i've been looking for a low mileage good condition fd. i have found a 93 one with 59,000 miles original engine. basically stock except for a new black paint job and sounds. he's asking 13,900 which is a good price for my area but it is an auto. any opinions on the car and if the auto fd is much slower than the manual. thank you.

any opinions appreciated.

 

i dont think its slower just doesnt perform as good as the manual, and dont know when but it taps out at lower rpm... and to my understanding they do cost less, but since that one u say has 59k miles its worth the price for me.

p.s. r u planning on converting to manual??

 

The auto is slower. Don't buy it if you really want a manual tranny. Take your time, and get the car that you want. BTW, 13.9 K is no bargain for an auto with that mileage.

Edit: Just noticed that you live in Hawaii. Prices there may be a lot different than the rest of the country. Good luck finding the car you want.

 

I live in Hawaii also and im surprised you even found an FD for less than $20k.

-Cliff

 

I'd buy it. 59k on an auto fd is not as brutal on the engine/turbos as 59k on manual. Negotiate 1k off the price and save up 1k more then you can do a manual swap.

 

IMHO, the FD is *horrible* with an auto tranny - totally ruins the car. But, I don't blame Mazda for making it - some people just haven't figured out how to drive a stick, and Mazda sold quite a few auto FD's and made money on the deal.

May be worth waiting a bit to find the one you want. An auto-manual swap is a bit tricky if you're new to these cars. It's hard to pass up the first car you find, too. I'm not sure what the car market is like in Hawaii, though, so you'd have to take that into consideration.

Good luck,
Dale

 

if its clean buy it... check out my sig. the auto can be very fast if you have any questions PM me. if your looking to race buy a 5 speed and mod it out the way you want it. if your looking for a great sports car to drive around the island the auto will be just fine. first mod you should do is a DP and 4.33 gears.
Jeff

 

There are a lot of us automatic owners that are perfectly content with the car, I've driven both manual and auto and really, once you are rolling along at anything above 15 - 20 mph the cars are very similar, unless you just happen to *like* rowing thru the gears all the time. The REAL difference is from a dead stop, where the automatic cars are almost downright pathetic...for about a half second. There are nearly innumerable posts on the manual vs auto debate if you search around a bit....lol!

There aren't as many aftermarket ECU/fuel computers available so if you are shooting for more than about 330 rwhp and a lot of mod options you'd be better off waiting for a 5-speed.
The automatic in these cars has a 'hold' feature which is essentially a toggle-able torque converter lock-up that, when used right by experienced owners, allows one to wring near-manual-like performance from the car, and also serves for a convenient traction control in inclement conditions (something unlikely in YOUR area...lol!). The problem is that most aftermarket ECUs like PowerFC and the like are not really set up for use with these trannies so you will lose this 'hold' feature.

Ultimately, if the car is really clean and you like it....then buy it. And personally I wouldn't consider a swap to a manual, you're better off BUYING a manual in my humble opinion.
Usually, or at least very often, you will find these automatic cars to be in far superior condition to some of their manual brethren. Another advantage is the cars book value is about $800 higher with the automatic (depending on area) so this works to your advantage if you are financing any of the purchase price. Keep in mind this book value is pretty much OPPOSITE of 'street value', as the manual cars are in much higher demand.

 

Here we go again! I'm with Bajaman... IMO you'll have a better chance finding an automatic in prisitne condition than you will a manual (don't get me wrong they are out there, they are just harder to find and usually more expensive).

Do a search here for more information. Good luck.

 

ummm, hello! auto is slower?

 

Its a good price for an FD in west coast. And low miles for a 93. It all depends on what you are looking for within the car. If you plan on getting bigger turbos and upgrading it a lot the auto will not handle it. However if your looking to mod without going too crazy auto will be fine. I have an auto...stick owners say its not as fun and slower, this might be true but it is still faster then the majority of the cars on the street. And you could still have a great time in one. I say go for it.

 

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It all comes down to what you prefer to drive honestly. For me it's Manual for the sports car and Auto for the daily driver just because of the laid backness of just going place to place and trying to get things done other then showing off by speeding through traffic haha.

Also doesn't Auto have a lower redline? Or is that just some falcity I read somewhere?

 

as with all auto and manual comparisons. i'm pretty sure it'd come down more to driver than the car itself. the only thing is i want manual because i enjoy rowing through the gears "only 20 yrs old" haha and i don't want anyone else in my family driving my car....is that selfish? let me know if anyone thinks the same way haha

 

no