[JSALES]

Help me decide, I might pick up one of these cars as a beater daily driver

'89 Honda Civic Hatchback
Pros:
- Everything runs well
- Only mod is a big ass exhaust
Cons:
- The interior is really dirty and might need a whole new replacement

'94 Mazda 323
Pros:
- Runs well but needs a new radiator
Cons:
- Needs a new radiator

and last but not least

'95 Mazda MX-6
Pros:
- Runs well
- Standard transmission
- More sporty looking
Cons: I actually have to fork out a bit of cash for this because the first two are free haha.


I'm leaning towards getting the Mazda MX-6 because it's more sporty looking and newer but i'm not sure if there might be some hidden problems with these cars. What do you guys think I should get?

[!Aznboi128]

mx-6 > civic ? 323

mx-6 - at least you dont need anything ... yet
civic - I'm sure some steam clean would clean it out
323 - rad's common problem with those, my friend got his replaced for about 200

[oldsnail]

v6 or i4 mx6?
if it is just a beater.. i'll go for the civic/ 323..

where as the mx6 cost money, you may not treat it like a beater and it is less practical (2+2 afterall).

[Wykydtron]

323. Rads for those aren't hard/expensive.

[JSALES]

v6 or i4 mx6?
if it is just a beater.. i'll go for the civic/ 323..

where as the mx6 cost money, you may not treat it like a beater and it is less practical (2+2 afterall).

this MX-6 is a V6

[fliptuner]

323

[sleeves]

civic

[orange7]

Mazda 323

so you can tell ppl you drive a 323, and they might assume it's a bmw. XD

[m!chael]

MX-6 !!!
I had an MX-6 in my family for 7 years and I gotta say it was an awesome car. It's really fun to drive and it can take a beating like no other car. If you do get it, paint the plastic that wraps around the centre console and in front of the driver the same colour as the outside colour. If you do it well with a clear coat it looks amazing. I always got compliments on it.

[twitchyzero]

take the free cars

[Bonka]

^ ^ ^
Agreed.

I owned a Probe GT as a beater which is the same drivetrain as the MX-6 and practically every common problem associated with them I had to replace including rear seized calipers, steering rack bushings, intake manifold gaskets, distributor, oil pressure sender unit, endlinks, oil filter gasket, etc. It never broke down on me though but those problems were annoying as hell.

[spoon.ek9]

is the 89 civic a DX? full interior is cheap as long as it's not Si.

i'd go for the civic since it's easy to work on, tons of cheap parts, and lots of aftermarket support IF you decide to do some ;)

[JSALES]

yeah, the civic is a DX. was thinking if i picked it up, just get some interior parts off craigslist or something. the civic is pretty old though, i don't know if there's any hidden problems with it and as for the MX-6, i gotta pay around $800 for it and i'm wondering if that's too good to be true? all 3 cars are just sitting around and not being driven at all

[Fafine]

if the civic is free then the civic

[jing]

323

[Lomac]

My suggestion would be to get the MX6. :)

If the car has been properly maintained, the KLDE engine is very reliable. The only common problems are having the distributor ignitor overheat (for which there's a very cheap and easy fix to bypass) and the rear calipers seize in colder weather (again, there's a cheap fix in the name of late model Protege calipers). Oh, and if you enjoy dropping the clutch and doing lots of hard pulls, you'll break transmission cases.

They do share the same drivetrain as the Ford Probe GT, but the MX6 has a lighter body. I've had two and while I had my share of problems with them, one was because it burnt down (battery overcharged itself) and the second was because I was playing around trying to create a supercharged hybrid DE/ZE engine running specific specs. If they're left more or less stock, or even with a Jspec KLZE bolted in, they're very reliable.

I can give you a full rundown on those cars if you want more information and can even give you some spare parts if you need any. I've a shed that's full of parts capable of making almost an entire car... :lol

[Lomac]

MX-6 !!!
I had an MX-6 in my family for 7 years and I gotta say it was an awesome car. It's really fun to drive and it can take a beating like no other car. If you do get it, paint the plastic that wraps around the centre console and in front of the driver the same colour as the outside colour. If you do it well with a clear coat it looks amazing. I always got compliments on it.

Painted interiors make baby jesus cry :crybaby:

[crazyazn]

Is fuel cost a major thing? Might wanna consider that too....I'd assume the MX-6 will use more gas than the civic and 323 since it's a V6.

[tofu1413]

323.

[skylinergtr]

IMO i would choose the honda. They are just so dependable. More so than Mazda. Even though both cars are common to burn oil, usually Mazda has very high oil consumption. I've seen plently of mazda's go through liters a week.

[HonestTea]

Civic.

For those of you that keep recommending 323's have you ever owned one? My parents had a 323 back in the day and it kept needing to get something fixed every other week...

[tofu1413]

really..?

the older 323's (err 91ish ones) just keep going, as i talked to a few people that actually own them.

[hk20000]

Get the free cars. At this age point whether it needs major work on it soon is really just a gamble and the chances are just as bad among the 3 lol.

[Presto]

One of the free cars is good. With summer coming, you don't want the consumption of a V6. Gas is already $1.16/L, and there's a long way to the ceiling. It's a daily beater... there's no need for any emotion-inspiring vehicle. Go for practicality.

[sonick]

Buy the MX6 as a car to keep; especially with a V6 they are fun cars.

Then take the Civic as the beater just in case since it's free lol.

[Pt20]

323~!

[BoredAtWork]

i take the 323.

94 should be the 1.8L dohc. pretty reliable engine, same as the 1.8 miata. tons of parts around if u going to fix anything. Its 5 years younger.

the 89 civic is a carb or sohc engine (not sure coz of the year)

Any of them hatchbacks? go for practicality.

MX-6 is not fast. and not anything of a keeper. Save the money for things u need to fix down the row. or for gas money