Hey I'm new to the forums, I decided it would be a good bet to get the opinion from experienced Mazda owners.

I am in the market for a Mazda and found an 08 Mazdaspeed 3. The car has 152 kms on it.

Is there anything I should expect to happen in the near future due to this models high kms? What is the life expectancy on an 08 speed3?

The car is listed in the 7k range.. I will obviously try and talk him down. I am also taking this car in to a mechanic to be looked at for a pre purchase inspection. The car is listed as certified.. but you can never be to sure with used car dealers.

Other than that - I'm glad to be a part of the forums

 

certified means it's relatively safe.
Means brakes are acceptable, tires are acceptable, shocks aren't leaking.
Lights are working, no holes.

hi mileage on a turbo car scares me as you don't know how it's driven or serviced.
Example: Transmission may be working but how long will it last if fluids not changed enough in the past?

Be prepared minimally to do the following: plugs, wires, ign coils, pcv valve, throttle body cleaning, maf cleaning, change ALL fluids.
O2 sensors are old. Catalytic converters are old. If no check engine lights, then it's a good thing.

 

Thanks for the response. The car comes with a Lubrico Power Train protection warranty for 6 months.

Lubrico Warranty - Coverage <--- link specifying everything this protection covers. Anyone have any experience with this company?

I am taking the car to get looked at today.. I will respond back with what the mechanic told me.

 

don't have time to look at link, gotta go. Most powertrain warranties don't cover ignition coils and such, but rather mechanical parts. I doubt the throttle body is included.

 

I didn't end up buying the Mazda. The mechanic told me the exterior/interior lights were nearing the end of their life, the air filter is nearing the end of its life, the tires barely had just about enough tread to pass safety.. and the sidewalls were cracked on the tires.

Overall I am disappointed because this Mazda was really nice.

The mechanics were telling me go with a Honda because apparently all Mazda's have a bad rust issue and they are known to have suspension problems. This really turned me off because I had an 09 Mazda I wanted to look at but after hearing all these stories now I'm not so sure

Does anybody know at what age a Mazda will begin rusting? Does age matter? I live in Canada, Ontario so we get some bad winters.. salt everywhere etc.. I wouldn't want to invest all this money in to a fairly new Mazda only to see it begin rusting after having it through winter.

 

I'd say your mechanic is Honda biased.
ANY car exposed to road salt will eventually rust. Hondas will rust too. I am not aware of any particular problems w/Mazdas in that area, especially current models.

Suspension problems? Does he mean alignment problems? Actually they are not really problems but setting from the factory said to improve the Zoom-Zoom driving factor. In short, they bump up negative camber so the car handles better. Unfortunately, this has an adverse affect on tire wear. If, like me, you would prefer better tire wear you can invest in some simple adjustable hardware and have the car realigned w/o so much negative camber. And this is not umcommon either. Most newer cars have very limited alignment adjustments available from the factory. If a serious alignment is to be done, additional or aftermarket parts are often needed to make them.
From the factory, the tires are usually junk and the shocks are mediocre, but this is true of many new cars purchased. To save money, most car companies make deals for cheap tires and shocks from the manufacturer's and of course they buy in bulk further reducing their costs. The first thing anyone should do when buying a new car, that enjoys driving and living is do some good research (this is a must these days in particular) and replace whatever tires were OE to the car. Shocks are another matter, but be prepared for the worst anyway. I wouldn't let either of these factors steer me away from buying a used Mazda or any car for that matter if I were truly interested. With all that said and out of the way, buying a high performance turbocharged car is always going to be dangerous. Unless you know the previous driver, you cannot be sure how hard or easy the car was driven, or how well it was maintained during ownership.
Was it raced? Were there modifications done to it that may have been undone before being put up for sale?
Was quality fuel used in it on a regular basis? Has the fuel system been kept chemically cleaned over its life?
Was the car allowed to "idle down" for 30 secs or so after it was driven? Was the oil changed regularly and often? These last two things are VERY important when considering a used turbocharged vehicle, perhaps the most important things.

 

I found a pretty cool site, CarComplaints.com | Car Problems, Car Complaints, & Repair/Recall Information and from what this site says there have been a lot of complaints about civics in general.

My heart is set on getting a Mazda even after hearing the mechanics ill words to the name.

I feel the same way about the rust issue, I dont understand why a Mazda would be more susceptible to rust as opposed to any other car.. metal is metal is it not? Whats different in a Mazda's make up that would cause the bad rust issue?

Bottom line is.. I am going for the 09 Mazda.. this Mazda is not turbo charged, oh well.

There are two 09's I am looking at..

http://pictures.dealer.com/r/rogersm...c5a6e4df1x.jpg

http://pictures.dealer.com/r/rogersm...eb078bb39x.jpg

The black one has 48k kms and the grey one has 79k kms.. its between the two.. I like the black one better because with tinted windows it looks so sleek.

Wish my luck on my investment

 

Of course I will wish you luck.... LUCK!!!

I must also tell you that the all-time favorite car of my life was a 1980 Honda Civic named Inga. She, and she was certainly a she-car, was metallic blue w/blue interior and a 5-sp trans. 1500CVCC engine, 2 bbl carburetor (stock,) 2-dr hatchback.
I modded her slightly using as many junkyard parts (from Accords, Preludes and Civic station wagons, other Civic HB's, as well as VW and Renault alloy wheels) as I could find and I could make to fit. I also added a mild street cam, modified the distributor for faster advance and carburetor for extra fuel/air, two sets of auxiliarlly lights (Bosch white fogs underneath, and Carello passing lights up top) and together we had a terrific time doing club based road rallies and auto-x for several years, often beating the 6-cylinder Datsun 240/260Z's of the era.
She was, and to this day, is the BEST car I've ever owned and I miss her terribly. But alas, she was also my daily driver, and I lived in Pennsylvania at that time. Winter road salt took her away from me eventually too.
I bought her from my Ex for $1400 w/76k miles on the clock and sold her for $100w/187k miles. We had one terrific ride for those 111k miles. I miss her to this day.
But Hondas, and "Honda" aren't what they once were. After that, I didn't go back to anther Honda. I moved on.... So whatever you decide on, whether it be a Mazda, or something made by some other company, do it because you want to do it. Because it "feels" right.