Quick Hit – 2010 Mazda 3 Mazdaspeed Manny – $19k – 10,000 Miles

Mazda3 sideZoom zoom.  Found this Mazda unicorn today, and thinking it’s a wee bit special because of the low miles, one owner, 263hp four-banger, six speed manual transmission, and because Mazda doesn’t make this car anymore.Mazda 3 int side It’s a second generation Mazda 3 Mazdaspeed, good for a 5.2 second 0-60mph and crazy 155mph top speed! It’s a bit high priced, since it sold for just under $30,000 new (with the optional Bose system and other goodies) but it looks extremely clean and fun – except for the terrible torque steer noted in more than one review.

You could spring for the Maxcare warranty if you plan to run it hard and blow it up, but I wouldn’t bother.  Driven just over 1,000 miles a year I’m thinking it has plenty of trouble free road time ahead.  Find it here in Chicago…..if the link is dead it’s sold, on hold, or being transferred. 2010 Mazda 3 Mazdaspeed $18,998 10k Chicago

 

Another Mazda! 2009 Mazda 3 Mazdaspeed Manny Tranny Cheap

2009 Mazda3 MazdaspeedIf you read this blog you know I prefer at least 8 cylinders*, perhaps 10, and I rue the 12 cylinder I passed on.  What you don’t know is I have an affection for hot hatchbacks after owning not one but two 70’s era Ford Fiestas (the German ones, not Korean) before the first gen VW GTI made it to our shores.  Since then I’ve tracked hot hatches, but I have to admit I missed this one.  Stumbled on this 263hp 4 cylinder beast, with 280 ft-lbs of torque, and a 6 speed manual transmission.  Embarrassed I thought “Mazdaspeed” was just a marketing thing.  But with a sub-six second 0-60 I guess it’s the real deal.  It’s a WRX and Golf R challenger for half the price.  Usually my targets are all about leveraging the MaxCare warranty, but I’m not sure that’s even needed for this street racer.  Find this one in Houston here.  If the link is dead, the car is sold, on hold or being transferred. BTW….over to you engine experts….does this 2.3l turbo have any ancestral relationship to the 2.3l turbo Pinto motor that was in my 1986 Merkur Xr4tii?2009 Mazda3 Mazdaspeed - $16,998 46k