Looking to buy a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3

[RauBurger]

Hello all,

I'm currently on the market for a new(used) car. I came across a mazdaspeed 3, that, on the surface, looked pretty good. It has 125000 miles on it, the grand touring trim, and they are asking about $9000 for it (it's from a dealership).

I took the car for a test drive today, and it seemed to behave pretty well, but I am not experienced with these cars. One of my dad's co-workers has had owned one of these cars in the past and told us some things to look out for.

First thing he said was that the turbocharger would need to be rebuilt every 100,000 miles or so. From the carfax report, it looks like it was checked at around 111,000 miles but there is no mention of it being rebuilt. Is this something I should be concerned about? or should I try to lower the asking price because of this?

The other thing is that the oil is supposed to be replaced every 3000 miles. Again, from the carfax, it looks as if this did not happen. This of course does not account for the fact the previous owner may have changed it himself, or got it done at a place that doesn't update carfax. Will this be an issue?

Any insight or guidance would be appreciated.

[azarashi]

For the life of me I can't find the fucking thread but there is a thread with all the list of crap to look out for when buy a speed in general. But tldr;

-check to chain rattle from timing chain on cold start, or if you can put on some gloves to check the tension of the chain after its been warmed up to see if it moves at all. If shit is stretched or there is lots of chain rattle VVT/timing chain needs to be replace ($1200 dealer work or $600 ish DIY)

-Smoking turbo issue, after 20+ min of driving if there is any smoke coming from exhaust, turbo seals nee to be replaced.


The turbo doesnt need to be rebuilt at 100k unless the car is maintained shitty, I don't see why the stock turbo wouldn't last the life of the car if its all taken care of well and you aren't pushing extra PSI through it. I could be fucking wrong so don't quote me on this.

3k oil change is playing it safe you can go 4-5k without any real issues. Of course carfax wont have the oil changes listed cause the person either did it them self or took it to somewhere else to do it, even a dealer wouldn't label every damn time it was changed.

So beyond check for chain rattle and turbo smoke, just look it over for any after market parts. But ill be honest if the car is 125k, and it seems to be running fine im sure its fine from my experience. Most of the times idiots blow their shit at around 60k or if the car is a dud. So im assuming it was taken care of for the most part if it made it this far.


Also read up around the site as much as you can.

[Crizomatic]

is this your first car? a lot of misinformation from that coworker. azarashi nailed it. 3k oil changes are something people did two decades ago, unless you live somewhere awful and abuse the car.

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[RauBurger]

This isn't my first car, but it is my first non-clunker car. Thanks for the feedback so far, It's making me feel a bit better about this purchase.

Also, what would you describe as living someplace awful? I live in south eastern michigan and we see temperatures ranging from -10F - 100F and a whole lot of snow (especially this year)

[azarashi]

I know there is issues with boost/fuel cutting out when its pretty cold out for some people, but other than that you just have to deal with a clunky as fuck gear box till it warms up. And when it is near/bellow freezing you will hear the timing chain rattle for sure on start up but that doesnt mean anything is wrong with it, as well with extra suspension noise. But car should be find once its warmed up like any other, just need to baby it till its toasty.

And as for how they are in the snow, they are torque fwd cars so assume you must. With winter tires you should be fine but down here in GA with my all seasons I had a little bit of issues with hills in our "SNOWPOCLYPSE 2014".

Long story short, yah you should be fine in the cold/snow if you take it easy till its warmed up and have the appropriate tires.

[obijack]

If I use conventional oil I change it at 3k. Synthetic blend 4k and Full Synthetic 5-6k.

Other than what these guys above have mentioned the best thing you can do is donate, become VIP, and get an auto check done on it. Then meet up with some local Nator members and have them go look at the car. They should be able to tell if there have been any modifications done to the car. Your other option is to take the car to a mazda dealer and have them inspect it (usually cost around 125 bucks).

[azarashi]

Originally Posted by obijack If I use conventional oil I change it at 3k. Synthetic blend 4k and Full Synthetic 5-6k. Other than what these guys above have mentioned the best thing you can do is donate, become VIP, and get an auto check done on it. Then meet up with some local Nator members and have them go look at the car. They should be able to tell if there have been any modifications done to the car. Your other option is to take the car to a mazda dealer and have them inspect it (usually cost around 125 bucks).

Got my inspection done for 75 hehe

[shamie]

Go to the new member section and read;
http://www.mazdaspeedforum.org/forum/foru...aspeed-100577/

[gt_nfr]

With that many miles, there is no telling what modifications that car could have had through out its lifetime. I'd suggest you grab a friend that owns one and have them look over the car for any signs of mods that may have been removed.

[RauBurger]

Wow, thanks for all the replies! Unfortunately, this specific s3 had it's clutch blown by somebody else later the same day I test drove it so I don't think I'm going to pursue that one.

I found another one, same year, same model, at another dealership for about $3k more, but with about 30k mile less, so I'm going to take a look at that one in the near future. This time I will have a checklist with me of things to look for!

[brandonnicholson]

$12k and 100k miles? Keep looking. I bought my 07 gt for 11k with 100k miles last year and about a month later they popped up all over the place for less money with way less miles. There was a stock 07 cosmic blue gt on craigslist near me with 73k miles and the guy was asking 11 thousand.

[azarashi]

Bought my 08 with 110k on it this last summer for 10.8k, probably could have talked him down though.

[spdtrux]

I paid $10k for my ms3 w/ 99k on the clock.

Not from a dealer though. It had internals, springs intake, rebuilt turbo and clutch w/ 20k on it.

Plenty deals around. Don't rush! DONATE

Guy by me on CL is selling his for $9k FULLY BOLTED dropped w/ AP but it has 125k on it runs fine.

[obijack]

It is just my personal opinion but I would buy a speed 6 if I were looking to buy and older speed.

[gt_nfr]

Originally Posted by obijack It is just my personal opinion but I would buy a speed 6 if I were looking to buy and older speed.

Worthwhile to look into. Speed6s can be had for similar price range

[jm211]

You really should pay for a compression test and then a leakdown test.

One thing disi is known for imo is leaky valves, ringland seals failing and poorish compression. Now if the car is maintained, different story. If you have poor compression in any cylinder its a money bomb waiting to suck you in.

[Ctdmax]

Too many miles...you will be doing this all over again in 1 or 2 years with that many miles.