Author Topic: My almost new 2005 Mazda 3 sport (Read 2446 times)

slybry · « **on:** March 23, 2009, 06:37:08 pm »

After a couple years of trying to decide what to replace my faithful 1997 Acura 1.6 with I finally took the plunge today.

So far it seems like my patience might have paid off.

Today I bought (through a private sale) a 2005 Mazda 3 Sport. It only has 18,500 kms. Was rarely taken out in winter and never left the garage last winter. The mtce records back up the Kms on the odometer. This car is really like new. Original owner.

It has sunroof, automatic transmission, rain sensing wipers, auto headlights, power windows, door locks. Radio and cruise controls on steering wheel. I also got a Garmin Streetpilot 2720 GPS included.

Only things lacking. No leather seats and only a single disc cd player.

I have only had it since noon today. I got it washed as it too cold here today to do it myself.

So far it seems to be in mint condition and I am really enjoying the ride.

The only big disappointment is that the OEM Goodyear tires on front of car are not holding up too well. They are very worn. Suspect rotations were not done as they should have been. Also have read these Goodyears suck as far as tread life goes.

Also as he virtually never drove in winter I did not get winter rims or tires. So I will be in market for 2 sets of tires and 1 set of rims.

The fact that I needed new tires help me to get him to greatly drop his asking price.

Got it (after some real convincing) for $13,100.

So far I am really pleased.

Jaeger · « **Reply #1 on:** March 23, 2009, 06:42:30 pm »

Nice grab on a great-looking sweet-driving car. VERY low kms on that, too. Congrats.

Jaeger

carsncars · « **Reply #2 on:** March 23, 2009, 07:01:54 pm »

Great price on a great car! Especially with that amount of (or lack of) mileage. Personally, I prefer the design of this generation of Mazda3 Sport over the '10 model. Enjoy!

Angry Chicken · « **Reply #3 on:** March 23, 2009, 08:43:08 pm »

Welcome to Club Zoom Zoom Zoom!

/Eric
2007 Mazda3 Sport GT - Galaxy Grey

vdk · « **Reply #4 on:** March 23, 2009, 08:50:09 pm »

Sharp looking car! Congrats!

dr_spock · « **Reply #5 on:** March 23, 2009, 09:38:50 pm »

Congrats. Nice deal.

carcrazy · « **Reply #6 on:** March 23, 2009, 10:00:10 pm »

Welcome to the club! I'm sure you'll enjoy it (I still do after 4 years). What is the build month on yours? The only "problem" I had on mine was a rattling glove box, replaced under a TSB. I also had a firmware update for a hard shift in second gear on cold.
There is also a recall on the driver door and a second recall for a rusting pipe on the tranny.
Make sure you have those checked out and addressed.
Other than that, the car was solid and problems free.
The premature rusting in the rear wheel well might be another thing to look into. Yours is almost new and not driven much in the winter so perhaps it should not show any rust, but it's better to preemptively treat those areas before the problem occurs.

quadzilla · « **Reply #7 on:** March 23, 2009, 10:44:02 pm »

Congrats on the new car. I did two terms in club Zoom-Zoom and enjoyed every minute of it. I'm sure you will have as much fun with your new car. Also looks great in white!

initial_D · « **Reply #8 on:** March 23, 2009, 11:01:27 pm »

Great looking car! Very good purchasing price as well. Enjoy.

safristi · « **Reply #9 on:** March 24, 2009, 07:34:41 am »

Ya stole it...didya have him inna choke hold?

...............Ah ZOOM the position and burn off those crappy tyres wif some do_nuts......

Angry Chicken · « **Reply #10 on:** March 24, 2009, 11:55:25 am »

I meant to mention I like it in white, too! Somebody beat me to it. 18000 km, too! Great deal. Now to get those 17" winter rims!

