Mazda 323F

gary the great

Want to get a 96 mazda 323F. Anyone own one? Experiences? What do they think? Reliable?

Went to look at one today, and it was lovely except for a couple of little things.

Hadnt got a service history, was just serviced when neccesary, although the current owner only has it the last year and she didnt know whether the previous owner had it serviced. The same with the timing belt, doesnt know if it was changed, although theres 88k on the clock, surley if it wasnt changed it would of went by now? How much does it cost to get the timing belt done? As that would be the first thing id do if i bought it.

The red brake light on the dash came on after driving it for a few mins, what does this mean?

Are they economical/nippy for a 1.5?

Are parts and repairs cheap?

What are the safety features, are they decent in a crash? I see they dont ahve airbags.

Security wise are they easy to nick? I live in Tallaght! it has an alarm but do they have immobilisers?

Any other known problems?

Its not that expensive for a 323f and they seem to hold their value, so what do yous thinK?

DublinWriter

More importantly, have you also thought about the fact that the 323F is knicknamed "hairdressers Porsche"?

colm_mcm

DublinWriter wrote:

More importantly, have you also thought about the fact that the 323F is knicknamed "hairdressers Porsche"?

I reckon you're thinking of the MR2

323F has fantastic reliability, only thing to look out for is if it's been boy racered or crashed.

gary the great

colm_mcm wrote:

I reckon you're thinking of the MR2

323F has fantastic reliability, only thing to look out for is if it's been boy racered or crashed.

it certainly hasnt been crashed, doubt its been boy raced either

bazz26

A former neighbour of mine had one of these for about 3 years, the only problem she had was that the front windscreen wiper motor failed. She still buys Mazda these days and currently has a 6.

My uncle had a 1999 Mazda 323 saloon (the newer model) for 4 years and it never gave any trouble. Mazda is usual at the top of or there abouts in most reliability surveys.

colm_mcm

fantastically under-rated cars. (fair enough the "f" has a following but the others are stunning value)

gyppo

colm_mcm wrote:

fantastically under-rated cars. (fair enough the "f" has a following but the others are stunning value)

Totally agree about the under-rated point. I had two Mazda 626's (92 and 97), and they were both brilliant. Totally reliable, extremely comfortable, and gave very good economy. I could never figure out how the resale value of them were so far behind their rivals.

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote:

fantastically under-rated cars. (fair enough the "f" has a following but the others are stunning value)

Yes, I find Mazdas in general seem to be underated.

Stightly off topic but I'm looking at the Mazda 6 at the moment and even low mileage high spec used models seem to be relatively cheap. Love the look of the car and have driven one and very pleased with it, only thing I was disappointed with is the interior, there is alot of cheap looking plastic about the cabin. Definately not a show stopper though. Still alot of car for the money.

colm_mcm

the lack of a 1.6 option seems to be the main issue with the Mazda6.

Also going on conversations with customers, the fact that the Mazda5 (7 seater) doesn't have a 1.6 option puts people off.
Amazing what the fear of having to pay €93 extra for 12 months road tax (or €1.78 per week...) - will do to people!

Larry David

DublinWriter wrote:

More importantly, have you also thought about the fact that the 323F is knicknamed "hairdressers Porsche"?

Stop being such a knob - your clichéd schtick is getting tired & old now. The Hyundai Coupe is the hairdressers Porche. The 323F is a good car.

unkel

The 323F of that generation is a sound car. Very reliable

colm_mcm wrote:

Amazing what the fear of having to pay €93 extra for 12 months road tax (or €1.78 per week...) - will do to people!

Indeed, when their car might be depreciating 50 times that!

Larry David wrote:

The Hyundai Coupe is the hairdressers Porche

Excuse me, the Hyundai Coupe is the hairdressers Ferrari if you don't mind

colm_mcm

anyway, a run of the mill 1.5 hatchback that is compared with a porsche is only a good thing!

C_Breeze

Well it was designed by Porsche so hence the nickname.

Anyway , its a great car. My dad had one from new 95 and put 140k on the clock before selling it and it was still perfect.

I myself have the 2.0 V6 24valve and its a cracking car, I find the driving position to be really good comfortbale and sporty yet still spacious and a very good solid reliable car

...selling it btw

Larry David

C_Breeze wrote:

I myself have the 2.0 V6 24valve

What are you winking at? I don't get it!

Stephen

Normally when the timing belt has been changed, you'll see something like "TB 58000" or whatever mileage marked on the engine cover. Anything like that under the bonnet of this car?

C_Breeze

Larry David wrote:

What are you winking at? I don't get it!

Well you see I intended to put in a simple smiley face in order to portray my happiness in owning my vehicle.

..Now a simpley smiley face consists of the following key combination ":" and ")" which produces this >

A wink however is created by pressing ";" and ")" which produces this >

However as ":" and ";" are located on the same key but distinguished by the use of the "shift" button, I am sure you appreciate that it is very easy to make an error.

So my sincere apology if I somehow mixed up a smile and a wink , i simply intended to show happiness at the fact that this vehicle has served me well during my ownership and also to convey to the op that it is a good car for him to consider purchasing.

I hope I have clarified this for you in a statisfactory manner as I am sure you thought that my wink was a sign of bravado in owning such a coooool 2litre v6 car, yes? ...in which case i would have used this > :cool:

gary the great

Stephen wrote:

Normally when the timing belt has been changed, you'll see something like "TB 58000" or whatever mileage marked on the engine cover. Anything like that under the bonnet of this car?

No there was nothing like that, doing some researcha nd the price of getting a new belt isnt as dear as i thought.

Im actually thinking about bringing one in from england, i cna pick a nice one up for about 850sterling and the VRT is only around 350euro according to the VRTcalculator, which is nothing.

