New Car for Mommy. Suggestions?

[bmwracerchick]

Hey friends! My mom has come to me about new car questions. Since I am the car expert in the family and I am more in tune with todays cars then my parents are she asked me for help. Now I ask for you help and your opinions in case you have more experience. She doesnt want to spend more then $25,000 and she would like a car that is a hatchback but also more like the wagon type cars. Lately american cars arent favorable so I didnt look much into those and she doesnt personally like the cars ( I was thinking a magnum ) So I ventured onto mazda. I would love her to have a BMW x5 or x3 even the 3 or 5 series wagons but its not in the price range. So back to mazda, she likes the mazda3 5-door with all the goodies and that is $20,000 but she would like more horsepower and unfortunetly the mazdaspeed3 is in the price range but only comes in manual. Then there is the mazda6 sports wagon for the base model its $23,000 and that has more horsepower which I would favor her to go for. My question is if you guys have any other ideas, she is kind of picky but after looking at nissan and honda and all those other companies it seems like the mazda is the best, smartest and the cheapest way to go for her. Anyone have experience with these cars, friends with these cars or family? It would be appreciated, I just dont want my mom to buy something that is cruddy.


PS: the new X5...omg sat in one, played with the sound system, looked it up and down absolutely amazing car!

[SDKmann]

Mazdas are nice but a used 3 or 5 wagon might be in her range. Volvo 850T5R wagons are really nice to but Im not sure what the prices on those would be and it would be used. My personal favorite wagon is the Audi A4 1.8t avant. It is quite possibly the hottest wagon ever created. There was one in European Car or Eurotuner recently that was an absolute track beast. A early 2000s Benz wagon probably would be in her price range too and would be a nice option.

[mohaughn]

You can get a little bit older 3 or 5 series wagon for less than 25k. Some people have to have a new car though.

[Tyler]

I'd say Mazda 3 wagon which is a great little car and pretty quick or wait till the Volvo C30 comes out. The Volvo is a 2 door hatch which i might consider buying myself when it comes out shortly.

[1996 328ti]

I'd look at the Mazda. I drove a Protege 3 and it handled very well.
Just didn't have enough umph to get 3 adults up a hill.
But the Mazda 3 changes all that.

[HuGo]

1.) honda hatchback with a K series swap.
2.) 318ti with a LS1 swap. The HP she wants will be there.
3.) Mercedes C230

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by 1996Bmw318TI

1.) honda hatchback with a K series swap.
2.) 318ti with a LS1 swap. The HP she wants will be there.
3.) Mercedes C230

Pointless post.
Classic. If you have nothing to add, don't.

[pnosker]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

Pointless post.
Classic. If you have nothing to add, don't.

I don't think his C230 suggestion was that bad. The new 6 cylinder should be promising, and a used one would certainly be under 25k.

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by pnosker

I don't think his C230 suggestion was that bad. The new 6 cylinder should be promising, and a used one would certainly be under 25k.

OK, 1 out 3.
Although I would have no problem with a Mazda.

[1996 328ti]

This is racerchick's thread.

[bmwracerchick]

wow this thread went a little over lol.

Thanks for the other car suggestions guys I am going to look into them now that I am back home for the night. My boyfriend and I went to the mazda dealership because I wanted to look at the cars in person. The wagons would be perfect for her and it would be a comfortable ride for my mom and dad to fit into. My mom doesnt believe in modding cars...thats why nothing has been done of my car really, I finally braved it showing her my headlights tonight so she can see what xenons look like, she thought halogens were the best on the market lol. Anyways, I would love her to go European, but the price range is too much. She would love to have a GTI but its just too small, and the reason she wants a hatch or a wagon is so she can fold down the seats for more cargo room, she is tired of the sedan look of my old lumina that she currently drives. I would love for her to have the Mazdaspeed3 268hp and its the wagon, but it only comes in manual and she doesnt want to deal with that here with all the traffic (I dont blame here thats why I have a auto) Then I looked and sat in the CX7 of course only one was open...typical but it was 11 at night lol. I think that would be a good choice, turbo charged little SUV and it was very roomy and comfortable to sit in. The tag price was 29,000 for the fully loaded so that might be pushing it for her. I honestly wouldnt mind getting my hands on the mazdaspeed6 omg that car is nice looking.

The other thing im going to try to convince her to look at is the VW passat, she is convinced it isnt roomy but she hasnt sat in the new ones. would be nice if I could talk her more so into the GTI or the Rabbit especially since her first car was a Rabbit lol.

Thanks guys for the advice, like I said I will look into the suggested cars and see what would work out for her in her favor.

Does anyone know the reliablility and maintance charges a mazda typically goes through?

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by bmwracerchick

Does anyone know the reliablility and maintance charges a mazda typically goes through?

I had +225K miles on my 1990 MX6 and the only reason I got rid of it was it wouldn't pass emissions. I hear nothing good bout VWs.

[aceyx]

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

I had +225K miles on my 1990 MX6 and the only reason I got rid of it was it wouldn't pass emissions. I hear nothing good bout VWs.

They have really cool ads?


Niki, what is your mother's car buying strategy? Do you lease the full term then buy, go lease to lease, or pay outright in cash and diamonds?

My suggestion for getting a higher priced car at the price you want is to find a monthly payment you can live with, and shop it around to the dealers in your area. Do anything to avoid haggling (e.g. say "thanks" and leave), and they'll do anything to try and reach your price (when they try and pull you back, leave a phone number).

[roadrash]

Originally Posted by bmwracerchick

The tag price was 29,000 for the fully loaded

If you pay the full tag price, that's your own dang fault for not trying to get them to come down. LOL Seriously though... if that's the car she wants, don't be afraid to make them an offer. There are lots of ways of legit getting the price down.

[pnosker]

Well I have some bad news for you. The Mazda 3 shares the platform with the european Ford Focus (same body, powertrain (for the most part), etc.) as well as the Volvo C30, V50, V70 Coupe/conv., and the Mazda 5. This platform is called the Ford C1 platform, and cars based off of it have been the most recalled car in history according to Jeremy Clarkson, host of UK Car show "Top Gear."

My friend has the 268hp Mazdaspeed 3 and it torque steers like mad when reved high. I'm not sure whether your mom will do that or not, but I can tell you it's not exactly fun to accelerate for 0-60 times.