wat to look for when test driving

[lakedude90]

so this saterday i am hopefully going to go test drive a 08 silver 5 door and i was just wondering if theres anything I need to look for. I know when it comes to a used speed3 you want to see if the turbo is smoking or not. What a bout a reuglar 3, anything in perticualr? it has just over 40k miles on it and a few surface scratches. nothing a good detailing and some rubing compound cant handle.

I do have one question. being that my current car has a aftermarket clutch in it and that is what i learned on, i am not use to stock clutches. are theses clutches easy to get the hang of?

thanks alot guys.

 

[burgmo3]

so this saterday i am hopefully going to go test drive a 08 silver 5 door and i was just wondering if theres anything I need to look for. I know when it comes to a used speed3 you want to see if the turbo is smoking or not. What a bout a reuglar 3, anything in perticualr? it has just over 40k miles on it and a few surface scratches. nothing a good detailing and some rubing compound cant handle.

I do have one question. being that my current car has a aftermarket clutch in it and that is what i learned on, i am not use to stock clutches. are theses clutches easy to get the hang of?

thanks alot guys.

I don't have a manual so I can't help you there but be sure to check your passenger side motor mount. They are notorious for failing.

 

[Azexa]

I do have one question. being that my current car has a aftermarket clutch in it and that is what i learned on, i am not use to stock clutches. are theses clutches easy to get the hang of?

thanks alot guys.

I don't know much about standards, but I talked to my brother who has a standard focus and he said that a stage 1 clutch which i guess is the normal type of clutch is not that hard to get the hang of if you learned on a stage 2 or 3. When you test drive the car make sure when you shift that it does not "clunk" into gear. I was debating between 2 mazdas when I bought mine and the only reason I didn't get the standard was it did not shift smoothly.

 

[kurtis]

My 04' 2.3L hatch is sometimes a little difficult to get into reverse, which may be normal (my protege was the same way), and sometimes the clutch has a little chatter on takeoff (again, don't know if it's normal). As for issues, mine chews through wheel bearings, i've gone through 3 drivers side bearings in l little over a year. Also, there is a pain in the ass rattling in the lower dash somewhere. In addition to that, other than typical rust spots, one sneaky one I've noticed is water tends to pool in the lower part of the gap where the tail lights meet the hatch, looks like water has gotten in under the paint and is starting to bubble. Besides that I'd have to say that the car is solid. Other then the wheel bearing thing i've had no issues that seem to be "not normal" for a car of its age.

 

[mjstew]

as far as a mazda 3 in general, make sure the motor mounts are good, they are notorious for failing... if you cant get it up on a lift to see the mounts, take it on the highway and slowly accelerate up to around 75 mph or so, to see if there is any major vibration at the various speeds.