Hello All,
I am new to this forum. I am looking at getting a Mazdaspeed 3. I test drove one today and it was amazing. I like pretty much everything about it. One thing I noticed at the dealership was that all of the MS3's had scratches, mostly on the hood. Is the paint really that thin, or is it possible that the person receiving cars at this dealership is very careless? If I do end up getting an MS3, and I find that when I am making the purchase the car has paint scratches, can I have them repaint it? Has anyone had any experience with this? Also, has anyone had any major problems with their MS3's? It seems that the issues with the BOV was pretty widespread, but anything else besides that. Let me know what you guys think about your cars. I am looking at the Mazdaspeed 3, the Honda Civic Si, and the VW GTi. Any feedback is much appreciated.

 

The paint quality on Mazda's is not high quality. As for the surface scratches ask fro a discount due to it and DO NOT LET THEM BUFF IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will sacrifice your clear coat.

1st thing to do! Get a clear bra for the car. Best investment you can make. Drive it FROM the dealership TO a place that does GOOD clear bra work. (Roughly $600)

You won't get the functionality with the Civic and the VW's are $$$$$$$$$ to repair when out of warranty.

 

^ ^ ^ +1 ^ ^ ^

 

What part of the car does the clear bra cover. There were scratches on the top of the hood. WOuld the bra cover that area. When I think of a car bra, I think of the black ones you see, which only cover the grille area. One other thing. As you break the car in, does the shifter change at all in terms of feeling, etc. That was the only thing I really didn't like, but it wasn't horrible, I have just used better manuals(namely the civic). I just like the Mazdaspeed more. It comes with everything I want, with exception fo a sunroof, but I can live without that. And it has tons of torque, so it feels muscely, compared to the Si, which is deffinitely lacking in that department. Thanks again for the feedback.

 

I got some nasty swirl marks on mine. Gigantic rings. Whoever buffed it originally should be shot.

The clear bra I am thinking of is a paint type thing. There are several different ones, some cover more surface areathan others, and some have different mil thickness'. You can cover the whole car in the stuff, but they usually just cover the front bumper and about halfway up the hood. It's so rocks that get kicked up while drivingdont damage the paint, i don't think it will hide any swirl marks or scratches the car comes with.

 

There are different kits that a shop can get. Mine covers from the bottom valence to about 18" up the hood, 18" up on the side fender, trunk rest, mirrors, and headlights.

You CAN have them custom fab a full hood piece but the 3M or Venture Shield stuff is NOT cheap. DO NOT let the dealership do it or do NOT get the teflon coating...biggest waste of money evAr.

 

San, this will give you more information on the invisible bra and you can find a local dealer from the site as well.

http://www.computercut.com/main.php look for below article on the main page

Clearshield - Paint Protection Film

 

I contacted Mazda about the swirl marks and microscratches present on my car from delivery. They only show up under bright enough light on the right angle. However, my dealer and another dealer's entire stock of Mazda 3, mazda 6, Miata, Tribute, all have the paint microscratches. The Mazda help desk told me to file a complaint with NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration) which can be done even for non-safety related vehicle complaints. The web site to go to and file a complaint on-line is: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

I urge you to file a complaint if you have a problem with defective paint, substandard quality paint, scratches from the dealer floor or anything else that is due to poor quality paint. The more complaints filed the higher the liklihood Mazda will have to do something.

[IMG]local://upfiles/16787/D929F80E15174C0E8D90F252CF04166A.jpg[/IMG]

 

Granted it's a new car and it should be perfect when you leave the lot, however swirl marks aren't the end of the world. Most likely they are a result of the person at the dealership using either sloppy technique to wash the cars, or bad equipment (i.e. stiff bristled brush, or dirty mit). All cars will eventually get swirl marks no matter how careful you are when washing. If you haven't bought the car yet then I'd see if you can get the dealer to pay for an exterior detailer to polish it up. If you have already purchased then I'd either see about finding a detailer or if you're comfortable go ahead and polish it yourself. Once you get the paint pristine then you can get one of the clear bras...... I wouldn't put one on when the hood looks like crap because then it's always just going to look like crap.

Draconious unless you're using a very abrasive polish or polish far far too much then polishing your car isn't going to remove the clear coat. Polish will gently even out minute scratches (i.e. swirl marks) in the clear coat, but as mentioned won't remove it unless you're doing something wrong. A proper polishing will do this for your paint.























































These pics are from nappyjim at www.mazda3forums.com http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=42749.0