MX-3 Criticism

Neil · Post by **Neil** » January 14th, 2006, 3:09 pm

You guys should love your car for what it is. And stop worrying about what its not. I don't care if I see someone driving around in an STI or a Corvette. I picked my MX-3 because I LOVE the mx-3. You have to make compromises for the things you love. It doesn't matter what you drive someone else is always going to have something faster than you. Appreciate your MX-3's for what they are and quit thinking about what they aren't!!

den · Post by **den** » January 14th, 2006, 6:34 pm

CORRECT

TREVO123 · Post by **TREVO123** » January 14th, 2006, 8:09 pm

DAMN Sohc Rs are just to damn slow

mitmaks · Post by **mitmaks** » January 14th, 2006, 8:39 pm

LooseChangeRacing wrote:STI 300 at the crank, with 30 grand I can turn an mx-3 into a 500whp machine and a show-car...hows that?

you dont really need that much hp in mx3, but its true for 33K you can get mx3 to outdo most sti's

mitmaks · Post by **mitmaks** » January 14th, 2006, 8:44 pm

Neil wrote:You guys should love your car for what it is. And stop worrying about what its not. I don't care if I see someone driving around in an STI or a Corvette. I picked my MX-3 because I LOVE the mx-3. You have to make compromises for the things you love. It doesn't matter what you drive someone else is always going to have something faster than you. Appreciate your MX-3's for what they are and quit thinking about what they aren't!!

totally agree, mx3 is ver good car from factory, at least my gs se is. I might do AWD conversion when i got little extra time and cash

jrors · Post by **jrors** » January 15th, 2006, 7:05 pm

IMO, it's a pretty hard case to criticise the MX-3.....it's a model that's over 10 years old and not only that, it really "is" one of the very few models of cars to survive the 90's, when it comes to build quality and styling, both in exterior and interior. The only reason my car has ever let me down was because of transmission failure and even though that does suck, I knew what I was getting into before I bought the vehicle by doing research on it online and through people that already had one.
I remember when I first saw my MX for sale at a dealership, it was love at first sight. Even though she had the 14" stock rims, no radio, no spoiler, no nothing...... I saw the potential in her and almost a year later, I am very happy when I'm driving her around town or driving her out of town, visiting friends and family from different states. The only car I've ever driven that even comes close to the way my MX-3 makes me feel, was my 1991 Honda Prelude Si. That car was fast....... but would easily get a F grade when it comes to comparing the exterior and interior styling to my 93 MX-3.
Just wanted to put my 2 cents in on this topic because I truely believe like most of you, that our MX-3's are truely something special and the time, frustration and money we spend on them justifies their worth in our daily lives.

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » January 15th, 2006, 8:41 pm

TREVO123 wrote:DAMN Sohc Rs are just to damn slow

Perhaps the money spent on your signature upgrades could have been better used towards your frustration by upgrades/modification to the engine - BP/BPT? But then, you probably already new that.

TREVO
1993 MX-3 RS,FULL BLITZ KIT(PROTOTYPE)17"10 SPOKE RIMS,SOHC 1.6L.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2189811

MAYBE A BPT?

mxmaz · Post by **mxmaz** » January 15th, 2006, 9:13 pm

LooseChangeRacing wrote:STI 300 at the crank, with 30 grand I can turn an mx-3 into a 500whp machine and a show-car...hows that?

The big problem with what you are saying is the waste of money it would be to put 30k into an mx-3. You put 30k into an mx3 and its still worth s--- all. You might get 7-8k when you try to sell it. You buy a 30k sti, and it is still worth 30k and has full factory warranty. hows that?

Nd4SpdSe · Post by **Nd4SpdSe** » January 16th, 2006, 7:00 am

mxmaz wrote:
The big problem with what you are saying is the waste of money it would be to put 30k into an mx-3. You put 30k into an mx3 and its still worth shat all. You might get 7-8k when you try to sell it. You buy a 30k sti, and it is still worth 30k and has full factory warranty. hows that?

