Faults:

Nothing major at all has gone wrong with the car - it gets serviced twice every year and it just keeps going.

Last year oil leaked onto the belt, but it was not at all very expensive to fix. The previous owner had an air conditioning unit fitted by Mazda and it is really good too.

General Comments:

I would highly recommend this car. It's quite old - 13 years, but doesn't look it and keep on running well. I told my mechanic I was going to sell it because it had done so many kms, but he said I would be crazy to sell it because there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It gets up hills really well. It just needs an extra five seconds to wake up when it's cold and I first start the car. I bought it for $4200 Aussie dollars in 2001. The registration was due three months after I bought it. It is a sedan, similar to the Ford laser, but cheaper in price.

Faults:

CV joint replaced at 90,000 miles.

Front exhaust section 120,000 miles.

Plastic boot lid colour is fading.

Passenger side electric window motor failed (Not replaced, too expensive!).

General Comments:

I can honestly say that during the 5 years I have owned this car I have enjoyed every minute of driving it. It is a 'drivers' car, responsive and fairly low to the flow that gives you a great ride.

I currently drive over 400 miles per week and the Mazda has enough power and comfort to take me from A to B without complaint.

It has also been extremely reliable, although when things do go wrong the parts can be very expensive.

If you are considering buying a 323, make sure that it has been regularly serviced (including the timing belt changed) and it will give you many, many miles of trouble free motoring!

Faults:

The previous owner did not take good care of the vehicle. To get the car in good shape I had to have the following maintenance performed on the car.

1. Radiator flush.

2. Engine flush

3. Replaced oil with Valvoline Maxlife.

4. Transmission flush

5. Power steering flush

6. Fuel filter was replaced.

7. Air filter was replaced.

8. PCB valve was replaced.

9. Cleaned the fuel injectors with a Japanese brand racing fuel injector cleaner. It did the trick. My gas milage went from 24 to almost 38 miles per gallon. It is now back down to 30. Maybe it is time to put in another one.

The total cost for this was around $450.

General Comments:

The car was worth the $650 I paid for it. Nothing has gone wrong with the car after the maintenance. It runs strong, and the downshift button on the automatic transmission works great for passing on the highway. I run the car at 75 miles per hour every day to go to work and it averages 30 miles per gallon.

Faults:

The car has gone through three mufflers, one resonator, and one front pipe. All parts from Midas.

The CV boots were replaced at 190,000 km.

New front brakes rotors were installed at 190,000 km.

The rear right spring seat broke and was replaced at 190,000 km.

I recently spent $300 Can trying to troubleshoot an intermittent horn. Both the horn and the horn pad were replaced, but the horn only worked for about a month after the repair.

The performance of the power windows has rapidly deteriorated over the previous six months, with constant jamming and/or the windows falling off the tracks. Last month, the up-switch for the driver's side window stopped working, and I am currently trying to find a used master control switch. I've removed both rear door panels on several occasions to reset the glass onto the tracks, and have now stopped using them altogether. So I now have only one functional window.

General Comments:

Despite my window woes, I love this car and have loved it right from the first test drive. Its combination of acceleration, tight gearbox, road handling and gas mileage have been consistent for the 85,000 kilometers I've owned the vehicle.

If I could find another specimen from the same early vintage with moderate mileage, I would seriously consider putting some $$$ into performance improvements and trying my hand at amateur racing. It really is a sports car at heart.

Mechanically speaking, the car has never let me down, even during our cold Canadian winters. And it's very good in snow, too.