Very interested in MS3 but concerned about reliability

[rosskoss]

What's up all? I'm new here. (hi)

I've been considering an MS3 for a while now but the posts about the spun bearing, motor mount recalls and other issues have me concerned about its long term reliability.

I intend to keep this car for a VERY long time if I buy it. I also probably won't do any mods to it since I'm satisfied with the power and I'm not going to be driving it hard 24/7. It's just nice to know that you have the power when you need it. Plus, I enjoy the sleeper aspect.

I've been looking at a S2000 and a 350Z but both those cars offer zero practicality. That's ok now but if I start a family in 2 years, I don't want to trade at a loss for another car.

MS3, to me, offers a great balance between sport and performance and practicality. What do you think the long term reliability of the car is going to be like? (120K+ miles)

Chime in with your thoughts please.

 

[Unoriginaluser]

web forums attract horror stories however common threads can still represent just the smallest % of the population.

its a consumers reports best buy... and mazda at least takes care of problems unlike toyota who tries to sweep things under the rug

 

[dparm1984]

You're getting a 5 year powertrain warranty FYI.

 

[SPEED3TYPE2]

all cars have some bugs especcially new models, according to CONSUMER REPORTS the MAZDASPEED3 has full red reliability rateing. this is the best rating offered.

 

[dparm1984]

The regular 3 (and its 2.3L motor) have proven to be pretty reliable, so you have a very good platform to start with.

 

[fourthmeal]

Overall, I'm pleased with the durability and reliability.

+1 to the comments about the forums being a magnifying glass when it comes to failures and such. The overall amount of problems is very small.

Most sporty cars aren't as durable as a regular daily driven soccer-mom-mobile. We tend to push our cars harder, so their failures will show up more to us. Good thing is that we find problems this way earlier then 4 years into ownership...HAHA.

 

[Sacrilicious]

for a turbo'd 4 banger, this car is about as reliable as you can expect. if you REALLY want reliability, just get yourself a v6 accord or v6 camry. in our class, though, i really can't see any other choices that are really much more reliable than our cars.

 

[Mspeed3]

had mine 4 2 years and have had no real issues. The price, practicality, and styling made it a no brainer for me when I made the purchase. I think it is the silent flagship of mazda. Their speed6, miata, and rx-8 are all slower and in my opinion arent as well rounded as the speed3. I was looking at the 350Z also but the sticker and the local dealership kept me away

 

[Young Roids]

I conducted a non scientific poll and found that about 1 in 4 have had problems.

 

[racekar]

I conducted a non scientific poll and found that about 1 in 4 have had problems.

are they major continous problems? or minor things like rattle etc.. because every car has some issue.

all the problems ive seen so far have been recalled /fixed.

also was the problem on a stock car or was it modified ?

 

[Young Roids]

Well I put on the poll not to include stupid stuff like squeeks and rattles as problems but I kind of left it open to interpretation of what they felt were problems.

 

[Sacrilicious]

honestly, the people that come to these boards are usually:

1. modders
2. people looking to fix problems

talking to either of these people will NOT give you a good representation of what's happening to most of the ms3's out there...

 

[dparm1984]

I conducted a non scientific poll and found that about 1 in 4 have had problems.

I don't even know what that even means. You've given absolutely zero information on sample size. What if you only talked to four people?

That sort of statement doesn't really help answer this guy's question.



Reliability figures will be tricky for this car since there are so few of them, and it hasn't been out for a long time. As I said above though, it is built on an already good platform.

 

[Young Roids]

I got about 100 people to respond.

 

[Pondo]

unless you are buying a chinesse car you should not worry. The car is very well built, i guarantee you will love it.

 

[rc50cal]

If you require the practicality of the hatch then I think you should go for the Speed3. Many of the problems reported here have been with modified cars. As others have pointed out, very few people bother to make posts that declare "Just wanted to let you all know that everything is great with my Speed3." If they did, you would see a lot more of those than of the "spun bearing" and "smoking turbo" variety.

 

[dparm1984]

"Just wanted to let you all know that everything is great with my Speed3."


:-D

There.

 

[Young Roids]

I could try to start a poll here I suppose. With just the basic question problems or no problems? And then have it say don't include small things like squeeks and rattles as problems.

 

[Falconx84]

didn't we have a thread here where everyone said "I love my ms3 and haven't had any real problems"

the only "real" recall was on a motor mount and it was from hard launching, the other was all-weather floor mats and a voluntary emission recall. That's great for a first model year.

I wouldn't be too concerned since the mazda3 is one of the most reliable cars and thats obviously what the ms3 is based off. Forums always attract post about problems because people are looking for troubleshooting advice and if everything is ok, then there's nothing to troubleshoot or concern the community

plus, the ms3 has one of the best communities that I've seen... just about everyone is willing to help someone else out, it tends to be a more mature crowd than others as well. Occasionally you get some assholes, but on the whole we're a good group who's willing to help out a fellow member

 

[Betelgeuse]

honestly, the people that come to these boards are usually:

1. modders
2. people looking to fix problems

talking to either of these people will NOT give you a good representation of what's happening to most of the ms3's out there...

+1

Some of the comments on the forums should be taken with a grain of salt. I've put close to 30k hard miles on the car already and it still idles like the day I bought it. Of course they won't all be perfect but that's where the warranty comes into play.