MX-3.com

EDIT: Added link to original "For Sale" thread for reference purposes. http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=67143" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mike,

I'm sorry this isn't working out for you. Your financial situation does not play a role in this. I offered the car for sale "AS-IS" for $1500.

As-is, means, what you see is what you get. Buyer Beware. I gave you plenty of time to look over the car. You and your friend both had ample opportunity to check for things on the car that you may or may not have been comfortable with.

You started the car, and seemed happy with how it ran. I won't say too much about the fact that when you started it, you promptly stalled the car, as it was still in gear and you took it off the clutch. Good thing the brakes were working well enough to stop the car from going through my garage wall and into my kitchen.

Unfortunately, when my insurance on the car ran out in the beginning of November, I decided not to reinsure it for the road, as it was a 3rd car for us at the time, and I had no reason to drive it anymore. My new daily driver is a 2000 Honda Civic, and my wife now drives our 2005 Honda CR-V. As much as I loved my MX-3, driving a 9 year old car, is obviously better than driving a 14 year old car.
Having no insurance on the car, was my reason for not allowing a test drive. Your friend backed it out of the driveway, and drove it over to the shoulder, without any issues. Granted that is not a test drive, but it shows that it shifts fine, and brakes fine.
If the brakes didn't work as you mention, you or he would have/should have noticed.

I claimed the brakes work fine, and stand by that. Yes the rear brakes were worn down, and needed replacing, but that is why I supplied you with the brand new set of rear brake shoes.
The emergency brake mechanism works, although yes, it seems the right side may be seized. The left rear E-brake still operates as normal.

Regarding the underlying problems with the transmission/belt are not required to have the car "running". First of all you blame the belt squeak on the transmission. There are no belts in the transmission. The squeaking/squealing you hear on start up of the car, is a common issue with many cars, both old and new. The alternator/power steering belt is slipping on the pulleys, and causes the noise. You can either adjust the pulleys or have a lubrication put on them, which should stop the noise.
The transmission issue you mentioned I have a hard time believing. The clutch was replaced on the car in May 2007, and I have been driving manual transmissions since the first day I drove a car over 18 years ago. I know how to drive a manual transmission, and only ever changed the clutch once in the life of the car at 220,000km's. The shifter bushings were also replaced by Mazda at 234,000km's. I never noticed anything wrong with the transmission, and when I called the garage this morning to get more details, he admitted he heard a bit of a noise, but nothing that affects how it can drive.

I don't feel I should have to take the car back. I was selling a used car, AS-IS, which by the way passed all emissions testing every year it was tested. I even provided you with last May's test results.

The manifold crack, the resonator leak, and the muffler weld, are minor repairs which the mechanic said he could most likely just weld over.

The car is not worth scrap, and it is not a lemon. The car is a 14 year old car, which was obviously worth $1500 to you, as you were more than willing to pay that amount for the car, without any further, investigations. Now that you find it has some minor repairs to be done, you want to bail out and get your money back. And believe me, these are minor repairs.

The shop I recommended is in my opinion honest and is not trying to rip you or anyone else off. I am glad we both agree on that point.

If I was out to be malicious, I don't think I would have posted it on my very own web site/forum. I have had this site up and running for almost 12 years, and would not want to ruin my reputation on the site over the sale of this car, and trying to get a few extra dollars. I just wanted what I feel is a fair price for the car, and to have the car off of my hands. I have two other cars, a family and a home to worry about. No time or interest in having a third car to tinker around with.

Although I have a fair knowledge of cars, I do not claim to be an expert or a mechanic for cars. Yes I did say that I didn't see any major issues getting it safety tested, and think the items that have come up will be similar on most 14 year old cars.

Your claim about the term "as-is" having no grounds in court, is incorrect. My post says as-is, which means you need to do the repairs to certify the car to be plated by the Ministry of Transportation. I never misled you, or tried to tell you otherwise.

Your example about the brakes is a little misleading in itself. We did not have that exchange of words, and you make it look like we did. I hope you meant that as only an example.

In our discussions this morning after you found out the cost of the repairs, you hung up on me not once, but twice. Not a very mature way to deal with this. The first time I thought my cell phone may have cut out, so I called back. You then said you were very frustrated. I am sorry about that. The second time you promptly muttered, "I'll see you in court." then hung up again. At this point I figured, it was not worth my time to try and call you back. You brought this upon yourself.

The threat of Small-claims court and Uncle Lawyer does not scare me. Everyone has an uncle that is a lawyer...

By the way, if you think you are in tough financial times right now, try having a mortgage, 2 cars, and a family with daycare expenses to support, among other things.

Jeff

Mike, I suggest you take a step back from this situation, calm down, and allow yourself to think logically. From my perspective, you are over-reacting to a situation which you caused by failing to invest enough time or thought into. That said, congratulations on your purchase of an MX-3, and welcome to the community! Once you decide to make the repairs and enjoy the car, I think you will find you made a very good investment. These cars are a lot of fun, and very addicting to tinker with. Get active on the site, get active on learning about and fixing the car, and have fun.

