1990 Mazda 323 Hatchback BG3S 1.3 Carb

Summary:

Its budget dream car..

Faults:

My Car has a vacuum type AC Idle up which gives problems in doing what its supposed to do. Agents in my locality are not much of a help as they do only Fuel Injection type engines and have no clue when it comes to an advanced Carburettor engine like this :) So till I can find somebody who knows what he is doing, that problem does not bother me that much except for the fact that it burns a bit more fuel than normal.

Radiator was replaced prior to me buying this car as the plastic head has blown due to the heat. Now I'm using a locally made full copper radiator which keeps the engine as cool as can be. It has never gone above half way on the gauge ever since.

Had to replace the CV's twice since I bought it due to the rubber boots going bad. But its totally my ignorance. So can't blame the car...

AC Compressor deteriorated with time & cost me only $35 to replace with second hand. Works perfectly ever since. Recently fixed a leak in the cooling unit & recharged the Refrigerant. Works like a new car. Even in 34C weather it works just fine.

Little bit of rattling noises from the upholstery & front suspension. But they are negligible considering the age of the car. Nothing my very loud Pioneer MP3 player can't fix.

Passenger seat belt gets stuck sometimes. Not a bother at all, cos nobody goes in this car, but myself.

General Comments:

Very fuel efficient even with a slight problem in tuning.

Good for a daily runabout.

Very comfortable seating position, but not that good for long distance.

Really fun to drive, very responsive power steering, Soft clutch, no transmission problems at all.

As it was built in 1990, its 16 years old now, but still looks, sounds & feels like straight out of the showroom. This is the best car I have ever owned.

Very practical too for a country like mine.

It does close to 9.5Km per litre of 95 Octane fuel & 8Km per litre on 90 Octane.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th August, 2006