Hey all, I've recently joined the Mazda family with a new-to-me soul red 6-speed '14 Mazda6 touring. I'm enjoying the car very much. I had been a loyal VW/Audi owner for nearly the past 20 years and I don't think I'll ever go back. I was actually scouring the VW forums for whatever Issue I was having that week with my last Passat when I had read a post in which someone joked about buying a Mazda instead of a VW for reliability.... so I decided to do exactly that! Just did the first oil change with some Magnatec 0-20. I'm pretty good with a wrench so hopefully I can be of some value to the rest of the community here too.


Of course, I have a question included here too - I found a nice set of OEM roof racks (fixed point) from a 2013 Mazda3. Can't find any info on if they will work for my car. Does anyone know if they will before I pull the trigger? I do know the 6 has fixed points.

Dan

 

Welcome to the forum and the Mazda experience. Unfortunately, I suspect you may be disappointed if you enjoyed regular repairs on the German cars. The mystery and adventure of what is wrong and what will go up next just isn’t there with Mazda. Take care of them and they run without major or expensive issues.

They are fun to drive so you may find some fun driving when you would have spent time repairing in the past.

(I also have a MINI so I know both types of fun.)

As for the the roof rack, I would call the parts department at a local dealership and ask them. I would guess if the ones that fit on the 3 also fit on the 6 they would likely have the same part number. Ask for the price as well. If the seller of the 3’s rack knew you used to own a German car, they may have marked up the price 300%.

I am done ragging on European cars. I just remembered that I did not hook up the battery tender the last time I drove the MINI so I need to get to the garage. Now I am done. ...

 

Well, I can't deny that there is some satisfaction of working in the garage and having a job go smoothly with a tangible improvement at the end (when that actually happens), but what's even better than that is having a car that drives well and doesn't have the problem in the first place. I won't miss the consistent barrage of creaks, clunks, rattles, CELs, flashing dash lights, coil packs, misfires, premium fuel, and failing parts that don't even exist on other cars (despite all of this, I still understand their appeal and will always love them). Overall, I'm really impressed with the driving characteristics of the 6. It's tight, and has character, the lack of which has always driven me away from many Japanese and American made cars. I'm enjoying it and will consider a larger Mazda for our family car next year when it's time to upgrade the Pilot.