Hello Mazda community,

I am looking to purchase a manual transmission pre-owned Mazda. Is there a specific year you would suggest I DO NOT buy? I see all kinds of years thrown around when I Google it but hoping to get some direct advice from you all.

Thank you

  • BasslineFreshDetail@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Any Mazda pre-2014 is gonna have Rust as the biggest issue, Mechanically they were pretty Safe, approaching Toyota Levels.

    I’ve heard stories of the Water Pump consistently failing around 130k km on their V6’s

    The Front Control Arm is at risk of Increased corrosion due to a badly designed AC Dripline.

    They can have electrical issues with the Car Alarm systems as they age.

    Post-2014 they have consistently ranked among the most reliable cars even for 5+ yr old examples. They made history by unseating Toyota’s spree of being Top Dog (but only for 1 year and then Toyota was voted back up lol)

    Paint Chipping is brought up a lot, they use thinner layers of paint than most other Car makers.

    If you use their Apps, you may have the occasional issue, but it seems like NONE of the Automakers do very well in that regard.

    IIRC Mozilla Firefox’s security team did a long study, and found EVERY automaker is failing at Cybersecurity and Data Protection. It’s crazy to me that they aren’t pouring billions into making things better, their new business models hinge on collecting our data.

  • Apprehensive_Bit_176@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    First and second gen 3s would rust pretty easily, if not treated. Both incredible cars to drive and own (I’ve had both), but the rust is a killer.

    • TacosAndBeagles@alien.topOPBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Good to know. At what point does rust become a legitimate issue? If there’s rust on the wheel well, would you call it a deal breaker? Or rust on the rocket panel? Or is it rust on crucial moving parts?

      • thenthomwaslike@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Depending on the state you’re in you can’t have visible rust holes on the body. in order to pass inspection I’ve seen people cover them with stickers, or weld pieces of metal over them.

      • Apprehensive_Bit_176@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        For me personally, any visible rust would be a deal breaker. A car older than 10 years is probably going to have some in the undercarriage, but that’s expected. Body or structural rust is a no.