4cyl or V6??

[curtklze]

Originally posted by hyperpunkguy:
i just dont want a car that needs work cause im poor and dont have any money for repairs.

then dont buy a used car, cause they will all need repairs.

Go and buy a brand new honda civic. I will be under warranty for 4 years and even after that they wont break down that much.

If you must buy a MX-3, buy a 94-96 RS 5-speed 4 cylinder with low miles (50,000-75,000)
, that has all the maintance records and was well maintained, and already had the brakes, water pump and timing belt changed.

[mitmaks]

i like my GS SE

[quicksliver]

Originally posted by curtklze:

Originally posted by hyperpunkguy:
i just dont want a car that needs work cause im poor and dont have any money for repairs.

then dont buy a used car, cause they will all need repairs.

Go and buy a brand new honda civic. I will be under warranty for 4 years and even after that they wont break down that much.

If you must buy a MX-3, buy a 94-96 RS 5-speed 4 cylinder with low miles (50,000-75,000)
, that has all the maintance records and was well maintained, and already had the brakes, water pump and timing belt changed.

This is exactly why i have been trying to discourage him from the GS.

[hyperpunkguy]

ok well dispite some not so good things, i really like the car so im probably gonna end up gettin it anyway.

[andy]

If you have your heart set on buying the GS there are a couple of questions that you can ask the current owner that will let you know what to expect down the road.

Has the distributor been replaced?
Has the waterpump/timing belt been replaced?
ask to see the maintenance records. How often have the fluids been replaced?
You can see were I'm going with this list . Just do your best to make sure your not getting someone elses headache.

Good luck
Andy P. 93 GS

[lakersfan1]

If you're that worried about repairs, but he V6, and set aside some money for later just in case. Some of the two biggest problems with the V6 are the distributor and the axle half shaft. Learn how to do those two things yourself, and become a friend of Autozone. You can get refurbs for both from Autozone with lifetime replacement warranty. The distributor cost me about $150 and was actually pretty easy to do with common tools. The only thing you have to do is pay attention to where the rotor is pointing when you pull it out, and make sure it goes in at the same angle. Then, the half shaft should cost about the same as the one I bought for my 626 - or about $60. I also did this myself. A little time consuming, but not brain surgery.

As long as you don't get any electrical problems with your car, you should be OK.

[Custommx3]

Originally posted by Quick Sliver:
Stay away from the GS at all costs if you're concerned about repair costs. I bought my 92' GS back in Jan. 2002 and here is what i have done..

Problem: Ticking from engine
- Replaced cam shaft friction gear along with many seals/gaskets/springs/etc. $1100cdn

Problem: Car over heated on highway
- Replaced Thermastat. $175cdn

Problem: Car kept stalling when i applied brakes
- Replaced that's plastic intake hose thing. $100cdn

Problem: Car just would not start anymore
- Replaced Battery / Spark Plugs. $200cdn

Problem: Clicking sound when turning right.
- Replaced passenger side cv joint / boot / control arm ~$450cdn

Problem: Driver side wheel starts to make grinding noise.
- Replaced wheel bearing ~$150cdn

Problem: Rear passenger caliper seizes up!
- Reaplced rear passenger caliper and brake pad. ~$400cdn

Problem: Oil is on the bottom of one of my spark plugs
- Replaced valve seals. $250cdn

Problem: Can't open driver side door using key.
- Never fixed. I ended up getting keyless entry.

Problem: Timeing belt was never changed (It's at 103,000km's).
- Replaced timeing belt and tensioner. $800cdn. I should have replaced the water pump at the same time...but i didn't :\.\

Problem: GS Lip breaks in center wayyyy to easy
- Hasn't been fixed. I'll be putting an aftermarket vital grounds bumper on this spring.

Problem: I go through oil like no tommorow when i start to drive 130-145km/h on the highway. If i stay under 120km/h i don't loose nearly as much oil.
- Has not been fixed yet. Why? Havn't taken it in yet.

I swear i hate my car lol. I'll be getting a Nissan 240sx when the engine blows and/or the body starts to really rust out. Don't get the GS it's a piece of **** if you ask me. Even after all these problems, i still love my car though. So i dunno lol.

You need to take your car elsewhere if you paid all that to get your car fixed. A thermostat is like $7 bucks.
Axles will go out on any FWD car. Civic have the same problem as mx-3s (engine doesnt matter.)

You should do your own work instead of paying people. I can change an axle for $60 each. Wheel bearings are $30 and ~$20 at a machine shop to have it pressed in.

BTW, MX-3s are not new cars. They have wear on them and wont last forever. Any car you buy, even new, you'll have some problems with afte you put miles on it. Its all part of owning a car.

[Sam Baker]

hmm reading back.. yea i agree.. i realize a lotta people cant do a timing belt by themselves (me being one..
~ sam

[lakersfan1]

Originally posted by Sam Baker:
hmm reading back.. yea i agree.. i realize a lotta people cant do a timing belt by themselves (me being one..
~ sam

Yeah. The timing belt is one I'm gonna have my brother-in-law do for me. That is a pretty skilled procedure. But a local shop did quote me $450 US to get it done. I thought that was BS. I'm sure if you shop around, you can find a shop desperate for the work.

