To buy a msp or not to buy a msp.. That is the question...

I have been a lurker on this site for quite some time.. I have almost closed a deal on probably 3 mazdaspeeds in the past 5 years but it has never come to fruition. I have a major soft spot for spicy orange 03's and partially to the titanium 03.5's... MSPs are getting cheaper by the day and I am at a point now in my life where I have a few extra dollars and I am looking for a daily driver as winter is slowly approaching and I need to park my s14 240sx for the winter and to do some long awaited maintenance on it.

I have a dilemma though... I have 3 mazdaspeeds lined up, one 2003 spicy and two 2003.5 titaniums and I would like to look at them all before I buy. They all range between 140-220,000km's (canada) and one has a few mods (fmic, sway bar clunk fix etc) and the other 2 are stock (my preference). However, there is also a clean, stock 2004 srt4 in the mix and for some reason I feel like I should be snagging that based on reliability issues with the MSP.. I have read tons of articles and forum posts that address MSP issues and that they are notorious for failure, even test driving ones in the past I notice the common fuel cut hesitations and clunky rear sway bars which I am sure would scare most drivers away.. But I know that these are usually easily fixed but there are also sudden LSD issues and random rod bearing failures.. The point of a daily is to have something reliable within reason.. right?

I am not scared to work on these cars as for the most part I am mechanically inclined and I have swapped a p5 motor once in the last 2 years because my girlfriend doesnt understand that a leaking water pump leads to a blown headgasket, I am also not new to the Mazda scene, I have had 3 mx3s all with KLZE swaps in the past.

So all this being said.. What I am asking of you guys is are these claims of infamous reliability issues valid? Or are they mostly unfounded? I realize that maintenance is key and I will be thoroughly checking the cars..

How often do the transmissions fail? Is that only an issue with 03s?
How active is the forum? I assume the number of MSPs are dwindling fast and it seems somewhat quiet in there..?

I really do want a MSP and it would be nice to hear advice from people that actually own the cars not just stuff you see over the net and peoples uneducated posts that may slander the car.

This gives you all the mods that you wanna do for a reliable MSP.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...mods-for-a-daily-driven-MSP-quot-Guide-Thread

Honestly speaking though, the most important ones are the upgraded motor mounts, boost gauge (dont boost more than 10psi), FMIC hard pipes (ebay), new windshield, and an aftermarket sound system (headunit, subwoofers, and amp). The other mods are just for ppl who are anal. lol. The car is 11 years old so it isnt going to be like a 2014 so its not perfect but can be reliable and fun at the same time if done right.

I bought my MSP at 123k miles and it has all of these mods I listed are the most important and runs like its new. You just cant beat on teh car and try to do too many mods cuz then thats when you mess it up. TReat it nice and take care of it and it will take care of you. It's my DD and I take it everywhere with no problem. Here is my baby:

Engine, Etc.:
AWR Solid Motor Mounts
Short RAM Intake Pipe Silicone Intake Air Filter
Straight Exhaust Pipe from downpipe back Catalytic Converter deleted
Newer NGK Spark Plugs
New Coil Packs
New Ignition wires
MAF sensor relocated to cold pipe
Front mount intercooler
Hard Pipes TurboX's blowoff valve
Forcedfed steering column pod



<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/126625695@N05/14823401912" title="IMAG2201 by Joshua Rodriguez, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3873/14823401912_5d3b1681f6_c.jpg" width="800" height="451" alt="IMAG2201"></a>

Shaking magic 8 ball... Ask again later.

Seriously though if you're looking for reliability above all, I'd probably steer clear of the MSP. They are finicky cars albeit fun to drive. However, they are also the bastard child of Mazda/Callaway engineers cutting corners. It really is a gamble you might have a solid one without issue or you might be plagued with mishaps from the start. There's a reason why these so called "rumors" of unreliability and so called Zoom Zoom Boom exist.

If you have any desire to mod it then you're only exacerbating the likelihood of a possible failure. Keep in mind too that parts for this niche car are becoming harder and harder to source if by chance the proverbial sh*t hits the fan.

