Hi Everyone,
Well, I\'ve just picked up my 2005 Mazda3 GT, that is loaded with everything except for automatic in Winning Blue Mica. On my behalf, my father shopped around in the GTA for pricing on both the Mazda3 and my trade in (2002 Honda Civic Si-G), and I got a pretty decent deal with Mazda of St. Catherines. I\'m not too happy with the trade in value of my Civic, mainly due to the fact that it had 90,000 km and it was 5-speed, but at least I saved plenty of money on taxes on my 36-month lease. What\'s stupid about this whole used car market is that dealerships believe that a car which surpasses the 100,000 km mark, is hit with enourmous amount of depreciation. It\'s like the car will not perform as well as it did before reaching 100k. Which I think is bs, since all these small cars can easily do 250,000 km without problems as long as you do the regular required maintainance. Oh well... I\'ll have to attempt to drive now 25,000 km/year compared to the 30k/y I\'ve done with the Civic. Otherwise, I\'ll have to dish out another $1,200 + taxes at the end of my lease term.
Well, I\'m hoping for the weather to clear up as I\'m driving later on this afternoon to Mississauga (from Niagara Falls), since this morning it\'s been raining heavily. I\'m looking forward the years ahead with my new Mazda...
Although I\'m not based in the GTA, I have my family living in the neighbourhood, so I\'ll be checking up on the forum post from time to time. And perhaps hook up with some of you the next time you have a meet-up.
Cheers,
PiCASSO
PS. I\'ve included a pic of her during the inspection period.