Turbocharged 6-Speed: 2007 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3
Mazda is like the Dodge of Japan. Honda and Toyota fight like Ford and GM over bragging rights to the “best” volume sales cars and the “fastest” supercars, but Mazda just drops some crazy fun cars like the inexplicably named Mazdaspeed 3, which combined the best attributes of a small front drive family economy car with a turbocharged engine, limited slip diff, and a 6-speed manual box from 2007 through 2009 (second generation version with big smiley face was sold from 2010-2013). Think of the Mazdaspeed 3 like a Mini Cooper S with an injection of muscle car grunt and size. Find this 2007 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 offered for $5950 in Hayward, CA via craigslist.
From the seller:
2007 Mazda Speed 3
condition: excellent
cylinders: 4 cylinders
drive: fwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 138000
paint color: red
size: compact
title status: clean
transmission: manual
type: hatchback
Hi
I have for sale is Mazdaspeed3 with Rebuilt Motor
Year: 2007
Make: Mazda
Model: Mazda3 MazdaSpeed3
Condition: Used
Mileage: 139.xxx
Exterior: Red
Interior: Black
Body: Hatchback
Transmission: 6 Speed Manual
Engine: 2.3L turbocharger Rebuilt Motor
Tags Are Current
2 Keys with Remote
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Rebuilt motor, I wonder if someone turned the boost up a little and created a hole in their block. These engines can put out mad power for short periods of time if you play around with the boost.
One of the directors here had one that he turned up the boost on and ended up with a hole in the block. It was really fast, he outran another work buddy's new 50th anniversary 5.0 mustang in it.
stock is 0-60 in 5.3, I bet with a few bolt ons it would be in the 4s easily
About a year and half ago, we picked up a used 2007 Mazda CX-7 with the 2.3 ltr. turbo for my step daughter. At 245 hp / 258 torque is was pretty zippy and pulled really well for what it was. It had the perfect CarFax… 1-owner, all oil changes documented, serviced at the same dealer for 10 years, no accidents and only 79k.
Fast forward to a few months back and BOOOM go both head gaskets + it needed a throttle body. To fix it would have cost about 2/3 of what it was worth. It was our first ever Mazda…. might have been the last.
Stories like this are becoming common across many different brands. I suspect we have "hi-tech-ed" ourselves out of the golden era of the 2000s, when most mainstream cars just ran forever.
I've had a few rental Mazda and found them to be enjoyable. Wife is interested in a CX5/7 but it seems as though Mazdas just disappear… or maybe it's the prevalence of Subaru machines up in AK.
I have the Volvo s40 twin of this , and the car is a great car until it briefly has some sort of grand mal seizure and turns itself off in traffic for about one second. Or alternates between heat full on and AC full on. It has some other cunning stunts designed to annoy and or kill the driver, but you get the picture.
It's sad because all of the parts that you would worry about in an older car are perfect, yet it every so often tries to kill you. I went so far as to wire up a button to spin the starter while the car is in drive and rolling so that the occasional loss of power doesn't force you to come to a dead stop, shift to park, and only then start the engine. ( and what nitwit thought that was a good idea anyway ? )
The local mechanic says it isn't cost effective to replace the harness and or computer not knowing if that would fix the car or not. It's like driving Christine's passive-aggressive stepsister.
The high tech part is ok, the every individual car has it's ECU uniquely programed part is not.
Here's an interesting alternative I found. I'm making an assumption that this Audi is equivalent in size and performance to the Mazda (sorry, I don't want to put in the effort of researching it further). Lots of similarities at first glance.
Personally I don't think I'd buy either because they're not really my thing, but if I had to choose I don't know which I'd pick. I trust the Japanese reliability over the German, but does the price difference tip the scale? What would you do?
2006 Audi A3 6 speed manual
The Audi is slow compared to the Mazda. And speaking form owing Audis the repairs are serious bummer.
This one says it has a GIAC chip installed, whatever that is. But I agree with you on Audi repairs. I used to have a '98 A4 2.8 Quattro and sold it when expensive repairs started to appear on the horizon. The car was beautiful and a nice driver (though I hated its clutch with a passion, especially in 2 hours of stop-and-go traffic each day), but when the moonroof started randomly opening and closing on its own, it was time for a new owner.
The GIAC stage 2 tune, intake, exhaust, and K04 turbo on my Audi A4 made it just barely fast enough at WOT to keep up with a brand new V6 Camry.