/Eric

Angry Chicken · « **Reply #11 on:** March 24, 2009, 11:57:30 am »

Quote from: carcrazy on March 23, 2009, 10:00:10 pm

Welcome to the club! I'm sure you'll enjoy it (I still do after 4 years). What is the build month on yours? The only "problem" I had on mine was a rattling glove box, replaced under a TSB. I also had a firmware update for a hard shift in second gear on cold.
There is also a recall on the driver door and a second recall for a rusting pipe on the tranny.
Make sure you have those checked out and addressed.
Other than that, the car was solid and problems free.
The premature rusting in the rear wheel well might be another thing to look into. Yours is almost new and not driven much in the winter so perhaps it should not show any rust, but it's better to preemptively treat those areas before the problem occurs.

I've got a tiny rattle in my glovebox, too. I wonder if the TSB covers 2007s too?

/Eric

safristi · « **Reply #12 on:** March 24, 2009, 12:10:41 pm »

"tiny rattle in my glovebox".........put aside the toys of childhood and become a MAN............

UmroAyyar · « **Reply #13 on:** March 24, 2009, 12:12:28 pm »

Nice snatch (price). Like the colour. What tires are you getting?

carcrazy · « **Reply #14 on:** March 24, 2009, 12:14:08 pm »

Quote from: Angry Chicken on March 24, 2009, 11:57:30 am

Quote from: carcrazy on March 23, 2009, 10:00:10 pm
Welcome to the club! I'm sure you'll enjoy it (I still do after 4 years). What is the build month on yours? The only "problem" I had on mine was a rattling glove box, replaced under a TSB. I also had a firmware update for a hard shift in second gear on cold.
There is also a recall on the driver door and a second recall for a rusting pipe on the tranny.
Make sure you have those checked out and addressed.
Other than that, the car was solid and problems free.
The premature rusting in the rear wheel well might be another thing to look into. Yours is almost new and not driven much in the winter so perhaps it should not show any rust, but it's better to preemptively treat those areas before the problem occurs.

I've got a tiny rattle in my glovebox, too. I wonder if the TSB covers 2007s too?

/Eric

No idea. I got mine fixed in 2006 I think. Never rattled one bit since.

slybry · « **Reply #15 on:** March 24, 2009, 06:30:50 pm »

Quote from: carcrazy on March 23, 2009, 10:00:10 pm

Welcome to the club! I'm sure you'll enjoy it (I still do after 4 years). What is the build month on yours? The only "problem" I had on mine was a rattling glove box, replaced under a TSB. I also had a firmware update for a hard shift in second gear on cold.
There is also a recall on the driver door and a second recall for a rusting pipe on the tranny.
Make sure you have those checked out and addressed.
Other than that, the car was solid and problems free.
The premature rusting in the rear wheel well might be another thing to look into. Yours is almost new and not driven much in the winter so perhaps it should not show any rust, but it's better to preemptively treat those areas before the problem occurs.

- My car was built Dec 2004. (do not know if that is good or bad)
- Purchased in May 2005.
- Have paperwork showing 2 recalls were done.
1) Recall SSP75 for doors (I think the locks)
2) Recall SSP74 Trans Oil Pipe.

No rattle in glove box but car does tend to shift a little hard into 2nd. Not severe so may be normal. I do not know.

Now for the biggest disappointment. I checked the lips of the rear wheel wells and sure enough there is rust (a fair amount of it). The back of the lips were caked with mud. Cleaned out the mud and smeared the back and the lip with grease.

I cannot believe I missed it. I checked all the door bottoms. There was not a sport of rust anywhere so I must have let my guard down and stopped looking. In my defense most of the paint was still there so it looked white. But it was all lifted off the lip and ready to fall right off.

In warmer weather I will sand down and try and paint it. Will re-grease and get Dura-Check done on car (which has never been done before).

All I can say is wow. A 2005 that has hardly seen winter with rust. Hard to believe on a car used so little. Everything from Mtce records to wear on interior and pedals supports the low Kms. It is obviously a real weak spot on these cars.

