Mazda Speed 3....

[n00bulat0l2]

Well I, for one, never said anything about FWD being greater than AWD. I was merely questioning all the people who had said the MS3 would somehow understeer like crazy and drive itself into rails. I was saying that at the fast speeds I was taking turns at it did not have any hint of understeer. I'm not tracking or autoXing so all of the "at the limit" talk probably doesn't apply to me. Sliding the rear out in turns? I don't plan on that either. I've never pushed my car at all to it's limits I think, and I've taken some fast turns. I need to go to a parking lot and really try it out I think so I can get more of an idea of what you guys are talking about.

For those of you who have driven/own a wagon...does it lean more in turns than the sedan? How much worse is the handling if at all than the sedan? I need to get my ass back to the Subaru dealership to try it out, hehe. Damnit...shouldn't my automagical rallyX sk!llz0rz tell me these things?

[MSDWRXSTI]

For the most part cars get better every year. The "Bar" has been raised. Although I don't think the WRX and Speed 3 are direct competitors let us see how Subaru responds.

[MidKnight]

One of my friends has an appointment to check out a MS3 this saturday and since he isn't great at driving stick yet, he wants me to go with him and give the car a beat of a workout I will try to get some good pics and a full review this weekend...

[DTR rex]

Ahhh and there is what I'm beginning to see clearer with all this talking. I think the MS3 would be better for my everyday driving thrills whereas on the track the WRX may be better. So since I'm not track/autoX guy and only looking for daily thrills, perhaps I would feel more nimble in the MS3. I know it's got a tighter turning radius than my STI . So parking in tight spaces would be easier, and donuts in reverse sounds like a ton of fun!

I'm glad people are sharing their opinions, this is helping me figure some things out. Of course, I'll still be trolling and thinking for the next few months, and who knows what I'll want then

Yeah, the wrx is not very nimble and does not provide great feedback in daily driving handling.

I already used my modded GSR as an example, but to further illustrate, I have driven my uncles completely stock suspension 2000 Prelude many times. As far as daily goes, his stock suspension prelude > my wrx. His car is more nimble, gives great feedback, goes into turns better with less front plow, etc...

However, when you really push the cars, whether on the street or on a track my wrx would absolutely rape him up and down. I hope you are able understand what I am saying as far as WRX being better when pushed to the limit and getting complicated and many other FWD cars being better with handling for daily driver purposes.

[n00bulat0l2]

One of my friends has an appointment to check out a MS3 this saturday and since he isn't great at driving stick yet, he wants me to go with him and give the car a beat of a workout I will try to get some good pics and a full review this weekend...

Awesome! I can't wait!

I hope you are able understand what I am saying as far as WRX being better when pushed to the limit and getting complicated and many other FWD cars being better with handling for daily driver purposes.

Yeah I get it now. Unfortunately it's looking more and more like I'll be snaggin a Mazda...I never would have seen it coming...

[enash99]

Yeah I get it now. Unfortunately it's looking more and more like I'll be snaggin a Mazda...I never would have seen it coming...

What i dont get is how your going to sell your STi and save money buying and modding an MS3? If you dont mind me asking a personal Q what are your payments on your 06? did you get raped on the intrest rate. by now your going to seel your 06 for what about 29-30 at best. take a loss on it then start out with another 23k car.. Im not an idiot so i know your payments will drop but by how much? How did you get into this car if its over your head now. I do wish you the best but im still stuck on the fact you have a brand new car that you HAVE to get rid of, just to buy another brand new car.. where is the logic in that? If i had to sell mine because of finances i wouldn't be getting another brand new car. i would be like you said you G/F older car is the 94 civic. you might save what maybe 80-120 a month with the MS3? if that? im just confused thats all.

[AngelBoy]

Well I, for one, never said anything about FWD being greater than AWD. I was merely questioning all the people who had said the MS3 would somehow understeer like crazy and drive itself into rails.

exactly. you stick up for a FWD car and suddenly people think you don't understand the advantages of AWD. people were having a blast and modding their FWD pocket rockets long before the WRX arrived on our shores. considering most of our budgets and daily needs, if it weren't for the WRX, we would all be in FWD cars and not thinking twice about it.

