MX-3.com

hi! i've just registered here. Looking to become an owner of a mx3. I am a fellow mazda owner with my 98 Protege. I'm a member of imazda.com, clubprotege.com, and toprotege.com

My wife and i have liked these cars for a while now, and she wants to find a relatively cheap project car.. We are looking for one with little body work required.. She's looking for a 4cyl, automatic for traffic/gas reasons, but also drives stick..

I'm hoping for something under $1000, but depending on the condition of the car, i won't refuse any links thrown my way!

I'm hoping to convince her to do a KLZE swap.. haha.. but for now she wants something that doesn't guzzle the gas like her Sentra..

Thanks everyone, i look forward to learning more about the MX..

Welcome to the community and good luck on finding a MX-3 that fits your needs. A couple of things I will mention about these cars (I have both a RS model and GS model) that I have learned in my ownership of them.

1) Avoid the Automatic transmission cars. They are very underpowered and the transmissions have a history of dying when not maintained well. And most ATX trannies dont get the maintenance that they should. And its much safer to assume that a car 9-14 years old now hasnt had the proper maintenance on the ATX during some point of its lifespan. Only buy one if you cant find anything else and the car is otherwise in good condition. A ATX to MTX swap is not that hard to do if it comes down to it.

2) If you eventually want to do a KLZE conversion.. start with a GS car. Since they are already setup for the V6.. you wont have other parts to covert over. The 1.8 V6 that comes in the GS still gives respectible gas mileage, especially with the 5spd.

3) There are a few weaknesses in both versions of the MX-3. Though 2 are common to both RS & GS models. The distributors like to die on occasion.. could be a design flaw.. I am more inclined to believe its because they were produced by mitsubishi. The Alternators also like to have problems and coincidentally (NOT) they were also produced for Mazda by Mitsubishi. On the GS model only.. the rear calipers are known to stick and be VERY expensive to replace should you need to replace them. Again.. Produced by Mitsubishi for Mazda. The last flaw is the only one I cant blame on mitsubishi.. I have no proof they produced this for Mazda.. but the wiring harnesses like to corrode inside the wire insulation. I have found evidence of this on both my 94 RS and my 92 GS.

Please dont let this information dissuade you from buying a MX-3. I love both my RS & GS models. Any and all problems I mentioned above have been solved by various members and there is plenty of information on mx-3.com to help you solve any other issues that might crop up. The people here exemplify what a online community for helping one and other should be like.

One last thing.. there are 2 versions of the RS car. Based on the year of the vehicle. The 92-93 models come with a SOHC 4cyl engine and the 94+ models come with a DOHC 4cyl.. a bit more power though the SOHC RS does get the best gas mileage out of all versions of the car. Cheers and welcome aboard.

Tunes67

Oh yeah.. one last thing.. the 96 versions of the car are OBDII where as the rest of the 92-95's are OBDI.. so swapping stuff on a 96 would present more challenges and notably less support. Just a heads up.

Tunes67

That exactly the advice / knowledge i needed.. i will avoid 96's, cause i'm sure there's more 92-95's available..

I'm not scared of a little work. I know that mtx's are easier to maintain. so i'm trying to convince her to get MTX.. but i'm sure alot of you know the fun of traffic on the 401 at 8am...

where's whitby? In canada? seems like everyone else is in canada, haha.

ya, whitby is east of toronto.. you'll see guys from oshawa, pickering.. i'm in the middle.

I know its out of your $1000 price range, but its might be worth a gander. Mainly because its belongs to me and Im the one selling it. Its up to you, call if you want to take a look.

http://forums.vitalmotion.net/showthread.php?t=31686

Thats a nice ride.. and a good price.. but most of the work is done! haha.. We were looking for a base car.. If we didn't have the ambition, your car would be in consideration..

Thanks for the post.

how bout a '94 w/177k miles, drove it from atlanta to tennessee, works great, engine smokes like a grenade when it's cold

haha, you got the ambition, might part with it for what we got it for, bit under 2k

good body, good interior very clean mechanically, a fix'er up. Tranny and clutch grip well, though shifter seen better days. Brakes work like they should (mx-3 stock brakes aren't too impressive)

if your still interested, things can be removed. thats not a problem

1) Avoid the Automatic transmission cars. They are very underpowered and the transmissions have a history of dying when not maintained well. And most ATX trannies dont get the maintenance that they should. And its much safer to assume that a car 9-14 years old now hasnt had the proper maintenance on the ATX during some point of its lifespan. Only buy one if you cant find anything else and the car is otherwise in good condition. A ATX to MTX swap is not that hard to do if it comes down to it.

Yes, i'm back.. i think we might have found a car! But it has an auto tranny that is toast.

What usually goes in the auto trannies? anything specific? Its a 94.. Are any of the internals the same as any escort models?

I have a 95 RS parts car that is auto.

i have a project car im trying to get rid of im asking only 350/BO it has 103k miles on it. the engine runs great starts up. interior is in good condition, all lights there, drivers seat has a rip, def needs a paint job (had a simonizing accident) a couple of dings here and there on the body but nothing too bad. Also the tranmission is pretty much shot. it needs a new diff. if you have any questions or want to see some pics pm me.

Thanks for all the offers, but i think i found one.. I should be picking it up sunday..

If you didn't find one, I have one all done up you could have really cheap. Everything you'd want in it. Let me know