Hey, My name is Hussain, I come from the rx-8forum, also known as shazy over there. Nice to be here too, digging the new Mazda 3's, but dislike the stupid little moustache in the front

Anyway, I have some questions that I'm need so that I can help my friend buy an 04-06 Mazda 3.
First of all, is there any problems I should be aware of?
Is there anything I should do or ask the owner about the car when I go with my friend?
I know I should ask for details on the warranty and see if there is any maintenance paper the person has. Also I know it's best to ask if he has all the recalls done (what recalls are they by the way?) and etc...
Mainly, when I will go for the test drive, should I take notice in a couple parts that I prone to fail or anything?

Thanks for the help.

 

Try looking HERE for a list of TSBs to give you and idea of things the '04 had problems with. The biggest things that come to mind mechanically are the prone to failure purge valve solenoid and fuel pumps.

 

Ok,... thanks for the help

Btw, how bad would it be if the purge valve solenoid fails?

 

It throws a CEL. It might cause you to lose a little power, but honestly it never caused anything detrimental for me.... just the light.

 

Early failure of front suspension components. Early failure of front wheel bearings. Early explosion of belt idler pulley. Be sure rodents haven't gotten into the heating and air condition system and plugged it up. Jammed hot/cold heater control. Rust on center brake light. Rust on fender well edges. Rusted door hinge hardware. The car should be almost dead silent. If you hear anything other than slight wind and road noise, check those bearings and suspension components. Don't let anybody tell you it's just the tires. Check the motor mounts. A slight miss on hard left turns may be normal, or maybe it's just the AC turning off on acceleration. Oh, and early failure of the AC clutch that may require replacing the compressor. Fun car that it is, the Mazda3 is the least reliable and most expensive-to-maintain car I've ever owned, and that would be quite a lot of cars.