New to import cars and new to here.
Posted: October 2nd, 2012, 2:34 pm
Hi,
I've always loved v8's, and even more than that, the 4.0L engine jeeps.
so i've always been a jeep guy, been wrenching on and off for 10years at a couple dealerships/shops, but generally always been into Jeep wranglers and cherokees. i can tell you almost everything about them in my sleep.
then gas prices went up, and we tried to offset the cost of gas by getting motorcycles, and i started getting into working on and modifying motorcycles on the side a little.
well then it got to expensive to keep the jeeps or trucks even for occasional use, so i traded my cherokee for a manual transmission grand am and for the first time had a 4-wheeled vehicle that got better than 15mpg. LOL at 30mpg it was almost (not quite) as good as our bikes. Unfortunately since I don't have a job anymore (medical reasons), when the grand am decided to take a dump earlier this year, I couldn't afford the parts to fix it, and sold it. Well now it's getting to cold to use the bikes daily, so I needed to start looking for a car for this stupid cold weather that's coming up.
So here I am with a 92 mazda mx-3, 1.8L, manual transmission.
THE GOOD:
starts and runs
only 137,000 miles
power mirrors, windows and sunroof work
still has owners manual and emergency allen wrench tool
subwoofer/amp/wiring already installed
it's paid for
THE BAD:
driver side window switch is bad
driver side cv-axle is bad
driver side door and quarter panel are dented from somebody backing into it
driver side electric seat belt track is missing
driver side rear swaybar end link is broken
driver side door weather strip is ripped
driver seat is torn down the left side
passenger front is missing a wheel stud
passenger front strut to knuckle bolts were loose
passenger rear brake was worn THROUGH the pads, the backing plates and the caliper piston
sunroof seal was bad, so one of the previous owners gorilla glued the seal
passenger side coolant cap adapter (not sure what it's called or what it's for) was cracked,
so he gorilla glued that too
both front tires are bald
both rear seats are ripped at the seams
center console is broken
rear hatch cover (that piece that hangs from the glass to hide what's in the trunk) is
deformed and damaged
lots of little leaks in the engine compartment (hey it's a 20year old car)
rust under the rockers (surprisingly very little to no visible rust on the visible parts of the
exterior of the car)
somebody stole the stereo face, so i had no tunes driving home.
paid $900
so right now she's sitting on 4 jackstands in my shop all torn apart, waiting on new parts to arrive. Already did the oil change, and will change transmission fluid later today. Already installed a new mp3 deck (don't own any cd's, so it sounds weird to say cd deck. LOL)
so all in all not overly bad. most of the problems are basically lack of maintenance. still think I paid a little to much for it, but if it gets me close to another 10,000 miles, it'll be worth it.
So what can you guys tell me about these cars, and where can you point me for all the tips & tricks, etc... (haven't had much time to read around yet. to busy trying to keep up with the work on the house and property and now the car)???
Thanks
I've always loved v8's, and even more than that, the 4.0L engine jeeps.
so i've always been a jeep guy, been wrenching on and off for 10years at a couple dealerships/shops, but generally always been into Jeep wranglers and cherokees. i can tell you almost everything about them in my sleep.
then gas prices went up, and we tried to offset the cost of gas by getting motorcycles, and i started getting into working on and modifying motorcycles on the side a little.
well then it got to expensive to keep the jeeps or trucks even for occasional use, so i traded my cherokee for a manual transmission grand am and for the first time had a 4-wheeled vehicle that got better than 15mpg. LOL at 30mpg it was almost (not quite) as good as our bikes. Unfortunately since I don't have a job anymore (medical reasons), when the grand am decided to take a dump earlier this year, I couldn't afford the parts to fix it, and sold it. Well now it's getting to cold to use the bikes daily, so I needed to start looking for a car for this stupid cold weather that's coming up.
So here I am with a 92 mazda mx-3, 1.8L, manual transmission.
THE GOOD:
starts and runs
only 137,000 miles
power mirrors, windows and sunroof work
still has owners manual and emergency allen wrench tool
subwoofer/amp/wiring already installed
it's paid for
THE BAD:
driver side window switch is bad
driver side cv-axle is bad
driver side door and quarter panel are dented from somebody backing into it
driver side electric seat belt track is missing
driver side rear swaybar end link is broken
driver side door weather strip is ripped
driver seat is torn down the left side
passenger front is missing a wheel stud
passenger front strut to knuckle bolts were loose
passenger rear brake was worn THROUGH the pads, the backing plates and the caliper piston
sunroof seal was bad, so one of the previous owners gorilla glued the seal
passenger side coolant cap adapter (not sure what it's called or what it's for) was cracked,
so he gorilla glued that too
both front tires are bald
both rear seats are ripped at the seams
center console is broken
rear hatch cover (that piece that hangs from the glass to hide what's in the trunk) is
deformed and damaged
lots of little leaks in the engine compartment (hey it's a 20year old car)
rust under the rockers (surprisingly very little to no visible rust on the visible parts of the
exterior of the car)
somebody stole the stereo face, so i had no tunes driving home.
paid $900
so right now she's sitting on 4 jackstands in my shop all torn apart, waiting on new parts to arrive. Already did the oil change, and will change transmission fluid later today. Already installed a new mp3 deck (don't own any cd's, so it sounds weird to say cd deck. LOL)
so all in all not overly bad. most of the problems are basically lack of maintenance. still think I paid a little to much for it, but if it gets me close to another 10,000 miles, it'll be worth it.
So what can you guys tell me about these cars, and where can you point me for all the tips & tricks, etc... (haven't had much time to read around yet. to busy trying to keep up with the work on the house and property and now the car)???
Thanks