Mazda CX-7 OK or no-go?

Yesterday Mrs. Clarty and I took a six- hour round trip to see a 2007 Subaru Outback 5-speed. It had 113,000 miles, but the seller just did head gaskets, water pump, timing belt and detailed it. Price was 10,995.
The car drove well, but was cosmetically rough--an indication it hadn't been well cared for.
We were disappointed, then Mrs. Clarty saw a 2008 Mazda CX-7 with just over 100,000 miles for a thousand bucks less. And it was in GREAT shape. We drove it and liked it, so agreed to buy it.

Later, research revealed CX-7s are widely regarded as trouble. They're even "#1 used car to avoid" due to catastrophic timing chain stretching. See cx7problems.com We don't have it yet; should I cancel? I really wanted a manual Outback, but Mrs. has her heart aet on this CX-7.

The turbo 2.3L absolutely loves to blow itself up at regular intervals. Mazda wised up in recent years and started offering a naturally aspirated 2.5L that seems much more reliable.

calteg wrote: The turbo 2.3L absolutely loves to blow itself up at regular intervals. Mazda wised up in recent years and started offering a naturally aspirated 2.5L that seems much more reliable.

Untrue. Hamfisted dopey owners that don't know what to do with the DISI love to blow it up at regular intervals. I've absolutely beaten the everloving E36 M3 out of mine for 85k and it's fine, other than a known problem with the turbo seals. They're perfectly reliable as long as they receive proper care and feeding. There's plenty of them locally with well over 100k on the clock and they still pull as hard as if they were new, both modded and stock.

ALSO, the timing chain thing was due to a bad tensioner that SHOULD have been replaced under a TSB from the factory that affected nearly all DISIs, including mine. I don't know if it was different to the Cx7's, but I don't know of any personally that have had that problem. (granted mine's in an ms3... but same motor.)

Well, you have discovered the well documented reputation.
You also have a real owner stating that the reputation is misguided.

I personally, would only move forward on the deal if you got the CX-7 for an exceptional price.
That reputation (even if untrue) will continue to haunt the car when/if you sell the car.
Even if you do not sell it, expect a low book value should you unfortunately wreck/total the car.

Yeah, we're gonna pass. Wven if this car never has a problem, the possibility will always lurk in the backs of our minds. No car is trouble-free, but one with such a reputation is probably based on something.

JohnRW1621 wrote: Well, you have discovered the well documented reputation. You also have a real owner stating that the reputation is misguided. I personally, would only move forward on the deal if you got the CX-7 for an exceptional price. That reputation (even if untrue) will continue to haunt the car when/if you sell the car. Even if you do not sell it, expect a low book value should you unfortunately wreck/total the car.

mndsm doesn't own a CX-7

I owned one for about 6 months, then got scared and sold it. Damn shame, because it was a great SUV. There are also 3 Mazda technicians at my workplace that curse the CX-7 on a daily basis.

There are also 3 Mazda technicians at my workplace that curse the CX-7 on a daily basis.

Because they're good,or because they're bad?

We have a 2010 CX-7 with the normally aspirated 2.5. Original owners. Not a lick of trouble with it. We formerly had a Toyota Rav-4, which we were very fond of. When a tree fell on the Rav-4 we tried the newer generation one, and the non-sport models had this mushy, suburban housewife suspension that we hated. To get the tight-handling package placed the Toyota several thousand dollars over the Mazda, which had good handling in all versions. Our verdict at the time was that the Rav-4 was a better design, but that they'd taken the soul out of it. We've enjoyed it quite a bit. It's very carlike for a SUV, and if those are traits you like you should be happy.

So our sense is that the NA models are perfectly fine vehicles, but due to the bad press that the earlier ones got, their resale values will always be a bit lower than otherwise expected.