Couple Questions About Mx-3s!

[IKillForPie]

Well I posted a few days ago how i was looking at buying a mx-3. I've been given permission to get a car in January; I've been shopping around for prices and i've become quite attached to the idea of myself driving an mx-3. I got a couple questions for anyone though, mostly about handling, breaking and room etc...

1. How's the space inside, is there lots of room for stuff in the trunk, people in the back, etc...?
2. What's the breaking like? I've read a few reviews that state the breaking could be improved on and i'm wondering if it's really that noticeable a problem?
3. What kind of repairs have you had to do since you got your car (excluding the stuff you fixed up). Did it happen quickly after, or did it come more slowly over time/self inflicted car damage. What are the repair costs like?
4. How do you like your car overall compared to other cars?


that's basically it. Right now i'm looking at the 1993 GS V6 1.8L model. so i'm hoping it will be as rad as it can ^_^.

[ZEmadman]

I've got the same car, i LOVE IT!

i've had relativly few problems since i got the car, most of the stuff that went wrong was normal stuff, brake pads, clutch, stuff like that, nothing major

1. the space in the inside is alright, at least for the driver and passenger. the back seats aren't all that comfortable but the trunk space is great!

2. i've never had any problems with breaking, other then changing pads (they were old) brakes pretty well

3. see intro paragraph...repair costs arent all that bad, no worse then any other car.

4. i absolutely love my mx-3, my only complaint is in the aftermarkt. im doing a huge buildup (engine swap, bore/stroke etc.) and a lot of my parts are going to have to be custom fabricated. im going for a drag/street sleeper car, and there are only so many mods you can do to the engine before you find yourself doing custom stuff......it's not like a mustang where there are literally thousands of possible engine setups!

but overall i give the mx-3 a 9/10

[MX3-Freak]

Here...

[ProjekMX3]

I can speak for the size inside of the car. I feel that the back seats are meant for toddlers tho last year in the dorms I fit three in the back.... Also at one point when i was moving I folded the back seats down and I fit three large tubs and a mini fridge in the back. As far as repairs there really aren't that many unless the car was abused by the previous owner. Its a pretty reliable car. I upgraded my brakes and put some brembo rotors on and some upgraded pads and my braking distance was fantastic. All around its an amazing car. If it wasn't would I have owned three?...... But hey thats just me. Good luck and happy shopping

[Gro Harlem]

1. How's the space inside, is there lots of room for stuff in the trunk, people in the back, etc...?

Surprising actually. I was able to pack my TV, computer, all my clothes, sheets, vaccuum, microwave, books, videogames and other college supplies in the car without blocking the view. I removed the cargo cover though as they are VERY FLIMSY and will break if you put any weight on top of them.

Space in back sucks..there is no headroom, but at least there is a semi-useable rear seat. Leg room isn't much of a problem, but head room is as the hatch is very low.

2. What's the breaking like? I've read a few reviews that state the breaking could be improved on and i'm wondering if it's really that noticeable a problem?

Subject to contrary belief the brakes are actually quite excellent IF MAINTAINED. If the mx3 you buy has crap brakes, evne after you bleed them or replace the pads, REPLACE THE CALIPERS!! I can't stress enough how important a maintained caliper is. Most older Mazda's have problems with their calipers adjusters seizing and pistons leaking slightly. Replacing them made a HELLUVA difference on my car.

3. What kind of repairs have you had to do since you got your car (excluding the stuff you fixed up). Did it happen quickly after, or did it come more slowly over time/self inflicted car damage. What are the repair costs like?

The 1.6 models seem solid and have no real problems from what I"ve seen. All automatic seatbelt cars have a beep-prone "seatbelt light" but you can easily disable that.

1.8 models have a somewhat failure prone distributor. I bought a remanufactured one from autozone for $146 and it came with a lifetime warranty. I've replaced it since then, but I also have a KLZE which contributes to their failure.

4. How do you like your car overall compared to other cars?

I like mine quite a bit, it handles good, sounds good, has plenty of interior room for my liking, Has the power options I require, a/c is freezing, heater works great too. IMO parts are cheap thanks to the relationship to the ford escort which decreases parts prices a LOT. (the ford actually has a mazda chassis that the mx3 sorta borrows so don't worry, its not a POS failure-prone ford chassis).

