How long will u drive your 323??

[turismo]

For me, i bought my 323 brand new in Nov 2003. Thought of changing it when reached the end of the 5th yr or 6th yr. Im looking at the new 2008 mitsubishi ex lancer 2.0L.

How long do u guys keep your car??

[waisaki]

My 323 is now 6 years old and I bought it april last year. Maybe I'll keep it for 2 more years, maybe I'll sell it in this year, dunno ^^

[turismo]

Actually, 323 is quite a reliable car. It has been problem-free since day one till now except for the normal wear & tear. I will be changing my timing belt, water pump & maybe a/c compressor end of this year. I think this car can drive up to the 10th year, no problem.. :thumbsup:

[Freekenstein]

Since I'm goining to drive a lot less km's, I'm going to trade in my diesel powered car for (probably) a 2.0 Sportive after next winter

[trq]

My Pro will be driven, till I got my Final Exams at College. Could take a few years *g*

[turismo]

Since I'm goining to drive a lot less km's, I'm going to trade in my diesel powered car for (probably) a 2.0 Sportive after next winter

Im so envied that u all can drive diesel-powered passenger car in your country. Here, we do not have diesel-powered passenger car, only petrol-driven car. The only diesel-powered vehicles are those goods-carrying vans, trucks & taxi....hell...petrol is so expensive here & diesel is goddamn cheap X-(

I still remembered when i was honeymooning in switzerland, I came across many diesel-powered Audi, VW & etc....

[kansei]

My Pro will be driven, till I got my Final Exams at College. Could take a few years *g*

Same here! I got it a few months before I left for College, and plan on keeping it throughout!

With 145000kms on it, the body rust is getting quite bad though. Before it was just underbody and under the hood (the car has been undercoated a few times, it wasn't enough to compensate for some bad designs on Mazdas part), now the rear fenders have visible rust again (had it fixed under warranty, but they obviously just covered it up and didn't really fix anything) and I'm looking at over 3000euro to get it fixed up properly :'(

Even with the turbo I feel like the engine will last me, but the body rotting out on a 2002 already kinda worries me. I have no idea what I'll get as my next car at this point. It's obvious Mazda does cold weather testing just testing the cold temperatures, not at all testing the cars for use on heavily salted roads like there are here half the year. Makes me sad, it's the only thing stopping me from really loving my car currently. It's like it's dying of cancer and the surgery is just crazy expensive and might not actually fix anything.

[trq]

the Facelift Pros have some serious problems with rust.

My Pre-Facelift build in 1998 has ~1550000 km on the gauge and no rust at the body.

[kansei]

I don't know why pre/post facelift would have anything to do with it unless they were made in different plants. I know mine was made in the Hiroshima plant.

The problem is that the car just wasn't made to handle the harsh winter climate and extreme salt usage of the great lakes region of the U.S.A. .. it rusts EVERYTHING

[AzteCypher]

All of the cars I've owned have stayed with me till they were over 130,000mi (209,000km). I'm planning on keeping my Protege for a long time.

[beanboy]

In Bulgaria where I am from, there are many 323s, because of their heavy-duty suspension and body. Maybe you know that Bulgarian roads are not in top condition...

[beanboy]

And about the problem with the rust....The specialists are unanimous in their opinions thet the most critical areas are the rear fenders, especially for the post-facelift cars. And they recommend the fenders to be treated with anti-corrosive chemicals.

[tendim]

I usually keep my cars until they decide to leave me. My first car had a blown engine. Second car a truck drove into me and trashed it. But I'm really liking the Protegé (2001 model) and I've got plans for the summer. :D

[D-rock240]

I just found some rust under the hood on the top of the right front fender. It makes me sad, because I want to keep this car for a loooong time. I've decided I need to get a beater for daily driving so I can slow down the exposure to the weather.

[kansei]

I just found some rust under the hood on the top of the right front fender. It makes me sad, because I want to keep this car for a loooong time. I've decided I need to get a beater for daily driving so I can slow down the exposure to the weather.

pretty sad when the cars can't even last 5 years in Maryland ROFL

yeah. I'm budgeting about $1000USD to fix the chassis rust on my car (including cutting out the rear fenders, welding new steel in, repaint, and more rustproofing).

Silly that even with a yearly rustproofing (the oily kind) and meticulous hand washing even through winter, every couple years I gotta open the wallet to replace rusting crap.

A little long term cold weather testing of the cars before they get sold would be _great_

[beanboy]

Pretty sad, really...I am from a city, situated on Black Sea coast, in Bulgaria. The salty sea climate is the biggest enemy of the most of the car owners. But in the inner part of the country, where the climate is continental, there is no such problems...

[beanboy]

The average age of the cars in BG is 14 years, so you can easily understand why most of the cars are living their "second life" here...:):(

[protege]

I don't know why pre/post facelift would have anything to do with it unless they were made in different plants.

I don't know whats the deal, thought they were made in the same plant, but the post facelift doesn't rust unlike the pre facelift.

especially the rear fender behind the rear door...strange :mhm:

[TStarGermany]

parts like fender,hood etc can be replaced so easily, i wouldnt care about these.. what is more important is to take a long and intensive look at the side sills of the chassis (cavity sealing) and the complete underbody.

[beanboy]

Thanks, I will keep it in mind:)

[greekgroover]

As some might have read in my thread I'm thinking about leaving my 323 f... but not because it doesn't do the job anymore but because I got a bit unlucky. If it wasn't for that I was planning to keep it another two years. And I am planning of getting a newer model ;-)

its a 1998 BJ and has now prowd 231.000+ km on its back. Even is I bought it back in 2003 with 90.000!

Never had anything though! Ok rust but I live in Austria. It snows quite alot here and they use salt to keep the roads from getting icy which isn't gentle on the chassi. However I have seen newer cars with far more rust than mine!!!
Well I did change the back suspention and I think the front will need changing to. Cluch might be the next big repair...

but as the local breakdown statistics shows (http://www.adac.de/images/Pannenstatistik%202007_tcm8-214903.pdf) mazda is still top ;-)

[killuminati]

mine is eight years old, has about 160 kkm and I will drive HER until it starts fo fall apart.. LOL

[greekgroover]

I will drive HER until it starts fo fall apart..
So ist your car a she or a it? :-P

[killuminati]

So ist your car a she or a it? :-P

she.. :-P

my language is pretty complicated, so when you say Mazda, you say it like it's a female, not male or a thing..

''ova Mazda'' (she), not ''ovaj Mazda'' (he) or ''ovo Mazda'' (it) lool..

[greekgroover]

Well make sure you are extra gently to her so that she doesn't start bitching ;-)