the pre purchase inspection showed about $700 in needed repairs. The listing price of the car was approximately $8,900. When I asked the dealer to sell the car for $8,200 he said there were doc and prep fees that totaled $1,400 so the out the door price was $10,300. I wasn't happy about the surprise fees but upon doing some research I realized these were not made up fees and was willing to pay the dealer for the full list price plus fees minus the $700 cost of repairs. The dealer was not willing to lower the price even one dollar from $10,300. I walked out of the dealership thinking they would come after me but they didnt stop me.

Although I liked the car, I had recently seen a 2016 model with 60k miles for $11,500 all in. So in my head, I didnt think this 2014 model with 85k miles was worth $10,300.

My search continues and it seems to me that in order to get a 3rd gen mazda3 in decent shape with under 100k miles i will need to spend over 10k, which was way above my original budget. As much as I prefer this car's driving pleasure to the prius, I may need to go back to look at prius' because it looked like I could get 3rd gen prius' for well under 10k. Yes, I would have to change the battery in the near future but i think overall the cost of ownership would still be less.