I am disappointed to discover the rust but other than that I must say that in driving the car for the past day I have been very impressed. The interior quality, features, power and driving experience is very good.

Lets hope there are too many other disappointments in store for me.

Angry Chicken · « **Reply #16 on:** March 24, 2009, 07:10:08 pm »

Spend a couple of extra $$ and get it done at a reputable body shop, maybe the Mazda dealer. Although the rust warranty on these cars is only against perforation, you might find a sympathetic ear with the dealer's body shop manager if you are polite with him or her. Chances are you might get a good deal on the work. Also, typically you will get a warranty on such repairs...at least a year.

Don't let this spoil your good feelings about the car. I heard od similar issues w/ these cars before I bought the 2007. I'm hoping that they've been addressed. Anyway, maybe the car was parked in a garage a lot which was over freezing. The mileage seems to indicate that the car might have been sitting around a lot. Might *not* be the car's "fault" after all!

/Eric

5 Wheel Drive · « **Reply #17 on:** March 24, 2009, 08:44:03 pm »

Very nice!!! Loved those Mazda 3 Sport's from the first time I saw one. Enjoy!

carsncars · « **Reply #18 on:** March 24, 2009, 09:53:16 pm »

Quote from: slybry on March 24, 2009, 06:30:50 pm

Now for the biggest disappointment. I checked the lips of the rear wheel wells and sure enough there is rust (a fair amount of it). The back of the lips were caked with mud. Cleaned out the mud and smeared the back and the lip with grease.

I cannot believe I missed it. I checked all the door bottoms. There was not a sport of rust anywhere so I must have let my guard down and stopped looking. In my defense most of the paint was still there so it looked white. But it was all lifted off the lip and ready to fall right off.

In warmer weather I will sand down and try and paint it. Will re-grease and get Dura-Check done on car (which has never been done before).

All I can say is wow. A 2005 that has hardly seen winter with rust. Hard to believe on a car used so little. Everything from Mtce records to wear on interior and pedals supports the low Kms. It is obviously a real weak spot on these cars.

I am disappointed to discover the rust but other than that I must say that in driving the car for the past day I have been very impressed. The interior quality, features, power and driving experience is very good.

Lets hope there are too many other disappointments in store for me.

Sorry to hear that.

My friend's 3 has the "bubbling" problem, but it doesn't bug her so she just leaves it be (what can I say--some people don't care about their cars as much, as long as they work). At least, at the price you got it you should have a bit of change left over to get it properly fixed... and get back to motoring!

A quick check on Mazda's site says that their perforation warranty is 60 months (or 5 years), so your car should fall under that. Are there any perforations, or is it just surface rust?

carcrazy · « **Reply #19 on:** March 24, 2009, 10:43:11 pm »

Mazda quietly fixed the rust although it is not perforation. I don't know if the goodwill will apply to the second owner. Mine barely had any rust on the lip, and due to the color, it was invisible unless you looked with a magnifying glass. However, my dealer took care of it and although I haven’t checked yet, I hope no more rust will show up after this winter.
I would take it to a good body shop and get it fixed properly. Make sure after the repair is done, they spray some antirust INSIDE the wheel well, on the inner part of the lip and rocker panel.
Also, keep an eye on the rocker panel lip. When you lift the car on the hoist for service, the car is supported on this lip. It may get bent and/or chipped opening the way for rust. I sprayed some anti rust on the rocker panel too (this area gets chipped by the road debris as well, but it’s not visible unless you go on the ground and underneath the car).

The 2nd gear hard shift on cold weather most likely affects your car too (mine is February 2005). It is more obvious and annoying under -10C. The reflash solved the problem for me.

FWIW, the past weekend I just looked at a 2003 Infiniti M35 and it had severe rust around the rear wheel well. Supposedly, the car wasn't in an accident.