I'm also with Jeff on this one.

I bought my car (pissed on engine, toast head, lots of body work needed) for $2000. I now work my a-- of after school so I can afford my baby... I'm now looking forward to my seccond engine swap, learning to weld, and so many other things.... The investment is definately worth what I am paying for the car. I'm also looking at tuition fees next year, so I work full time from the day exams end to the day before school starts, and then 20 hours a week during school, so I can keep going debt free. I am completely independent in this.

Jeff's car isn't in bad shape at all. Exhaust is simple to fix(know anyone with any kind of welder?), brakes aren't rocket science either. Tie rod the same... those are expected to go. Licence plate lights? Thats a $2.00 bulb, maybe some soldering?

You just bought a sexy car. Don't get robbed my a mechanic, do it yourself, and get paid... not in money, but with knowledge, so you don't every have to pay rediculous shop rates ever again.

Here, let me do step #1 for you.

http://www.mx-3.com/manuals/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not to beat a dead horse, but shops will rape you when it comes to brake jobs. They will charge you nearly $500 or more for a 4 wheel brake job when you could do it yourself for about $200.

Also, exhaust headers can also be picked up very cheap and they are higher performance. If not, take them out yourself (to avoid labor charges), and have it spot welded. I do agree that you should have been able to hear it once you started it up as exhaust leaks are very easy to detect.

What I think happened is you were googling over the looks of the car and really wantd it, which caused yo uto overlook certain problems. But again, these cars are fairly simple to work on and all you need is a set of tools, some time, and the online shop manual.

I just need to make some more points about the exhaust issues.

The minor crack in the manifold is something that was in plain view when you open up the engine compartment since the heat shield was removed from the manifold a long time ago (due to rust, then rattling). If the heat shield was still on, then I can see how it would not be noticable.

The leak in the exhaust pipe near the resonator, I was personally not aware of. As the mechanic at the garage mentioned to me when I called him for clarification of the work, he said, "Since the car has a "sport" exhaust system in place which is louder then most cars, it is understandable that you would not have been able to hear the minor leak."
He only noticed it himself after he hoisted the car up in the air, and was under the car inspecting it.

The Muffler Weld that is listed, is simply a hanger bracket that needs to be rewelded onto the muffler to avoid it from swinging too much under the car. The muffler has multiple hangers, and only one of them is not attached. This is a 5 minute job, including setup of the welding equipment.

I did mention in our conversation when you were looking over the car, that the muffler was a stainless steel muffler, purchased from Mazda. The exhaust pipes from the resonator back to the muffler is also stainless steel, so should not need to be replaced for a number of years to come.

buddy your insane! you thought you could buy a car ready for the road for only 1500 bucks?? LAUGH OUT LOUD!

also just a note: a $1000.00 at a shop really means around $300.00 of parts the rest is labour. man up and work on your own s---. how did you find time to post all this stuff? shouldnt you be outside working towards getting your car on the road?

small claims court, hahaha gee i wonder how many morons they deal with a day about buying used as is vehicles. they are going to laugh at you!!

Positive - mx-3.com
he made mx-3.com how sick is that??

Daninski wrote:I don't see a big deal here. Every car I've bought in the last 5 years has had most of these issues. Somethings are common and with experience you'll learn to expect this of a used 5+ year old vehicle. Drop the court thing and just get to fixing the car with our help. Cheers.

Agree entirely with Daninski, it's time to bite the bullet and get to work. When you buy a car of this age you will either have to blow alot of money on mechanics or learn to DIY. I recommend the latter and that you start now - you'll enjoy it! At the same time I understand your point of view that you felt buying from an experienced owner would be a safe bet. However, unless the cars been fully restored, there's always something could do with being replaced. I'm sure your capable, buy the parts, get the tools and you easily halve that bill if not quarter.

BTW my ebrakes unseized with a few hammer taps. Good luck!

I just can't imagine what kind of reception he thought his complaint would get given that the existance of this forum has improved all of our MX-3 owership experiences so much over the years.

You're not the first person who made a rash purchase before they really understood what they were getting into...you won't be the last either.

$1500 doesn't seem a lot for a car that needs some work to be in very good driving shape. All of the little problems you could fix yourself or you can go out and buy a newer car and pay monthly note/insurance and it will have warranty in case it breaks.

umm, i don't see anything about that post that would lead me to believe that this dude got ripped off. all the things which required repair should be expected when purchasing a car of that age. Its absurd to think that you can purchase any vehicle for $1500 and expect it to be perfect. My first mx-3 cost me $2000 and I had to replace the axles, all 4 sway bar links, the front bumper a few bulbs, and the strut mounts. The guy who sold me mine said it was "in good running condition" and yet for some reason I realized that it wouldn't be perfect. If this dude was really that naive, then he learned a life lesson. If he's just trying to start crap he picked the wrong person to mess with. Jeff's deal went down fair and square and I support him 100%

well i'm somewhat sympathetic to this guy. and c'mon.. 1500 can DEFINITELY buy a decent, safe running car, let's not all say otherwise. i bought my GS for 1200 bucks, and it was 100%, minus the front lip. the only thing to go wrong was the ol cracked intake hose, before the engine crapped out years later.

