"Frosted" (frostedbuns)
04/02/2014 at 11:10 • Filed to: None
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"Frosted" (frostedbuns)
04/02/2014 at 11:10 • Filed to: None | 0
| 12 |
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4401198208…
Found this while scrolling the local CL, not terribly serious about buying a car till summer but that seems not too bad. Kinda put off by the mileage though. I don't know much about Mazda in general, anyone familiar with them have any opinions?
Sn210
> Frosted
04/02/2014 at 11:22 |
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kbb puts the car between $5,300 for private sale and $7,300 for dealer retail, so I'd say he's starting off with a fair price. I'd say anywhere between 6-6,500 would be NP
N/A POWAAAHH
> Frosted
04/02/2014 at 11:23 |
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Rear wells rust badly. Check that before you buy. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find one with the rust.
Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
> Frosted
04/02/2014 at 11:23 |
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I had an '03 Protege, and it treated me fairly well for over 150K of hard miles. Rust is always a problem for Mazdas, but this one appears to be pretty clean. $7,000 is a bit much, but it seems he's ready to deal a bit. Mazda's have really good handling for a small sedan, much better than a Corolla or Civic generally.
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Frosted
> Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
04/02/2014 at 11:26 |
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I hear a lot about the handling and that's one reason that I want to go with a Mazda instead of a Civic. It also has a lot of the mods that I would want to do already done anyway and I could probably talk him into 5500 for it. My car now hit 115k miles last night and, while I'm hoping for something with less miles, this doesn't seem terrible. I may go take a looksee on Friday.
Meatcoma
> Frosted
04/02/2014 at 11:30 |
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You are probably not going to get 20% off his asking price as he is in fair market value already.
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Frosted
> Meatcoma
04/02/2014 at 11:35 |
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Hmmm maybe he'd take 6 grand (this ad was for 6k last night when I found it, dunno why he bumped it to 7 now)
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Meatcoma
> Frosted
04/02/2014 at 11:46 |
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2 day old post. Either jump on it and hope he takes your offer or sit and see if he lowers it.
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Frosted
> Meatcoma
04/02/2014 at 11:48 |
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I'll prolly sit on it. I'm not really looking to buy a car until August-ish, maybe a little sooner but at least not till summer time. This will likely be gone by then. But damn if it isn't tempting.
offroadkarter
> Frosted
04/02/2014 at 11:58 |
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Thats not a lot of miles.
if you do buy that, pull the stupid poverty beam HID bulbs, that car was made to have halogen bulbs.
MountainCommand
> Frosted
04/02/2014 at 12:34 |
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Seems like a good find. Just make sure its from an owner you feel comfortable buying from. By that i mean did he treat the car right.
Price seems pretty spot on for the most part. My sister got her 04 3 hatchback (same color) at 92K miles, for 6 grand. Just about as clean as this one, but totally stock and nothing extra. So try and haggle down just a bit.
But like the others mentioned, look for the rust! A few i looked at for my sister were plagued with it. And being a jersey car, be careful.
A few notes about the 3's from my readings:
-if the shocks havent been replaced, do it. These are apparently notorious for not so great OEM shocks.(my sisters car is now displaying the failure signs of the shock issue)
-engine mounts. Another slight issue on these cars. Not crazy expensive to fix and replace though.
-a problem my sister just had, and many others online have found, if it has the 6cd changer then make sure it works. Because the theory is if you play 'burned' cds, they are slightly thicker (i cant confirm this though), and can jam up the whole thing. And ive been reading and it seems like a PITA to swap in another one pulled from another car, so keep an eye there.
-check the ebrake engagement.
-rear camber wear. These cars have aggressive rear camber (i dont know if it was fixed in the 06 models though). So you might notice some excessive/uneven wear on the tires.
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Frosted
> MountainCommand
04/02/2014 at 12:49 |
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Thanks for the tips! I'd much rather hold out and hopefully find a stock one as well, I try to avoid buying modded cars but the intake and exhaust is something I'd want to do anyway. If the 6 CD changer doesn't work I can swap in an aftermarket headunit, got a bunch in the attic (my whole family has had modded cars and headunits have always been changed and swapped out before selling, so there's an abundance of them in my house). I'll be sure to check the rust, especially on the undercarriage after the winter we've had. Ad says it has some scratches and normal wear so hopefully he'll negotiate because of that. Are any particular engine mounts prone to failing? I'll look at all of them but I'm just curious if some are especially bad. Also, if there is camber wear, what would be the way to fix it? A simple alignment or entirely new suspension gibbens?
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MountainCommand
> Frosted
04/02/2014 at 13:57 |
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Your welcome. Just do some digging on the mazda3 forums and youll find a lot of answers and fyi stuff to help you in purchasing. I forget all of them but its where i learned what to ask the seller when we bough my sister hers.
The other option is to get one without the cd changer haha.
Not only rust in the under carriage, but in the door jambs by the pillar separating the front and rear doors. Thats another spot where rust was after looking at a few.
engine mount writeup:
http://www.mazda3forums.com/showthread.php…
megathread discussion:
http://www.mazda3forums.com/showthread.php…
and theres a few youtube videos as well iirc.
You can fix the rear camber wear via aftermarket control arms and a good alignment. But stock these cars have lots of camber to keep them stable and make for a bit better handling. Downside is the tire wear.
http://www.mazda3forums.com/showthread.php…