Ya, but cars are never an investment. You could also factor the savings in insurance in the lifetime of owning the vehicle. I betcha the Mx-3 would be alot cheaper to insure. Sure, you would be getting more money back on the car itself, but you can't get your money back on what you've spend to insure it. And what about the warranty when you start to modify it?

mxmaz · Post by **mxmaz** » January 16th, 2006, 1:08 pm

Nd4SpdSe wrote:
mxmaz wrote:
The big problem with what you are saying is the waste of money it would be to put 30k into an mx-3. You put 30k into an mx3 and its still worth shat all. You might get 7-8k when you try to sell it. You buy a 30k sti, and it is still worth 30k and has full factory warranty. hows that?
Ya, but cars are never an investment. You could also factor the savings in insurance in the lifetime of owning the vehicle. I betcha the Mx-3 would be alot cheaper to insure. Sure, you would be getting more money back on the car itself, but you can't get your money back on what you've spend to insure it. And what about the warranty when you start to modify it?

What do you mean savings in insurance? You are gonna put 30k into the car and not insure all those mods and risk losing everything if something should happen to the car(ie. theft, fire, damage)? And i wouldnt modify the sti with anything that would void its warranty. It is a low 13 sec. car stock, that would be enough fun for me.

Neil · Post by **Neil** » January 16th, 2006, 3:54 pm

mxmaz wrote:
Nd4SpdSe wrote:
mxmaz wrote:
The big problem with what you are saying is the waste of money it would be to put 30k into an mx-3. You put 30k into an mx3 and its still worth shat all. You might get 7-8k when you try to sell it. You buy a 30k sti, and it is still worth 30k and has full factory warranty. hows that?
Ya, but cars are never an investment. You could also factor the savings in insurance in the lifetime of owning the vehicle. I betcha the Mx-3 would be alot cheaper to insure. Sure, you would be getting more money back on the car itself, but you can't get your money back on what you've spend to insure it. And what about the warranty when you start to modify it?
What do you mean savings in insurance? You are gonna put 30k into the car and not insure all those mods and risk losing everything if something should happen to the car(ie. theft, fire, damage)? And i wouldnt modify the sti with anything that would void its warranty. It is a low 13 sec. car stock, that would be enough fun for me.

Its going to cost you less per-year to insure an mx-3 than an STI. i believe that was what Nd4SpdSe was trying to say. And i agree with Nd4SpdSe

Nd4SpdSe · Post by **Nd4SpdSe** » January 16th, 2006, 5:57 pm

mxmaz wrote:What do you mean savings in insurance? You are gonna put 30k into the car and not insure all those mods and risk losing everything if something should happen to the car(ie. theft, fire, damage)? And i wouldnt modify the sti with anything that would void its warranty. It is a low 13 sec. car stock, that would be enough fun for me.

Most insurance companies don't like to ensure modified vehicles. I've heard alot of horror storries of people's insurance being dropped because of some simple stiff like body kits, rims or lowering springs. MX3EXTREME on here, his insurance company wouldn't insure his Integra cause he put a superchanger on it, but in the end allowed it cause he has a good record and a long time customer.

You can modify a vehicle, and your taking these chances:
1) Tell the insurance company and they cancel your policy
2) Make a claim and they find out so they cancel your policy
3) They find out about your modifications from the Internet and cancel your policy.
4) Paid stupid rates and they'll probably give you your car's book value + $100 anyway
5) Don't tell the insurance company and they never find out, enjoy the money savings and use the extra money to have fun and enjoy building up your car.

And warranties, bah, I'd just end up voiding them anyway.

And the Mx-3's being so old and no numerous, you can go to a wreckers or on these message boards and easilly get parts for cheap. The only STi's you'll see at the wreckers are the wrecked ones that are severely damaged and have minimal salvagable parts

Besides, C$30'000 in mods in an Mx-3 is ALOT. I've spend about C$15'000 on her so far, and that's including almost $5000 i've spend on the system including the carpc (my deck was almost $1000 in itself), in which the carpc parts weren't cheap back over 3 years ago, and my KLZE swap cost me just over C$5000 back 3 years ago too (dont nitpick, i did alot of preventative maintenance, and it cost me $1000 in labor), you can get them done for half that. Howadays, you can turbo ZE for that price, and i betcha a BPT is probably around that if not less.

Oh, and costs, even if they are worth $30'000, that's $30'000 that you owe the bank, if something happens, you don't get money back, that just goes towards the loan of money you don't have, although you'll still be out since the value of the car, since it dropped once you drove it off the lot, cause you know, the insurance company only insures for the book value of the car, not what you paid for it.

