Just bought a used 6 wagon with a 3.0 automatic. Car just turned 80k and is in VERY clean,well maintained condition. Aftr reading several other posts I am not sure about keeping this car. My questions are 1) Is this a Mazda engine or a F word engine 2) Is this the 5sdp automatic trans a problem 3) the Bose system is NOT all that great and the cd will only play one channel.. Very Concerned about this stuff. Would like any help (answers) Thanks

 

The 3 liter engine is a Ford V6....a pretty decent engine IMO. Do you have any maintenance records from the previous owner? I'm not aware of any issues specific to he 5-speed ATX (my car has the 6-speed AW transmission).

(Edited to add):

I wouldn't necessarily base my decision weather or not to keep a car based on an on-line forum such as this one (as excellent as it is). Keep in mind, that we represent a very small percentage of people who own these cars. If you are looking for a guarantee, there are none . Based on my experience with Mazdas, I would say that with proper maintenance, you would probably get good service life from your vehicle, but remember this: regardless of the reputation of an automaker (real or perceived), every individual car is different in some way. You will either love or hate you care based on its own merits. Toyota is brand that people associate with bullet-proof quality and there are many happy Toyota owners out there. But you also have people who have bout these cars expecting years of trouble free driving only to be disappointed. So if you have any concerns about your Mazda, you may want to have the car evaluated and perhaps see if there any signs of trouble that you can avoid. OR, if you have reservations about it, just sell it and buy something else.