Mazda 3 2005 Problems

That’s not a bad innings for a four-cylinder engine, even a modern one (although I’ve seen similar engines with more kilometres and still going strong). There’s a fair chance the piston rings and valve stem seals have lost some of their mojo and are allowing the oil to be burned in the engine. It’s normal wear and tear, but it needs to be fixed on the basis of the pollution being produced from the tailpipe. Also, eventually, something major will fail spectacularly and leave you stranded.

Your options include rebuilding the current engine or finding a second-hand engine with fewer kilometres on board and simply swapping it into your car. Thanks to the fact that the Mazda 3 was a popular car with younger drivers, they’re somewhat over-represented in wrecking yards, often with engines in very good condition. This would certainly be cheaper than rebuilding your current engine.

With your budget you’re looking at quite an old model, particularly if you want a 4WD dual-cab ute. You’d be looking at something around 2007-2008, but my concern with vehicles that old is that they will have done quite a lot of kilometres. If you want a dual-cab ute, and it sounds like the best option given your needs, go for a Toyota Hilux diesel. The alternative is an SUV, such as a Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Prado, but again you’ll be looking at older models.

Your choices both get The Tick, but the Benz A250 might be too sporty for a retirement car and the A3 is an upscale Volkswagen Golf. A good mate has just bought an Accord Euro and, even though it goes out of production soon, he loves it. You should test-drive all three.

ASSUMING you drive normally and don't crash over speed humps and into roundabouts and kerbs, there is nothing that could explain a broken engine mount except inferior design. Let's hear from other owners of Mazda3s and see what their experience is.

I ASSUME you bought the car new, not used; if you did buy it used the damage could have been caused before you bought it. If you have owned it from new and haven't hit anything as you claim, I do think it's unfair you had to pay. Mazda has given you the standard deal for a car that's out of warranty, so they've come to the party by covering half the cost of repairs, but I agree that in this case it isn't enough. No one should have to pay even part of the repair cost for something that shouldn't happen in the first place.