My gf is looking to replace her almost 200k mile gallant soon and an old man in my neighborhood is selling a 2006 Mazda 3, 5 speed, with 59k for 5 grand. The car is very clean and the price is good but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these cars? Any known problems to look out for?

Thanks.

 

Why is he selling it for so cheap? Clean title?
I think they are very good cars. I drove one a while back and i thought it had a decent amount of pick up and go for what it is. they are great on gas and Im sure very reliable. for the price i would go for it if its a clean title......

 

We bought my wife's '05 new, now has 120k on it. Never any major issues, we love it.

 

If that old man is not being deceitful (meaning everything is fine and clean, including the title), then that is a very good price. You can just go directly to a Mazda 3 forum and read their bulletin boards, rather than to wait for someone on an S2000 forum to reply.

If I were you, I'd buy that in a sec, if everything is clean, for he is asking way way way below the private party price. If anything, you can even flip it for a grand or two of profit.

 

Clean title and everything. He originally wanted 6500 but he said he would let it go for 5 grand cash if he got a buyer by the end of the month.

 

Jump on it! The private retail is twice higher: http://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/2006/Mazda/MAZDA3

 

Is he selling the 2.0 or 2.3 liter? If the car is clean your GF should grab it. The 2.3 cost more, but $5K is an excellent price for a low mileage 3, even if the 2.0 3i. I have an 09 hatch S with the 2.3 liter engine as my DD. Go to www.mazda3forums.com and read up on them. When I was researching there were some ppl that had problems with I think was 3rd gear on the manual tranny, but it doesn't seem to be widespread problem.

Another thing I read is that these engines run pretty hot, so you want to make sure and keep up on the oil changes and other maintenance. The stock motor mounts are know to go relatively early (I read it reads FoMoCo on them), possibly as a result of the heat.

It's hard to get used to the long gear ratios when compared to the S, but once you get used to it they're a nice DD. I'm about to modify my suspension, but even stock it handles pretty well and is pretty fun to drive overall. Other than warped rotors I had no problems with the car to this point (I have 21K miles on it).

 

Yeah if thats 2.3L thats a great price.

 

My GF has an 07 I believe, the 2.0 3i.
That price seems a little too low to believe, check the market prices to confirm though.

She's had hers for 20k miles and its a solid car, much better than I expected it to be. It's the 4 speed auto and even tho it has 140ish HP (dont quote me) its got a little pep. Steering is nice and light and the car feels stable at high speeds. Maintenance has been just the basics so far. Her friend had the exact same car in manual and the 5 speed was not very enjoyable, but we all have S2000's so I figured we're spoiled with a nice transmission. I'd take the auto any day.


We drove it from Portland OR back home to Delaware in 5 days and it did a great job. Did about 35ish mpg overall.

For a basic car, you get what you see and what you get is pretty good.

 

We have a 2009 2.3 auto with leather. The original tires (Goodyear) suck in snow or rain.

The car is so nimble and so much fun to drive. Your girlfriend will love it.

It is very reliable so far. There are a couple of minor recalls. No big deal.