This might sold like a dumb question, but what's the average life span of a Mazda?? North American manufacturers have long known that theur cars really only last for the warranty period (with a few exeptions) You can see that in the dealerships. Gm for instance always seems to have lots of 3 or 4 year old GM's in their used car lots (don't even get me started on the Cavaliers!! Everyone I know who's owned one can't wait to get rid of it!) I've noticed that this same thing doesn't seem to happen at Asian car dealerships.

So my current Dodge is now 8 years old and 216000kms, and most people seem to think I've been lucky to get that many years and kilometers. What should I be expecting as a resonable sesrvice life from a Mazda??

 

most Mazdas are quite reliable. Obiviously, depending on how hard you drive the car it should last you at least 150,000 miles. I was sold on Mazda's reliablity when a neighbor of mine raced a 89' miata and it was his daily car. As of right now, he has 230,000 miles on the original motor. The transmission has been replaced. But he races the Miata in SCCA events, and he pushes it to the max quite often. Mazda's are durable, safe and fun cars to drive. GM do not have one car that is as reliable as Japanesse. With exceptions such as Cadallic and the Corvette!

 

I've seen and heard of Mazdas outlasting Toyotas ("the most dependable car on the road"). My parents used to have an early 90s 626 (I was a kid, I don't remember what year) that they bought new, and they sold it to my uncle with like 150,000 miles, and he drove it to over 300,000 miles. I think he scrapped it because the body was starting to rust (he kept it outside, even in the winter, and lived on a dirt road). But, the engine was still fine. My 88 323 I bought with 150,000 sold with close to 200,000 and it still going, three years after that. My MX-3 I would consider a lemon (it is a 94) and it has 131,000 on it right now. I'd say with proper maintenance, a Mazda really will last forever. Well, until the body disintegrates.

 

I think it has more to do with the ideas in people's heads. Many people I know that buy American WANT to get a new car every few years, while most people I know that buy Honda or Toyota are buying for the specific purpose of having something for a decade or more.

Of course, your results may vary...

 

that's true to a certin extent, but I have empiracle evidence in my own family! Mom drives a 93 Honda civic, dad drives a 99 Cavalier 2door. both have similar mileage, but If I was going to buy 1 of the 2, I would buy the honda hands down. It still drives like new, has almost not squeaks or rattles and the paintwork is in excellent condition. My dad's car on the other hand... It's holding together, but only just, the CV joints are going (second set) the Paint in the Trunk is failing, and there are lots of squeaks and rattles that He doesn't like. He just doesn;t want t o get rid of it until it gets to 200,000kms.

I heard a quote a little while back about Asian Auto manufactureres. Goes somethiing like this :

Asian manufactureres got better than american ones by coming to America and seeing what we were producing, then taking it home and seeing what we did wrong and improved on it. That was their development cycle for many years."

But it's all relative I know lots of people that won't by anything but brand X no matter the problems they have (both Asian and American!)

 

I don't call that empirical... but even if it is, it isn't a representative sample. That is one near-lemon vs. another good car. Almost all of the cars I've owned (Two Fords, two Chevys, two Saturns, a Honda, and a Mazda) were near-equal in regards to their reliability. The only one I'd say wasn't was a Plymouth (an 88 Sundance), but I only paid 500$ for it so it was allowed to be garbage.

I own a 1978 Caprice that is every bit as good as most Hondas I see that are half as old, it just doesn't sip fuel as well. It is for this reason that I advocate the idea that most cars are equally reliable if equally maintained. Most is always the key word though.

 

yeah problably. But if you compared Hondas, Mazdas, Toyota. There is really only one American car manufacturer I may consider. That is a Cadillac. The Civics, Mazda 3 drive so much better then the cavalier, sunfire, neon/ Caliber? it is not even fair comparing the two.

 

Funny, the Cadillac's faired only marginally better than VW (known for their quality control issues) Consumer Reports has Caddy's in there not recommended category for used vehicles.

 

my friend hates his catera.

 

I have a '97 Protege' which has been relatively trouble free for the past 208,000 miles (original engine and tranny). I've heard it said that the Japaneese (Hiroshima) built Mazdas are better than those built at the Flat Rock plant. I don't know if this is true or not, but my Mazda was built in Hiroshima.