defecting from vw gti

[steveman]

I just test drove a mazda 3i touring and I really liked it. Anything I should know about these cars before I get it. I had vw/audi's/bmw's all my life, and I am sick of the head aches. Are these cars easy to own?

 

[tsunami]

yeah easy to own never heard of any electrical gremlin problems that plague you vdub guys...

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

Yes easy, but require some TLC to be perfect.

I just test drove a mazda 3i touring and I really liked it. Anything I should know about these cars before I get it. I had vw/audi's/bmw's all my life, and I am sick of the head aches. Are these cars easy to own?

I always describe Mazda as a cross between Toyota and Volkswagen. You get pretty solid reliability and fun drving dynamics. They do have their problems- like issues with engine mounts and some other bugs, but on the whole Mazda builds a pretty impressive, high quality product for the price. Their newer designs (3, 5, CX7, CX9, RX8) are world class products that offer a ton of value and fun for the dollar.

I will say that you do need to baby your Mazda a bit. Unlike Toyota, Mazdas usually don't like missing service intervals. Toyota are pretty much indestructible (and BORING), while Mazda can be an ultra-reliable car as long as you take car of it. That said none of my Mazda have EVER left me stranded or questioned their reliability, little annoyances (rattles, fleeting drivability issues) yes, but catastrophic failures- defintely not.

At least that's my experience after owning 6 (soon to be 7) Mazdas over 12 years.

 

[Scott]

You have a MK4 GTI? The Mazda 3 will be an easy transition. Both cars feel very similar (at least to me).

Either one would be a nice, comfortable car.

 

[SwampAss]

I just test drove a mazda 3i touring and I really liked it. Anything I should know about these cars before I get it. I had vw/audi's/bmw's all my life, and I am sick of the head aches. Are these cars easy to own?

All of my prior (and 2 of my current) cars are VW/AUDI/and BMW.

My last VW, an MKIV, was a bit of a headache after a while. Always had s*** going wrong. Nothing bad enough to leave me stranded, just bad enough to piss me off. MAFs, coolant temp sensors, wheel bearings, sticking caliper, leaking windshield, exhaust rotted off...all in 60k of usage. I had a 2.0 MKIII with 130k on it with no problems. Go figure.

The Mazda has been great so far. If I can keep the engine in the bay, I'll be a happy man.

 

[steveman]

What do you meen "fleeting driveability issues" also, is that engine mount problem with the 3i or just the ms3?

I always describe Mazda as a cross between Toyota and Volkswagen. You get pretty solid reliability and fun drving dynamics. They do have their problems- like issues with engine mounts and some other bugs, but on the whole Mazda builds a pretty impressive, high quality product for the price. Their newer designs (3, 5, CX7, CX9, RX8) are world class products that offer a ton of value and fun for the dollar.

I will say that you do need to baby your Mazda a bit. Unlike Toyota, Mazdas usually don't like missing service intervals. Toyota are pretty much indestructible (and BORING), while Mazda can be an ultra-reliable car as long as you take car of it. That said none of my Mazda have EVER left me stranded or questioned their reliability, little annoyances (rattles, fleeting drivability issues) yes, but catastrophic failures- defintely not.

At least that's my experience after owning 6 (soon to be 7) Mazdas over 12 years.

 

[SwampAss]

What do you meen "fleeting driveability issues" also, is that engine mount problem with the 3i or just the ms3?

Just the MS3. The jury is still out (for me anyway) as to whether it's an actual issue or an abuse issue. No offense to those it has happened to, but it's still a very small number of affected people. Maybe I drive mine like I am 70. Other than the intake runner control valve, I've had no issues. The IRCV should no longer be an issue. The redesigned part works perfectly.

 

[B1GHAM]

All of my prior (and 2 of my current) cars are VW/AUDI/and BMW.

