power steering..... tons of fun.

Hopefully this will be a nice change from that.




and boyk... I'm glad you found that pic of Jack's truck 

[ChadTower]

I miss the perfect antitheft system:  a carburetor that only starts with a perfect random sequence of gas pedal presses.

[boykster]

and boyk... I'm glad you found that pic of Jack's truck 

it was tough...akin to searching a cesspool for a specific turd.  any clue on how many threads there are with "truck" and "stuck" in them  

[AtomSmasher]

I miss the perfect antitheft system:  a carburetor that only starts with a perfect random sequence of gas pedal presses.

Heh, sounds kind of like my old truck, basically you pump the gas until you think it's flooded, then pump it a few more times for good measure, then it will start.  I can't tell you how many times people have told me it wouldn't start because I flooded it, but I just smile, pump the gas a bit more and start it up.  Although it only does that if the engine has already been warmed up, if its cold it starts right up 

[ChadTower]

I had a white convertible that you had to give exactly 2.5 pumps before turning the key.  2 pumps wouldn't start it... 3 pumps and it was flooded.  A kid broke into it and tried to steal it once.  The neighbors called the cops and watched as the kid tried over and over and over to start it until the cops showed up and chased him down the street.   

I guess the kid just broke into it to steal something and noticed the ignition would turn without a key.  That was because a year prior someone tried to steal it but couldn't get it started... guess why...

[bfauska]

Along the lines of the excitement a used car can bring...  I recently sold a 75 Chevy pickup that was missing the clip from the throttle cable to the carb, I replaced the clip with a zip tie and forgot about it...  One day after changing the plugs (and apparently not routing the wires the same way) the zip tie caught on a plug wire and wouldn't let the throttle return.  I was proud of my quick response of killing the engine so I could coast to a stop, but steering that thing w/o the power steering and going 50mph was tough.  Now that we have our new car and can't haul anything I'm going to have to buy another old truck when I start building my house.  I am honestly looking forward to it, I like owning a car that has room for me under the hood.

[koolmoecraig]

That's a sweet ride. Then again, I'm a bit partial to Mazdas.

Did you check out the Mazdaspeed version when you were shopping?  Those things are rockets.

[pointdablame]

That's a sweet ride. Then again, I'm a bit partial to Mazdas.

Did you check out the Mazdaspeed version when you were shopping?  Those things are rockets.

I did check out the MS3, and it took all my power and "maturity" to not buy it.  My job has me dealing with Holland tunnel traffic everyday though, so a manual wasn't ideal, and insurance and payments were a bit higher than I had wanted to spend, although I probably could have swung it if I really wanted to.

It's a damn nice car though, and the leather seats were very comfortable.  The one I was in had the nav package too.. pretty damn nice.  I'm still happy without the turbo though

[Edgedamage]

Time to build a carputer. With a mazda theme.
https://www.timekiller.org/carpc/

[pointdablame]

oh believe me, Carputer plans have been running through my head since I started car shopping.  Seeing that the 7" Lilliput fits so nicely in the 3 makes me want to do it even more

I won't be doing it for a while though.  I need to start working for a bit before I think of dropping all that cash on a CarPC.

I'm getting the windows tinted soon though, that is a definite must.  I think I'm going with 20% all around, but I may do 35% in the front.

[ChadTower]

Carputer make good snoo snoo.

[pointdablame]

I washed and clay bar'd the car today so I took some pics.  You can see the dealer badge is gone, and the windows have been tinted 20% all around.  The pics don't really do it justice, it looks very nice in person.


More pics are here.... the new pics are on page 2

[Donkey_Kong]

Dude-

That thing is soooo clean, I'd be afraid to like, drive it.

Looks like you listened to your paw when he said "Put some elbow grease into it, Boy!!" 

[pointdablame]

Thanks!

all i can say is I'm glad you only have to clay bar a car every 3 to 6 months.  It took me about 2.5 hours to do the whole car, and that was after I washed the car and interior.

It was worth it though IMO.  It looks even better in person.

[NightGod]

Along the lines of the excitement a used car can bring...  I recently sold a 75 Chevy pickup that was missing the clip from the throttle cable to the carb, I replaced the clip with a zip tie and forgot about it...  One day after changing the plugs (and apparently not routing the wires the same way) the zip tie caught on a plug wire and wouldn't let the throttle return.  I was proud of my quick response of killing the engine so I could coast to a stop, but steering that thing w/o the power steering and going 50mph was tough.  Now that we have our new car and can't haul anything I'm going to have to buy another old truck when I start building my house.  I am honestly looking forward to it, I like owning a car that has room for me under the hood.

That reminds me of the time I changed the alternator cap in my truck in the pouring rain and only got wet while getting from under the hood to the cab and back-I literally fit completely in the engine compartment with enough room to work and stay completely out of the rain.

I <3 my truck.

[shardian]

That reminds me of the time I changed the alternator cap in my truck in the pouring rain and only got wet while getting from under the hood to the cab and back-I literally fit completely in the engine compartment with enough room to work and stay completely out of the rain.

I <3 my truck.

I'll guess a straight 6 Ford F100.
I had one of those for a little while, but traded it in for an Escort for my official first car. It had overheating problems we couldn't figure out - the catylitic converter actually would turn cherry red  . Anyways, when changing the spark plugs I could literally sit inside the engine compartment.

[koolmoecraig]

Thanks!

all i can say is I'm glad you only have to clay bar a car every 3 to 6 months.  It took me about 2.5 hours to do the whole car, and that was after I washed the car and interior.

It was worth it though IMO.  It looks even better in person.

Once you get the hang of it you'll be able to clay bar in less than an hour.  You should visit www.autopia.org if you really wanna dive into the finer points of detailing.  It's really quite addicting.

Here is their site for supplies: http://www.autopia-carcare.com/

[pointdablame]

Once you get the hang of it you'll be able to clay bar in less than an hour.  You should visit www.autopia.org if you really wanna dive into the finer points of detailing.  It's really quite addicting.

Here is their site for supplies: http://www.autopia-carcare.com/

I'm not exactly new to claying a car, but I hadn't done it in at least a year and a half.  I was definitely taking my time, but it usually takes me at least an hour and a half personally.  I also cut the bar at least in half, if not quarters, so I'm using a smaller piece of clay at any given point in time.  I prefer throwing the clay away quicker than some folks.

Thanks for the links, seems to be some good info there.  I'll have to read up a bit to see if I should be doing anything I'm not haha.

[NightGod]

I'll guess a straight 6 Ford F100.
I had one of those for a little while, but traded it in for an Escort for my official first car. It had overheating problems we couldn't figure out - the catylitic converter actually would turn cherry red  . Anyways, when changing the spark plugs I could literally sit inside the engine compartment.

Not far off, 1994 GMC C1500 with the 4.3 V6. Got 270K miles off the first engine and transmission, dropped in a junkyard set with about 100k miles on them, have another 50K miles on that so far. Great truck, I can't imagine going back to a car for day-to-day travel, and I drive a lot-about 30K miles a year.