Overhaulin'

Several questions regarding Mazda MX-3s?

I'm buying my first car. There's a used, 1993 Mazda MX-3 from a private seller I'm going to test drive with my father tonight. Truthfully, I haven't read much about this type of vehicle (wanted a Prelude or Integra, but I really wanted to give this MX-3 a chance, I'm a little in love with it already). It's an automatic, it's in really good shape. I wanted to ask of anyone who might own/have owned one, or knows much about them: What kind of gas mileage can I expect from it? What are the most common problems seen in MX-3s? (This is going to sound stupid, because I know it's a sport compact, but) are the backseats big enough to fit a child booster seat? (I've got a five year old niece and promised her many fun "adventures" when I get my car). Anything else critical I should know about this type of car before considering buying one? Any helpful websites you can direct me to, to learn more? Any information is useful. Thanks. :)

Public Comments

1. Well I worked at a Mazda dealership in the service dept for 10 years from 1995 to 2005. The MX3 was a pretty reliable car when it was taken care of. I'm not fond of any Japanese automatic, but that's not to say they are all bad and I don't recall seeing many bad MX3 auto transmissions outside of poor maintenance. The automatic seatbelts were the biggest problems I saw with the MX3, they fail almost always at some point, it's just a matter of when. Not cheap to fix outside of warranty. As far as the back seat goes, well you'll see when you go drive it.. It's tiny and hard to get into. I would never recommend an MX3 to anyone who wants to transport small children. They often have failures in the front camshaft and crankshaft seals, as well as leaky valve cover gaskets. If it is a dual overhead camshaft engine, they have problems with oil leaking into the spark plug wells and causing running problems. It's fixable as long as you replace the leaky gasket when you replace the wires otherwise you'll have the same problem. The DOHC (dual overhead cam) engine is essentially the same as the Miata, very dependable. The SOHC (single overhead cam) is the same as the 1990 to 1994 Protege base engines. Fuel Mileage expect from 28 to 33 mpg depending on how you drive it. That's higway mileage. Probably 22 to 25 mpg city. I have a friend who is a Honda tech, and the Prelude is not a good vehicle unless you have a huge budget. They are fine until they need repair, then they will kill you. Nothing bad to say about Integra. Feel free to send me a message and I will try to help you any way I can.