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Looking to change my Audi A3.
Mainly motorway miles to work (120 per. day) so looking at another diesel as I commute 25-30,000 miles per year.
Mazda 6 looks modern, reasonably cheap (£8k budget), well-equipped and frugal but know nothing about them.
08/09 plate can be had in budget.
Any thoughts?
I've got an old shape 05 estate. Bought with 118k miles and now on 124k. Have only needed to replace the thermostat in that time.
If you're buying a diesel do your research. I think there were a few issues with them but can't remember which years. The petrols seem bullet proof (MIL has a 54 plate petrol saloon and has only had to replace consumables in the last 5 years).
Check for rust though as some have issues.
I'd buy another on the back of this ownership.
I had an old Mazda 6 and loved it, only got rid because I was given a company car and the wife wanted something smaller, but if I needed to buy my own car again I wouldn't hesitate in getting another.
Enjoyed 120K miles in my original Mazda 6. Have they fixed the problem with the diesel engines? If buying used, petrol or look elsewhere.
Heard bad things about their diesels. They are Ford ones afaik and the DPF is designed to be a consumable, which it isn't on other cars. And even then you need to keep the fluid for it topped up, which is apparently a dealer job. I'd not buy a car with that kind of design bodge on principle.
Not true molgrips. On the older engine there was issues but not now.
Had mine just over a year. 185bhp diesel sport estate variety.
Returns 45 mpg easily on a steady run, day to day we get easily 35mpg around Derbyshire countryside without holding back.
Half leather interior, all the gadgets bar satnav, Bose sound system, cavernous boot which is great for camping. Last year stuck 4x 26" ers on the bike rack on the tow bar all the surfing gear etc in the boot and made our way down to Costwolds/Cornwall for two weeks with nothing in the cabin.
After coming from a scoob it's main plus points are its still reasonably quick but also handles superbly.
Only thing that concerns me is they use the dpf light to tell you when it's due a service, WTF panic mode and it does sit pretty low.
IMHO same spec on a German variety would be 2/3k more and not as much fun to drive!
What are they like/which are the ones to avoid with the rusty rear wheel arch problem?
I can help you here as I spent 8K on a 2.0d 08 plate hatch 18 months ago to do 120 miles a day motorway commute. For that money I got a Sport with 68k miles with a 2 year warranty from a dealership.
It has been perfect for the job. I really like this machine. I came from VAG cars before so it was a leap of faith but it seemed so much better value than an A4 or 5 series. I have had minor wiring faults - leccy seat heat switch needed swapping as did the side mirror motor. I have had the air con compressor changed under warranty. The DPF issues everyone seem to go on about haven't happened so if you do the motorway miles I guess this isn't an issue.
Go for it! Good car, I'm going to keep this after the warranty runs out.
Hora the arch recall was earlier than the OP is looking at. From memory somewhere around the 55/06 plates.
Oh yep +1 for the sitting quite low thing . The air Intakes are quite low too so I'm not brave around fords/floods.
Was that aimed at me hora?
No rust on mine, late 59 plate.
Get the mps version 🙂
You should be Ok with the DPF doing motorway miles but of course you won't necessarily know whether it's been used as a runaround or Mway-muncher previously.
As per wrightyson don't ignore the DPF light BUT if it coincides with a service (mileage or age) don't stress that you're about to blow-up. Just get it serviced promptly as it'll stop doing the burn which means after a few weeks it will clog up and go into limp mode requiring the extra cost of a forced regen at best (from experience).
Nice car though. A bit dull but full of toys - mine had full leather seats, sunroof and a Bose stereo which was ace.
Also check whether for a full spare or a can of foam if that bothers you.
I bought a 56 plate Mazda 6 estate diesel when it was 8 months old & 6 ½ years later I’m still pleased with it.
Nothing has gone wrong with it and I still enjoy driving it. I test drove a Passat, Mondeo, V70, Octavia, A4 & A6.
The Mazda just ticked the most boxes.
Molgrips you are wrong on 2 points Mazda don’t use Ford engines & the DPF is not the fluid cleaning type.
There have been issues with many DPF units from many makes of cars. Some are easily sorted others are costly to sort. If I understand correctly the implementation of DPF units was a bit of a forced lash up.
I bought a Mazda 6 in 2005 and I'm still driving it 140,000 miles later. The front right bearing went and that's about it. They have huge boots, ideal for filling with mountain biking gear. No complaints at all, when the time comes I'll probably go for another 6.
Drove one but didn't buy it, it was really nice but other than the excellent stereo and better looks it seemed a fair bit more expensive than the equivalent mondeo, for not much benefit. (also there were just a lot less to choose from so finding the one I wanted at the right price was harder). But really nice anyway.
Hugely practical but quite dull would be my somethingion. Granted I did sell my Boxster to buy it so it was never going to measure up.
