Narrowing the field... Tell me about the Mazda6

After ruling out the WRX wagon (they are all riced or wrapped around trees), and then the 2.5TS (they are all wrecked or half-attempted WRX swaps), and then the non-Outback Legacy wagons (they are all autos or have blown motors) I perused the GRM forum...

What I found was nearly every "what car?" thread included the Mazda6 V6, including my last one. So I went looking and found THREE 5-speed manual Mazda6 wagons nearby for sale. Sweet!

I did manage a short test drive in an auto version and was very happy with the handling, room, and responsiveness. I think with the 5-speed this car will push all of my buttons.

So what say you? I have heard grumblings of engine problems, but I really know nothing about this car.

I like mine, but its a 4cylinder-auto-sedan. Was looking for a wagon when I bought, but couldn't find one in my price/condition range.

Only complaint I have with mine that might carry over is wind noise/buffeting is horrendous when the windows are down. I found a way to make it alright when there's only the driver in the car, but with passengers and at high speeds, plan on having the windows up.

I like the v6/5spd combo alright, and honestly i did not know you could get a v6/5spd wagon, cuz the 6 wagon is TEH SEX!!!!!!

Therefore.. DO EEEEEET.

I did a clutch on one once and i dont remember anything especially infuriating about it, so thats a good sign.

The engine is a duratec 3.0 similar to what youd find in an older taurus afaik.

One thing I noticed from rental car Mazda6's is that they were late to the game to offer iPod style jacks to the factory radio.
I also thought that the lower portion of the seat was a little short, but that is a preference thing.
That is about the extent of my complaints to a lot of miles logged in rental car Mazda6's.
PS: the wagons look vey nice. I really wish the Fusion (which shares the chassis) offered a wagon.

Nice car. Do it.

There is what looks like a good looking black manual wagon in Bothell,WA that seem pretty cheap for the mileage on autotrader. Tr8Todd's wife has a late model 626 with a manual,and V6 which I think is a semi rare bird,and he loves the car. I can only assume the Mazda6 V6 manual is about the same for reliabilty,and I know he has had very little problems with the car.

i have the '03 sedan V6/MT/sport, and I heart it. if it was a wagon i'd heart it even more.

The black one in Bothell has an "engine tick", but it's on my radar.

The one I really wanted may have been sold, the owner will know tomorrow. I soooo hope it doesn't go through so I can buy it!

Well what did you get?!?!?!?!?

I was looking into these back before i graduated from college. Basically the factory clutch has a reputation of going at or every 25k, so youll want to factor that in if it hasn't been upgraded. When I was looking, it was at 06's that had been on the lot for over a year. Fully loaded with leather and Bose with the 5spd they were knocking them down from 30k sticker to 20k about ten seconds after I'd shown interest in the car

Strizzo wrote: I was looking into these back before i graduated from college. Basically the factory clutch has a reputation of going at or every 25k, so youll want to factor that in if it hasn't been upgraded. When I was looking, it was at 06's that had been on the lot for over a year. Fully loaded with leather and Bose with the 5spd they were knocking them down from 30k sticker to 20k about ten seconds after I'd shown interest in the car

Brother just traded in his '04 V6 manual @ 135K-ish. No clutch problems ever, but it did spit out a spark plug (or 2) and some threads last year. Good car.

YES! The one I want is still available!

Test driving it tomorrow night when the owner gets it back from the shop. He brought it in for a PPI and it needed a switch replaced for the reverse lights and 1 window re-tinted, otherwise was perfect! The potential buyers low-balled him and he said pack sand.

The price is so good I wouldn't even haggle with him. It has 115K, he's the original owner, and it has the very cool sport package (different front/rear facias, grill, side skirts, spoiler, no roof rack, dual exhaust, electro-luminescent gauges, etc).

Any particulars to look for? He's the original owner and has every receipt...

Did you get it did you get it?!?!?!?

He must be too busy driving it to update the thread

I think Mazda nailed it with these cars. Great steering feel, good front grip, really responsive.

I didn't even look at it Wifey declared no leather, period. Couldn't even talk her into a seat swap. I'm gonna regret not picking this up.

Could you look at it for me? I don't like leather either,but I could be swayed if the rest of the car is as solid as it sounds.

Wow - sorry man. My wife loves leather. No, wait, not that kind of leather.

tuna55 wrote: Wow - sorry man. My wife loves leather. No, wait, not that kind of leather.

He's ok.. I guess.

My wife and I bought a brand new one in 2004--V6/5spd, Squall Blue Pearl.

We sprinkled it with some Mazdaspeed goodies and really loved the car. It sounded great, handled well, yet still had a good ride. The seats were really comfortable and it was the "right" size for my family, I don't recall doing anything to the car other than brakes.

We would likely still have it were it not for getting in an accident and the car being totalled.

My wife now has a G8 GT--the affordable manual transmission/wagon market has pretty much dried up. One of our replacement criteria was a manual, but when you have ~400 torques in front of a slushbox, it is tolerable... .

Javelin wrote: I didn't even look at it Wifey declared no leather, period. Couldn't even talk her into a seat swap. I'm gonna regret not picking this up.

No kids? You'll be hell bent for leather (u c wut eye did thur?) while you're busy trying to get your kid's puke stain out of the upholstery....

She's a hippie Vegan. It's a trade-off. I do still have the Miata, Javelin, Go-Kart, etc, etc...

We picked up a '06 GT wagon 5 speed 3 weeks ago with 90K kilomters (45k miles)...loaded with leather and 18 wheels., after looking for several months. We thoroughly enjoy this car...fits our family needs much better than our Mazda 3 did. Sorry to hear the leather is not acceptable...but the right one will turn up....

All this talk of leather reminded me--ours had cloth.

The material got "mousy" really quickly and the grey is too light if you are worried about spills.

Bumping this up, to ask a mazda6 related question.

Has anyone heard about issues with pre-cats crumbling and taking out the engine? A friend of mine recently had this happen to him in his v6 car and I found one with a bad engine today. Common issue, easy fix?