Hi guys. My first post on the forum.

am in the process of buying 2008 mazda 3 5 door from a family friend’s friend for my kid. It’s got only 72,000 miles at the price of $1800. Car is super clean too! Upon test driving i did notice a slight vibration at idle/low speeds which i understand could just be a bad motor mount (i noticed a small oil stains under the mount. I also believe it still has the original tires (it’s dunlop) which possibly could also cause vibration at low speeds while coasting (with my foot off accelerator); maybe flats spots, failing belts on tires? Oil changes were done regularly.

Any thoughts or inputs on what else to look for will be greatly appreciated.... i fell like its a steal for this price and am about to pull the trigger... my other choice is a 2006 civic coupe with 150,000 miles for about $1200 more.

thanks in advance....

 

Does the car have the 2.0 or the 2.3 engine? I ask because if has the 2.3, be prepared for the engine to fail with no warning. That said, this isn't necessarily a bad thing as the 2.5 liter Ford Duratec is a virtual clone of the 2.3; that and the Duratecs are plentiful and cheap, they are much more robust internally, more powerful, and still get the same fuel economy.

 

Well damn that stinks! Its the 2.3... just curious what percentage are just blowing up out of the nowhere; I can see it happening on neglected and modified cars. Does the problem exist on well maintained cars (adult driven) as well? What a bummer, was kind of set of this car already... definitely having second thoughts now.

 

Car am looking at is an automati but not sure if am stilll gonna pull the trigger on it...

.Been doing lots of reading and apparently happens to 2004-2009 2.3l. But it seems like its happening more on 04-07 models with manual trans?????

 

Anybody out there with 2.3l with no problems?

 

Here's the thing about the 2.3, apparently there were oil control issues which, even on well maintained engines, can cause the lower end to fail. I've been following these boards for nearly eleven years and have seen engines to Tango Uniform in as little as 80,000 miles; the flipside is also true in that some 2.3 engines go well over 200,000 miles with no apparent issues. Unfortunately, there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to whether an engine is going to fail.

 

Thanks for info. Much appreciated... for $1800 it may be worth a gamble. Guess if it happens, it happens... it will be my 16 yrs old son first car...

thank you!

 

Off topic.... how can i tell which trim level it is? There are no badges on car (touring, i, etc) for me to tell.

this is a 2008 mazda 3, wagon (5 door) with 17” wheels: is this the mazda 3 with touring package?

 

First off, if it has the 2.3 liter engine, it is an "s" model. If I recall correctly, the 2008 Mazda3 s came in three trim levels, Sport (16" wheels), Touring (17" wheels), and Grand Touring (17" wheels and Leather seating).

 

Thank you!

Sounds like its a S touring then. 👍