1000 Cuts: Don't Call Me Ranger: 2003 Mazda B2300

SOLD: Immaculately Maintained 2003 Mazda B2300 $5900

Back in 2013 my future wife and I needed a get-outta-town truck, a Swiss Army knife vehicle that could schlepp our earthly possessions and pull a trailer for our own version of John Carpenter's Escape from ~~New York~~ Austin TX. It needed to be frugal, not a bro-dozer and a manual transmission was mandatory. The market showed an intense love and therefore high price of Toyota Tacomas and to a lesser degree Nissan Frontiers. We ignored the S10 which left only the Ford Ranger and its Mazda twins the B2300 and B2600. Our pal Les drove a Ranger on New Orleans' cratered and buckling roads for many years without any real expenses, so we cast our net for one. Read all about it here.

Craigslist yielded an immediate result, a one-owner 2003 Mazda B2300 four cylinder with a 5-speed manual owned by an Indian doctor with a thick accent who lived in a nice part of town. My spidey sense approved: it was parked in a garage, the paint wasn't faded, there were no leaks and the chassis looked spotless. My test drive methodology is to spank the car in question and cane it mercilessly up and down local hills looking for anything to go awry. Often a sick or mistreated car will perform acceptably when driven sedately but cough up a hairball when asked to perform. This truck spent its entire 100k mile life being driven at glacial Indian doctor speeds so he was unaware of impending needs. I was able to quickly coax a misfire from it along with a check engine light. The OBD2 reader I plugged into the port indicated that the likely culprit was one or more of the coil packs which are not a big deal. I floated an offer slightly less than his asking price if he'd take of its needs first. He took it to his mechanic who replaced the spark plugs, plug wires, coil packs and did an oil change. A stack of cash was handed over and we were the proud 'new' owners of a decade old truck. We made it ours with a vintage old-school Zoom-Zoom sticker:

Now a decade later we're sadly letting it go. We acquired a show car that needs a tow-vehicle rated for dual axle trailers, not the Mazda's forte even if it can do it in a pinch. Ironically we have used this Mazda to tow a previous auto project on a trailer and it performed heroically from Austin to Tampa, but then again we also didn't have to tow it up any mountains.

