look in our mps for sale section as mentioned jaz one is on there and its by far the cleanest mk1 ive seen

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Well it definitley sold. Maybe it was a belssing in disguise. However I still feel slightly gutted and there's no way I'll see another in that condition and mileage for the price, I could have had it for £6k.

On further reading up the issue with bottom ends letting go is something I hadn't noticed before.

How much of a common problem is it? I'm buying a car to keep reletively standard and am not interested in rebuilds or forged bottom ends etc. Are these maybe not the car for me?

Oh and i'm sure Jaz's is a nice car but having looked at a black one I think I'd much prefer silver.

its very rare, incredibly rare on a 3MPS. if looked after properly, VVT replaced on older models when required you should be fine.

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Mazda 3 MPS Crystal White Pearl Mk2 - Stock

Hi & to the

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Nigel - GSB - TDU - Events Team Member - RX-8OC Club Calendar

Photo's < Click > ****GreySilver Beast III****

I think I've found another potential car to go and view (silver again, why are there so many red ones for sale when I don't want one?!)

I'm still slightly concerned about the VVT issues they have. I really don't want to be spending another £800 on top of the price of a car to get something fixed.

I'll try and get the vin number to check if it's an updated one but I doubt it as it's an 07 plate.

It looks like it is in the affected range but am going for a look anyway.

I'm guessing there's no guarantee it will have a vvt problem in the future.

If the car you look at doesn`t have a vvt/chain problem currently and they have never been replaced, then I wouldn`t worry unless the mileage is getting close to 60k miles. They don`t all go but get a decent warranty if it is a dealer. Definitely negotiate regardless.

It's on just under 40k.

Has a full mazda history up until the last service which was less than 2k ago.

I am a bit paranoid though, I'm used to a Honda engine which just keeps going without any complaints

As you may already know, TotalMPS can replace the vvt/chain and give you a good custom tune for £800, but it does involve a trip to Newcastle. They sellkit far cheaper than Mazda.

I'm sure totalmps will fit the Vvt chain kit for £650.

Sadly I'm in Essex so it's a hefty trek to Newcastle.

Looked at the car, it had not even been cleaned!

Body wise it was better than the 28k miler I looked at before but needed a detail as it was grubby between body and trim parts like the rear lights. Had a loose front bumper on the drivers side but looked an easy fix.

Not clattering on start up but a possibly a very very very faint click/tap from the chain area for the first couple of minutes. It wasn't consistent though, more random.

The chain wasn't overly slack cold and tight when warm.

There was too much oil in it when I check the dipstick.

Idled it for a while and as it was wet out it steamed a bit the whole time which reduced when it was up to temp, but not what I'd call smoke though.

It had an old smart nav/traffic master thing on the dash which was attached to some sort of molded holder that looked fairly permanent, I didn't like that.

It drove ok but 2nd was slightly stiffer to engage than the other gears and not I've not noticed that on the other 2 I have driven. It made a different noise at the top end too when booted, Not sure if that's an issue?

There was a tiny pull on the rear seat and a couple of small marks plus a pull on the passenger seat which would annoy me every time I saw it, he said he had never really noticed it but then he mentioned he only has one eye!

I've decided to leave it.

The hunt continues. Slightly more difficult as I don't want a black or red one and haven't seen a blue one up close.