I have had great luck with my MSP and I would not hesitate to buy another. It all depends on the way you drive it and how you mod it. I have replaced the HG and factory differential but I would not worry about the motor as long as you don't run more than 11-12lbs of boost through the powerband. The trans are revised somewhat from 03-03.5 (shift fork, newer diff) the reliability of each is about the same. Obviously the SRT will be a much faster car if it is heavily modded but the MSP has a character I have never felt in other cars, even other mazdaspeeds.

Thanks for the replies.

I went and saw the srt4 tonight and it was decent. It does however need a clutch and that is not cheap on a srt4 apparently, timing belt and waterpump have also not been done.

So that leaves 2 mazdaspeeds that I will be going to see this weekend. If one of them has no rust and drives well I will take it. I am leary to work on a SRT4 but not to worried about some small work that needs to be done..

Hornsfan, you bring up a good point about driving style.. My style is backroad driving, I like to cruise most of the time and open it up on a nice windy backroad. I always like to let the car cool down abit and breathe between hard runs and like to treat my cars with respect and have always had good luck with that, never once having a motor blow or been stranded.

Is it a known thing then that 03.5 diffs are better then 03?

I wouldn't say they are better but they are 'revised'. They have been revised about 6 times from 03-~08 or so. My diff didn't actually fail the reverse lockout bracket broke and chipped a tooth on the final drive gear and honestly I wouldn't worry about it anyway it has most likely been replaced and if not it probably won't need to be after this long.

Did you check out the MSPs yet?

Bumping this from the dead as I am again getting the MSP itch that I just cant seem to scratch

IllaNoizeTV said:

Did you check out the MSPs yet?

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I drove 400km to look at 2 MSPs and BOTH bailed on me... I only had ONE other car that I considered a backup and that was a 05 GLI.. I ended up buying it as it drove nice and made some cool turbo sounds. It is however, now for sale as it is nothing short of a nightmare to work on. I am looking to get something else for a daily and again my choices are a MSP or srt4.

Problem is, there are really none in my area other then yellow and that is a color that I cannot see myself in.

Is the forum quieting down even more in the 6 months or so since I last posted?

I understand what you mean by not being able to see yourself in a yellow one. I was on the same boat but after test driving it and cosidering how immaculate the interior was I couldnt let it pass. It also came with some rare goidies which made it even better. I now love the fact my car is blazing yellow and wouldnt have it any other way.

It slowed down a lil bit. U cud always paint the car or wrap it a different color. But as you know, there are key elements you have to check when dealing with an MSP. I got lucky, I didn't know about the the little quirks before I bought it. I just took it for a test drive for 30 min, liked it, and bought it. Make sure spark plugs are gapped correctly and are newer, coil packs are newer and have no faults in wiring (my had some). Windshield has been replaced. There are other things but the list is a lil lengthy

Yea I have test driven many. I know about the rear clunks, the hesitation under WOT, tranny issues, easily rusting paint etc.. Luckily where I live there is no salt really so the chassis are usually clean.

As for yellow.. I hear you gabi, its not a ugly yellow thats for sure its really nice up close but I dont know if I can do it haha.. The yellow ones always seem to be the cleanest though.. Id ideally like to get a spicy or titanium but wouldnt say no to black either.. I hate black but the 03 black is on point, just looks right.

solo_ryder said:

Yea I have test driven many. I know about the rear clunks, the hesitation under WOT, tranny issues, easily rusting paint etc.. Luckily where I live there is no salt really so the chassis are usually clean.

As for yellow.. I hear you gabi, its not a ugly yellow thats for sure its really nice up close but I dont know if I can do it haha.. The yellow ones always seem to be the cleanest though.. Id ideally like to get a spicy or titanium but wouldnt say no to black either.. I hate black but the 03 black is on point, just looks right.

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Im the only blazing yellow were I live. Ive only seen a MP3 and my friend who had 2 msp's is parting out. Ive never seen a titanium in person. I believe a blue one is getting parted out as we speak.

