Thinking about a 2010 MS3

[vinnyMN]

Thanks for the opinions and vote of confidence everyone. I actually really love the styling of the new MS3. You don't notice it's sporty from far away, but once you see the hood scoop and hear it you know it's fast.

Since I'm in sales, I have to get on my iPhone occasionally while on the road, which can be a pain even on an automatic (the downside of a touchscreen phone). The Bluetooth should help, which I don't have now.

I'll let you know what direction I go!

 

[mndsm]

On the serious tip- if you want to learn the car, or have someone go with you for the test drive, I personally am almost always available for assistance, and I'd be more than happy to help you out.... If I can teach the wife to drive a stick in an hour, I can teach anyone.

 

[Stealthgator]

I personally like Walser for both buying and servicing cars. I have just found them the most attentive to my specific requests. All in all, it's a matter of where you feel the most comfortable and what dealer's philosophy fits you best, so I recommend trying them all and picking the one that you prefer the most.

My experiences are that Brookdale has gone to crap since it changed from Ryan to Luther, and you can't get service from Polar to save your life.

I love Walser. I got both of my cars from them. My old TiGray M6, then I traded that in to get my MS6. I went out to Luther and Polar was not impressed. But then again maybe I was dealing with the wrong people.

 

[Workdawg]

Jesse from Morrie's emailed me yesterday to let me know they have the 2010 MS3 in for test drives now. Not sure if they're the first in the state or not, but it's there.

 

[DrWebster]

Walser is OK for buying from, but f*ck them for service. Last time I took my car into Walser, I asked them to check out my bad #3 motor mount (it was so obviously bad, the fluid inside it had leaked out all over the engine bay). They said there was nothing wrong with it. One week later I took the car to Morries, and they diagnosed the problem and swapped the mount in 45 minutes. I'm only taking my car to Morries from now on...too many times has Walser dropped the ball.

 

[ZoomZoom Diva]

It's interesting how people have different service experiences. Walser has been perfect in my experiences with them on both cars (especially on the RX-7), where issues with Morrie's service is what led me to try Walser in the first place (they kept washing the car contrary to my request, they were often unresponsive... though I never had them do more than my accessory installs and oil changes).

 

[Picklz]

I bought and had cars serviced from/at both walser and Morries, and Morries was better in every way for me personally. But like you said James YMMV with dealerships. Morries did loose some cool points going to the 'one price' no negotiation thing though.

 

[YSOSLO]

Morries did loose some cool points going to the 'one price' no negotiation thing though.

When did that happen?!....that completely sucks, unless their "one price" is $200 over invoice.

 

[Z-licious]

I sold my MS6 to my cousin who had never driven a manual before. The MS6 has a tricky clutch to operate. He was able to learn within an hour how to operate the clutch comfortably enough to drive on the street. I've driven Dan's MS3 and the clutch was way easier to operate than the MS6. I'm sure you'll have no problems learning how to drive stick in an MS3.

 

[Workdawg]

Yeah... Morrie's went one "low" price a while ago... Sucks since I got my low price from them by making them beat walsers "on low price". I'm sure the price will be competitive though, plus all the free oil changes and what-not.

Also, in RE to what E said above... the 2010 MS3 clutch is WAYYYY smoother than the 1st gen one. Check out my review in the Reviews Galore section.

 

[JohnnyT]

Found some aftermarket stuff that may, or may not look better depending on your preference, but figured it'd be interesting enough to post it up:

Autoexe kit:

M'z Customs:

And although this is for the regular 3, it should fit the MS3:

Kenstyle:

Autoexe:

 

[vinnyMN]

Nice...

Hey, I just thought I'd finally update everyone on my exploits. I did test drive the MS3 twice. The first time I was stalling every block. The second time I wasn't exactly smooth, but I didn't stall and had a lot of fun charging the boost. This is definitely a car that I'd like to have.

However, due to circumstances I decided against buying any car at the moment. I do hope to join the ranks of Mazda owners someday soon though.

Also, Rob in the internet sales team at Walser Mazda is awesome to work with. He helped me get running with the manual, even though I'd never driven one. I recommend their team if you want a laid-back experience.

 

[mndsm]

Pretty sure he's the guy Workdawg and I got a chance to drive the ms3 with a while back.

 

[Workdawg]

Nah, his name was Nate.

 

[Picklz]

I dig that M'z kit for the MS3, but someone needs to make a front bumper w/o that hideous grill, get rid of that and I actually like the car as far as looks go.

 

[ZoomZoom Diva]

I don't get the tack-on lip look. If you're going to do that, replace the entire piece.

 

[Picklz]

It's a splitter and it does improve the look of the vehicle, but I want to see the whole front replaced as well.

 

[ZoomZoom Diva]

I don't get the point or the aesthetics of tack-on splitters at all. I would much rather see an entire piece integrated into the concept. I have yet to see a splitter look good on a car rather than be obnoxious visual clutter.

 

[JohnnyT]

Some of them are pretty plain, for example:

 

[Picklz]

The things I would do for that car *drool*