2004 Mazda 3 GT 2.3

Summary:

Fun to drive. Reliability??? Not a car to hold onto

Faults:

Rear wheel well; bottom of doors & door frames; began to show sign of rusting at around 120,000km. Brought the car back to the dealership back then for rust issues, and fixed under warranty. All the rust came back within a year of the fix. Once was at a car accident, and found lots of the welding points of the car chassis were already showing sign of rusting as well.

Front right wheel bearing worn out and needed to be replaced at around 150,000km, and then the left front at 200,000km.

Front struts needed to be replaced the same time as the front bearings, then the rear struts at about 170,000km. The upper supports of the rear struts are actually broken.

At 210,000km, engine light came out and the OBD reader indicated a cylinder #4 misfire error. Replaced the spark plugs and hope for the best now.

General Comments:

In term of performance, this is definitely a fun car to drive. You can't really get anything better than this car at the same price range.

But in term of reliability and being well-built, definitely Mazda has a lot of improvement to be made, particularly the body panel rusting issues.

A/C unit also is a weak component of the system. Although I have yet to replace any of the parts, the A/C is very weak in both normal summer (just barely "cool", not even cold) and extreme cold Canadian weather (in winter, the only time you are getting enough heat is when you are driving on a highway when the engine is constantly at a higher RPM range).

Although with all the setbacks I described above, the car provided me and my family a good hassle free 6 years 200,000km service, so I know I shouldn't be complaining.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th September, 2011

2004 Mazda 3 Hatchback 2.3L

Summary:

Good looking, but definitely NOT reliable

Faults:

Within a week of owning the car, the AC went out. Horrible timing, because it's the middle of the summer, and it's like 100 degrees outside!

Then on the way to the mechanic, the engine starts smoking. Nothing on the dashboard said anything was wrong with the engine. The temperature of the engine was normal. The mechanic said it could be due to the alternator. Now need a new alternator.

Both problems happened within 500 miles/1.5 weeks of owning the vehicle. Carfax had a clean history of the vehicle as well.

I don't know why all these problems started within just 1.5 weeks. I drove the car like how my grandma would drive. When we test drove it at the dealership, everything was fine. It was fine for a week before this all started...

General Comments:

The only thing this car has going for itself is that it looks good. Both inside and out. But Mazda and the dealership really let me down.

Not only is the car unreliable, the dealership is now avoiding my calls. WTF!?!

Can I return this car back to the dealership? I've only had it for 2 weeks now. It's just been sitting in the driveway and I'm now back to driving my parents car :( BTW I live in Illinois. Is there a buyers remorse law here? I gotta do some Google searching I guess.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 24th July, 2011

25th Jul 2011, 11:05

Sounds more like a shady dealer than the car itself. These cars are normally very reliable, so more likely than not, it had been abused by the previous owner (s). And for the record, a smoking engine is not caused by the alternator. If it was your alternator, the car would not run as the battery would be drained very quickly. It clearly sounds like you have been taken.

25th Jul 2011, 15:42

Wow - it truly sounds like the problems that you are facing with this car are annoying, and in some cases, can be severe! Making for a downright unpleasant drive, nonetheless. Anyhow, as for returning the car, in Massachusetts we have a "Lemon Law" that allows the owner to return his or her vehicle if there is a major issue within thirty (30) days of initial purchase. I would imagine that something like this exists in your state.

I did some research, and based on the state you live in, which was Illinois I believe, and came up with this: http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/lemonlaw.html -- Those are some guidelines from the Illinois Attorney General's office about the Lemon Law that applies in your state. I am not sure if it applies to New cars, but it should.

Hope this helps!