This next tip comes from Matt C who writes: Sure, everyone knows about the Subaru WRX and Lancer EVO. The Celica All-Trac bowed out earlier, but it's notorious for one of the most epic cheating methods in motorsports. And some rally fans will remember the Mitsubishi Gallant VR4. But how many remember Mazda's entry? Well, you can take advantage of this obscurity (and a transmission problem) to snag one for under $2000! Find this 1988 Mazda 323 GTX offered for $1999 in Canton, GA via craigslist.
The biggest problem with driving a 90s Miata is that everyone knows it is fun, reliable, and easy version of a classic British roadster. While an MX-5 might be a great car for a curvy road on a fresh spring day, it doesn't get much attention or street cred at your local classic car night. So, how do you marry the piquant reliability of an MX-5 with the buttery visage of a classic British roadster...well..you need a Spitfire, a donor MX-5 and a torch. Find this 1976 Triumph Spitfire with MX-5 running gear offered for $7000 in Santa Teresa, NM via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
They say less is more. But who are they? Does that apply to torque from an internal combustion engine? And have they ever driven a Mazda RX-8? With 232 horsepower the 6-port Renesis has a decent amount of thrust at redline, but with only 159 ft-lbs of torque, this isn't exactly a tractor...but if you like your engines to be piston-free...the RX-8 was the last hurrah for Wankel's legendary rotary and they aren't getting any younger. Find this 2005 Mazda RX-8 offered for $5500 in Santa Clarita, CA via craigslist.
The Mazda MX-5 Miata is a fun little sports car wrapped in a boring exterior (sorry Miata fanboys, the shape is pretty blah...with maybe the exception of the newest model that brings some more style than the OG jelly bean) that is unfortunately slathered with a thick brush of innuendo about the driver and his dog. Regardless, if you want the sweet driving experience of the modern Mazda platform with the classic looks of a 
The Mazda Proceed Marvie isn't something you see everyday. Or even once a year. Or maybe not in your lifetime. What it is...is a car with a verb placed squarely in the middle of its name -- not common, but certainly noteworthy. The Proceed was sold in the USA with a B-Series badge and I don't think we ever got the SUV version...which was simply a pickup truck with a camper shell and a 3rd row installed with some bolts. I think it makes a sensible alternative to whatever Rav4/CRV/Explorer you might find with a 3rd row that is just another piece of automotive blight on the street. Find this 1994 Mazda Proceed Marvie offered for $7750 in Fulton, MD via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
I'm going to post this next car with a caveat that Brooklyn isn't a good place to buy a car...or probably much of anything. The Big Apple is notorious for crappy roads, sketchy parking, bad weather, and well...New Yorkers. Everybody who isn't trying to actually pick your pocket is probably trying to muscle something outta your bank account...not that there is anything wrong with that...but this next car seems to be a good deal and I have to admit that I would look past the zip code and consider this...wait...why does it have Jersey plates? Is this the New York Giants of the car world? Find this 2008 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 offered for $4995 in Brooklyn, NY via craigslist. Tip from ME.
Mazda recently celebrated its 100th anniversary at the end of January. Over those 100 years, Mazda has achieved a number of notable firsts. Mazda was the first Japanese company to win the 24 Hours of LeMans and also with that win, was the first to win the 24 hour race with a rotary. On the world rally circuit, Mazda was the first Japanese manufacture to win overall with a Group A car with the 323 4WD's win at the 1987 Swedish Rally. Group A regulations required the production of 5,000 road going versions, and the 323 4WD was sold here in the states as the 323 GTX. Popular as rally cars here too, through attrition (exploding transmissions) they have become even more rare than when new. So when ones does come up for sale, buyers can't be too choosy. Find this 1988 Mazda 323 GTX for sale in Battle Ground, WA for $2,500 via craigslist.
A few years ago I would have said that ten large is a stupid sum of money to pay for a first generation RX-7...but I don't know these days. Classic cars are getting gobbled up my well heeled millennials, grubby fingered gen-Xers, and greedy boomers...but the RX-7 has been cheap for years. Maybe it's time the spinning apex seal clubber gets its time in the sun? Or you could at least own this low (53k) mile example and drive it till the miles put it in line with the rest of the market. Find this 1985 Mazda RX-7 offered for $9800 in Arcadia, CA via hemmings. Tip from BP.