essentially he expected a car that was ready to go, minus a few minor problems, based on what Jeff told him.

thing is... i think that's exactly what he got, he just doesn't realize it. as i was going down this thread, i was waiting to hear just exactly what was $1000 worth of problems, and i didn't see it... you can have your entire engine swapped out for less than $1000.

i think Jeff gave us more of the whole picture... i think you must be young and not know much about cars. because of that, you bought something you weren't sure about, and then got mad when it wasn't what you thought it was. i think at that point, the smart thing would be talk to the guy, not make threats and repeatedly hang up him. seems like a lousy way to help yourself.

all that said, there's no reason for you to think you can't get what you paid for. these are small problems, so you should feel good about your purchase.

OK, no more beating up on the new guy I'm sure he's learned here already. So if it's a stock manifold and he drives to Trenton I'll give him one for free. There that gets Ya going.

Well, Hell, if the dude lived near me, I would fix all that crap in 1 hour...and teach him how to do it...but he doesn't live near me...I do this kinda crap all the time.

change out the rear shoes, put in those bulbs, change the squealing belt..etc etc...sounds easy to me...

at worst, get the mechanic to fix the tie rod end, and weld the muffler...oh yeah, and fix the ebrake thingy...

300 tops.

sheesh.

Since I can't post in the for sale thread, I'm posting this here.

I'm cutting my losses with this car and selling it to make enough to cover tuition, since with the money I spent to get the car road-worthy sapped my college funds.

The car had $600 worth of work done to it to make it pass safety (and they welded some things instead of replacing). Plus, the car was given to me with a battery that couldn't hold a charge, so that got replaced too. Not a huge expense, but an expense nonetheless.

The safety is still valid, and the e-test is still good too. The car is basically ready to be paid for and brought immediately to the mto for registration.

Selling for what I paid for it, I'll eat the money I spent to get it road-ready.

$1500, pm or e-mail. E-mail is preferred.

I'll post this in the FS forum if my account gets permission to.

Buying a used car can always be a headache, I'm probably sure that jeff didn't know 100% of every inch of his cars, and both repairs you've mentioned are minimal and not to uncommon on cars the age of jeffs. If you thought you were just going to jump in the car and drive away without a care in the world, well you did buy a used car and not a new car. You have to take into consideration that Jeff might not of known everything that was wrong with it. He told you what he knew was wrong, and that the fact he stated the car was purchased AS-IS tells you well there might be more wrong with it.

Personally I would never purchase a car without driving it, when I sold my mx-3 to someone on this forum, I made sure they drove it and I tried to address every problem I knew that it had. Granted when the guy got it back home he found a few things I didn't know about. Well thats part of buying and selling a car, your always going to find something.

I don't feel jeff has done anything wrong in this matter, he wouldn't of known about any these extra problems unless he had taken it for inspection, as you did. You should of had the car inspected by a real mechanic or individual before purchasing the car. Doesn't matter if Jeff told you it was a good running car, he's likely not to of inspected every inch of the car, and just based this all on its been running without problems and it past its last inspection.

With the problems listed, I don't see where it comes to 1k in problems, unless your having the mechanics do the work, in which case I'm sure there is a large HOURLY chunk added to it which takes up more of the cost than whats actually wrong with the car.

I don't believe Jeff should have to refund any money because he did state AS-IS, and he did sell the car within what its value is, repairs or not. Now that being said, I would think that this is really an easy problem to solve with both parties helping each other out. You can remove a large portion of the repair cost by doing work yourself, I would think instead of bashing Jeff about the problems, it would better to ask him what we can do to fix the situation. Jeff doesn't have to give you any money, but he might be able to help you in the fixing of the car to eliminate some cost to you. Now does that mean he runs out and buys all the parts to fix the car. No, but I'm sure he can give you a hand in fixing the car, I mean hell you didn't mention any serious problems and really the car could be fixed for way less than 1k. I would have to imagine that Jeff knows how to replace brakes, pads, axles, etc, since he's owned this car for so long. Perhaps this is something he would be willing to do in good faith, though in all honesty he doesn't have to do anything more than what he's done.

Advice for the future, when buying a car you have to take into consideration that people will not know 100% about the car, it could of ran flawlessly for 14 year then you buy it and the next week something goes out. Your purchasing a used car and you have to be prepaired for this, never stretch yourself so thin that it will financially cause you problems to purchase a car then immediately have to throw money into it. This happens no matter who your buying the car from, I bought my lexus from the dealership and 2 months into it I had to replace an o2 sensor, with the car coming from a Lexus dealership (400 dollar fix at the dealership btw, 50 fixed in my driveway). Also Never purchase a car on someones word, no matter who it is, always get it inspected and test drive it before you buy it.