Looking to buy a mk3
Discussion
Well I’m looking at buying a mk3 as a fun car for sunny weekends and a few road trips.
Currently looking at 05-07 cars and am favouring the 2.0 sport model at present but was wondering if there are any obvious things to look out for beyond the usual wear and tear.
Not too worried about mileage so long as condition I good but open to suggestions/thoughts.
Budget is up to £4.5k ideally.
TIA
Currently looking at 05-07 cars and am favouring the 2.0 sport model at present but was wondering if there are any obvious things to look out for beyond the usual wear and tear.
Not too worried about mileage so long as condition I good but open to suggestions/thoughts.
Budget is up to £4.5k ideally.
TIA
I think the lack or replies reflects the utter boredom felt by looking at the yet another 'WTB' thread, now I know what the flight attendants feel like when pointing out which exit to leave by and how to put a mask on for the 3 millionth time.
Look down there for the members opinions and up there ^^ at the PH write up for guidance.
Now i've bumped your stagnant thread it'll kick off with posts coming from all over, funny thing human nature.
Look down there for the members opinions and up there ^^ at the PH write up for guidance.
Now i've bumped your stagnant thread it'll kick off with posts coming from all over, funny thing human nature.
Edited by Evoluzione on Thursday 26th April 00:16
I had a 56 plate mk3 from 2009 until last summer. Nothing major during that time, and what did arise was probably mainly due to my very limited use of it: sticking calipers and I ended up needing the ABS ECU reconditioned.
The OEM droplinks tend to break. Driver seat belts tend to stop fully retracting, but neither horrendous (Mazda wouldn’t do the seat belt under warranty, it didn’t affect the MOT and never got any worse)
Mine started bubbling around the inner face of the rear wheel arches (mud accumulates on the top). That was the biggest disappointment for me. It seems rusting rear arches are fairly common.
Given the car was 11 years old (but only 37k mileage), I guess it could all be classed fair wear and tear?
The OEM droplinks tend to break. Driver seat belts tend to stop fully retracting, but neither horrendous (Mazda wouldn’t do the seat belt under warranty, it didn’t affect the MOT and never got any worse)
Mine started bubbling around the inner face of the rear wheel arches (mud accumulates on the top). That was the biggest disappointment for me. It seems rusting rear arches are fairly common.
Given the car was 11 years old (but only 37k mileage), I guess it could all be classed fair wear and tear?
I’ve got an ‘06 Sport which i’ve Run for a couple of years at just over 40k miles now. It’s been my daily driver though all seasons and lives outside. No problem with rust but it does get hand washed by me on a regular-ish basis. Last service required drop-links replacing. I know bushes on control arms can be a weak point too, but haven’t seen any issues myself. FWIW the 2.0 ford engine was upgraded with stronger internals when they facelifted the car. Improved con-rod or some such thing, so if tunng’s your thing you might want to think about a later car.
Out of the box the handling isn’t amazing. I’ve not had the time or spare cash to get mine sorted yet but i’ve heard a good geo improves things, and coilovers (Meister-R seem to be favoured) transform it into something comparable to the earlier MK1 & MK2 but with less rust and more creature comforts.
Out of the box the handling isn’t amazing. I’ve not had the time or spare cash to get mine sorted yet but i’ve heard a good geo improves things, and coilovers (Meister-R seem to be favoured) transform it into something comparable to the earlier MK1 & MK2 but with less rust and more creature comforts.
rockandrollmark said:
I’ve got an ‘06 Sport which i’ve Run for a couple of years at just over 40k miles now. It’s been my daily driver though all seasons and lives outside. No problem with rust but it does get hand washed by me on a regular-ish basis.
Ah, if only salt and rust existed at eye level eh.Evoluzione said:
rockandrollmark said:
I’ve got an ‘06 Sport which i’ve Run for a couple of years at just over 40k miles now. It’s been my daily driver though all seasons and lives outside. No problem with rust but it does get hand washed by me on a regular-ish basis.
Ah, if only salt and rust existed at eye level eh.rockandrollmark said:
Evoluzione said:
rockandrollmark said:
I’ve got an ‘06 Sport which i’ve Run for a couple of years at just over 40k miles now. It’s been my daily driver though all seasons and lives outside. No problem with rust but it does get hand washed by me on a regular-ish basis.
Ah, if only salt and rust existed at eye level eh.fido said:
2.0 Sport Tech has Bilstein struts. I would go for 3.5 or later with forged crank - revs a tad higher and you'll regret it if you want to get it turbo'd (and it is very tempting as even a 200bhp MX-5 gets boring .. )
The crank had nothing to do with the rev limit and turbos are all about making power & torque mid range, not at extended higher rpm. You can make 500bhp without going beyond the rev limit of the engine so crank material doesn't really feature here.Edited by fido on Tuesday 1st May 09:07
Edited by Evoluzione on Tuesday 1st May 22:33
Evoluzione said:
rockandrollmark said:
Evoluzione said:
rockandrollmark said:
I’ve got an ‘06 Sport which i’ve Run for a couple of years at just over 40k miles now. It’s been my daily driver though all seasons and lives outside. No problem with rust but it does get hand washed by me on a regular-ish basis.
Ah, if only salt and rust existed at eye level eh.Evoluzione said:
The crank had nothing to do with the rev limit and turbos are all about making power % torque mid range, not at extended higher rpm. You can make 500bhp without going beyond the rev limit of the engine so crank material doesn't really feature here.
I don't know how it affects the FI reliability but Mazda changed to a forged crank and connecting rods and stiffer valve springs for the Mk3.5 - this was clearly done to allow for the higher rev limit. With the turbo packages I've seen they do go past the redline e.g.7350rpm so it can't be a bad thing to have a higher limit but I'm sure a tuner can comment .. fido said:
Evoluzione said:
The crank had nothing to do with the rev limit and turbos are all about making power & torque mid range, not at extended higher rpm. You can make 500bhp without going beyond the rev limit of the engine so crank material doesn't really feature here.
I don't know how it affects the FI reliability but Mazda changed to a forged crank and connecting rods and stiffer valve springs for the Mk3.5 - this was clearly done to allow for the higher rev limit. With the turbo packages I've seen they do go past the redline e.g.7350rpm so it can't be a bad thing to have a higher limit but I'm sure a tuner can comment .. 
That's almost as if you'd copied and pasted from a website 
It's the valve springs which allowed the slightly higher rev limit, rods were always forged and nobody was ever breaking cranks.
For everyday use on a turbo motor there is little point in revving the tits off it, look at where peak torque occurs and then drops off the higher up the rev range you go, the vast majority of bhp is also delivered well before the red line if using standard cams and settings, earlier if you change them.
On track it's a bit different, it's good to be able to let loose and give it death.
Evoluzione said:
For everyday use on a turbo motor there is little point in revving the tits off it, look at where peak torque occurs and then drops off the higher up the rev range you go, the vast majority of bhp is also delivered well before the red line if using standard cams and settings, earlier if you change them.
I think we'll have to disagree .. for everyday use I take my MX-5 (turbo or not) to redline or where it makes peak power [occasionally] .. well because it's fun.fido said:
Evoluzione said:
For everyday use on a turbo motor there is little point in revving the tits off it, look at where peak torque occurs and then drops off the higher up the rev range you go, the vast majority of bhp is also delivered well before the red line if using standard cams and settings, earlier if you change them.
I think we'll have to disagree .. for everyday use I take my MX-5 (turbo or not) to redline or where it makes peak power [occasionally] .. well because it's fun.But yes, a lot of it is down to personal taste, hence why i'm building a 2.5 with a turbo.
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