Faults:

Odd thing, my Mazda shut off once in a while when driving. But it was a manual, so I just put it in neutral, and turned it back on and kept going. Good thing it didn't have power steering to begin with.

Brake lines and fuel lines rusted out bad, but I live where we douse our roads with salt, so that is expected.

General Comments:

Best car I've ever owned.

Economical and cheap to maintain. Buy the manual; gives it more pep.

Water leaked in the back hatch.

Never came with power steering or a radio; it was a factory option (ha), but that's the reason I loved it so much. It was no frills, just money saving and fun.

I owned a 2006 Mustang. Bought it new, and after 4 years I sold it. I will probably never buy a new car again. To me, I enjoyed my 323 more than the Mustang. But I guess money saving factors into what I enjoy more.

Great, reliable 323, no real issues, always got us to where we needed to go. Amazing in the winter with our snow tires on. So light it would cruise over the snow, even when we had a big snowstorm. Gas mileage was amazing, city and highway.

Faults:

Soon after I bought it, it developed a minor oil leak, which various mechanics seemed unable to find the source of. The leak grew until the crack in the engine block became noticeable, and then the crack killed the engine at 93,000 miles.

No other problems.

General Comments:

I bought this car because my previous Mazda 323 (a 1989) was still going strong when I sold it at 150,000+ miles.

This one was funny, in that it seemed like it would be just as great, and started out with no problems.

Even after the crack in the engine block killed it, I can't remember it ever having any other mechanical problems.

It had great pick-up, and with the small size, it just zipped around everywhere and was easy to park and maneuver (despite manual steering, which made parallel parking a bit of an upper-body workout sometimes.)

My biggest complaint while I drove it was that the seats were incredibly uncomfortable and the vinyl got awfully hot in the summer.

Faults:

Had to replace gas tank at 210000km due to a leak.

Had to replace thermostat because in winter time the heaters didn't work good.

Replased alternator at about 180000km.

Low Compression in the engine cylinders strated around 220000 km

The car never had a right side mirror so I had to buy one.

Back windshield whipper didn't work properly.

General Comments:

The car was great and never leaved me on the road. Althoght it was old and it didn't had any extras it's been a pleasure and fun to drive.

Faults:

Hatch window washer pump broken.

Torque converter stuck, required tow to fix.

Torque converter stuck again, magically started working again when towed.

Torque converter stuck again, required tow.

Solenoids in transmission stuck, required tow.

Transmission replaced at 180 000km.

Plastic around rear seat button on top of seat cracked and broke off.

Rust under rear window.

Rust around back tire wheel well.

Hatch window wiper loose, only wipes half of window.

Paint (red) faded on one side of front of car.

Cracked plastic lining on the inside of the car around the hatch door.

Rust always falls out of the hatch door, am not sure where it is coming from.

General Comments:

Comfortable seats for the average sized occupant.

Interior very easy to keep clean.

Rear fold-down seat easy to maneuver and very handy.

Not too great on gas at 13 years old, 10km to the liter.

Had problems with the torque converter and transmission where the car would not shift into drive, had to tow the car four times before being diagnosed. Replaced with a used transmission.

Did not come with a passenger side mirror.

Locking gas tank is a pain, especially at full-serve gas stations.

Stereo has good sound. Tape deck not very stylish.

It is sometimes difficult to maneuver larger cargo out of the hatch door.

Small size makes it extremely easy to park anywhere.

Great windows allow adequate view for all passengers.

Great for four people to ride in, alright for five, but not the best.

Did not find it reliable until I had the transmission replaced.

Hard to maintain speed going up hills.

I love driving this car, although it did not come with cruise control.