What part of Canada you from? For what its worth i see titaniums, a few oranges and a couple fake black and on real black one, all ive seen in daily commute in kitchener/waterloo/cambridge area. Only see one yellow and its still rust free and driven bybthe same lady who drove it off the lot. I didnt likevthevyellow before but youre right it seems they resell cleaner then the others...of course here on the salt flats, rather i mean southern ontario i dont think it matters what colour it is corrosion is guaranteed.
Reliability speaking, if its a four season cold weather car i suggest 100% a boost guage and have a new wastegate ready to replace the stockbone thats sure to fail...boost creep and spikes to 10psi are fun at +5*C, until its -10 and the normal spike to 10 reaches 25 and vaporizes the o-rings and cracks heads. Best bets for mods are all the bushings, motor and tranny mounts, shifter bushings/short shifter. Then just enjoy. So long as your not pulling a Paul Walker rice boy moves it shouldnt be any problem. And if it is, hell theres parts everywhere. Most stuff is the same from p5/mp3/msp so its easy enough.

mazdaspeedpower said:

What part of Canada you from? For what its worth i see titaniums, a few oranges and a couple fake black and on real black one, all ive seen in daily commute in kitchener/waterloo/cambridge area. Only see one yellow and its still rust free and driven bybthe same lady who drove it off the lot. I didnt likevthevyellow before but youre right it seems they resell cleaner then the others...of course here on the salt flats, rather i mean southern ontario i dont think it matters what colour it is corrosion is guaranteed.
Reliability speaking, if its a four season cold weather car i suggest 100% a boost guage and have a new wastegate ready to replace the stockbone thats sure to fail...boost creep and spikes to 10psi are fun at +5*C, until its -10 and the normal spike to 10 reaches 25 and vaporizes the o-rings and cracks heads. Best bets for mods are all the bushings, motor and tranny mounts, shifter bushings/short shifter. Then just enjoy. So long as your not pulling a Paul Walker rice boy moves it shouldnt be any problem. And if it is, hell theres parts everywhere. Most stuff is the same from p5/mp3/msp so its easy enough.

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Im in bc so rust isnt as big of a deal but I do know these cars rust easy.. my gf has a p5 and its in awesome shape but has rust in the wheel arches starting and bottom of doors.

Mod wise im looking to do all reliabilty mods first. If the motor mounts are like her p5 those will be first. Really bad mount design

Other than my wastegate acting up, which never left me stranded or anything, my (completely stock) MSP has been dead reliable since I bought it in 06 with 11k on it. It sounds like you know what to look for/pay attention to, so if I were you I'd buy one.

One thing I can guarantee is it'll be more reliable and more well built than the neon.

Yeah neons are ugly.

IllaNoizeTV said:

Yeah neons are ugly.

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I dont mind the look od the srt. But the msp looks better. Now it's just a matter of finding one.. getting really hard to find that arent beat

Its funny how I too considered an srt4 prior to the msp. What won me over was primarily one thing. The msp is not anywhere as common as the srt4 with an even smaller aftermarket. After having one car (heavily modified rsx type s) stolen and its replacement a fail attenpt at being stolen the rarity of the msp translated at least in my mind into a car that is not likely to get stolen. They would have to sit on the parts for months before they found a buyer.

Gabi said:

Its funny how I too considered an srt4 prior to the msp. What won me over was primarily one thing. The msp is not anywhere as common as the srt4 with an even smaller aftermarket. After having one car (heavily modified rsx type s) stolen and its replacement a fail attenpt at being stolen the rarity of the msp translated at least in my mind into a car that is not likely to get stolen. They would have to sit on the parts for months before they found a buyer.

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Yea thats one of the leading causes for me to get a MSP too is the rarity. There definitely not many around and its nice to own a peice of automotive rarity. Who knows in a few years they may go up in cost

I went to the Mazda dealer in my town (Santa Cruz Mazda) for a new wastegate actuator. The parts guy argued with me over whether Mazda built a turbocharged Protege. To this day he believes there never was one. I told him I owned one, mentioned the 323 GTX/GTR, and slowly backed away.

It's seriously easier to find stock parts for my 3rd gen RX-7