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Ok, so i buy my 93 mx3 for $700.00 and i knew there would be some problems...but not this many. when i fist took the car for new tires, i found out it needed new front axles, brakes, and cylinder& springs inside the brakes....ok so theres 585.00 right there. The next week my motor went out. 484.00 for a used japanese motor and then $550.00 for labor.this was this month. I've had the car since december and maybe have driven it 3weeks. So 3 days ago my radiator started to leak....ok another $100.00 for the repairs. And now im driving to and from work and the transmission is slipping like crazy. So i have spent about 2thousand dollars on this p.o.s and now the tranny. Im not gonna spend another 6-800 dollars for a tranny, and im not gonna do that...id rather save another 1500 and go buy a honda....and im mad because i cant sell my car for more than $500.00 (not even wat i payed) because no one will buy a car w/ no tranny. Even after fixing all these other things.... I knew i should bought the damn integra...

sounds like you bought an abused CAR..If the integra was treated the way the MX was...im sure it would be in the same shape. Take your frustrations out on the previous owner. You get what you pay for man!

I bought a $750 mx3 and it lasted me a year with no real issues. It needed a new clutch, and had a burnt valve... meh. Compared to my parents' cars, and my old cars this has been the most reliable oddly enough. And if your transmission is slipping, maybe you just need a new clutch.. that's something you should expect after putting on enough km on a standard car.

Boris wrote:I bought a $750 mx3 and it lasted me a year with no real issues. It needed a new clutch, and had a burnt valve... meh. Compared to my parents' cars, and my old cars this has been the most reliable oddly enough. And if your transmission is slipping, maybe you just need a new clutch.. that's something you should expect after putting on enough km on a standard car.

It is an automatic

Well if its an automatic.. dont hate mazda.. the damn things were designed by Ford. So thats who you should hate.

Tunes67

cjthor wrote:You get what you pay for man!

Quoted For Freaking Truth!

You spend $700 on a car as-is and expect it to be almost perfect, you never know what you get yourself into. It does all come down to the previous owner(s). Don't rat on Mazda, you don't want to hear the stories of my sister's '93 Prelude, and that was bought "safetied", although after we wonder if it was really done....

Im thinkin bout getting a new tranny and buying a manuel one and convert the transmission to stickshift.....but i dont know how much extra that would be.... :roll:

You seriously need to join a local tuner club and start learning how to look at the problems yourself. Brakes are EASY, axels are not that hard, if you'd done it yourself it would have cost 1/3 that. Half of MOCA would have given up on the MX if not for the help of friends willing to take a look at the problem and help with the elbow grease of fixing it...
Also, Always have a car checked out by a Good mechanic that you know before buying a car. It is not always beneficial to shop for the best price. Find a good shop, learn the managers name, ask for the best mechanic and learn his name too. Talk to them about your issues and develop a relationship with them. It Will save you money and a ton of headache in the end.

I payed 1000 for my car, was good but anot od work parts.. gave me hell the first year i had it. Now the whole front end is new... and im not done replacing used parts.. so yeah these cars if they dont maintain them they give us hell.. i hated my mx3 so so much.. but now i love it.

Like patdiesel said. You gotta learn how to do it yourself. The thing you gotta remember with this though is that as you replace parts, youre making the car that much better. Jesus, thinking back to what my car was like when I got it.. Id say on a cold night id probally make about 55hp. You gotta give your mx-3 some love man. She cant help the fact that she is breaking. This is how it starts.. As things break, replace them with better quality parts and you wont have a problem with it again.

I think if your transmission is phucked that you should DEFINATELY convert it to standard. Get rid of that automatic slushbox and drive the car like its supposed to be driven. Me and my buddy converted my girlfriends escort gt over to manual using alot of parts I used to have in my car and others from a junkyard. It took us about 3 days, it didnt cost too much and the car works awesome.

Just hang in there man. Most of the guys and gals on this board started with problems with their MX-3's when they first bought it. I bought my 93 with a busted auto tranny, busted axle, bad tires, bad battery, bad belts, and a few other things to boot. And I bought mine for $1600, and last year, the auto tranny went out on me again, (albeit, I was dogging it out, and I "knew" better, based on the history of the MX auto slush box) and I was so upset about my MX that at one time, I even had her here, up for sale... but after I thought about all I invested in her, I just couldn't do it. I've had way too many good times with my "auto" MX.
All I'm trying to say is that, just like everyone else here is pointing out to you, don't knock your car, because chances are either that the previous owners(s) didn't treat your MX too well.... or it may also be in part because the car "is" a older model, with used parts.
You'll find that, as you go along with your MX, chances are very high that you just might start getting attached to your MX, because once you get her "right", you'll find she is a absolutely reliable, and capable car.

And trust me, there are hundreds of your fellow MXers' on this board that will agree...... just hang in there man. Seasons come and seasons go.

Sounds like to me you didn;t do your research. everyone will tell you automatic mazda transmissions have issues...

Should've gone with a manual...

u paid $700 and u want the reliability of a car that is at least $3000
u should have spent the money and time to look into it on a car that is $3000

ProjectMx-3 wrote:Ok, so i buy my 93 mx3 for $700.00 and i knew there would be some problems...but not this many. when i fist took the car for new tires, i found out it needed new front axles, brakes, and cylinder& springs inside the brakes....ok so theres 585.00 right there. The next week my motor went out. 484.00 for a used japanese motor and then $550.00 for labor.this was this month. I've had the car since december and maybe have driven it 3weeks. So 3 days ago my radiator started to leak....ok another $100.00 for the repairs. And now im driving to and from work and the transmission is slipping like crazy. So i have spent about 2thousand dollars on this p.o.s and now the tranny. Im not gonna spend another 6-800 dollars for a tranny, and im not gonna do that...id rather save another 1500 and go buy a honda....and im mad because i cant sell my car for more than $500.00 (not even wat i payed) because no one will buy a car w/ no tranny. Even after fixing all these other things.... I knew i should bought the damn integra...

14 yr old car w/known ATX weakness... Any 14 year old car should come with its own mechanic. Dude, I think that would have to be you Otherwise, the mech shop costs are gonna eat you alive. That's a good rule of thumb for any $700 14 yr old vehicle, not just an ATX MX-3. You have my sympathy (to a limited extent) but unless yer prepped to take on some DIY repair work, better open wallet wide or stick with used cars that are well cared for and < 5 years old. It's just as easy to buy a 14 yr. old POS $700 Integra/Honda/Yota etc, as a Mazda. My .02 fwiw

Ok so you buy a used MX3 for $700, YOU KNOW ITS GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS and now your pissed?
And to top it all off, you have a mechanic do all the work for you?

All the problems you had, with just $2.3k you can do a 5pseed swap, KLZE, full tune up (water pump, spark plugs, wires, fluids, pulleys, belts, ect), new axels, brakes and tires.
Thats of course if you do the labor

If you want something reliable, buy a 97 Honda. Otherwise, dont buy cheap cars! Because they will need body and mechanical work and if you cant do that yourself then you better have $$$ to waste

I bought a 88 Honda CRX with 102k miles. Its the HF model. Side of the body has alot of rust, but its OK! Cause I paint and prep cars at my school. I also have enough money to buy the catylitic converter and starter that it needs