Hi,

I am in the market for a mid-sized car that will hopefully last for many years to come.

My main objectives are to get a reliable car that has room for my baby to grow and also still be fun to drive and not too expensive on maintenance. I don't want to end up spending thousands of dollars to maintain this car. I can do some maintenance myself. I always do my oil changes, I've installed an intake and exhaust, and can pretty much follow a manual if I've never done something before.

I'm going to be a new father, and want the best of both worlds. I hope I'm not being naive here, but I'd like your opinions on whether this car would suit my needs. I'll be trading in a 2004 Hyundai Tiburon GT (which I am getting pretty attached to now that I'm looking to replace it, ironically).

Thanks for looking!
-Rod

 

Hey Rod!! Welcome to the world of Mazda.
I think a 6 is a good choice for the best of both worlds. They ride well, get decent mileage (especially the 2.3/2.5L) and still have some Zoom-Zoom left too. The automatic leaves me flat though. Of course most autos do.
I can tell you that MotorWeek likes their '09!
Were you thinking the new '09 model or a slightly (gently) used <'08?

 

Well my budget is around 11-13k, so I'm looking at 06-07's, or maybe even as low as 03. Are these cars DIY-friendly, or will I be spending 2 hours just to replace spark plugs? (For my Tiburon, I need to remove the Upper IM just to access the plugs.)

I'd prefer if I can do most maintenance myself, so I'll be getting an auto. I believe these cars have timing chains so I won't need to tear apart my engine to replace that. No belt and no clutch to replace will easily save me hundreds of dollars on labor.

 

For the v6, you will need to remove the manifold so that you can access the rear bank, the front is much easier the get to.
As for the car being a good compromise? Well, all i can say is that i regularly autocross mine and don't do half bad with it. So, i'd say that yes, these are a great compromise between utility and sportiness. Also, I'd recomend getting a CPE CAI with the MAFci (avoids any intake related CEL's and gives a proven 15-20 hp bump), or barring that doing the airbox mod. I recomend these things due to the fact that you are coming off a sports car, and these will give the car a nice sporty sound as well as add some power.

-Cameron Keffer

 

If you want room to grow with a family....look for the Sportwagon. I love the one my wife has and we've got 83,000+ miles on it now (2004) with very few issues to report. I've got 2 kids (5 & 2) and there is enough room for everthing we need on weekend trips (We're big outdoors people - skiing, snowshoeing, etc and we rarely need to leave something behind.)

 

From what I have read in some other posts and from my experience right now, I would avoid getting the 03 or 04 Mazda 6s with the 3.0L V6 in it. Seems a good number of those engines are failing prematurely, including mine.

 

I have to agree, especially if chosing a used car.
It's never a very good idea to get a 1st, or 2nd year of any model, but to get one used from someone you may not or do not know.... Dangerous, imo.
If you can get an '06-'08 you will likely be better off. Plus a few improvements or refinements are liable to have taken place in later years, as is natural.

 

My only advice would be to make sure that you regualarly maintain and replace the PCV valve and hose. I've heard that the valve can actually fail which may cuase the engine to blow as the resulting vaccum will suck all the oil out of it. Most of the posts that I've read (on other forums) were for pre-'06 models, but it seems to have been an issue on a few 06's as well. But with routine maintenance, it should be a solid car.