Tap Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I was getting an oil change today at my Subaru dealership and was talking to a salesperson who I feel is honest. We were just chatting and I was telling him that by fall I would be looking for a car for dd16 and told him my budget. He said he got a car in today that actually might be a good fit. I wasn't planning to buy today and if I don't make a decision by tomorrow morning, it goes up for sale on the lot. I don't like feeling pressured, so when if feel pressured I usually decline the offer. This one seems pretty good though, so I thought I would run it past the hive. It is a 2004 6 cylinder Automatic Mazda5 4 door sedan.The kicker is that it only has 35,000 miles on it.They are willing to sell it to me for $7700. It is loaded with heated leather/moon roof/Bose stereo. The owners were an 80 year old couple who traded it in on a brand new Forester. They only drove it to the store and back, so it was driven weekly but just a little. They said the only work they had to do to it, was replace a light bulb. LOL It has been serviced regularly and is in very good condition. A couple of scratches on the bumper by the trunk, but no bumper dents or other damage that is noticeable. The paint looks very good, like it was parked in a garage. The leather isn't weather checked or cracked. Trunk and interior have no signs of water damage and they are from the area, so I know there isn't a rust issue (no ocean or salted roads here). We were in the car before it was cleaned completely so I saw it in the condition the customer brought it in. I don't know anything about Mazda, but it seems like a fair deal. I usually research cars before I buy and go looking for something specific. This one just kinda landed in my lap. Any mechanics want to chime in...or have you had one yourself? Any BTDT or other advice welcome. UPDATE: Well we decided to pass on the car. I think it was a good price and a great car. But....we do so much city driving that the MGP of 19 or so, was just going to cost too much for our city driving lifestyle. We also don't need a car for 5 months so we will be paying insurance for a car that we don't need yet. That, and since it was at the top end of what we wanted to pay.... all add together to make a great deal...not such a great deal in the long run. Thank you everyone for your imput it really helped to think about some different factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I am always a little skeptical when the dealer tells me the ideal first owners owned the car. I would check the title/car fax to confirm the mileage isn't fishy. We came across a couple vans when shopping where it appeared the mileage had been rolled back somehow. You have to be careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 That said, Mazda is a reliable make for the most part and that seems to be a great car for a teen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatechip Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Wow, that sounds like an awesomely nice car for a first car! From what I have heard, the people I know who have Mazdas seem pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 I am always a little skeptical when the dealer tells me the ideal first owners owned the car. I would check the title/car fax to confirm the mileage isn't fishy. We came across a couple vans when shopping where it appeared the mileage had been rolled back somehow. You have to be careful. I believe this particular salesman is very, very honest. I have bought 2 other cars from him in 24 months. We have owned well over 20 cars and I personally bought (without dh) 10 of them, so I have a pretty good feel for car salesmen. LOL He even offered to ask the couple for permission for me to call them if I had any questions about the car. (I had asked a service history question, and he wasn't sure of the answer). The interior has so little wear and tear, I don't think it was driven more than on the odometer, but you are right, those situations do occur. I had a Honda Accord of the same year, same color of exterior and leather interior and this car looks like it is in the same condition mine did when I first bought it at 1 year old.. I looked at the engine and the bolts don't look like they have been moved/loosened. Everything appears to be original. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Wow, that sounds like an awesomely nice car for a first car! From what I have heard, the people I know who have Mazdas seem pleased. Yeah, it is a pretty nice starter car. We try to put our kids into a decent first car because we live in a large city with lots of rain and occasional snow, lots of freeways with bridges over water. We drive a lot for activities, sports and our general lifestyle, so I want her in a midsize or larger car that has decent safety features. For mileage comparison... This car is 10 years old and has 35,000 miles on it. A few months ago, I traded in my 20 month old car that had 36,000 miles on it. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I vote "yes." My 17 yo drives a "grandmother car," i.e., one that had 40k miles despite having been 12 years old when we bought it. Now, it had actually been my grandmother's car, so I know for a fact that the mileage was accurate, but these kinds of cars are out there. You are awfully lucky to have come across one. Like you, we bought this one months before my daughter turned 16 because it came available (my grandmother died), but it has been a great car for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I would be all over that. we were looking at a car for $11K that had 80K miles on it (Honda Accord), 2009. