MX-3.com

So i bought my mx3 aka pepper lol about 9 yrs ago now its got 237k miles on the original motor/tranny and runs great...this year alone i put almost $2300 into it (rear struts, radiator,exhaust,front ball joints,oil cooling lines from tranny).

The car has mostly been driven on weekends for about 5 years now since i have a work van that i take home and my car even on those weekends barely gets gets driven. Best way i can describe how little i drive it is i fill the tank about every 4-5 weeks!. My friends all say it time for a new one but considering how little i drive it versus what would be car payments for something to sit mostly outside just doesn't add up.

This year has been a bad year for it cause i never spent this much into it within this time frame.I've given up hooking it up and learned to love its factory sexy so im keeping it stock and as clean as i possibly can, which most say is really clean considering the year/mileage.

Back in her hay-day she was going to New Jersey to Virginia to New York to Connecticut and back and forth every which way to the states named above and never had a serious issue with her. I love my car, sure she got a few dings and that damn hit in the rear quarter panel but i love her the same since day one...

So im hoping she doesn't need to go back to the shop for anything else major this year.I dont count normal wear and tear stuff like brakes and such....Well thanks for reading just wanted to say a few things...

I think your solution is to drive it more!

Yeah. I haven't seen you on here for a while!
I can understand the feeling. There was a time when I considered giving up on my MX-3, because of timing belt breakage, and disty failure at the exact same time. It made it very difficult to know what was happening. I gave up and took it to the stealership, and they hurt me. I bought a Mercedes, and tried to give up on the MX-3, but the Mercedes ended up sitting, and I'm glad I didn't give up.

I almost gave up after my second crash which required yet another half G for a frame realignment, probably could've bought another early 90's mid-range for the money I've spent on crash repair... Gotta love that sexy-a$$ MX3 though

i know how you feel. i bought mine a year ago and ive done nothing but replace parts. im in over $3000 already and my insurance just ran out and its not passing emissions tests. im going to try a egr from the wreckers and give it one more shot at passing then its getting sold.

done motor/clutch swap
rear pads/rotors twice wheel hubs
rear calipers
front tie-rods,ball joints, end links, bushings
fuel pump
radiator
alternator
entire cat-back exhaust
intake
02 sensors
random sensors
and lets not forget the countless hours of my hard work

Your driving a vehicle that's at it's youngest, 14yrs old...it's going to need some work and you will need to maintain it if you want to be reliable. Sure you can put no work into it and drive it to the ground, but that's your choice. The one thing after all the repair is done, at least you know exactly what you got. Sure, you can sell it if it's costing you too much, but you can just get something that needs even more work. My buddy got stuck into this trap twice in a row, the second car he got he never actually got on the road because it needed too much work and the engine wouldn't run right

Nd4SpdSe wrote:Your driving a vehicle that's at it's youngest, 14yrs old...it's going to need some work and you will need to maintain it if you want to be reliable. Sure you can put no work into it and drive it to the ground, but that's your choice. The one thing after all the repair is done, at least you know exactly what you got. Sure, you can sell it if it's costing you too much, but you can just get something that needs even more work. My buddy got stuck into this trap twice in a row, the second car he got he never actually got on the road because it needed too much work and the engine wouldn't run right

Completely agreed which is one reason why i never gave up on it.Now with the summer months approaching i've been wanting to get around to those little things she needs. Latest project was redoing the rear seat vinyl part (which could have came out better lol) and finishing my hatch cover.

i remember being where you are. exhaust needed fixing. struts were going out. engine threw a rod, swapped for klze. add in all the cosmetic stuff, new kit, new paint. finally had it up and running, then died on the road. new ditsy. figured that was the end, and a few weeks later it wouldn't start. i said i'd fix it and anymore problems then i'm dumping it. broken knock sensor wire. that was in 2006.

never needed anything since then except brakes, tires and did the ball joints and tie rod ends for about 100 bucks, plus alignment. so hang in there... outside of maintenance, i haven't needed a repair in going on 5 years