Should I buy this?

I'm moving to Mexico in September and I need a car that is less than 10 years old, around 5k, and fun to drive. I have been looking at the SVT Focus and SRT-4 Neon.

I ran across this listing the other day. I went and took the car for a spin today.

The Good: The body is in good shape. Only a few scratches and no rust. The car ran great. Clutch and transmission felt solid and the turbo spooled nicely. All the electronics worked. AC was cold.

The Bad: Tires are shot. The previous owner put Koni Yellow struts/shocks in, but it appears the car wasn't aligned. There's a clunking in the rear which I think is the rear sway bar being loose. The pedal pulsated under heavy braking. They were fine for normal stopping. The dipstick had burnt oil.

This car has a lot of miles, but the power was really addicting. Is it too many miles? I feel like I could put $1000 into the car and have a fun ride.

Thoughts?

They pretty much all clunk; it is the sway bar or its end links. The engines are pretty bullet proof; there were some issues with the 5spd that thy say is fixed on the newer 6spd. My 6spd has issues though. I wouldn't hesitate.

What is it with Mazda and sway bar links? Stupid expensive to replace also.

Went to Mazdaspeedforums and posted the same thing. Got a few helpful thoughts, but also received some typical internet mechanic stuff.

If the "f" word is in your posting, I generally stop reading, lol.

Sounds like it's hard to go wrong for the money then, eh? Do eeeet!

It's a $5k MS3. Buy it.

Do eet! Way cooler than both of your other choices, and still practical too.

That's a lot of miles, but at that point, anything that can go wrong probably has already been replaced. I

I am investigating the clunking on my 2007 plain 3 hatch today (with only 70k miles), hopefully the end links on mine are just loose.

If the one you're considering doesn't have the rear engine mount replaced with a good aftermarket one, I'd look into it. I have wheel hop like crazy, and with another 100 ftlb, I can't imagine it being better. I'm looking at the CPE stage 1 and 2 rear motor mounts for mine.

So.....I ended up buying the car. I'm one month down and I couldn't be happier.

I changed the tires, brakes, and fixed the clunking. Turns out the sway bar bushings were creating all the noise. I changed the rears, but the fronts are a real PITA. I took it to the dealer because I couldn't get the car up high enough in the parking lot of my apartment.

This thing is a blast to drive. I love my Bimmer, but I enjoy driving this thing much more than the 328.

I've put 200 miles on the thing. Hopefully it holds out for a few more. I'm only in for $6100 currently.

Mexico? Is the car bulletproof?

Black?

Will you be able to get parts for it in Mexico? (Just wondering...)

It will get stolen within a week, so it doesn't really matter which you get. My choice would be this:

plance1 wrote: Mexico? Is the car bulletproof?

You're safe as long as you don't hang around in border towns, flaunt your money or cross the narcos (oh or the cops, because you're guilty until proven innocent there )

Don't listen to the nay-sayersI lived in Hermosillo for 7-8 months working at the Ford plant launching the Escort ZX2. Great people, great place and as I was missing a seriously cold Michigan winter, lovely and warm too. Had a blast, enjoy life down there. Where are you going to be? Phoenix Az was only about 4 hours North for me so getting over the boarder was easy for anything you wanted from the US.

@Adrian - I was in Hermosillo last week. I really enjoy when I get to travel there for work. They have a few good bars and the food is always pretty good. I took a trip to some of the border towns (CJ, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros) in March and I lived to tell the story. Yes, the violence is bad, but it isn't what the news makes it out to be. People live and function there each day.

I figured I would do an update since I've had some time to work on the car. I've put just over 2,000 trouble-free miles. I wish I had more chances to drive it but it's not that far to work and Monterrey is a small city.

I figured out my clunk in the rear. I forgot to add this in my previous post from August, but the PO had the rear sway bar installed upside down. Yes, that actually happened. Anytime the suspension would flex the control arms would hit the sway bar. Flipped the bar, put in some new bushings and off I went.

The ride is pretty rough. The PO installed lowering springs and Koni Yellows, but never adjusted the dampers. PO had the rebound set all the way soft on the front struts. I went about 50% on the stiffness and it made a huge difference. I was thinking about changing the Yellows out for some coilovers, but not now. I was happy that was a quick 10-minute fix. Tomorrow, I'm going to pull the rear shocks off. Hopefully I find the same scenario.

I installed some solid shifter bushings from James Barone Racing (JBR) yesterday. Again, another cheap ($25) install that made a noticeable difference. Shifts feel more predictable and precise.

I just got back from installing a new JBR 88A rear motor mount. This has been the best money I've spent so far. The mount really cut down on wheel spin in 2nd and 3rd - helped slightly with torque steer. The bad part is the NVH is TERRIBLE. I was told that it takes a month or so for the mount to properly break in. We will see. I can live with the vibrations, but I doubt my passengers will like it.

I'm hoping this weekend to adjust the rear shocks and get my JBR short-throw shifter kit installed.