So i reckon im looking at about 1700euro altogether for a newer better spec car. Had a read of the importing from england sticky and its something il definetly be looking into.

And i absoultly love the cars, real sporty look, lovely drive and i found it real comfortable. Pity i can tget it in a smaller engine though, with it being my first car and all. But insurance is still decent enough.

Henry Ford III

I'd buy no car without a service history. If the t.b. hasn't been done it could fail any day.

Factor the cost of replacing that into the price.

A red light coming on after a few miles would make me walk away tbh.

Zambia

I owned one of these for two years

the car is reliable , its nippy enough to get me caught speeding and take the Garda 10 minutes to catch me (license hanging by a thread)

My insurance went up on purchase as it was " a sports car"

It has good grip the brakes are good , it sticks to the road

Bad pionts

My fan belt squeled on start up this could be fixed thightening or loosening by me or a mechanic but it only took a few months to come back (this may a have been my car unique)

The windscreen take ages to de-mist in the morning.

Climbing out is like any other sports car , your a*s is on the floor.

Idiots m*king hairdressers porsche comment when we all know the Hyundai has that title.

Oh I did have a car snap a timing belt once , very expensive if in doubt get it done.

But this is a bloody good car in general.

Zambia

OH and I also saw one after it slammed into the traffic light on the Navan road clonee village exit.

It looked like it handled itself ok , the Garda at the seen said no-one was that bad

gary the great

lads im goin to go ahead and buy it, 1900quid for a 96 with 88k in good nick with a good spec and NCT till Dec next year.

Il get the belt and service done straight away,anyone know how much it will roughly cost from a backstreet garage?

What do they do in a service? id say i could do it myself? Change the oil etc is no bother to me.

Its a 96', is the immobiliser any use? It has an alarm as well, but it like to know if its goin to be failry hard to nick?

And do they have an airbag standard? I forgot to check.

All in all its the exact same as this only a year older amd for only 1900euro,with an extra 15k miles and no sunroof: http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=538863

Seems decent enough?

And should it be ok as a first car?

bazz26

The 323F got a very subtle facelift in 1997. The main changes being slightly different wing mirrors, driver's air bag, larger wheels and upgraded stereo afaik. I don't think the 1996 model had an air bag but I could be wrong.

The cost of a timing belt can vary depending on where you bring it. The timing belt kit is fairly cheap but the money is spent on the labour involved in changing it. From a back street mechanic I would guess between €300 to €400. Get the water pump changed also at the same time as the t-belt.

In fairness the 323F is probably one of the most reliable cars on the road and most mechanics will tell you that they are easy to work on if something does go wrong.

Best of luck with it and post a few photos when you get it.

C_Breeze

Pesonally i think they look horrible without the spoiler and with those 13'/14' shopping trolley wheels. However its a great car and pulls fantastically on the motorway in 5th gear for a little 1.5 - not that you need to know being your first car but there ya go!

Good luck

Zambia

As I said before excellent first car... if your feeling flush later the wheels can be fixed by getting nice Alloys

gary the great

The wheels on the one im buying are actually an inch bigger i think and look better!

Ive heard the bulbs blow in the lights in these cars quite a bit? is this true? Why?

I also did some investigating into why the red brake light is coming on. It usually means that the fluid is low, but (i dont know that much about mechanics) if the brake fluid is low it must of escaped from somewhere? COuld it mean the brake pads are worn and its escaping through there? So this would mean id have to do the brakes on it aswell ,which im sure is fairly expensive?

old boy

re i would not buy a car without a service history, thats only a wind up by main dealers to screw more bobs from people, the no 1 in doing any thing is use common sense,

gary the great

Just thought id mention, bought a car today at last (glad i waited now, got what i wanted at a good price). 96 navy 323f with only 51k on the clock and a full mazda service history to go with it. Top spec with air con (that actually works!), electric sunroof, alloys, JVC CD player, immaculate interior, tax'ed and NCT'd till mid next year. A couple of little dents around the car but nothing major or noticable. Very happy with it. Will post some pics up next weekend after i polish it up. All it needs is a new alarm zapper cos the other one only half works and a new spare tyre. Paid 2100 for it, which was a bargain compared to some of the other ones i was looking at today.


Went to look at 4 today, they were all in bits except for this one. Was about to give up and start looking for something else and went to this one last and took it.

thanks for all the advice yous gave me lads, glad i bought one, the drive home in it was lovely can see me being very happy with it!

B00MSTICK

nice one man, hope you enjoy it.

DublinWriter

gary the great wrote:

Paid 2100 for it, which was a bargain compared to some of the other ones i was looking at today.

Nice one, well done, 2100 is a lot less than most newer cars will depreciate in a year.

The combination of sunroof and air-con is rare in most Irish cars, so you did pretty well there.

gary the great

DublinWriter wrote:

Nice one, well done, 2100 is a lot less than most newer cars will depreciate in a year.

The combination of sunroof and air-con is rare in most Irish cars, so you did pretty well there.

My bad. It actually doesnt have air con, the button is just on the dash and i presumed it had air con. But in fact they actually all have the button, but most dont have the air con, it was just standard to have it on the dash!

As you say most just have the sunroof or air con or neither, id take the electric sunroof anyday.

Ye 2100 for a jap car with only 50k on the clock and f/s/h is a good deal!

gary the great

it actually does have fully working air con Happy days!

Just have to go get the zapper for the alarm sorted, anyone know the cheapest place to get it done? it will probly cost a fortune

Love the car except being a tall guy at 6 foot 3, the legs rub against the steering wheel a bit making it a big awkward.

Other than that i love it