I think we have a winner

"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
09/24/2015 at 13:32 • Filed to: notacamry

Just need to address this:

And this:

Oh and this:

But these are new:

And the interior is in IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. You that read wrong. That too.

Other needs: Wheel bearing (loud and loose), control arms (ball joints), parking brake cables (maybe I can adjust the slack out) purge valve (check engine light) and motor mount (leaking, but not vibrating yet).

91k miles on a 2004 ain’t too shabby, either. One owner, local car, bought here and recently serviced.

Everything works on the car, engine is strong, trans shifts beautifully, and the handling... OH! Lets just say I took a drive through a roundabout-y area on purpose last night and was impressed. The same roundabouts I drove the Kia through. This was funner. And faster. And cheaper.

DISCUSSION (42)

CalzoneGolem > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:38

Bonus : you get to look like a “company man.”

Steve in Manhattan > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:39

Your long national nightmare is over.

Party-vi > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:39

Holy crap 91k miles and it’s half rust. Congratusorry?

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Party-vi
09/24/2015 at 13:41

ZoomZoom, goes the rust!

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:41

What happened to the Kia?

miadaman? yes please > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:43

Hooray!

Shame about the rusts, but that’s what weekends are for.

Ash78, voting early and often > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:45

Wow, I have never in my life seen a modern car with that kind of rust under the paint. Reminds me of my dad’s 1973 VW Squareback.

shop-teacher > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:45

I’m still not sure how my wife’s ‘06 3 managed to escape the rust after 8 Chicago winters.

I’m assuming this is significantly cheaper, given all the condition issues?

georgechristensen > Party-vi
09/24/2015 at 13:45

Mazda’s rust badly. There’ll probably be none left in 5 or so years.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:46

Man, Mazda rust just sucks. Really the only downside of the brand in general (at least for older cars). I love the Mazda 3 hatch from that generation though, it is such a great car.

Textured Soy Protein > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:47

Don’t do it! I had the Wisconsin rust in my MS6’s rear wheelwells repaired and it re-sprouted a couple years later.

Punk_Girl_98 > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:48

Is the work it needs expensive to do? It sounds like it is.

Takuro Spirit > Party-vi
09/24/2015 at 13:50

Craigslist be like “normal Wisconsin rust”

Takuro Spirit > shop-teacher
09/24/2015 at 13:50

Si. Below private party blue book.

Takuro Spirit > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
09/24/2015 at 13:51

Couldn’t agree on price/financing.

Takuro Spirit > Punk_Girl_98
09/24/2015 at 13:51

Not really. I work at a Mazda dealer and am a former tech so I can either do the work myself with discounted parts, or have the work done at a discount while I keep my hands and tools clean.

Takuro Spirit > Textured Soy Protein
09/24/2015 at 13:52

I’ll invest in a drum of POR-15 and a keg of Sunlight Silver paint.

AndyG_UK > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:54

That’s a lot of rust, our 06 3 got recalled for extra rust proofing, the 07 one didn’t. Great cars though, we enjoyed both of them and they were pretty reliable, the 07 one especially so (it was 2.0td one), both great cars to hustle along!

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 13:57

Poor Mazda thinks it’s a Mercedes

CKeffer > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 14:03

*shudder* so very glad I don’t live in the rust belt. That said, I wonder how much a pool of Por-15 big enough to dunk that entire car in would cost.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 14:13

For a 11 year old Mazda, the rust isn't even that bad - I don't even see too many of that generation of 3 around central Ontario anymore, and the ones that are still driven are much, much rustier. I noticed no pics of the rear - I take it this one doesn't have any rusting on the tailgate? On this generation I tend to see a lot of rust around the taillights.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 14:15

Or you could have a rust free low mileage Grand Marquis.

It will definitely up your “classy” status.

Punk_Girl_98 > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 14:17

Oh cool. It works out perfect then. Go for it Takuro *high five*

georgechristensen > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 14:19

There’s an easy solution to this rust problem and that’s to live somewhere where it doesn’t snow and the roads aren’t salted

Takuro Spirit > georgechristensen
09/24/2015 at 14:34

Kinja'd!!!

for Michigan > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 14:36

Congrats.

