Please help an MP3 newbie......

[sonik]

So I have always been a mazda guy I have owned four of them. currently I have 3. Anyways I have never driven an MP3 or a MSP. I really wanted to but the opportunity just never arose. My 95 pro is getting tired and I have had my eyes open for a cool somewhat fast econobox. I drove a 2k3 specv and loved it but I am not quite ready to buy. Well anyways I am driving home today and sure enough I spot a laser blue MP3 at a lot about a mile from my house. It has the sticker on the window saying 10,800. Hmmmm.... I think that is a pretty good deal. So I stop and end up driving it. I liked it but a couple of things made me wonder......

First, the gear shift moved forward and back a little with the engine torque. Basically if you are at a stop and punch it you an feel the gearshift kinda slide back a little and if you are cruising along and downshift hard it kinda moves forward Is this normal?
Second, the struts seemed to be shot and the rear was making some lunking noises.....I seem to see this comment around here though....
Third I am not sure about the person who owned it before. I think it was a kid.......

Opinions???

 

[ViksMSP]

The shifter movement is normal unless it's like 1-2 inches. And the clunk from the back might be something that is covered by the warranty, it's the rear sway bar bushings. It's like if you're going over bumps you'll hear it bumping right?

MP3's are nice, but MSP's are better.

So I have always been a mazda guy I have owned four of them. currently I have 3. Anyways I have never driven an MP3 or a MSP. I really wanted to but the opportunity just never arose. My 95 pro is getting tired and I have had my eyes open for a cool somewhat fast econobox. I drove a 2k3 specv and loved it but I am not quite ready to buy. Well anyways I am driving home today and sure enough I spot a laser blue MP3 at a lot about a mile from my house. It has the sticker on the window saying 10,800. Hmmmm.... I think that is a pretty good deal. So I stop and end up driving it. I liked it but a couple of things made me wonder......

First, the gear shift moved forward and back a little with the engine torque. Basically if you are at a stop and punch it you an feel the gearshift kinda slide back a little and if you are cruising along and downshift hard it kinda moves forward Is this normal?
Second, the struts seemed to be shot and the rear was making some lunking noises.....I seem to see this comment around here though....
Third I am not sure about the person who owned it before. I think it was a kid.......

Opinions???

 

[sonik]

The shifter movement is normal unless it's like 1-2 inches. And the clunk from the back might be something that is covered by the warranty, it's the rear sway bar bushings. It's like if you're going over bumps you'll hear it bumping right?

MP3's are nice, but MSP's are better.

Yeah the movement in the gearshift isn't that much but it was enough to notice. Iwas just wondering because even with 235,000 miles my 95 protege does not do that. And with the miles as high as they are it's not under warranty so that is a big negative on the replacement of the bushings. SO it is common huh? And yes an MSP is definately better but try finding a used one for the prie of this car...not gonna happen.Thanks for the input. Any more?

 

[tiwing]

Shifter movement is normal, I didn't think the MP3s had a clunk issue at all. I'd look a little deeper into that before making a decision... And MP3 and MSP are driver's cars, which means it's likely been driven hard especially if owned by a kid. If you've got service records and the miles aren't too high it probably has good long life left in it. Enjoy!

 

[70]

How many miles on the car?

I'm thinking the stock struts are looking at a 30,000 mile life span of harder than normal driving. Give or take.

The clunk occurs in both the MSP and the MP3. Sometimes its the bushings. Sometimes its something else.

I seem to have a clunk every now and again (not as noticeable recently), but my bushings have always been solid. Not smashed, pushed out or in anyway look worn.

I'd say go for it if the money is good and the mileage is right. The Protege has always been a reliable performer, and the struts are easily replaced. So are the sway bar bushings. There are also some after market options on the bushing side of things that will help eliminate that problem completely.

Go get it! Its a fun car.

 

[sonik]

How many miles on the car?

I'm thinking the stock struts are looking at a 30,000 mile life span of harder than normal driving. Give or take.

The clunk occurs in both the MSP and the MP3. Sometimes its the bushings. Sometimes its something else.

I seem to have a clunk every now and again (not as noticeable recently), but my bushings have always been solid. Not smashed, pushed out or in anyway look worn.

I'd say go for it if the money is good and the mileage is right. The Protege has always been a reliable performer, and the struts are easily replaced. So are the sway bar bushings. There are also some after market options on the bushing side of things that will help eliminate that problem completely.

Go get it! Its a fun car.

The car has 58,00miles on it so yes that is high but that is why the good price. Also knowing the lot it is on I can definately them down. so I am thinking I might be able to make up the cost of new struts.

