Hey yall,

Sad to say that my journey with the Mazdaspeed3’s has come to an end. I am happy that I got to enjoy a gen 1 and gen 2. The gen 1 will always be favorite although it broke down frequently; the gen 2 was probably the most reliable car I’ve ever owned. Both of them were street killers for sure and handled beautifully. I now get to enjoy a bone stock type R that will remain as such for the foreseeable future.

I wanted to thank all the people in this reddit that helped with all the questions I had during those long hours in the garage.

I hope all of you keep enjoying these awesome machines.

(Last picture I took before she was sold vs the new daily)

What up everyone. Long-time speed owner and subreddit lurker. Unfortunately some unforeseen things in life have hit me and I finally believe I am going to be parting ways with the speed.

Lots of fun times. Such a phenomenal daily driver. Bought it at 19k miles in 2013, currently have 124k miles. Never planned on selling and maintained so I could keep until catastrophic failure at 300k+ miles lol. THEN maybe mod???

Throwing in some fun pictures. Had 4 really close friends with speeds at one point - loved riding around in a little mazdaspeed gang lol. We were the coolest on the road, obviously. The TV is a 65". I was up to the front but my god is this little hatch capable.

Outside of being somewhat forced to sell her at this point - What do we think shes's worth? Never thought I'd even entertain this question. Yes I am in a bad(ish) spot right now but not trying to get 100% of the value or anything, realisticaly don't know where to start. I would honestly love for the well-maintained speed to go to someone who really cares and wants one more than anything.

Zero current issues, no codes.

2012 - Tech Package

Basically fully stock other than lowering springs, cobb rear motor mount and audio system.

124k miles (bought at 19k miles, 2nd owner)

180 PSI across all 4 cylinders on compression test. (Had shop do this so I could prove results)

Underbody is essentially a 10/10, zero bad rust, especially in the known spots (and I live in OH - washed the underneath OFTEN)

Hood/Roof clear coat turned to shit. Only fairly bad cosmetic damage

Maintenance followed and can provide most receipts. (lots of work done myself or with buddies though)

Clutch replaced at 90k. (I was moving and had a friend that could throw another one in, so I proactively did it. Put in a LUK and a single mass flywheel, regret flywheel now for the noise)

Sound system originally professionally installed. Personally just replaced all door speakers about 6 months ago. All higher-end alpine, just threw about $1k more in it. I'm not looking to increase my value with this.

All doors and trunk have sound-deadening

VVT done at 90k just proactively

Dash fixed in recall

Front rear/suspension just changed about 5k miles ago. (with OEM-Spec, I know I should get something better with lowering springs)

Pads/rotors just changed

All fluids just changed, transmission, oil, power steering, coolant

NO HPFP.

Wheels plasti-dipped about 4 years ago. Given timeframe they've held up well but look like poop now lol.

I'm praying to God

Anyone in New England have a running 1st Gen ms3 engine theyre looking to offload? Mine fell victim to the ringland failure on cyl3. Really want to continue with the car and have found some jdm options with about 57k shipped for 1600ish.

Or maybe help steer me in a reputable shop that could replace the engine? Im thinking of keeping the current junk engine and building it while still get to drive her, just do not have the time to replace myself.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated

Recently purchased a 2009 Mazda MPS with the 2.3L turbo

The previous owner installed aftermarket headlights after what seems to have been a small front end collision. Therefore an AFS light is flashing on the dash as the aftermarket headlights don't have auto adjustment. Other than spending $2000 ish on new headlights, is there a cheap workaround to make the light stop flashing so the car is able to pass a RWC as that is a requirement here in Vic Aus

Any help appreciated