2005 2.3SP. New clutch, struts, one front bearing and drive shaft last fall. I'm at 89k+ miles and it runs great. I put a CAI on last year and it's great as a daily driver. May even opt for exhaust (~$500 in my estimate). B-pillars on back doors have rusted, fixing that and assorted dings and paint chips will cost me another $500.

I'd be happy driving this car for a long time - my question is are there any nasty rust, transmission or other major issues lurking around the corner? It's worth about $6k at trade-in . . .

What would you do?

 

My wife's 2004 Mazda 3 has 160,000 miles on it and it's still going strong. I replaced the thermostat about 30,000 miles ago, and I replaced the A/C compressor about 10,000 miles ago, but other than that it's been pretty much trouble-free. It makes a little more noise than it did when she first got it, but it has been a dependable car for her. It has never left her stranded. I've been replacing the oil every 10,000 miles with full synthetic.

By the way... hers has the 2.3 liter engine, also.

 

Thanks Rev. I was looking for that type of info; historically I've known about a couple of Mazda "gremlins" that popped up decreasing the vehicle's life span. Case 1: my father's 84 or 85 truck whose frame rotted while the rest of the vehicle was trouble- and cancer-free. Case 2: my '86 626 whose left rear strut support rusted and came loose from the body so that the package tray supported the weight of the car. A subsequent ebay search led me to a photo showing the same damage in another vehicle. Within the last six months I found myself following another of these cars clearly exhibiting the same problem and sagging on its left rear corner.

 

In states that use salt on the roads or salt water climates it's almost impossible to prevent the rust completely. The 3 is a pretty reliable car and will keep running good as long as its taken care of. Problem parts are the #3 motor mount(mount that is by the serpentine belt) it's an oil filled mount that blows out. Transmission fluid(they kill the fluid quicker then any other mazda)

 

My '06 3 with the 1.6L is going strong still, only issues I have had are the back windows roll themselves down but I just removed the handles and rotated them to where the weight of the handle is pulling the window UP instead of down. Gets decent mileage still although not stellar, car is too heavy for this engine.

 

Handle? What's that?




Just kidding... I didn't know cars were available without power windows these days.

 

I do have power windows! The fronts are power and the rears are crank