Is a 2004 Mazda 3 a good first car for a 17 year old?

Question

I'm 17 and I'm looking for my first car. I am looking into a 2004 Mazda 3. I like it because it is sporty, has decent horsepower, a good 31MPG HWY, and also it has a lot of leg room for passengers in the back. I think this would be a cool first car and how economical the car seems to be. The thing that I question is its reliability. Is this car really reliable? Do these cars have lots of problems? What's the max mpg you can get with this car? Can this get slightly more than 31 MPG?
Is this car sound practical? Is this car considered a sports car?

Answer 1

Any 9 year old car is going to be only as good as the prior owner took care of it.

Whatever you do, get it inspected before you buy.



You may want to consider an 05 or 06 model. 04 was the first year Mazda made the 3.

You could probably get 33-34 mpg on the highway if the temperature is over 60 degrees and you drive it very conservatively.



The car is practical and a good choice for a 1st vehicle. It's not a sports car.

Answer 2

Is this car really reliable?

Yes



Do these cars have lots of problems?

Nope.



What's the max mpg you can get with this car?

Depends on how you drive.



Can this get slightly more than 31 MPG?

Yes. 31.1. What kind of question is that?? What if you get 32?? In the big picture, that's pennies per month man. It'll get 31 if you don't drive like a typical little kid.



Is this car sound practical?

Do you mean DOES it sound practical?? If THAT is what you mean, then yes.



Is this car considered a sports car?

No, not even close.



I do prefer to drive it with the manual transmission.

Ok, good for you.



Is the manual transmission better than the automatic as far as durability?

No, they are the same.



Would this be expensive to insure

No more expensive than any other 4 cylinder car (Civic, Corolla, Sentra)



ALLLLL this information is available to you online. You can ask a question on here, but you cannot do your own research??



Since you are incompetent, let me do it for you:



Mazda is #2 on Consumer Reports for reliability. Ahead of Toyota and Honda. Mazda's hold their value VERY well. It's as safe as you can get for a small car. Just do you own research an quit being lazy hoping we do it for you.

Answer 3

Yes, Mazda's are very reliable, especially the Protege/323/3 and the Miata/MX-5. They are known for reaching 275,000 miles+.



Manual transmission is always more reliable, cheaper to maintain/repair, cheaper for insurance, and better on gas. Manuals last 3 times longer than automatics.



Max MPG depends how you drive. If your on the highway at 60mph and you barely hit the gas in 5th gear, you might get 40mpg. But people usually step on the gas a bit more on the highway, averageing 31mpg.



Insurance? Yes because it is a newer car. 2004. New drivers usually get 90's cars. The older and cheaper the car, the cheaper the insurance. If you compare it to a 2004 larger sedan, luxury car, or sports car, then yes it is cheap insurance.



No it is not a sports car. It is classified as a sporty compact car.

Answer 4

i have used this before and still stand by it.



Some people will say its a great car and really big these cars up,This is why my friends brought one .Which they felt was the worst car they have ever owned.And i fell it is the worst car i have ever driven after 20+ years on the road and in that time driving 80's and 70's cars ,so i do believe that people whom like this car have driven nothing but bad cars before and if they ever get the chance to drive a decent car they would say to themselves wow that cat really was that bad other owners are other folks whom felt the need to buy one of these cars and read reviews from other folks whom wanted revenge on others and th trapped feeling like they are with there rubbish Mazda 3's.



The seating position is not comfy front or back and i am not tall for a bloke yet my knees felt cramped up against the centre console and overall the car just felt unpleasant to drive,and what did not help was the bhp power is not there,i guess it is ok to someone whom has been driving a 1.0L 8 ton car,this is felt on the gear box where is would scare my friend whom would travel on big roads mixed with heavy lorries etc which would end up behind her pushing her along,and any sudden power drops would take a long time to regain.Checking on the net other owners had broken gear boxes whilst in situations where they needed to gain power fast.



Within less miles than my trainers it suffered major braking and suspension and exhaust problems which how strange where not covered under warranty and cost a small fortune to replace.

So yes there are happy owners and good for them but there are really unhappy owners also.and happy owners as said you are happy as you must have driven some really bad cars before this one in fact some really really bad cars before,or you must drive other cars and you will be free of this rubbish car that you own and believe is good as it is not really it is not.



This is not a dig at Mazda's as i have driven some really great ones over the years but this is def not one of those by a million miles.

Answer 5

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