Mazda 323F/323 5-DOOR (1989 - 1998)
MODELS COVERED: 323F - 1989-1994 (1.6 Hatchback [SE, Executive SE, GLX]/ 1.8 Hatchback GT) 323F 1994-Oct 1998: (1.5 Hatchback [GL,GLX, LXi, GXi]/ 1.8 Hatchback [GLX, Exec]/ 2.0 Hatchback [GLX, ZXi])
BY JONATHAN CROUCH
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Mazda spent most of the Eighties creating a range of adventurously styled cars that failed to sell well enough. The company went into the last recession in very poor health and had to be rescued by a
Ford takeover. Some say its range of late-Eighties cars were too striking for the market, but the handsome 323Fs certainly deserved far more than the limited success they have enjoyed. The 1989 323F is a classic example of a great car that never realised its potential.
Only ever available in the UK with two engines and one body style, it was bought mainly as a second car. The importers tried to turn it into a GTi competitor with the introduction of the 1.8-litre GT in 1991, but buyers shunned this version in favour of the more sedately-performing 1.6-litre models.
The replacement model was again a good-looker but seemed to have been unfairly overlooked by new car buyers. The latest, more conservatively styled models launched late in 1998 are also quite rare.
An accomplished front-wheel drive chassis, clothed in a stylish body, offering adequate (1.6) to excellent (V6) performance and handling. The first of the three shapes is generally deemed the more attractive, particularly in GT spec, though a late-model second generation 323F V6 is undoubtedly a very good-looking car; its successor, like the latest 626, looks to some eyes less modern. The usual problem of limited import quotas (and therefore no point in bringing in cheap and cheerful base models) for Japanese cars has ensured that any 323 you find will be well equipped.
These cars are in high-demand second-hand due to their sound reliability and great build quality for the price.
For the earliest shape, you can pay anywhere between £300 and £2,000, though you'd be better steering clear of cars at either end of that range. If you can find one of the 1989 models, it may be a bit tatty. The newer-shape cars (without the pop-up lights but with an even more avant-garde shape) vary between £1,200 and £3,700, with the 2.0-litre V6 the most expensive.
A 1996 V6 N-plater can be yours for around £2,700; in fact. M-plate examples start at about £2,400. The 1.8s range from £1,800 to £3,400.
Pay roughly £2,800 for an 97P-plate.
Not too much to report here. Check for corrosion and accident damage, as always. Japanese cars are generally very reliable and the 323s are no exception. Mazda offers a six-year anti-corrosion warranty so it may be worth checking that, if it applies to your selected car.
It wouldn't hurt to check that all the electric gadgets are in working order - things like sunroof, door-mirrors, central locking and electric windows, not to mention (in the case of the 89 to 94 car) those electrically raised and lowered lights.
(approx based on a 1994-1995 5dr 323F 1.5i) Not particularly cheap, sadly. The main silencer for the exhaust is just under £150. A clutch assembly will be around £150, a starter motor around £145 and a radiator around £185.
A replacement headlamp is close to £250 whilst brake pads come in at £50 and £40 a pair, front and rear respectively. Major, intermediate and minor services cost around £270, £170 and £150 respectively.
These are very typically small Japanese cars with all that that implies in terms of safe and vice-free handling, allied to strong roadholding. You won't frighten your passengers too much on a challenging road with a 323, but equally the satisfaction for the driver won't be on a par with say, a Golf GTi. But these cars are not aimed at that market (2.0-litre V6 aside). As a second car, a 323 is hard to beat.
If you want reliability, good resale value and slightly unusual looks, the 323 is for you. Mazda owners are notoriously loyal, so your hardest problem may be finding the right car. You won't get one particularly cheap but when it comes time to sell-on, you'll be smiling.
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