 

[sonik]

The other interesting thing is none of th MP3 badges on the car have the number on them... I mean it is definately an MP3. It has everything. I just thought that was odd.

 

[70]

The other interesting thing is none of th MP3 badges on the car have the number on them... I mean it is definately an MP3. It has everything. I just thought that was odd.

No MP3 had any numbers on the badge. Everyone got the production number by calling Mazda North America with the VIN.

The pictures in some peoples sig's with numbers were photo chopped...

 

[UT01MP3]

So I have always been a mazda guy I have owned four of them. currently I have 3. Anyways I have never driven an MP3 or a MSP. I really wanted to but the opportunity just never arose. My 95 pro is getting tired and I have had my eyes open for a cool somewhat fast econobox. I drove a 2k3 specv and loved it but I am not quite ready to buy. Well anyways I am driving home today and sure enough I spot a laser blue MP3 at a lot about a mile from my house. It has the sticker on the window saying 10,800. Hmmmm.... I think that is a pretty good deal. So I stop and end up driving it. I liked it but a couple of things made me wonder......

First, the gear shift moved forward and back a little with the engine torque. Basically if you are at a stop and punch it you an feel the gearshift kinda slide back a little and if you are cruising along and downshift hard it kinda moves forward Is this normal?
Second, the struts seemed to be shot and the rear was making some lunking noises.....I seem to see this comment around here though....
Third I am not sure about the person who owned it before. I think it was a kid.......

Opinions???

Well I think every one might be overthinking the clunk, but I could be wrong, I just bought a used MP3 with 30k miles for 11.4 and it has the clunk every time I go over a bump, unless the trunk is full. Thing is the board over the spare tire won't secure any more so I'm looking at velcro to solve my clunk.

 

[RyanJayG]

.... I didn't think the MP3s had a clunk issue at all. .....

lol at that....

sorry, it just made my day... I have a smile now....

 

[nate0123]

Well I think every one might be overthinking the clunk, but I could be wrong, I just bought a used MP3 with 30k miles for 11.4 and it has the clunk every time I go over a bump, unless the trunk is full. Thing is the board over the spare tire won't secure any more so I'm looking at velcro to solve my clunk.

lol you mean those screws that are threaded into open holes? That always seemed funny to me. And yea I was getting a clunk for a little while, that went away by moving my sub box a little towards the back of the car

 

[UT01MP3]

lol you mean those screws that are threaded into open holes? That always seemed funny to me. And yea I was getting a clunk for a little while, that went away by moving my sub box a little towards the back of the car

Exactly! Thing is I don't have that option... the wonderful lady that traded in my MP3 took the head unit and sub... Ah well, I'll build something better once I get my turbo and other more important options.

 

[RyanJayG]

good,the kenwood HU sucks anyways... and the sub was the first thing to go for me... it sucked even worse...

my HU just skips a lot if I play audio CD's.... its not nearly so bad with MP3's because of the caching...

 

[sonik]

No MP3 had any numbers on the badge. Everyone got the production number by calling Mazda North America with the VIN.

The pictures in some peoples sig's with numbers were photo chopped...

Ahhh...ok. Thanks for the info.

 

[sonik]

So what do you guys think of the price and what about the struts? Can I get the right ones without spending an arm and a leg. I mean Mazda says so much about how tweaked the MP3 suspension is.......do I have to replace them with factory Mazda ones and pay through the nose to get the same performance again??

 

[nate0123]

So what do you guys think of the price and what about the struts? Can I get the right ones without spending an arm and a leg. I mean Mazda says so much about how tweaked the MP3 suspension is.......do I have to replace them with factory Mazda ones and pay through the nose to get the same performance again??

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52697

$300 shipped. Problem solved!

Ends in a week though, so hurry

 

[Captain KRM P5]

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52697

$300 shipped. Problem solved!

Ends in a week though, so hurry

my deal is not as good as the group buy, but i sell them here; http://www.mazda3online.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_41&products_id=155

 

[sonik]

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52697

$300 shipped. Problem solved!

Ends in a week though, so hurry

300 each? I mean that seems to be a good price comparatively but....Darn high performance struts are expensive!

 

[nate0123]

no that's for 4

 

[scott42]

You don't need new struts, you just need to get the bushings replaced. Any dealership should do it for you for free because there is an outstanding TSB on that problem which, from what I understand, outlives the warranty through the life of the car because it is a known problem. Check out the links in my sig for a ton of info on the "clunk"
Best of luck. also, if you're close to PA, I'd entertain selling mine...39k miles, no clunk, adult owned, completely babied.