Certainly the best people and stuff carrier I've had and I've owned Mondeos, Octavias and Civics. That's about as good a compliment as you'll get from me.
Forgot - on the boot front I could get my Five in the boot with the seats up and the load cover pulled - handy when travelling for work in summer in that I could park in a random car park without worrying about the bike being on display, and then go out for a razz after.
Sold for a VW California Beach though where I can do the same and then kip in it in the evening 🙂
Had one as a hire car once. Was very impressed by the handling, the steering feel was excellent too which is pretty rare on that type of car.
No idea what long term ownership of them is like though
I had a 2010 60 plate facelift model 2.2 sport
I think they are fantastic cars but I would avoid the mica blue paint as it is very thin and starts looking crap really quickly.
Avoid the 2.0 diesel or and 2008 model in any from as it is the most problematic engine.
Ideal one would be a 59 plate onwards 2.2 diesel sport.
Very well equipped and handles really well.
Can't see why people are saying it is dull as I looked at all the estate cars in its class and it was the least dull of all of them !
2.2 Diesel engine is fine as long as it is serviced on time and given a good spirited run now and again. Also a steady run down the motorway to let PDF regeneration take place helps to.
I only sold mine to buy an mpv otherwise I would still have it now.
Cheers
Steve
Had a 54 plate for 5 years 2ltr petrol 147bhp never had a prob with the car only sold it as clutch was on its last legs with 135k on the clock earl models had rusty rear arches and rear light seals let water in to the boot. On a good run motor way I was getting 44mpg and around town/ lanes I was getting about 28mpg. I got a civic to replace it, I like the civic but wish I had got a new mazda 6. Not the most fun to drive but a great car boot is massive.
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Had one as a pool car. Very nice I thought. Reliable, cheap, Powerful, pretty, fast, big lump in the power curve, Not an audi. Its got the lot 😉
This was mine..........
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Here are a few links to some good lookers on the bay..........
We had an 09 2.2 diesel. The timing chain stretched at 35k and did nasty things the engine. Complained bitterly to Mazda who finally agreed to pay 75% of repair costs. We still had to shell out about 1k. Got it back after several weeks and promptly taken to We Buy Any Car.
So, based on our experience I would not recommend! A bit of googling suggests we are not alone.
Yep the later 59 plates started having a better chain fitted to cure this.
There have been very little reports of the newer engine which was fitted from 10 plate onwards having timing chain issues.
i had the the orginal sport for 5 years never had to anything over than services and tyres over 65K miles. Drank petrol though
i had the the orginal sport for 5 years never had to do anything other than services and tyres over 65K miles. The BOSE stereo was great. Drank petrol though
As above really, have a 2012 2.0 petrol wagon, 90th anniversary model. Loads of car for the money. Interior quality is fine. Leather is great and stereo is superb if you get one with the Bose, plus the Bluetooth to your phone is great for streaming music. Loads of space in boot and rear seats. Front passenger doesn't do well as the glovebox sits low. Feels quite sporty for a family sized car, and looks just a little sharper, assuming you like the Mazda styling. Mine drinks petrol though. I drive either short town trips or fast motorway (90-100 mph, flame all you like, I don't live in the UK) so it is about as bad as it can be at 30 mpg or so. Had mine 18 months and only costs have been servicing. Mine is black, which is always dirty and shows scratches/chips easily. And whilst I'm 38, I still think twin exhausts on a black station wagon look cool every time I see the car.
Selling mine now as moving, but otherwise would keep it. Looked at Mondeos and A4s when I bought mine, and still think I made the right choice. In fact, am looking at getting the 2.5 petrol model as the Aussie replacement.
Oh yeah, get a boot liner.
Damn Flickr links, I give up!
I've had the 2.2 diesel (2010 model) for a year now and very impressed. Had a lot of reliability issue with my previous '01 TDI Passat (but I did have that for 12 years).
I've never yet had the DPF light come on even though I do drive it a lot in the town. The boot is massive and by pulling a handle you get a huge flat loading bay. It corners like a dream (like being sucked round the corner by a big hoover; the Passat always felt uneasy going round bends). The engine is free revving and responds to hanging on in gears rather than changing up at 2000 rpm (PDI Passat engine) The only downside is its fat butt which makes parking fairly hard work.
Mazdas do much better than VAG (except Skoda) in reliability surveys.
The timing chain had been done as a recall before I bought the car.
A 2007 2.3 petrol looks quite tempting
2006 2.0L petrol here on 170k. Best car I've owned, despite the miles it drives really well, will do 40mpg if your careful which aint bad for a petrol. Awesome boot can get 2 bikes in fully built, no issues other than a snapped coil spring. From what I've read the newer versions are even better but avoid the Mk1 diesels.