The typical modified Mazda RX-7 you'll find on these pages has some sort of carburetor fed domestic V8 shoved under the hood...but not today. Today we've got a first gen RX-7 that still sports Wankel power, which is odd because it has GT-R emblem on the back and some of the widest Kardashian fender flares I've ever seen. Find this 1981 Mazda RX-7 offered for $6900 in Omaha, NE via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
The first generation RX-7 (SA/FB built in Japan from 1978 to 1985) was a beautiful ballerina in the sports car world. The RX-7's lithe frame was propelled by an equally dainty engine - the Mazda rotary...which was known for revvving high, consuming fuel, and sounding like angry bees when uncorked. However, they are expensive to repair and many have (for better or worse) been swapped with another powertrain...and this next one is the most basic of swaps...Chebby V8 and 700R4 slushbox. Find this 1985 Mazda RX-7 offered for $5900 in Caldwell, ID via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
I'm posting this next car for all of the wrong reasons. It isn't really a good deal. It will cost the next owner more money than it will ever be worth. And it will probably cause more heartache than a teenager on methamphetamine...but this car needs to be saved. I guess this is a charity case. This is a car that needs someone with more money than sense to keep it from going to the boneyard, because how many RX-4 wagons are left in this world? How many more manual gearbox Japanese wagons with rotary engines exist? Screw the whales, save this manual gearbox equipped rotary powered wagon. Find this 1976 Mazda RX4 Wagon offered for $3,500 in Tracy, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck. 
The 4th generation E70 Toyota Corolla was the last RWD platform that extended across the entire Corolla lineup (the AE86 "Hachi-Roku" coupe remained RWD for the next generation, but within a few years everything was front-drive, understeering, no-fun, appliance-city). The Corolla was a simple economy car with no particular designs on world domination, but it was cheap to buy, cheap on fuel, cheap to insure, but most importantly: it was reliable....which we are going to throw out the window like a used microwave with this next feature, because it is now powered by the spinning thing known as a rotary. Find this 1981 Toyota Corolla with rotary swap offered for $11,000 in Philadelphia, PA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
Mazda has a tendency to use the RX prefix in its rotary powered cars, so when the replacement to the limited edition (and extremely collectible) first generation Mazda Cosmo was introduced in 1972, it was called the RX-5 for the US market. It was Mazda's entry into the personal luxury coupe market, and slightly missed the target for what buyers were expecting. The result were poor sales when new and now you hardly ever see one on the road, but the few that have survived will make for an interesting conversation piece with anyone you might meet at a gas station or Japanese auto repair shop. Find this 1976 Mazda Cosmo RX-5 offered for $3900 in Dublin, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The MX-3 was a small sporty hatch from Mazda launched in 1991 as a competitor to the Honda CRX and Volkswagen GTi. The MX-3 borrowed many of its components from the 6th gen Familia/323/Protege platform but added hatchback usability and sporty looks. The real kicker was the addition of an optional high revving small displacement V6 that put the MX-3 into a category of its own...and today's next example has been transformed into a dirt throwing rally machine. Find this 1992 Mazda MX-3 offered for $7,500 in Simi Valley, CA via craigslist.
The second generation Mazda RX-7 was known as the FC and over 270,000 examples were built in Japan from 1985-1991 for worldwide consumption. The FC was, of course, powered by a Wankel rotary engine and featured the athletic reflexes matched by few cars in the 1980s. If you can live the eccentricities of the odd spinning thing under the hood, these cars are sublime to drive. Find this 1988 Mazda RX-7 offered for $2,500 in Burien, WA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
This next car comes as a tip from JB1025 who writes: Just don't see many of these from the mid 70's too bad for the automatic but owner has a 5 speed to go for extra green $$$$$. Personally, I think it is funny how much these look like the similar vintage Isuzu I-Mark. Find this 1976 Mazda RX-4 offered for $10,000 in Portland, OR via craigslist.
The NB generation Mazda MX-5 was released in 1998 as an upgrade to the apex hunting 2-seat roadster for the masses. The MX-5 was originally launched in the US market as the Miata in 1989 just as the classic two seat European roadster market was imploding. Sales of the MGB, Fiat Spider and Alfa Romeo Spider were either on their way down the drain or just a minute from slashdown. At the time it may have looked foolish from the outside to release a car into a market that was drying up, but the folks at Mazda knew they had the recipe right. The second generation MX-5 wasn't a huge change from the previous design, but it did feature updated RX-7 derived muscly looks and more power from the 1.8 liter BP 4-banger. Find this 2002 Mazda MX-5 Miata offered for $4,990 in Clearwater, FL via Hemmings. Tip from BP.