We now drive identical cars. Mine is a bit less rusty, though.

Takuro Spirit > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
09/24/2015 at 14:36

I could finally wear my “Classy Grandpa” shirt in public!

mazda616 > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 14:47

Yay! Mazda family.

I love mine. I just drove it on lunch today and was thinking about what a great car it’s been. Six years and 64,000 miles and all I’ve done to it is replace the leaky motor mount, replace a brake light switch, and replace two door lock actuators. All in all, that stuff was under $250.00. Oh, and wear items like tires and brakes of course.

And I got 31 MPG last week too, even though mine is an auto. :)

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 15:33

YOU’RE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY!

Takuro Spirit > mazda616
09/24/2015 at 16:06

Mine should get 32. Because it’s light(rusty)er.

mazda616 > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 16:16

I haven't noticed any rust on mine. And I inspect it regularly due to paranoia. And OCD. Anyway, Kentucky sees about 1/10th of the snow Wisconsin does, and my car was originally a Georgia car for the first two years. Guess that explains it and I got lucky.

Takuro Spirit > mazda616
09/24/2015 at 16:17

And I think by 2007 they started actually rust proofing the cars.

TheJMan92 > Party-vi
09/24/2015 at 16:34

That’s nothing compared to mine, same exact car, but with a hole where this car has rust.

TheJMan92 > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 16:36

Holy crap, I just realized why I can get 33 if I don’t enjoy the back roads too much. I’ve got to be down at least 5lbs due to rust.

Party-vi > TheJMan92
09/24/2015 at 16:37

boo and hiss for rust. That sucks.

TheJMan92 > Takuro Spirit
09/24/2015 at 16:53

Congratulations! Long rambly post below if you fancy.

Make sure you take care of that rust before it snows. I let mine go last year because I’m a horrible person, it’s much worse now.
I plan on some good old POR-15 and Sunlight Silver to help, but there is already a good size hole on one side. Good things rust panels are only $40!

Some wisdom:

Working on these cars mechanically is pretty easy! The passenger motor mount will fail because it’s filled with hydraulic fluid that tends to leak out. Check the sway bar endlinks. If they have a Fomoco stamp change them, you’ll be surprised at how much the handling improves. Thermostat/water pump is kind of hard due to engine packaging but you’ll be able to do it much faster the second time. Incidentally, don’t buy a motorad thermostat or you will be doing it twice. CV axles are a pain and the bolt in the wheel hub end is torque to yield and costs $25 so for the love of god only torque it to 25ft/lbs and don’t try to re-use it.

Finally, get it on twisty roads! This thing is slow car fast personified (well, Miata I guess) but really isn’t that slow even with an automatic. 2nd will take you up to 60 if you don’t mind the redline and you’ll want to try to keep it around 3k rpm coming out of corners because that’s when the real torque comes on. The manumatic shift mode is slow but once you get the hang of it’s shift times it’s a lot of fun. That’s the important bit, even as a daily these cars are just plain fun, enjoy it!

Takuro Spirit > TheJMan92
09/24/2015 at 17:38

Thanks! Unfortunately, I work at a Mazda dealer, am aware of all the problems, have a can of POR-15 at home (I’ve owned a few rusty cars in the past and am using it to coat the new floor pans in my Trans Am one of these days), and have already slung it through some roundabouts.

TheJMan92 > Takuro Spirit
09/25/2015 at 09:42

Well then you’re all set, welcome to the fold!

TheJMan92 > Party-vi
09/25/2015 at 09:43

Yea, it’s my fault for letting it go last year. I’m trying to decide if I just want to POR-15 it as is or get some rust panels.

RazoE > Takuro Spirit
09/25/2015 at 16:21

I am okay with this

Tohru > Takuro Spirit
09/25/2015 at 17:07

When you’re done painting the car you can leave the keg in Kenosha/Racine for the junkies to do keg stands on for the fumes.

Tohru > Takuro Spirit
09/25/2015 at 17:07

Don’t kid yourself