Shopping for a Mazda 3 hatchback... Advice?

[slugg]

I've searched around the interwebs for a "buyer's guide" of sorts, to no avail. All I can find is the crappy, SEO-generated pages at Edmunds, AutoTrader, etc. All useless.

I signed up at Mazda3Forums.com and searched the threads. There's just a ton of unorganized junk with no real "buyer's guide" or consolidated list of common issues. When I went to go post a new thread, it turns out I was blocked from posting threads. When I tried to reply to a similar thread (albeit, old), I was also blocked. How stupid.

So now I turn to my favorite forum in the whole wide world, AnandTech forums!

So here's the scoop. I'm selling my 2002 Mazda Protege to a friend. I was about to get an older BMW 330i, but then I changed my mind and decided that I'd prefer to have two extremes: useless but fun car (Miata) and a highly utilitarian vehicle that still isn't an SUV, the Mazda 3 hatch. The only thing that can change my mind is if I happen to run into a 330i ZHP for the right price, which won't happen.

I know what I want, it's just a matter of finding it. Here's the list:
- Mazda 3 hatchback, any year
- Priced correctly (would pay a premium if it's a "needs nothing" car, expect to pay less otherwise)
- Leather seats
- Manual transmission
- Non-black color (I love OTHER PEOPLE's black cars, where THEY wash/wax every other day and not me!)

I seem to have found a worthy contender. It's a 2004 in that really cool Lava Orange (not actual car photo):

It has all of my requirements. Price is good, but not great. May be able to haggle a little. The only issue: 124xxx miles and no maintenance records. How concerned should I be? The big things I can think of are the clutch, serpentine/AC belt(s), and possibly the AC compressor. Thankfully, the engine has a timing chain and not a belt. Is this kind of mileage something to be worried about on these cars? Anything else I should know?

Thanks in advance

 

[T2urtle]

When I was shopping for a car and looked into the mazda3, I got of a ton of people posting poor mpg for a 4 cylinder, in both 2.0/2.3 form. To me normal would be 25 mixed and close to 30 highway. I THINK I saw many posters saying 22 mixed-25 highway.

 

[phucheneh]

They're full of shit. I get ~25 or better mixed. 30+ on interstate trips, which are at an average speed of 75-80mph.

edit: 2011 base 2.0L 5spd

 

[Riverhound777]

Just sold my 2006 3s manual sedan for $6500. It had around 108k miles but ran perfectly fine. Mileage was around 26 mixed, 32 highway. Nice little cars. Decide if you want to smiley face or not. I would look for 2006-2008 if not.

 

[Sid59]

i think you have it covered. Did you check truedelta.com for more user reported issues?

You're more than welcome to buy my Mazda3 ,.. ahahah
2009 MT GT Hatch
36K miles
MetroGray
Every bell and whistle for the MY.

MPG .. i'm at 25 in mixed, very spirited driving, and 5x a week trudge up step 2 mile hill.

 

[Throckmorton]

Having two cars is a pain in the ass. And you don't get the fun of RWD when you leave the Miata home. An E46 330i is pretty practical and gets good gas mileage. The standard non-ZHP one has plenty of power. The ZHP has I think 5hp more and cosmetic upgrades

 

[power_hour]

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