MX-3.com

dont get discouraged man, you can do most of it yourself, if you were near me id probably help you out with bodywork, but for now just take can of engine cleaner and spray it all over and let it sit like for at least 10 mins, spraying some more between time on spots that are drying, then take brushes and scrub every part of it, and do so until its looks like all grease and dirt removed, and rinse it well. Then wipe everything as much as you can. After all cleaning done, take some kind of tire protectant and rub over all rubber hoses and parts under your hood. .....I guarantee youll like what ull see after all that work

I'm just nervouse cause when i pick this up it will be my only car and i'd like to turn it into a nice car... and it will end up costing me about 800-1000 right at the beginning cause i have to buy new axles / 4 rotors / pads / speedo gear / transmission *working but 3rd synchro or gear is out* / exhaust leak (might need new headers)... the exhaust and trans i can do later so i can keep the cost hopefully under a grand for car and parts to make it safe to drive.... just worried about the dents and rust cause i've never had to deal with rust even living in MI for so long since i kept the car so clean

another car has popped onto the screen for me.. its a 95 in very good condition but has an I4.. has a touch of exterior rust but very very little seems to be in pretty good shape... might be able to get it for around 700-800....
... or i could still with the 94 gs with the bad rust spot / numerous dents / engine rust for 500 plus cost of replacing 2 front axles / 4 rotors and pads / speedometer gear / exhaust leak / and either a 1.8 or 2.5 motor (not sure which) ... very tough desicion

well my opinion would be go with the 95 I-4, especially if it looks much nicer, is cleaner, less body problems... keep in mind it is not hard to swap in a BPT if you are looking for future upgrades This is what i would do anyway. If i had cash laying around id buy an I-4 mx3 just because i want a BPT swapped car

hey dude well ive had my mazda for at least 7 years now:-D.. and it has about 178k on it and it still runs great yes mine has the duck tape on it too.. i think it sounds like a good deal a real fixer upper tho!

o yea i all so think that if you are goin to spend 500 on it then thats a good deal expt for the rust and dents but you can fix that... and if u put 800-1000 into it i still think it will be better then goin to buy a stock mx-3 expecially if u want to make it Your Own..

If you have 3-4 weeks to spend on the car and about 2 Gs, I would suggest you to buy the car. The rust spot is nothing compared to what we see in Toronto area. cuz there are rustmobiles all around

Reason why I would buy the car is, 300 cheaper, its a GS so easier KLZE swap, has sunroof and AC and most probably power windows.

the 800-1000 will only clean up the engine bay... won't fix the rust hole in the side of the car or the numeruos dents or the transmission or the speedo gear or the axles or the brakes or the missing interior pieces i found out about... if i put 1500 into it that would simply buy the car and fix the axles/brakes/speedometer/and buy a trans but not install it then spend another 1000 to make the engine clean of rust so that makes it 2500 plus about 3500 to fix the exterior but not put on a body kit .. so around 6000 for a car that might have a 2.5L engine but could be just a 1.8L and will just look ok? that is a good deal?

oh and there is no A/C and power windows are sort of working right now

have you tryed lookin around for diffrent mx-3 like ones out of your state? cuz im sure most cars around there have rust... the problem here is the sun and the paint wearing out.. so think about it i think u should do wutever u want to..

you definitly should do what you wanna do, but in all honesty, you can find a better car than that for the same price, i garuntee it, if you would like i can post pictures of cars friends of mine have picked up for under 800 dollars, its all about looking around... the car you describe and showed pictures of is in baaaaad shape, lots of rust so its gonna be a bondo baby sooner than later, and just all around biiiiig project, when you can most likely find a nicer car for the same amount, or a little bit more, the only thing this one has going for it is the kl-03 swap, which as i just recently learned is ooooh so easy...

but like already said it IS your decision, if you want a project car to have some fun with then this would be perfect, but if you want something thats gonna be nice, it would probly be better to keep looking... oh and sorry i missed you on AIM the other day, i leave it on all the time but unless the away message is gone i'm not there :p lol, good luck

I've actually been looking all over the states... that is how i found the one in NH... i was from chicago when i found that one and i'm in colorado now and hoping to get one i found in wisconsin i know its only a 4 banger but the 1.8 swap is pretty easy also and i even found a nice 1.8 for 650 near me..

Instead of looking in places like NH and IL, why not look in AZ, NV, and CA? You shouldn't have any problems with rust or anything nasty on any car you find out west here.

i said i'm looking all over the states... i'd prefer a nice priced one out west since i'm on that side anyway right now problem is there doesn't seem to be any out west for sale for a decent price that i can find... they all seem to be midwest and east coast so far

Try the high milage ones on here:

http://www.autotrader.com/findacar/results.jtmpl?model=MX3&start_year=1984&end_year=2005&min_price=&max_price=&distance=300&advanced=y&advcd_on=n&make=MAZDA&address=89031&search_ty pe=used&x=27&y=11