I was looking at buying a new car and test drove a mazda 3s.

Well I really liked the way it ran and handled along with the interior.

my question is are these cars dependable and is the engine pretty trouble free.

I called one deal and the price for an oil change is 32.00 and I also found out that the 2.3L engines have a chain instead of a belt which to me is a BIG plus.

also drove a civic, camry/corolla, impala, and a fusion.

I like the mazda 3s the best of all but we currently have a civic that we will be getting rid of and it has been pretty darn dependable but is dog slow to the point of it being dangerous by pulling out on the highway.

since the mazda3s has synthetic antifreeze it seems like all I would have to do is rotate tires and change oil/air filter.

 

Welcome to the mazda3club!

Well the MZ3 won't hold it's value as well as a Toyota or Honda, and may be a tad less reliable (but certainly more reliable than any American car), but you get gobs of style and performance.

If you enjoy driving and like sporty cars get the Mazda. You won't be disappointed.

Also, you might find this article helpful.

 

Mazda3 is a GREAT vehicle. I'd choose it over any other import compact on the road today....make that ALL compacts.

Routine maintenance and TLC is all she'll need.

 

thanks for all you answers everyone - today was the day!!!

we bought a mazda 3 4 door grand touring with all the bells and whistles.

sunlight silver metallic with the gray interior. 17 inch wheels - foglights - I am pretty sure it has about everything except leather seats and the auto lights and wipers.

sure is a nice car to drive - drove a lot of cars and it still all came back to the mazda 3. all the other cars I drove might of had more cargo room but in the end they all still sat five people. so the gas mileage was the big decider for the wife and I along with the fun to drive aspect. we have an eight year old daughter and we are thinking this would eventually (if you can get it out of my hands) be her first car while in college.

the interior just rocks on this thing - very nice - not sure what it is about it but it just was a lot nicer than the other cars I looked at.

again thanks for the forum and I will be visiting.

zoom zoom!!

 

Congrats on the new purchase and welcome to the Mazda family! Feel free to post your questions, comments, dilemmas, whatever--we'll be happy to provide some feedback. Enjoy!

 

not wanting to sound like a dork but the car we bought was a touring not a grand touring. obviously it would of had leather seats if we got the grand touring.

don't know why I put grand touring but I knew what I was getting with the car - please don't think I actually thought I was buying a grand touring and got a touring.

anyway love the mazda 3


thanks for your forum!!

 

Sunlight Silver <3

Congrats on the purchase!

 

congrats on the new car, and welcome!

you picked an awesome color

 

just have to post this picture -

so here it is in all its glory

 

Looks good! Any modding plans or will you cruise stock?

 

"Looks good! Any modding plans or will you cruise stock?"

I don't know - I am thinking of a k&n air filter - had one in my 5.0 mustang in the late eighties and it saved money buying regular filters so I may opt for that but I remember seeing something about mazda saying they screw their mass air flow sensor with the lubrication it uses - so I don't know I might think about it. what do you think?

also thinking of using synthetic oil too - any recommendations?
I take the train to work and my wife works part time and her work is within 4 miles of our house and she will be driving it mainly so we don't put a lot of miles on our cars.

not much of a modder - did all my modding with my mustang I used to own and now I have a daughter so I have different priorities with my money.

I drove it last night for the first time and took a couple of turns aggressively and I have to tell you it handles great better than my mustang did (but that was ten/fifteen years ago).

- thanks

 

Instead of the K&N filter, see if an AEM DryFlow filter is available. They aren't oiled, but they are still washable (haven't tried it on mine yet).

 

Very nice, congrats on the purchase!

 

Congrats. I can tell you, as a Mazda Tech, that the 3 is a VERY reliable car. You take care of it, it will take care of you. I think in the 2 or so years I've been wrenching on Mazda's, we have not replaced a single motor (an auto or two, but that's still impressive) on a 3. And only 1 protege' engine.

I would probably not get an oiled filter. The oil can get sucked in and contaminate your MAF, this is true. However, if you give it just a light spray it might be ok, most people's mistake is they use too much, and don't let it fully dry before driving the car.

As far as an intake goes, I would personally suggest a dry filter, or a Mazdaspeed CAI (the latter due to the performance increase, awesome sound, and it's warranty friendly if installed by Mazda)

 

thanks for the reply -

what kind of oil would you put in it - I am thinking of mobil 1 5w20 or amsoil 0w20
leaning towards amsoil - plan on keeping this car a long time.

going to hold off on the intake part for now - going to let the warranty run its course.

the dealer I deal with use castrol syntec and from what I have researched amsoil is the best.

what do you think?