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 My only concern would be the engine seals. When a vehicle isn't driven often (and it wasn't, given that it's more than ten years old), the seals and gaskets can dry up, which can mean it will need a new engine. If they'll let you take it to your mechanic to get checked out and your mechanic doesn't see a seal issue, I'd probably get it. Make sure you check the carfax. ETA: DH's close friend had a mid 2000's Mazda 5 when he was in grad school and he LOVED it. Cheap, fun to drive, easy to maintain. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Looks like a good deal, but I would worry just a bit about such low mileage. Cars are meant to be driven, and sometimes sitting is harder on them than mileage is. I'd want to know that all recommended maintenance had been done based on age. Some things will call for being replaced at X number of miles or X years. I'd want to make sure that those things were done based on X years, and hadn't been put off because of low mileage. Belts and hoses will dry rot over time, especially if the vehicle isn't being driven much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Young friend of mine just bought a 2004 Mazda for 1000. I didn't closely inspect it but it looks great from afar...pretty sure it was also low mileage.... Did you look at Kelly Blue Book for a comparison price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 We have a bunch of Mazdas. Were I in your shoes, I'd get it to my mechanic, have them check all the maintenance items and the "wear out" parts (seals, gaskets, hoses, etc.). I'd also get the Auotcheck report for that VIN number. (The CarPro guys say it is a much better VIN check than Carfax.) If everything checks out, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. What a sweet, fully loaded ride. Lucky kid. ETA: that six-cylinder is going to have some serious get-up-and-go. Be sure kid does not have a lead foot or the urge to drag race. Also, new drivers need to be intentionally prepped and have the confidence not to be herded into doing something dangerous by other drivers in possession of a horn--learned that the very-nearly-hard way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Looks like a good deal, but I would worry just a bit about such low mileage. Cars are meant to be driven, and sometimes sitting is harder on them than mileage is. I'd want to know that all recommended maintenance had been done based on age. Some things will call for being replaced at X number of miles or X years. I'd want to make sure that those things were done based on X years, and hadn't been put off because of low mileage. Belts and hoses will dry rot over time, especially if the vehicle isn't being driven much. We just bought a 94 with 102,000 miles, lol. But to be fair, dh is a car guy and their mechanic checked it out first. It belonged to an older couple who drove it daily. To the post office...lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Mazda 5's tend to be good cars. In that year range (I may be wrong...) I think there might have been issues with the suspension. So when you take it to your trusted mechanic to have them check it over, that would be something to ask about. You can compare prices on carsoup. You can check the VIN for free: https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck We don't generally put a lot of miles on our cars and it hasn't been a problem. Some things may wear out faster than expected based on mileage alone, because our driving tends to mostly be city driving and not highway. But that just means we need to fix them when they need fixing. If the salesman doesn't want to allow you to take it to your own mechanic to be checked over, that would raise red flags for me. Some used car dealers are just fine with that, but we've run into a few who were really odd about it. Like, we could get an "independent" mechanic to look at the car that the dealer chose for us. We couldn't have our own mechanic look at it. We've only bought used cars that have been checked over by our own mechanic. In hindsight it looks like a waste of money because they didn't find anything wrong. But the cost of not finding a major issue might be pretty huge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieF Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 What is the cost to insure, that determined my ds's first car Stephanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 What is the cost to insure, that determined my ds's first car Stephanie LOL That is always a huge factor here too. That is dh's job while I am at work. To call the insurance co and find out what it will cost for the coverage plus Gap insurance. The low miles won't affect the insured value if it gets wrecked. We don't want to end up, upside down in a loan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 According to NADA, a clean trade in for that car would be about 5.8k and a clean retail would be about 7.9k. (BTW, I think it's a 6, not a 5, because 5s are either minivan-like or Miatas.) So it sounds to me like an okay deal but not an amazing one. I'm not sure what Kelly or Edmunds would price it at as I didn't check. If I was going to try and get it, I'd try for no more than 7. I'd still probably pass, given that it is a six-cylinder. I want my teens to have reasonable power, but not that much ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I would pass. It seems like a decent vehicle, but $7700 buys a lot of car. You won't have trouble finding a decent option in that price range. I know mileage is important, but I am concerned about age too. I personally would choose say a 2011 with 100k miles over a 2004 with 35k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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