first manual - 2010 mazdaspeed 3 sport
 

i have never owned a manual, and have only driven my friends' a handful of times. i am getting a new car to replace my jeep wrangler simply because the gas is too expensive and maintaining a 14 year old car is becoming a pain.

i have been looking and narrowing down my options and came across the mazdaspeeds and they look nice and seem to have good customizability. i came to this forum to ask about the reliability of them, the fuel efficiency, and any other major things (such as common issues, maintenance costs, and if they're easy to work on). i prefer to work on my own car rather than taking it somewhere, so i need to make sure i can do that with a MS3.

any insight will be greatly appreciated, thanks!

this is one of the MS3's I'm looking at, haven't seen it in person yet: Used 2010 Mazda MAZDASPEED3 Sport 5-Door for Sale in Raleigh NC 27606 Java Auto Sale

First, welcome to NATOR Raleigh if you join us

Second, there's a thread someone will link to on what to look for in a used mazdaspeed but since I'm local I'll check it out for you in person because I'm that kind of guy.

Third, clearly a few things with it.

Aftermarket headunit. Could be good or bad, I don't know which one it is.

Aftermarket TMIC, intake, cobb BPV, short shift plate at the very least. None of this is necessarily problematic but hopefully it has fuel pump internals as well. No way to tell without pulling the pump.

Aftermarket catback/axleback. Not a problem.

Tail lights have been replaced with 2012+ lights as indicated by the trunk release button in the right light. Cause? Who knows.

Appears to be tech pack car with BOSE and nav.


For general info....

Generally reliable cars that shouldn't need anything at that mileage. MPG is based on your driving largely but lots of reports up to 30mpg. I never get that but I'll see high 20s highway

Easy to work on? Eh. About the same as a Jeep really (I've owned 2 speeds and a TJ so I'm familiar). Chrysler did some dumb fucking things with TJs that made them difficult in ways they shouldn't have been. And all of the hardware on this car is metric unlike the parts bin hodgepodge of a TJ.

Running costs aren't terrible but oil changes will be more expensive if you run the recommended T6 and you'll need premium instead of regular but the difference in mileage more than makes up for the price per gallon cost difference (did 13mpg in my TJ...everywhere)

that said, with that particular car I'd suggest getting an accessport with the mods, and you'll need to check for hpfp internals and get those if they're not present. Or take off all the engine mods. It's the unfortunate reality of these cars that power mods require $1k (less on the used market) worth of tuning and safety upgrades. Still much cheaper than a new engine though.

Welcome.

How poor of gas mileage does your Wrangler get and how do you plan to drive the MS3? I ask because depending on how you mod the car and how heavy your right foot is, an MS3 may not be a huge upgrade in the MPG department.

Pretty much any resource you'd ever need to maintain or repair the car is on this site, so if you're somewhat mechanically inclined, that shouldn't be an issue.

im not very familiar with the MS3 so I'm not sure where to find all the things you found on that one but i really appreciate the info! should i look for ones completely stock?

i get around 11-13 as it is now and my idea with getting a new car is to get mid to upper 20s

Quick answer is yes but there's a lot more to it than a simple answer implies. My last one was sold almost completely stock but that didn't give an indication of the low compression or bad leakdown.

If you're free this afternoon I can meet you there, leaving work in about an hour and a half and can be there in 15 minutes.

yeah i could understand that, well i am not getting a new car until after school (around June) I'm just browsing around for now

You you buy a used MS3 that has been modded you can know with 100% certainty it was driven hard and possibly abused.

When it comes to inexpensive "tuner cars" its always best to buy one bone stock with the lowest miles possible.

I have both a TJ and a 2011 Speed 3, so I can at least comment about the fuel mileage question. Driven moderately, the Mazda should double the Jeep's mileage, which will be slightly offset by the requirement for high test fuel. I second the comment about buying a modded car. People don't do all the high performance stuff to baby the vehicle. Find one that is stock, or close. My unmodded car just hit 86000 miles, and has been trouble free.

My 2010 has the lock button on the rear light, weird? I'd pass. Aim for an unmolested speed if possible. Unless the price is right to take a gamble.

Welcome. The MS3 isn't the easiest manual tranny car to drive due to the tricky clutch, so don't be too hard on yourself as you learn.

It was fairly simple. Learned it in about 15-25mins. Was my first manual as well.

sent from my Nexus 6P

Tech pack? Mine is a base and doesn't have that.

Yeah, I have the tech package.


Sent from my iPhone using my stinky little fingers

Tricky clutch? I strongly disagree, this has been one of the easiest cars to drive with a stock clutch.

Welcome to the Forum, lots of good info here, i learned whole bunch of things and how-to's on this site.
As stated above check if HPFP (Fuel pump internals) has been upgraded to AutoTech or CorkSport. If not i WOULD PASS FOR SURE, those cars do not like mods and stock Internals.
You run Lean with stock internals and mods even intake and turbo inlet pipe can be dangerous without internals.

Some one correct me if im talking out of my ars.....