I have done research on the Mazda 3 in general and I understand that this car is more susceptible to rust. I am in college and this will be my first car. Now is the '06 Mazda 3 reliable? In general, will it need repairs? How about the tranny, will I have problems with it? Anything else? The car I am looking at has 45,xxx miles. I really wanted to buy a Civic or Corolla, but not happening. Does anyone have any comments, recommendations?

 

The only to have rusted on my car was the bolts used to hold the splash shield in place, other than that, unless you plan on doing getting an aftermarket exhaust mani the o2 sensor likes to just ruin your day.

Things to watch out for are:

1. Power steering pump failure

2. ****ty oem tires and (for those who dont know) "quick" inner tire wear due to stock camber

3. Motor mounts

4. "loud" valvetrain (not going to explain why, unless you want me too)

5. Slow throttle response from off the line accel

6. Stock spark plugs going extremely early