When i got my Mx-3, i took a $5000 loan and paid about $150/month for 3 years. If i wanted to take a 3-year loan for a $30'000 STI, it could cost me $833/month, and that's not including interest. Sure you can extent the loan for 4, 5 years, but that mean you never own the car until 5 year down the road. And $800/month, that's what my friend pays for his morgage, and a house is an investement. And with my Mx-3 paid off, i'd rather put that towards a house and spend money when i feel like it on the mx-3, than buy an STI, expecially with the Mx-3, not only can i go out and enjoy driving it, but also enjoy working on it as well.

1992blazeredgs · Post by **1992blazeredgs** » January 16th, 2006, 9:00 pm

I think the weak points in our cars are half the fun. Granted some of it might be a pain in the a-- to fix, but half the fun of owning a car is working on it and improving it. Atleast for me it is. Another thing, where i am from the only crx's i see are either rusted out or are in the junk yard. Compared to the competition of its time, the mx-3 blew everything away. I love my mx-3 and hope i can keep it on the road along time.

Nate

mxmaz · Post by **mxmaz** » January 16th, 2006, 9:35 pm

well thats my point nd4spd, you got loads of money put into your 15 year old car, and the car still aint worth s---. And if it got stolen, you are out on everything. If i bought an sti today, and it got wrote off next month or stolen, you can be damn sure my insurance company is going to give me pretty much enough to buy a brand new one again. I have seen it happen before with people with brand new cars getting wrote off.

A dealer or a bank would not finance a car under the notion that if in the first year(when the car depreciates most) the car gets written off, the insurance company would not cover enough to pay off the rest of the car.

Gro Harlem · Post by **Gro Harlem** » January 17th, 2006, 12:12 am

Major problems with the MX3 at the time of its introduction (when comparing it to competitors NX2000, NX1600, CRX, SC2, Eclipse/Talon/Laser)

1: it was the most expensive (around 17,000 base for a GS)

2: it had lower power than most, SC2 and NX2000 and obviously the turbo eclipse blew it away.

3: Since it used a V6 the fuel econ wasn't anything to be impressed by

4: Looks weren't for everyone. (then again thats what the NX2000 was criticized for)

5: The pathetic 1.6 SOHC in the RS is the stupidest engine choice mazda could've made for their "sports coupe". A 1.8 BP or using the 1.6 DOHC miata B6ZE woudl've made hella more sense. Using the KF-DE in the GS would've kept the MX3 placed under the MX6 but would've at least gave it some balls. The K8 wasn't even necessary in the K-series engine family

6: Criticized for visibility, low dashboard, no head room & "cheap, tin-sounding doors" (i can attest to the door one, they sound cheap as hell).

As for praise...being a mazda, naturally it was praised as being the best-handling & most fun to drive with the NX2000 pretty close behind (for handling) & CRX (for fun). The sound of the V6 gained praise but its revvy nature got some criticism from every mag i read an article on.

Personally i think the styling was a bit strange for its time. I think the distributor is ap eice of s--- design (thansk mitsubishi!) and the TBT and FGS design on the K-series engines makes for a PITA preventive-maintenance fix, but at least they are both inexpensive to some nissan "technology systems" that i know of (notably the VTECish system that the maxima VQ30DE had.....costs 3000 to fix every 60k miles).

The tinny doors piss me off somtimes & getting into the car is awkward being 6'4"...its SO low to the ground. The door and window seals always seem to get unseated on all mx3's i've seen which can look crappy & sometimes cause leaks. The headlights being plastic = sucky.

As for praise, i LOVE the euro-spec steering rack...quick ratio = awesome. The fact it shares its basic unibody with the BG protege (which shares its chassis with teh ford escort) means parts are WAY cheaper than they should be for such a low-sales car. Brakes, Suspension all cheap as hell. Fact its designed for a K-series engine means swapping in KF, KL is stupid easy making it easy to make the car a 14 second car for less than a grand. The aftermarket (despite what many here say) is WAY better than my protege ever was. Bodykits, CF stuff, other stupid crap like that exist and are made! Can't say that for the Protege i had.

Wider track & shorter wheelbase = amazing handling. Wish the swaybars weren't so different from the escort/protege/zx2 but oh well....we got whitelines which is an excellent reputable company, and mazdaspeed supported suspension arms, springs, struts, etc.

overall no regrets here. Truly an underappreciated and forgotten car.