1985 Mazda 323 LX review from UK and Ireland

Soon after I bought the car, for only £250, I found that it used about 1 pint of oil every 1000 miles - it wasn't being burned, just leaking from the various gaskets around the engine, gearbox and clutch.

Problems with cold starting in the winter were finally tracked down damp affecting the ignition circuits and a faulty vacuum advance unit.

Currently, the clutch has started to slip very badly, so the car will have to be scrapped.

Very powerful car, considering it's done 120,000 miles.

The level of comfort is very high, such as little levers for the boot and petrol cap (remember - it was built in 1985), the seats are comfy for 400 mile journeys.

A little tappet noise, which has not worsened in the last whilst I've owned it.

The car tends to understeer in the wet, although it's quite predictable, but the all round independent suspension makes for a taught ride with plenty of feedback.

The one major problem is the cost of spares, which usually have to come from a Mazda dealer, since there are very few of these cars in the scrap-yards, and very few pattern parts available.