woaface
06-02-2007, 06:38 AM
Or at least I ordered it. The dealer is having it build, shipped, and delivered and ready by the time I get back from the Middle East. I can't get a Marauder over to Germany without paying some enormous costs. Also, I can't afford the gas for it (gas off base is upwards of $9 per gallon! That is NOT Marauder country.) and I'll be traveling off base a lot when I get back from Iraq.
So...I needed something cheaper, fuel-efficient, pretty much an econo-box. But I wanted sporty too, something fun to drive that handles well. After months of thought and deliberation I settled on a Mazda 3 5-door.
There's a dealer off-base that has tax-free sales. They are a no-haggle, below invoice retailer so it was my best bet for the area. I thought it best to get a NEW car so I have a warantee so all you used-car preachers can give it a rest. I put a lot of thought into it and I don't want any crap about it, I found it to be the best long-term decision I could make. I'll make an estimated $12-15k downrange and $5-7 of that goes as a down-payment. I'll be paying $16,750 something for a car that MSRPs for $18,275. I'm not paying ANY taxes on the car either.
Yeah yeah yeah, it's Japanese and small and only has 4 cylinders. Guess what, I'm 20 with a limited income. I needed the most reliable, fuel efficient car I could get WITHOUT sacraficing fun-to-drive. I could have purchased a Prius or something but those are not sporty. A manual was a must.
When I get state-side in a couple of years I may very well still go for one but it's going to be a collector and it's going to stay in a garage unless its summer. Period. I hope no one thinks I've given up because the spirit of what the Marauder gave me is still there, I promise. I just need something a little more practical at my young age right now, and there was no way an S/C Marauder was in my wee German budget. Insurance costs agree! No V8s for a 20 year old male with 3 tickets.
P.S. Look at it this way, Ford owns a controlling stake in Mazda...so in a round-about way I'm supporting.
So...I needed something cheaper, fuel-efficient, pretty much an econo-box. But I wanted sporty too, something fun to drive that handles well. After months of thought and deliberation I settled on a Mazda 3 5-door.
There's a dealer off-base that has tax-free sales. They are a no-haggle, below invoice retailer so it was my best bet for the area. I thought it best to get a NEW car so I have a warantee so all you used-car preachers can give it a rest. I put a lot of thought into it and I don't want any crap about it, I found it to be the best long-term decision I could make. I'll make an estimated $12-15k downrange and $5-7 of that goes as a down-payment. I'll be paying $16,750 something for a car that MSRPs for $18,275. I'm not paying ANY taxes on the car either.
Yeah yeah yeah, it's Japanese and small and only has 4 cylinders. Guess what, I'm 20 with a limited income. I needed the most reliable, fuel efficient car I could get WITHOUT sacraficing fun-to-drive. I could have purchased a Prius or something but those are not sporty. A manual was a must.
When I get state-side in a couple of years I may very well still go for one but it's going to be a collector and it's going to stay in a garage unless its summer. Period. I hope no one thinks I've given up because the spirit of what the Marauder gave me is still there, I promise. I just need something a little more practical at my young age right now, and there was no way an S/C Marauder was in my wee German budget. Insurance costs agree! No V8s for a 20 year old male with 3 tickets.
P.S. Look at it this way, Ford owns a controlling stake in Mazda...so in a round-about way I'm supporting.