[n00bulat0l2]

First of all, I said multiple times I do NOT want to mod. But since you asked I'll tell you my situation (warning...this is LONG):

06 STI @ $100 over invoice for 32k with 3k down

Payments are $521 / month at ~6.34% for 6 years

Current insurance @ $1,672 for 6 months ($293 for 6 months up from the $280/month for the first 6 I had it)

Now mind you I have a pretty clean record: 1 running red light from ~3 years ago and 1 accident not my fault (rear ended) ~3 years ago

I went online and got quotes for around $1,360ish (Geico and Progressive) for 6 months, so not much improvement

After working for a little over a year I have very little money saved up. I can afford the car I just can't save any money and live paycheck to paycheck. So I looked at saving money on insurance. The insurance is re-friggin-diculously high (not a surprise) but I then compared it to other cars:

Geico quotes for 2006 models (for 6 months):

STI is $1,359.20
350Z is $854.25
RX8 is $803.25
EVO is $974.55 Also, Evo is #2 stolen care in America the last 3 years (can't remember where I saw that)

And just for $h!tz and giggles...Ford GT (not the mustang...the $150k supercar):

$1,769.05 $400 more for a car 5x more expensive

Anyways, the insurance is rediculous, my payments are high, and I'm not saving money. I bought the car thinking I was going to be making more money in a year but unfortunately I switched jobs and had to start over again (was waiting for a secret clearance, now I'm waiting for my TS though ). I admit it was a stupid decision. I wanted what I wanted and so I got it. I am now wanting more money in the bank and less of a car payment/insurance. Not to mention having that much debt on a car doesn't look good for my clearance (they don't like people with a lot of debt). I am also thinking if I get a ticket *knocks furiously on wood* that my insurance would be roughly equivilant to the national debt...and an accident Not to mention me not having money in the bank is not good at all. No more living paycheck to paycheck so I can afford a car that I don't even fully utilize.

So why a Mazdaspeed 3 or WRX you ask? Well I could get some used econobox but I'm afraid of 1) repair costs 2) wanting something sportier since I am a fan of cars and 3) I'd have to admit to myself I'm a responsible adult...and I'm not ready to do that yet.

From my credit union @ 6.74% for 72 months for 23k (with no money down) they would be roughly $415 a month. Savings of $100 for the payment. Then insurance would be $750ish for 6 months ($125 a month) for regular WRX and most likely around the same for a MS3. So even with no downpayment I'm looking at saving:

$100 + $155 = $255 a month worst case scenario or $3,060 more a year in my bank due to switching cars

I'm gonna drive my GF's car around until it dies (it has 204k miles) or until I get a huge amount of money in the bank. $520 + $293 + difference in premium gas @ 17 mpg to regular @ 30 mpg = probably at least $850 a MONTH. That's friggin HUGE. Once I decide to move out of that car several months from now, I should have a hefty downpayment. Let's say I'm in it for 6 months. That's 5k in the bank, probably more. That brings me down to $329 a month. The longer I keep her civic the more money in the bank and the more I can put towards a downpayment resulting in lower monthly payments.

I won't be putting all my money into the downpayment of course, but that, combined with the fact that I'm currently studying for my MCSE and waiting for my TS clearance should mean more $$$ for me and should be more than enough to support my fun little car, whatever it may be. Sorry for that huge explanation but I figured it better to get out in one post than 20 more after people ask more questions. Thanks for listening and advice is of course welcome for my situation.

[DTR rex]

Good plan, but I have a feeling you might be forgeting something.

What you owe on your STi is probably considerably more than what you will get for it in sale. Therefore you will be upside down on your STi loan and have to roll that over WITH INTEREST into your new loan (wrx or ms3). So do not forget to calculate that into your base-line costs.

You buy a $24,000 MS3 or WRX and then add in t/t/l + financing + the roll over from your STi (probably at least 2 or 3 grand) and you are looking at your MS3 or WRX being financed at $28,000 or so which is not much better than the loan on your STi I assume.

However, you might still save some money here and there, and if insurance really is that much cheaper it very well might still be in your best interest.

I just wanted to bring it to your attention in case you had not thought about it... Just playing a bit of devils advocate.

[n00bulat0l2]

I had thought of that yes, which is why I didn't trade it in to carmax.

I owe 27.5k (just sent in payment so may be around 27k now) and carmax offered me 25k What's worse is the bastards put up a 2006 sti with 15k miles (2k more than mine) for 30k and it sold within a week So yeah I had that covered too, but thanks for the info Now I expected them to lowball me but not by 5k! I'm asking 29k for mine so I'm beating everyone else by 1k (other autotrader cars listed). Hopefully somone will come along and get my car at a good fair price.