08/27/2014	LUU AUTO REPAIR	TAMPA FL	COMPRESSION CHECK VEH INSP	$65.00
09/02/2014	CUSTOM SOUNDS	AUSTIN TX	JL AUDIO SUB + KENWOOD STEREO INSTALL /SUB INSTALL	$1,359.98
	PINNACLE CERAMIC TINT	AUSTIN TX	AUTO TINT INSTALL	$576.75
09/05/2014	AUSTINS ALIGNMENTS & BRAKES	AUSTIN TX	FRONT BRAKES & SHOES	$686.03
09/16/2014	UHAUL	AUSTIN TX	5000lb TOW HITCH INSTALL & PURCHASE	$283.13
09/18/2014	AUSTINS ALIGNMENTS & BRAKES	AUSTIN TX	FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND SWAY BAR NEW BUSHINGS	$201.99
10/06/2014	PARTSGEEK.COM	AUSTIN TX	EXPANSION TANK
11/20/2014	O'REILLY	TAMPA FL	WASHER PUMP WINDSHIELD	$18.39
12/19/2014	BILL'S COMPLETE AUTO SERVICE	AUSTIN TX	CLUTCH MASTER CYL REPL RADIATOR	$639.43
01/16/2015	AUTOXTRAS	AUSTIN TX	BED LINER PLASTIC	$292.17
02/06/2015	AUSTINS ALIGNMENTS & BRAKES	AUSTIN TX	CLUTCH KIT SLAVE CYLINDER RESURFACE FLYWHEEL	$791.84
03/21/2015	CUSTOM TRUCK OUTFITTESR	AUSTIN TX	INSTALLATION OF TIMBRENS SUSPENSION BUMP STOPS GUARDS	$86.60
08/12/2015	FIRESTONE	AUSTIN TX	COOLING HEATER HOSE REPLACEMENT	$221.12
09/03/2015	SULPHUR AUTOMOTIVE	SULPHUR LA	ALTERNATOR & LABOR	$350.00
09/21/15	FIRESTONE	AUSTIN TX	HEATER HOSE	$95.36
09/25/2015	PRECISION MAZDA	TAMPA FL	SAFETY INSP. HEATER HOSE LEAKING MAJOR SERVICE	$722.52
01/16/2016	PRECISION MAZDA	TAMPA FL	OIL CHANGE	$0.00
01/26/2016			OIL CHANGE FLUID SERVICE	$103.61
03/13/0217	DISCOUNT TIRE	AUSTIN TX	TIRE ROTATION	$0.00
01/26/2018	JIFFY LUBE	TAMPA FL	AUTO TRANS SERVICE	$179.99
05/29/2018	MOTORCAR PARTS OF AMERICA	ONLINE	PROSTART PLATINUM ALTERNATOR	$123.58
8/14/2019	RICHARDS QUALITY AUTO SERVICE	TAMPA FL	AC CHK REPL UPPER LOWER CTRL ARMS & OUTER TIE RODS FRONT LINKS ALIGNMENT	$2,030.37
09/03/2019	RICHARDS QUALITY AUTO SERVICE	TAMPA FL	ALIGNMENT	$50.00
01/28/2020	RICHARDS QUALITY AUTO SERVICE	TAMPA FL	ROT BAL TIRES ALIGNMENT AC CHECK	$211.56
03/03/2020	RICHARDS QUALITY AUTO SERVICE	TAMPA FL	INTAKE MANIFOLD / GASKET	$584.58
03/18/2020	RICHARDS QUALITY AUTO SERVICE	TAMPA FL	AC CHECK REMOVE AC MANIFOLD FLUSH	$405.43
03/05/2020	RICHARDS QUALITY AUTO SERVICE	TAMPA FL	ALIGNMENT (WE HIT A HAMMER IN THE STREET)	$60.00
08/07/2020	SAM THE HUBCAP MAN	TAMPA FL	INSTALL TIRES	$100.00
07/22/2020	TIRERACK.COM	ONLINE	4 NEW SOLUS TIRES	$291.80
08/03/2020	SHARP CUSTOMS	TAMPA FL	POWDER COAT RIMS TO BETTER THAN NEW APPEARANCE	$230.00
08/11/2020	RICHARDS QUALITY AUTO SERVICE	TAMPA FL	ALIGNMENT (AFTER INSTALLING A NEW STEERING RACK)	$30.00
01/06/2021	RICHARDS QUALITY AUTO SERVICE	TAMPA FL	REPLACE RACK & PINION + ALIGNMENT	$300.00
09/07/2021			SOFT TOPPER FOLDING CANVAS TOPPER (VERY COOL ACCESSORY!)	800
04/01/2021	AAA GLASS	TAMPA FL	NEW WINDSHIELD	0
				$11,891

This spreadsheet list does not include most of the oil changes as I generally do that myself every 5000 miles. It had an oil change last week at Richard's Quality Auto Service, I didn't bother putting that on the list. The $11,891 figure is also incomplete, we absolutely missed some expenses. The $2,000 front suspension rebuild cured the squeaks and made it feel competent and handle like a Honda Accord all over again. We put a new compressor in a few years ago but I can't find the receipt so there's that.

We installed racing stripes for a retro vibe:

Okay, the stats: 153,000 well cared for miles and no accidents. Cold air conditioning, cool folding "Softopper" canvas bed top, fresh Solus tires and newly powder coated wheels done locally at Sharp Custom Coating. tiny but mighty 8" JL Audio sub professionally installed with Kenwood bluetooth head unit that matches the colors of the dash with Infinity 6.5" speakers. New dash cluster bulbs. Recently completely rebuilt front suspension. Llumar ceramic tint that never fades and blocks heat. All done to the highest standards. Wired for towing with a 5000lb hitch receiver. COLD a/c, will blow ice cubes from the vents.

We chose this truck with no concern for its upholstery: it's trimmed like a commercial tow truck with grey vinyl seats. The driver's side has a tear that's had upholstery tape on it for years now. If you don't like bomb-proof vinyl you can always pull seats from a Ranger or Mazda at LKQ for a hundred bucks. I've been tempted but never cared enough to make the effort. The only current odd defect is that sometimes the Door Ajar dash light comes on. Probably needs the door switch cleaned, a project for the next owner.

In a nutshell: we've taken amazing care of this Mazda, better than any other you'll find. Buy ours with confidence.