[hyperpunkguy]

well its 98% settled. looks like im probably joining the club by the end of the week!

[curtklze]

evey one here is STUPID, this is why soo many flame topics get started.

all you guy are dumb assses that dont read posts.

top off coolant (you have to pull off the upper rad hose to gain clear access to the area) $20.00 CDN
mazda Timing belt- $160.00 CDN
Mazda tensioner- $135.00 CDN
Approx labour 4.5 hrs @ $75/hr= $300.00

= approx $600.00 + 15% tax = approx $700.00 CDN

and the prices I listed may be a little low, also mybe the shop charges a little more.

why are you guys so stupid?
oops I forgot your AMERICAN...that must explain it.

and to the guy that started this topic, why ask for help fom experianced MX-3 owners if you were just going to ignore ALL the advice any way?

$3600 USD for a GS mx-3 is way too much, you can find them all over the place for $1500-$2000 USD.
and the RS is even cheaper.

we tell you the car you are looking at has issues and a RS is a much better option since you have no money, but you are still gonna buy the GS? fine, I hope its a lemon and the whole car fall apart, then maybe you will learn.

<small>[ February 17, 2004, 12:32 AM: Message edited by: curtklze ]</small>

[lakersfan1]

Originally posted by curtklze:

$3600 USD for a GS mx-3 is way too much, you can find them all over the place for $1500-$2000 USD.
and the RS is even cheaper.

$3600 might be a tad high, but I don't think by that much. Blue Book on a GS can be as high as $3850 for an excelent condition model.

I paid $3300 for mine, but mine was a California car, and the lady had lots of money, so she always babied it and gave me all her reciepts from the previous 6 years. Well worth it, IMO for a car I've wanted since I was in high school a decade ago.

[guyaverage]

I just did a search for Mx3's within 300 miles of where I live. 44 available, only 4 of them less than $2500 (ones that showed a price, that is). Where these hoards of $1500-2000 GS's are, I have no idea. And where he is going to buy a 94-96 RS with 50k miles for less than $2000, I will leave for you to explain. Where he is going to get a 1996 Mx3 in the states would be an act of God. But thats not new to me, I'm one of those incredibly stupid Americans walking around bumping my head into walls trying to figure out where I can get my next $65 oil change...

If you must buy a MX-3, buy a 94-96 RS 5-speed 4 cylinder with low miles (50,000-75,000)
, that has all the maintance records and was well maintained, and already had the brakes, water pump and timing belt changed.

You start off by giving good advice, based on YOUR experience...

why are you guys so stupid?
oops I forgot your AMERICAN...that must explain it.... we tell you the car you are looking at has issues and a RS is a much better option since you have no money, but you are still gonna buy the GS? fine, I hope its a lemon and the whole car fall apart, then maybe you will learn.

Then you puke out crap like this like some pissed off immature little punk. The guy asked for advice, he got it, went and drove the car, reported back that it had 1 moderate issue (tapping, probably valvetrain) and 2 minor ones (idle and brakes) and was looking for advice on that. I dont exactly see where he is buying a lemon. Then again, if he was, that would make your day, apparently....

[hyperpunkguy]

i didnt ignore any of the advice i recieved on this post. in fact i took ALL of it into consideration. i found it all to be useful and thanks guys for the advice. oh thanks for not being rude like curtklze. if everyone here is 'STUPID' then why do you read the forum??

<small>[ February 17, 2004, 01:07 PM: Message edited by: hyperpunkguy ]</small>

[curtklze]

1) I never siad you could get a 1995 GS with 50,000 miles for $2,000.

Thast why people get mad, nobody ever reads the posts.

I said you could find a MX-3 for less than $3600.,

it may have slight body damage that is easy to fix or faded paint or really high KM, or the seller is motovated due to finacial reasons or devorce.

http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/SaleSearc h?from=R8&ht=1&satitle=MX-3&sokeywordredirect=1&sosortproperty=1&sacategory=6001&catref=C1

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?query=MX3&cat ref=C3&ht=1&sosortproperty=1&from=R10&sacategory=6001&BasicSearch=

here are 2 links mx-3's that are cheaper, there have been a few 93 SE's with leather interior on here (ebay) and they all went for less than $2,000 USD.

Lakersfan1 got a perfect car, its tuff to find a car like his, but he found one and so can you, you just have to look and wait for the right car.

I never siad you could find one in you back yard either, maybe you have to take a road trip and go and pick it up.

pennsylania is only a few hours from canada, you can get 96 MX-3's up here.

and to finish, I was refering to the stupid guys that think certian members spend too much on repairs, and insist on pointing out they can get a 7 dollar thermostat.

but if you had read the post and were smat enough you would have figured that out.

<small>[ February 17, 2004, 08:55 PM: Message edited by: curtklze ]</small>