My last VW, an MKIV, was a bit of a headache after a while. Always had s*** going wrong. Nothing bad enough to leave me stranded, just bad enough to piss me off. MAFs, coolant temp sensors, wheel bearings, sticking caliper, leaking windshield, exhaust rotted off...all in 60k of usage. I had a 2.0 MKIII with 130k on it with no problems. Go figure.

The Mazda has been great so far. If I can keep the engine in the bay, I'll be a happy man.

I had a MKIV Jetta... solid car, but also with my list of problems.

countless speakers (probably my fault, but never had bass over 3/4s and it was the midranges that went)

3 window anti-pinch replacements (par for the course)

1 Water pump @ 35k

1 Catalytic converter replacement @ 40k.

3 transmission replacements (only one left me "stranded" and thats because it blew a hole in the side of the bell housing. The rest were replaced because my original issue continued.)

Nice car, just too many little issues too early in its life to justify keeping it.

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

By "Fleeting" I mean...

What do you meen "fleeting driveability issues" also, is that engine mount problem with the 3i or just the ms3?

Both my 95 and 2001 Proteges had erratic idles as they got older, which translated into annoying instability and vibration. TO be fair both had over 100,000 on them.

To Swampass point the engine mount issue is relatively confined and only reported on the MS3. Mazda has a fix.

You'll love the 3i (I'm actually waiting on an 08 MS3 that is on order).

Pound for pound you will not find a better car for the money or the fun.

 

[SwampAss]

Pound for pound you will not find a better car for the money or the fun.

and those parting words are why I drive what I drive. On point.

 

[Chibana]

My 2005 Mazda3s 4-door (2.3L) has been BY FAR the most reliable car I've ever owned. It now has about 92,000 miles on it, and I drive fairly aggressively when I'm not just cruising on the expressway. The complete list of problems I've had with it is:

1. Check Engline Light when the car was almost brand new. It was a stupid emissions control part problem which affected me in no way whatsoever other than the time to take the car in to have it fixed.
2. Another CEL about a week later, which was another typical emissions control part problem that was well known on the 2005 Mazda3. It took a while for them to fix it, but again, it was not big hassle for me.

That's it. There hasn't even been a small, nagging problem since then. None. I'm almost in shock. Including the 2005 Honda Odyssey we also currently own, this is the fifth car I've owned, and I've had significant experience in a few more, and none have come close to this level of reliability. Our Honday Odyssey, supposedly a fantastically reliable car being Honda and all, has had constant problems, including a NEW ENGINE due to a pulley bolt failure.

And on top of that, I LOVE the car. It's fun, I get 35 to 37 mpg on my 170 mile round trip commute in warm weather (with extensive mods and driving 70 mph), and it has lots of great features inside (I love the huge, two area glove box, and two level arm rest storage). It's GORGEOUS inside and out. I get CONSTANT compliments from complete strangers. One guy at the local pharmacy drive through pointed at my car and said, "What's that?!" I thought Godzilla was approaching or something. I asked him what he was talking about, and he said, "Your car!" I told him about it, and he said, "Zoom Zoom, huh?!"

In case you haven't caught on yet, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS CAR.

 

[Shock96]

This is my 3rd Mazda (well sort of). I had a 1986 Mazda 323 that I ran up to 260k miles and sold it after it finally dropped some compression in the number 2 cylinder. Ran just fine with a little smoke.

I bought my daughter a 2002 Protege ES. 56k and zero problems with the car after almost 4 years of ownership (she is 20 now and will be a senior in college).

Now I have a 2007 Mazdaspeed 3. Love it. A truly excellent car!

Take a look at the latest Road and Track. They have a MS3 as a long term test car. Flogged 2 of them at Laguna for 2 days without a single issue. WOOT!

Mike

 

[Rainman]

MS3 is my 4th Mazda and my 3rd Mazdaspeed vehicle. Had a few minor problems, but it was the first year of a new model and overall the car has been great and reliable. Best bang for the buck IMHO.

R