I especially like the fact that no one knows wtf I drive...lots of ppl think its a porsche, some think I imported it from japan and others think its a friggin HONDA lol. I debadged my car completely so you have to know your cars to know what it is.

<small>[ September 20, 2004, 08:34 AM: Message edited by: Gro Harlem ]</small>

[Typhoonk]

Love the car!!!

had the car for a year before any extra maintance came up!!!!! all it was was a worn clutch - could have went another year, but I replaced it cause I had some money. Then after that I just started upgrading stuff before they went. Like brakes, alternator, battery, hoses, ground cables, light bulds, and lots of other things. But now I'm addicted, and don't think I can stop putting stuff on the car.............

[What]

Ummm,don't be too eager to put the brakes into the wrong category of excellent.

My 1800lb. Swift Gt had larger front/rear discs than the 6 cylinders MX3. MX3 has 600lbs. more weight. With R compound rubber and gtech pro my Swift pulled very similar stopping distances to newer 911s from 100km/h (higher speeds... there comes the reason for the brake upgrade). And yes, I have driven both. I considered the brakes on the Swift to be good with room for improvement and I often considered brake upgrade even though stock it was able to outbrake most cars of various categories at the auto-x.

Please explain how you can group the kind of brake set-up on these MX3 into excellent. It's about par with the rest of it's field, and I'm sure better than some... but I believe your using excellent to loosely.

<small>[ September 21, 2004, 05:29 PM: Message edited by: What ]</small>

[J-Bird]

I am a new owner of a 1992 mx-3 V6. I drove it about 400km home as soon as I bought it, and it ran great!! When I got it home, I took it for a 140pt. inspection & found lots of little things wrong. Nothing big, except my mechanic & I couldn't find any proof that the timing had ever been checked, so we replaced the timing belt, which as it turned out, was pretty worn but probably could've gone for a while longer. The other stuff I replaced was the water pump, alt. belt, valve covers & gaskets (these were leaking & oil was getting into my rad), block heater cord (yep, Canadian winters!), CV boots, maybe a few other little things I can't remember, and then I put on 4 new tires. All in all, I dropped just over $2000 as soon as I bought it, but bear in mind half of that was labor costs. Oh, and right now i'm trying to determine what a slight problem is with the engine surging. Its definitely an mixture/vacuum problem and this site has helped me narrow it down! Its not something that affects my ability to drive, and I don't think its going to be too big of deal to fix either.

I haven't had any braking problems whatsoever, but I also drive a stick & usually gear down so I don't use the brakes as much as you would in an automatic, or if you didn't know how to downshift.

I've read some reviews that make this car out to be a big piece of s***, which kinda scared me when I was looking for mine, but if you get one thats well maintained & not built on a Friday afternoon, they are excellent cars, sporty, fun, and sexy. I've had a thing for these cars since they came out & was finally able to get one this summer.

Buy one, but research it carefully, as you would with any car, and MAINTAIN IT (treat it like your baby, and that doesn't just mean washing it). You won't regret it!!

[DJ]

1. As long as you consider it a 2 seater, there is tons of room as long as you are not really really tall. TONS of trunk space, more than 99% of cars because of the hatch and seats folding down.

2. Brakes work great. Have stopped VERY quickly from 200kph down to 100kph and still had control. Stops on a dime with a good set of tires.

3. Only repairs have been (canadian prices):
$300 -replaced muffler because pipe connecting to it rusted off
$15 -driver side CV boot
$10 -hand brake cable broke
$15 -transmission seal leak (fixed with lucas stop leak)
~$700 (got ripped off and had to have a second person to fix it properly) -brake rotors, pads and 1 caliper

4. Car is amazing. Looks fast, sounds fast, goes faster than most. I recommend finding a V6 GS 5spd (for the better looking front lip and spoiler) and a 94+ for the more modern looking interior.

Everywhere I go I get people asking about my car, on the street, gas station, chip wagon... AND IT'S STOCK. People don't look at it because I have gay flashing lights, loud *** muffler, or a stereo that is making you deaf. They look at it and ask about it because it's a kick *** looking car that attracts attention without even trying and deserves every bit of it.