My girlfriend is looking to purchase an '04 3s locally. We went for a test drive today (well, I did, she's still learning to change her own gears), and I absolutely loved the car. I found nothing to dislike about it other than a ricey aftermarket exhaust, which the dealer said he will replace with stock at no charge. It seems like a smoking deal at less than $10,000 sticker price, but the mileage is a bit high for the cars age (76k).

I'm wondering if there's any common problems associated with these cars, anything to specifically look out for before purchasing, etc. Also, I noticed that the clutch friction point was unusually high (way off the floor, little dead travel) and wondered whether this is common or not. Any info or advice is greatly appreciated, and thank you in advance.

-Mike

 

Make sure the a/c works to your satisfaction. It's weak from the factory. The clutch on my 05 throws close to the top as well. It takes some getting used to.

 

Thanks for the advice. I haven't given the car a through inspection yet, I'll definitely check the a/c as you mentioned. Good to know the clutch travel isn't a problem. Thanks for the input, anything else?

 

yea, talk them down as much as possible

 

Look http://www.finishlineperformance.com/mazda3/bulletins_index.html]HERE[/url] for a complete listing of recalls and TSBs for the 3. That should get you started at least.

The 3's clutch does catch pretty high, and like you said has very little travel. I think it makes it super easy for new MTX drivers to learn.

 

Yeah, I read the TSB's already - found them in another thread here. I think we're going to go get this car today, asking price is $9900. Just hoping that the Carfax doesn't come back with something crazy on it, the price seems really cheap to me... Thanks for the info guys!

 

we have 65k on our 04 3s without a problem. done oil changes at 5k miles (book says 7500) this car is supper easy to drive with a 5spd. it is a lot different than my A3 though. we are getting ready to do a brake job on the car though so you might want to inquire as to weather or not that has been done and negotiate accordingly.