Thinking of buying MP3...help!

[JasonRan]

Hello all! I currently drive a 99 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS, and I love it. All except of some quality issues that I can't get fixed. I have always admired the MP3, and have come to the point where I may sell the Subaru and get an MP3. Other than being a tad underpowered, is there anything else I should know about the MP3...quality wise? Anything to look out for when buying one? Any help or information will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
Jason

 

[MP3-Owner]

Just don't plan on running it hard and expect to have any warrenty work covered because if the clutch is worn or tires worn Mazda will call "abuse" and void warrenty work. Atleast thats what they did with me and my MP3.
Other than that the pistons are weak, the timing is advanced so the car runs rich, Mazda Reps SUCK!, tires wear fast because of the soft rubber, not near the aftermarket that honda has but getting better, unknown gains on performance parts due to the lack of aftermarket support until now. That is about it I guess, don't get me wrong now...the MP3 is still an awsome car, Just take a test drive and you'll be hooked but be ready to be on your own for a little while until the aftermarket catches up and the public for that matter. I plan on doing some mild to wild things with mine, Forged internals, turbo, LSD, Heavy duty clutch, lightwieght flywheel, might even do some port and polishing, hell since I have the chance why not go all the way. I wouldn't mind a 400hp MP3

 

[1sty]

You forgot abotu the shock squeeks and the sway bar bumps.

Just know the car is dirt slow compared to others in its class. And it deffintly has its issues as well. I'm not trying to scare you off but I thought you may need to know this stuff. The cars traction suck too.
As far as good stuff, its one of the best looking cars on the road, It handles amazingly and can take punishment.

 

[Sir Nuke]

and just in case you didn't know....the Mazdaspeed is coming this fall....no its not ACTUALLY an MP3.....but for all potential purposes it looks just like it.....it will be offered in Black and Orange.....and it is TURBO'ed! hence the power problem solved.....plus it has a limited slip differencial, better clutch, a SUPER sound system.....take a look in the Mazdaspeed fourm.....you should find a lot of information there and even pictures.

 

[Kooldino]

Keep in mind, the mazdaspeed should cost around $22K, and the mp3 is around $18K. It's a great car for the $. It's not TERRIBLY slow...probably the same speed as your RS...same neighborhood anyway. If you're looking for absolute speed, keep your RS and turbo it. If not, the mp3 give a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[ArcTan2x+k]

btw , mine is for sale. I'm going to buy a house and need to keep money! i got wings west spoiler + ampli & 2 - 12" subs ...

15 500$US and it's yours!

 

[Newf]

The cars traction suck too

want to explain that???

As for clutch problems....none here at all. No tranny problems, nothing but the clunk and squeak problem. Maybe I'm lucky.

It's an Amazing car. No matter what car you buy, there will be people that have troubles with them somewhere. This car is well built. You will always find someone that drives a car too hard and breaks it. Not saying anything against anyone here, it's just a fact. I drive the car nicely most of the time, but I like to play as much as the next guy, and she's held up just fine so far. There's people that drive with the car at red line in every gear, and then they wonder why something brakes, or they stick too much nitrous in it and completely f it up.......oh it's the cars fault. Come on...

As for tires wearing fast, believe it or not, my bridgestones on all my honda's wore faster then the dunlops. And the dunlops are Z-rated vs. V-rated. You should never expext 40 kms out of Z-rated tires.

Maza Canada sucks though. And Mazda takes their sweet f'n time with coming up with minor fixes...like the clunk. That has NOT impressed me at all. And the squeaking drives me nuts too. Just picked up the old man today, it was really cold outside, and sure enough....squeak....squeak...he was like wtf is that? After 5 mins it's gone though. Just sounds cheap on a car of this kind.

laterz

 

[dolphin]

I can't complain about either the car or my dealer. Two of us have autocrossed it at least once a month since Aug, except for Dec. Except for some squeaks in the rear suspension which they fixed, I can't complain. Yes the OEM Dunlap tires are soft but I have had worse. I get about 31 MPG while crusing at 80-85 MPH. It small enough to be handy and large enough to be useful. The subwoofer can be dismounted, for more space if you need it, and the stero still works. As best I can tell, its only real flaw is a lack of straight line acceleration.

 

[APEXistud]

No problems here either man. Perfect transmission, tires are still fine, and the sway bar doesn't bother me at all. If you're in the market for a new car and you're thinking of paying the estimated $22k for the MSP. You should wait also take a look at all the cars in the same price range. Mini Cooper S, which will be faster and already has the aftermarket support. VW GTI 337 which comes with a compitent suspension & 18"s. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Antoine]

I don't see the Mini Cooper S going for less than 24-25+ for a while until markups go away...and the MP3 has done so well in so many auto mag tests...including even being included in one test along side a:

Ferrari 360 Modena
Chevy Corvette Z06
Porsche 911 Turbo
Lotus Elise
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII
BMW M3 Coupe
Porsche Boxter S

Maybe this will make your choice a bit easier

 

[BigBlue]

If you are looking at a pretty fair comparison with the MP3 and some other cars in it's class then check the link I posted in the following thread....it ends up being the Nissan Sentra Spec-V wins the test....and I really can't argue it...it may not have our handling, but it does have a lot of stuff that is quite nice....LSD, ABS, Sunroof, Cruise Control, 6 speed manual and better straight-line performance....course I don't really like the looks nearly as much as the MP3, but that's all opinion anyhow.

Link

 

[Kooldino]

What's the cheapest you can find it for?

 

[BigBlue]

Err what are you referring to kooldino...the Spec V I mentioned, or the Mini?

The Spec V I know here in Canada is a little less than the MP3, even fully loaded(there are different options as opposed to the MP3 that pretty much has only one choice in the US of colour and no such choice here). So I guess in Canada it's about 24,000 for the Spec V...in the states I seem to recall a price of around 17,500 for it....don't quote me on that one.

The Mini I know even the base 115 HP model will be around 25,000 here...about the same as an MP3...and the higher output model will be just shy of 30,000...which kinda puts it out of the MP3 class....it'll be even more expensive than the Mazdaspeed...given a choice I'd take the Mazdaspeed over the Cooper if they were the same cost.

 

[MP3-Owner]

What about waiting a little while and going for the Mazdaspeed?
Turbo, LSD, Killer sound system, killer handleing, AND Great LOOKS! That would be your best bet, go to your local dealer and see if you can reserve one now and see how much they want for it.