It's time to say goodbye...

Hi All,

I haven't posted here much since the forum converted a few years back, but I've been around with this screen name since the original forums after buying my 2008.5 MS3. I've still got the car, but I replaced it as my daily driver with a 2017 WRX about two years ago. The MS3 has probably been the best car I've ever owned and I've owned many (240SX, several Miata's, an RSX Type S, Honda S2000, and now the WRX). Fully-bolted with an old school (at least 300whp) Cobb street tune and still going strong with 229k miles on it. Original clutch too. LOL I've decided to clean her up a little bit and sell. This isn't a for sale thread. I actually have a local buyer who's interested already. It's going to be sad to see this thing go. The other option was to let my almost 17 year old daughter drive it as her first car and well.... that ain't going to happen. I thank the forum for the knowledge base available to me during my ownership. Maybe if Mazda could get their heads out of their butts about making at least one sports car vs. bloating their inventory with "practical" cars, one day I will be back.

 

I hear the new ND Miata's are pretty decent. I saw Flying Miata has a turbo kit for them now. But they aren't cheap starting around 6500 dollars. That's about the only thing Mazda is producing now that is a sports car.

 

Yeah I guess I did forget about the new Miata when I made that comment. The Miata is a spectacular car, but of course on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum of a "practical" car. I have owned a '99 10AE and a '14 Club. I put a JR blower on the '99. It was a blast to drive. I don't know why Mazda chose not to give us a sportier version of the 2.5t Mazda 3. AWD, 6-speed, 250hp. I think it would have sold well, but that is a dead horse. I have sat in one. Beautiful car, but I just can't beyond the automatic tranny and of course, the price.

 

they seem to be prioritizing luxury over anything else nowadays. initially i thought that was cool that they were upping their game and breaking new ground. now i see it's just another way to raise prices and offer seemingly boring cars that look pretty. oh well. i'll keep my clown-faced car that is actually fun and engaging to drive.

 

"luxury" I find their new interiors incredbly cheap and plastic feeling. We've owned a 1997 BMW 540i (pruchased for 1.2k put 2k into it) and a 2009 Merc R500 (paid 7.5k put 3k into it) that both had better finishes and standard features. There's a 2006 e500 wagon in the family again better fit and finish. Only reason I don't still have either of those cars is they were written off in collisions. Now we have a 2015 Acura MDX again much nicer than Mazda's stuff imo. Most frustrating for me is Mazda's new vehicles don't fit people over 6' well, at 6'6" I don't fit in any of their new stuff even the new cx5/7 is a poor for for me, which is fine because clearly I think they're overpriced.

Value for money you're better off to go buy an old Merc or BMW with a luxury interior than Mazda's new crap. I myself have zero interest in their new "luxury" BS they want to be a higher end brand than they are.

Totally get you leaving and I wish you all the best, dealership here is offering me $$$ for my 2013 ms3 but it's trade in only so I'm not moving on yet. There's a really nice 2014 e350 wagon for 14k with 160k km on the clock I have my eyes on, way better than anything Mazda can offer me.

/End rant

 

I've seen 2012-2013's retailing for up over $20,000 on these used car sites. Pretty crazy given the fact the car was like $28,000 almost 10 years ago. There are 08-09's going for almost $10,000. I haven't talked price with my prospective buyer, but if I can get $5k for mine on a private sale, I'll be happy. The car is clean. No accidents. It'd really be a great project car.

My fully bolted WRX is fun (338whp), but I'm not sold on Subaru's product. Their latest rendition of the WRX will definitely not keep me as a customer in the future. I need to get another 5 years out of my REX, which will take me to 2027 and then I want to up my game with something that has 400-500hp from factory.

 

You do know you do not have to leave. I made a section for non-mazdas too.

 

this is true gotovato has his civic build thread going there that many people still chat in and follow

 

Definitely this^

I have a thread about my Silverado that most of the responses are about how shitty GMs are but I keep at it and still stay on the forum even though these guys are assholes.

The good kind...sort of...lol

 

I'm 6 ft 2 and daily a CX-30 now and it fits me fine. The new interiors actually are superb. It is a really, really nice place to be most of the time and IMO it's the best thing about the car, that and how quiet it is. Seriously, compared to my '12 MS3, it's dead silent on the highway. Is it raw, mechanical, and extremely engaging like a Speed? No way. But the newer vehicles are good cars in their own right. 30mpg doesn't hurt either.

 

Hey that's fair, at 6'6' I don't fit in most things so for me that's a no go, head hits the roof or sunroof edge. We will have to agree to disagree on the new interiors.

 

I had a CX-30 Premium for almost a year and it was awesome. Just traded a month ago for a CX-50 Premium Plus. Corksport and others have a lot in the works for the CX-30 platform too so what's a warranty!