A MS3 with the options I want (the base model) is $23,070. With tax/tags/etc based on edmunds.com I'm looking at $24,570. There is a part of me that's saying to be more frugal and get a base 3 hatch for like 18k...which could be the final move I make depending on how I feel driving the beater for a while. I may be perfectly happy not going fast when driving...but boy wouldn't that be boring...I'm not a grandpa yet after all

[DTR rex]

I had thought of that yes, which is why I didn't trade it in to carmax.

I owe 27.5k (just sent in payment so may be around 27k now) and carmax offered me 25k What's worse is the bastards put up a 2006 sti with 15k miles (2k more than mine) for 30k and it sold within a week So yeah I had that covered too, but thanks for the info Now I expected them to lowball me but not by 5k! I'm asking 29k for mine so I'm beating everyone else by 1k (other autotrader cars listed). Hopefully somone will come along and get my car at a good fair price.

A MS3 with the options I want (the base model) is $23,070. With tax/tags/etc based on edmunds.com I'm looking at $24,570. There is a part of me that's saying to be more frugal and get a base 3 hatch for like 18k...which could be the final move I make depending on how I feel driving the beater for a while. I may be perfectly happy not going fast when driving...but boy wouldn't that be boring...I'm not a grandpa yet after all

Ok, owing $27k on an 06' STi is not bad. I am sure you could break even, if not even pull a bit of cash out of it if you sell it privately.

Fck Carmax. They lowball everyone..... They basically insult you when you bring your car in there. I tried to sell my 98 maxima fully loaded with every option available and 80k miles to them back in 2004 and they offered me $3,800. I laughed at them and sold it 2 weeks later on autotrader for over $8,000.
When I was thinking about selling my 02' WRX a while ago (last year) which was in mint condition with only 40k miles they offered me $10,500. What a freaking insult.

[MidKnight]

Well, I went with my friend to the Mazda dealership yesterday and.... they wouldn't let us drive the MS3 (I had a feeling this would be the case). They only had received 1 and weren't about to let anyone drive it unless they were buying it that day. I did get a good look at it though and it's nice. Looks enough like the regular mazda3 that I didn't feel bad about not having my camera with me. I did drive an MS6 and that was a fun car to drive. Quicker than I thought...

[enash99]

I won't be putting all my money into the downpayment of course, but that, combined with the fact that I'm currently studying for my MCSE and waiting for my TS clearance =

IMO the MCSE is good for the resume, but to be honest (im a senior sys engineer currenty for Home shopping network and hold many certifications.) Most MCSE are looked at as well how do i say this.. morons. Now im not saying that its not important, in fact I will be upgrading mine as well. But during the interview process many MCSE show that they have very little understanding of systems. Even basic AD questions. It is very dissapointing. Now do some research into the storage side of the industry. With the current SOX/PCI requirements that now require a years worth of web server logs, transaction logs etc.. basically anything that a customer interacts with from the front end to the back end databases. This has now has companys having to bring in house larger storage systems. Most of the low end Netapps appliances like the 3020 using iscsi with a few shelves of sata for storage. then for the 200k range bringing in EMC cx700's. Well the point is there is a growing demand for storage admins. Take a look into the salary ranges for these positions. Toss in some Solaris certs and you have a great paying position. Redhat is also great to have since there are alot of database clusters running on their enterprise OS. That TS clearence will be HUDGE for you to get. If youcan that is going to help bring you some BIG bucks. there are alot of companies that contract for the DOD around here and pay big bucks for the TS. Well anyways dont just limit yourself to the MCSE. MCSE's have a VERY VERY bad rep. most of them have no clue even whats going on.

[John M]

Have you considered getting into a Legacy GT instead? You can find used 05/06 models with mileage comparable to your STi for $20-21k. Yes, it's "used" but so is your current car.

That way you can keep your AWD and stay in Subie Land

[Beanboy]

Admin over at http://www.imazda.com mentions torque steer in his overall positive review of the MS3:

http://www.imazda.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2038
"there IS torque steer if you have the pedal more than halfway down... when boost kicks in, you better hang on or you'll run into the curb! saying mazda reduced the power on 1st and 2nd gear seems like a joke..."