Thank you so much for that suggestion.
I was able to see the service history from 2018 to 2024 which included oil changes at Walmart about every 6.000 miles by the first owner, a Rack & Pinion replacement at 86,000 miles, and the current owner's purchase from Elite Mercedes Benz at 127,000 miles in 2022 (hence the "Elite" on the hatch). Carfax says 177K miles currently and the listing from a year ago said 165K miles. Still waiting for another reply from the lady who listed it for a place and time to go see it.

 

There are several websites, like Carfax/Auto Check and they are only as good the garages that report service.
Also, several where you can get a copy of the original window sticker.
All of these websites charge a fee.

 

While I was awaiting a response from the seller of the 2015 I watched this video, , which is a review of a then brand new 2015 Grand Touring AWD which shows the location of the navigation SD card under the left hand switches. The one I was considering has just a little cubby in that location and a photo of the dash does not show the left side of the "Infotainment" screen. It is likely a deal breaker if it does not have navigation which we have come to depend on in the Odysseys. Darn! Too bad, because my wife was getting excited about it. Looks like the search goes on.

BTW: when I was researching Mini Countrymen there is an excellent BMW VIN decoder that will list every option that was ordered on a Mini based on the VIN. I wish there was one like that for Mazdas.

 

I don't know which model years the CX-5s have Android Auto and Apple Car Play integration. But that would be what I would focus on having. I use Waze all the time in my 2025. I did buy one of those third party navigation SD-Cards to activate the native navigation in the infotainment system. But I only did it as a backup to my Smart Phone.

 

2019+ had the Car Play thing, but older ones could be retrofitted

 

Don't worry about built in GPS.
I like to remind folks that Garmin still makes very good dash/window mount touchscreen GPS for any vehicle.
They are way less expensive than OEM and can be had new for $119 and their $189 unit is rated as one of the best.
Their updates are also way cheaper/easier than most vehicle manufacturers charge.
I actually still have my nearly 20-year-old Garmin for backup.
It still works great and is easier to use than any vehicle GPS I've ever been exposed to.
FYI the Mazda GPS works great, but it takes some time to get used to, it is not very straight forward in how it operates.
You'll know what I mean when you read the Mazda GPS manual instructions.

 

One advantage to OEM navigation is the lowering of music volume when it gives instructions, and it is always powered. I do use Magellan GPS units in my 04 Mini Cooper S JCW and my 96 Grand Cherokee tow vehicle, and I have a TomTom rider's GPS for my bikes which is handy because it has bluetooth which connects to my helmet speakers and beeps in my ear when I go more than 5 MPH over the speed limit. I suppose we could consider adding an aftermarket GPS if the wife really liked the 2015 and the price was right, and my wife often uses her phone's Google maps to argue with "Harriet Honda's" instructions, but so far only one response from the seller that it is still for sale and none to my question of time and place to go see it. There is also a red 2019 CX-5 AWD Touring with 63K miles for sale at a local car lot, but at $24,000.

 

If you use CarPlay/Android Auto it will decrease music volume automatically. You can also control how loud the navigation voice is too. I grabbed an SD card on Amazon for the built in GPS as a last resort, but I always use my phone hooked up to CarPlay.

 

Thanks for that information. I see these as cheap as $20 from Walmart on line, but unfortunately listed for 2016 to 2022 models.
Apparently there may be no place to put one on a 2015 that does not have the navigation package already.
I read that an infotainment upgrade came in mid 2016 which it listed as 2016.5.

AI says this:No, not all 2015 Mazda CX-5s have the navigation SD card slot in the center console. While many models are "navigation ready," the slot is typically only present if the vehicle was factory-equipped with the navigation system. If not equipped, the SD slot might not be installed at all.

Key details regarding the 2015 CX-5 navigation slot:
Location: When equipped, the slot is usually located inside the center console armrest, often covered by a small plastic door.
"Nav Ready" vs. Equipped: Many 2013-2015 models came with the screen and infotainment system, but required an authorized SD card and, in some cases, a separate hardware module to be installed for navigation to function.
Alternative Location: If not in the center console, some users have reported the slot being located to the left of the steering wheel, or missing entirely if the vehicle lacks the necessary hardware.

I did finally get a response from the 2015 seller that she needed to get with her husband to determine a time to come see it, so I guess it is worth going and looking in the center console to see if it might have an SD slot. AI may be as confused as I am about where to look, but I'll give it a try.

EDIT: found that 2015 had a TomTom Nav system and the updated Mazda nav system came mid 2016.

 

i've seen those portable carplay units...there are a lot of them out there but i don't trust them to be reliable...have had a garmin with traffic subscription in all my vehicles since maybe '03...never bought any onboard navigation cause of the cost to update and it's a pain to keep updated...the one i have now does voice recognition which is decent and it reads traffic updates from my phone (lifetime traffic)...have a FM traffic antenna with a lifetime subscription as a backup in case it's not connecting to my phone...would rather have my garmin talk over whatever i'm listening to cause most of the time i know where i'm going and just need the gps for traffic updates...picked up a dash pad so it doesn't have to be mounted to the windshield (constantly falls off in the summer heat)...don't like music or podcasts being interrupted for directions i don't really need...i also typically don't like to run gps/carplay on my phone plugged into the car cause it heats up the phone battery quite a bit, probably not good for the battery...99% of the time i run bluetooth