Hello everyone!
My name is Paul-Michael and I just purchased a 1993 Mazda 323 Base with 66k miles on it. Other than an automatic transmission and mudflaps, there is not a single option on the car (keeping things simple...always nice!).
I bought my 323 for my 40-mile round-trip commute in order to save some money on gas. My car cost $1,300, which isn't too bad for the mileage if I may say so myself. The car does need a little cosmetic attention in the paint department, but there is only one speck of surface rust on the whole car. It has an R title because the car was bumped in the front and the insurance company totaled it. A guy bought the car and fixed it up as cheap, reliable transportation for his son. However, his son is in a band, and the car was too small for moving around their equipment. So when I saw a For Sale sign go in the window (I've like the car for some time now), I swooped in and grabbed it.
Overall it's been great! Surprisingly comfortable and fun to drive, and I'm particularly keen on that latter point! I've been getting a fairly consistent low- to mid-30s on highway MPG, and a combined of about 30 mpg. Not too shabby!
The only real problem I've had with the car is the engine shakes badly...or at least it did. I replaced two motor mounts and a transmission mount, and now the vibration is for the most part tolerable. It only acts up at idle in D, although I'm starting to feel some vibration in P, R, and N as well. I replaced the spark plugs and wires to see if there was a miss, but it didn't really make a difference. Also put in a new air filter and cleaned the intake, and oddly enough the new filter cured the shaking...for about 10 minutes. So we'll see what happens. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it! In the meantime I'm just continue driving and enjoying my 323. The engine purrs nice and strong on the highway, which is where it spends most of its time, so an engine vibration at idle is not my biggest concern.
I'm looking forward to putting some elbow grease into the car, giving it a nice new paint job, all JDM Familia badges, and some MX3 seats (or something similar). No reason I can't be frugal AND look good doing it! Plus, I figure it will be fun having people asking me what the heck a Familia is! I already get that all the time with my Merkur Scorpios, so I might as well do it here!
I'm looking forward to meeting some other Mazda and 323 folks, and maybe even getting out to some meets in the near future!
-Paul-Michael Van Hook
pm_vanhook@yahoo.com
Yes, I'm a
!
My name is Paul-Michael and I just purchased a 1993 Mazda 323 Base with 66k miles on it. Other than an automatic transmission and mudflaps, there is not a single option on the car (keeping things simple...always nice!).
I bought my 323 for my 40-mile round-trip commute in order to save some money on gas. My car cost $1,300, which isn't too bad for the mileage if I may say so myself. The car does need a little cosmetic attention in the paint department, but there is only one speck of surface rust on the whole car. It has an R title because the car was bumped in the front and the insurance company totaled it. A guy bought the car and fixed it up as cheap, reliable transportation for his son. However, his son is in a band, and the car was too small for moving around their equipment. So when I saw a For Sale sign go in the window (I've like the car for some time now), I swooped in and grabbed it.
Overall it's been great! Surprisingly comfortable and fun to drive, and I'm particularly keen on that latter point! I've been getting a fairly consistent low- to mid-30s on highway MPG, and a combined of about 30 mpg. Not too shabby!
The only real problem I've had with the car is the engine shakes badly...or at least it did. I replaced two motor mounts and a transmission mount, and now the vibration is for the most part tolerable. It only acts up at idle in D, although I'm starting to feel some vibration in P, R, and N as well. I replaced the spark plugs and wires to see if there was a miss, but it didn't really make a difference. Also put in a new air filter and cleaned the intake, and oddly enough the new filter cured the shaking...for about 10 minutes. So we'll see what happens. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it! In the meantime I'm just continue driving and enjoying my 323. The engine purrs nice and strong on the highway, which is where it spends most of its time, so an engine vibration at idle is not my biggest concern.
I'm looking forward to putting some elbow grease into the car, giving it a nice new paint job, all JDM Familia badges, and some MX3 seats (or something similar). No reason I can't be frugal AND look good doing it! Plus, I figure it will be fun having people asking me what the heck a Familia is! I already get that all the time with my Merkur Scorpios, so I might as well do it here!
I'm looking forward to meeting some other Mazda and 323 folks, and maybe even getting out to some meets in the near future!
-Paul-Michael Van Hook
pm_vanhook@yahoo.com
Yes, I'm a
!
!
pm if interested
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