Hey guys, I think I might have the wife convinced on the Mazda3 Hatch. That said, I found a used one so I can save some money and get leather and a sunroof in addition to the side-impact airbags that are rare on used models.
But look at these tires - would you say that’s excessive wear for 20,000 miles and indicative of some pretty hard driving?
Photo here:
http://joh…tos&pid=14
How do the rear tires look? I ask because the tires may not have been rotated if the rears have more tread. Also, if you have the same Toyo tires that are on my daughter’s Mazda 3 sedan, they are not known to be long-wearing tires to begin with.
I’m not surprised by the wear at 20,000 miles.
That’s very hard to say.
Much depends on what type of tires, the treadwear and temperature rating, etc. along with how it’s driven.
Considering that many car makers generally use a low end tire and the mileage this tire could be entirely normal; but may have suffered a bit from not rotating the tires. It’s hard to tell from the pics but they look slightly feather-edged in spots.
This could be because of lack of rotation or a front end slightly out of alignment.
(Also assuming this car has never been whacked or curbed.)
the rear ones look okay, so yeah, probably not rotated.
They just look worn out to me, and the wear does look pretty even. I would be a little more concerned that someone who would let their tires get to that condition might have a “casual” approach to maintenance, but I don’t know how much they could neglect in 20K miles. Do they at least have oil change records for this car?
I haven’t asked for records yet (if they have any) but I will say the tires on my car look worse and we are way overdue for an oil change. Plus the car smells like an ashtray - who knows if they’ll be able to get that out.
My husband (age 67) has a Mazda3, less than one year old. It has 13,000 miles on it. It also has irregular wear. We’ve had 3 flats so far, something that we always seem to experience with Goodyear tires. The car is not driven hard. It’s the lousy tires. The car does not need an alignment either and has never smacked a curb. It handles beautifully. It’s the lousy tires. 
Years ago my new car’s tires were showing irregular wear. I went to a mall and looked at other cars with the same tires. All of them, no matter what model, had the exact same wear pattern.
I reccommend having it checked for accident damage before you buy it. The average car buyer can’t always spot the repair job.
good to know, nora. i had a bicycle like that one time. the tires got so many flats i became a master tire changer. until the day i canged a tube and got another flat in another part of the tire two blocks from the bike shop. got new tires and never had another flat.
Never buy a car if you are the least bit suspicious of it.
I would not worry.
i got it; it’s awesome.
Congrats, hope you bought new tires.