Hello all,

I'm very new to the Mazda world. My current car is a Volkswagen Jetta 1.8T, but I'm hoping to sell it to find something more reliable. My question is what should I look for in a used one? I'm looking at 2005-2007 models. I know the timing belt/chain is vital on German cars, but is it on these as well? What else, aside from the usual car-buying things, should I be looking for?

Thanks!

 

Mazda 3 petrol models run a timing chain, which are virtually faultless.
Biggest thing is regular and complete maintenance.
Check for any rust.
Nothing major really goes wrong with them.

 

I've heard a good bit about rust. Is it a bad problem or intermittent?

Thanks for the help. I'll keep an eye out for these things.

 

Rust all depends on where the car has been. In general their fine.

 

well...i would run the car up to between 58 and 65 mph to see if the engine vibrates,that would be a motor mount failure,those are common on mazda 3s,maybe not in a place like the west coast because there is no extreme temps.look under the rear end around the exhaust for rust....get on your back and slide down there.look under the front to make sure the splash guards are there,disaster for your ac comptressor with alot of water.plug in your aux cable and your car charger on your phone and listen to music through the car from your phone...if you get static and the music is not clear....electrical problem.other than that these friggin cars rock ***