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Help me pick a car
This week I've been test driving some Mazda 3s. So much fun. But I am very confused about what to do.
Option 1- SIL's father's car. 2005 Red Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, all the features including moonroof but it's been his commuter car and is at 120,000k pretty much all highway. Asking 12,000. Considering I don't know how long we want to keep this car the mileage might be too high for good resale value. Private sale- 231.83/month at 5 years
Option 2- 2008 Mazda 3 Sedan, Charcoal 15,000k no cruise but they will install if for me, other then that power everything no moonroof (but that doesn't really hugely mater to me), good ride $17,253 dealership- 318/month 5 years
Option 3- 2010 Mazda 3 GX Sedan- Red, roughly 20,000, Well equiped, 330 lease (7752 buyout), 391 buy at 6 years.
Thoughts?
Re: Help me pick a car
Option 1 - this seems really high for a 2005 Mazda 3. What is the bluebook value of it?
Option 2 - do you need cruise control?
Option 3 - how many km's do you drive in a year? Would you go over the maximum allowed in the lease? If so are you planning on buying the car out as it can get expensive to pay for any overages in km's. The lease amount seems high to me for a 6 year lease (did I read that properly)?
I say #2.
I think #1 has too many kilometres on it for that price, and option #3 is more expensive than #2 for more kms. Spending the extra $5000 for option #2 over #1 is a good decision, IMHO, as an extra 105,000 kms is roughly four years of service- you can have vehicle #2 longer than you can have #1, and/or #2 will have a better resale value.
Okay, I did the math out of curiosity.
Let's assume that a car is good for 250,000 kms. I know that can vary a lot but let's just say.
Option 1- 250,000 kms total minus the 120,000 it already has = 130,000 left. $12,000 asking prive divided by 130,000 kms left means you're paying 9.23 cents for every kilometer you hope to get out of it
Option 2- 250,000 kms minus 15,000 already driven = 235,000 left for you. $17,253 / 235,000 = 7.34 cents for every kilometer you hope to get
Option 3- Now that I re-read it I realize that $20,000 was the asking price (?) and not the kilometers driven? If so that changes things a bit- 20,000 / 250,000 = 8 cents, which isn't too bad over Option #2 and if you want the thrill of a new car it's not too much extra to pay. Make sure, though, if you decide to go this route, not to get the lease (it'll probably cost you a lot more in the long run) and that there are no additional charges there- new cars often come with a ton of fees that increase the true price quite a bit.
I have an 05 Mazda 3 and have never had any issues with rust or paint - it's been great!
#1 seems far too much money, especially for that many KMs!
Difference between 2 and 3 - do you want a brand new car? What features do you really really want and go from there. I have cruise control on my Tribute and I barely use it, although where you drive you may get more use out of it...
God luck! I love my Mazdas!
#2 all the way
I think #1's asking price is too high given the amount of kms on it.
And I think if you go route #3, you'll regret it after 4 years or so and think that #2 was the way to go, IMO.
GL!