I drive a civic, but I came here to ask a few questions about a potential mazda 3

First off, I'm relatively new to cars, so yeah
Second off, I drive a civic, that was the first car I really "started getting into"
I've done nothing major with it, but I've done a good amount of reading, but I still don't know more than basically how to drive a car, in comparison

So here's the situation.
I see this Mazda 3 sitting on the side of the road for weeks, hasn't moved (there's been some damage done to it).
Finally, a day or two ago, I pulled over to check out the damage. If the owners haven't cared to get it fixed by now, maybe they don't plan on it.

I don't know much about mazdas, the generations, body types, etc...
It is a hatch-style though, 5 doors I guess? After pulling over to look it down, there are some major bruises I notice and that's about it.

No rear bumper cover
Same with the front, no front bumper cover.
Front headlights are gone, completely...one of them is kinda hanging around and the other was MIA
Hood was bent up a little and the driver's side front quarter panel (if that's what it's called, right where the wheel is), is bent in a little.

I didn't look under the hood, I took some pictures with my phone but don't have a way of uploading them. I'll try and do that ASAP

So with that background, I don't know what year the car is, but I guess it has to be first gen. Will any mazda 3 5dr first gen (2004-2009?) parts fit. And if so/if not...how much do you think these fixes would cost.

I know it's hard to estimate without pictures, I'll try and get them up, ordering a thing for my phone in a minute to transfer pictures.

Or are there any sites you guys recommend for aftermarket or oem parts?

Oh, and I did search the forums little, some of my questions were kind of answered (from the sticky), I just figured I'd ask anyway, double check.

Sorry for the length!

 

I don't know about this. If it's already in messed up shape, this may be your worst nightmare. The frame may even be out of allignment. The car may not look totalled, but if the frame is whacked then the car is totalled. Your best bet is to contact the owner and find out about the car, or take the VIN number and run a carfax on it, and see if the car pops up. The carfax will tell you when the accident was and what actually happened to it, if the accident was reported. You can't always belive the seller, because some of them will lie just to get rid of the car, especially in this economy. Good luck with everything, and also a Mazda 3 is WAY better than a civic, so maybe the money you would invest in this 3 would be better invested in a used one at a dealership. just my two cents.

 

Id just stick with your civic, the money your gonna dump into that trashed 3 will make your civic wayyy better the 3. As you stated your not that mechanically inclined and the 3 is NOT the car to learn from, theres a reason why more ppl prefer hondas, there hands down the easiest and cheapest to modify and fix.

 

tracker, you're probably right
but at any rate, I'm still gonna ask
I'd probably take it to a shop and do most of the major stuff there
but I still would like to expose myself to it

And if I can get it for cheap, I'll keep my civic anyway, but I'll also have a nice mazda 3

Just ordered a cable for my phone yesterday or two days ago or something
I'll put pictures up as soon as I get it

 

Ok, here are the pictures. As you can see, the rest of the car is in pretty much perfect condition. The damage seems to be "focused" on these two parts. It is a manual and the inside looked alright from a quick glance. I still couldn't get under the hood, let alone get ahold of the owner.


Right Front

Passenger Side

Left Front

Front

Driver Side

Back

 

What...what the hell? How is this car road-legal?

 

The frame looks twisted anyway, at least from a glance. Leave it be.

 

I agree. Leave it alone. There's probably more damage than it's worth - that's why it's been sitting there for so long.

See here for pictures of my recent accident:

https://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/mazda3-26/i-just-cant-have-nice-things-17501/

 

haha alright, thanks guys
it's funny, I posted the exact same thread on my civic forum I frequent, they had some of the same responses, and some were the exact opposite of "easy fix, go to a junkyard"

Not sure if that was go there and leave the car there or try and find new parts

Anyway, think the damage is -that- bad? I would love to have that car (working), but if you guys think it's totaled...that is a write-off, right?

 

and wow lelola, how the heck exactly do you put a hole like that in your car?
That's just ridiculous
Very few things aggravate me more than stupid drivers, they put everyone at risk...and I'm an EMT, so I see quite a bit of nasty, nasty things from car accidents