What to look for in a Mazda 323F

theKramer

Hi there,
I am looking to buy a '98 Mazda 323F.

Is there anything I should look for. What are the main services that should have been performed on these cars, e.g. timing belts, etc.

Thx.

Barr

i've heard the electrics can be abit troublesome , i'd check lights , windows etc

other than that they have excellent reliability

gogs2006

i'd check for any previous crash damage....they were a very sought after car in their day
a lot of damaged ones were repaired quickly for resale:(

colm_mcm

make sure the windows work ok, that they go up and down smoothly, and that the frameless windows don't let in water. check for any warning lights on the dash, and make sure the cambelt has been changed. Overall they're great cars, every bit as good as a Corolla, but due to their slightly sporty nature, will probably have been driven harder.

theKramer

Thx a lot guys.

Heres hoping Mr. Bank Manager will give me the cash

Captain Slow IRL

And sticky valves, cause extremely rough idle

Changing the headlight bulbs can be a pain in the H0L3 as well!!

C_Breeze

These cars were never know for electrical gremlins ... so i dont know where people are hearing this! ... (apart from the electric aerial )

Also lights are are a doddle to change on these (even the V6 engined ones!)

Id say the main thing to check is the exhaust (they tend to rust easily on these and blow and also heat sheild becomes loose and rattly - nothing major though)

Other than that these cars are fantastic and bulletproof for reliability!

Joeface

Test drove a good few of these , at the end of last year was considering them a s possible replacement for the car a wrote off.

Found it very hard to find one in good condition , seemed to wear badly .

1. most have an air-con button.. ITs not actually in the car. only the jap imports had it watch out for this. it very annoying.
2.Mazda parts are very expensive (why I dont know they just are) if its €20 for a normal car is €60 for a mazda.
on the ones i drove electrics all seemed fine and but as pointed out the aerial was fubar on most of them .
The drive is ok solid enough car. 1.5ltr DOHC i think so nippy enough. Dont think much goes wrong with them .

good luck with the purchase/.

Zorba

My previous car was one of these, had it for 5 yrs with no trouble at all. Only the last few months the button for the rear heater took a bit of hitting to get it to work, was probably nothing major. Watch out for the drivers window, make sure the door closes properly when the window is fully up, if it doesn't it's the window regulator that's gone, apparently costs 150 quid for the part. Light bulbs are a please to change compared to the mazda 6 !!

323f

only things to watch out for is the front windows rattle alot wot high milleage and can sometimes get caught in the frame when closing. nothin major.

also they tend to rattle alot in the rear this again is only minor. one of wo things, either drop link arms or rubbers on the tops of the shocks

THESE CARS ARE BOMB PROVE. we have three of them all 97s and not one problem wit anyof them

colm_mcm

6 months later......

323f

6months late yes but some1 else mite benefit from the info

Stevie Dakota

What to look for in a Mazda 323F?

A hairdresser.

JerryHandbag

I had a look at buying one of these today (I am not a hairdresser ) and it was in smashing condition, just passed NCT, but the only thing that put me off was a slight revving when idle, nothin major but enough to get my notice...is this a major problem? Common with most 10 yr old cars?, dont know much about cars tbh but Im considering makin the purchase if this wasnt too big a thing to worry about

323f

hi i am by no means a mechanic but i've had this problem wit mine before, its a common fault wit them if its wat im thinkin. if the revs shoot up beyond 1500 and drop to bout 500 it can be caused by the air flow meter which i dont think are expensive. if u pull da bonnet ul c the air filter box, just back from this there is a black boxed shaped item an little wire runnin through the pipe, reckon its dat. ask a mechanic bout this or simply ring a mazda garage they mite tel u different. the meters give trouble and they regulate the air to the car and this causes the revvin up an droppin, also the section of pipe from the air filter box could be cracked put ur hand under it an lift it up. if u c cracks take it off an wrap it with electrical tape. these pipes are over a 100 euro, so if its cracked good way of tryin to get the car a bit cheaper and just tape it, think the sensors are in the region of 60 euro. not too sure though. hope this helps!!! seeing as u said u dont no much about cars check or ask has the timing belt been done or need to be done. always ask that when buyin any car haha

JerryHandbag

323f wrote: »

seeing as u said u dont no much about cars check or ask has the timing belt been done or need to be done. always ask that when buyin any car haha

Thanks for that.....Thats the one thing I did ask about and yeah the belt was done at 60k so thats fine....theres about 90k on it now....so if what you've described is the problem then I'd happily spend the extra money to get it sorted, as long as its not something major, the reason im so cautious is that the last car I had started to do something similar and it turned out to be a faulty ECU and it broke my heart, so as long as its not something along those lines then I'm happy

323f

hope im right now but i no those sensors cause a problem same as u describe on my model which is the 94- 97 one

peasant

323f

please be so kind as to watch your spelling and not use text speak, merci

323f

hey just wondering did u purchase the mazda in the end and how did u get on?