mazda 6

does anyone own a mazda 6 and if so what do you think?

-- Rob in the U.S.A. no matter where you go there you are

Reply to
Rob Mcgee
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; does anyone own a mazda 6 and if so what do you think?

Yes. I got mine (6s SportAT, sport package, comfort package, Bose) last December. The good:

  • I'm still getting "nice car" compliments on it.
  • It's easy and fun to drive.
  • It handles really well.
  • While other cars may have more horsepower, it has plenty of real-world usable power, especially when you know how to use it.
  • the trunk really is spacious.
  • A lot of thought went into the layout of the cockpit. There are only two buttons I need to look at in order to find, at the bottom of the center stack. And since the car has automatic climate control, I don't have to use those buttons that often.

The not-so-good, which are mostly little niggly things, all cars I've seen have little niggly things of some kind or other:

  • I got an early production run unit, accessories distribution hadn't yet caught up, so two items I ordered weren't available for several months: In-dash MP3 player (installed last Spring) and in-bumper fog lamps (returned).
  • Oops, I got the "Sport Package" and the in-bumper fog lamps DON'T FIT. Engineering never told sales or service that the fog lamps don't fit the sport package bumper. Aftermarket lamps installed for about the same price.
  • Overhead sunglass cubby door sticks
  • Driver's door seal comes out of its mounting channel (my '00 Protege did the same thing). It's not where I grab the door either.
  • While the crumple zones (front and rear) are good for safety, they will make crash repairs more expensive and take longer (was rear-ended. ,000 damage and three weeks in the shop - but no personal injury)
  • If you live where snow tires are a good idea, get them, especially if you have the 17" wheels. However, they're an odd size (215/50R17) which will limit your tire choices and make them more expensive. Consider getting replacement wheels for the snow tires to broaden your choices.

I like this car. My only regret has nothing to do with the car, but rather that for medical reasons I cannot drive with a foot operated clutch. Otherwise I'd have gone for the standard transmission instead of the SportAT.

Reply to
Jeffrey Kaplan

I like it too. Auto , black non-sport package. I really cant think of any other car near the price which I even remotely like.

The bad parts with me was the dealer - salesman. Actually the warranty work has been decent. They cheerfuly checked out several things which turned out to be OK and handled a recall notice too for some relatively small things. But the local dealer seemed to have hired a lot of new young guys and they scratched the bumper which they had fixed before they even returned it to me and told me about it and then caused an electrical problem when they fixed the recall problem. They fixed that but the car overheated because of the problem until they fixed it again.

I dont live where there are lots of dealers so they really tried to pad the price - which annoyed me. They played all sorts of games - finally agreeing to a lower price which was slightly high by avg national standards and then padded it with sleazy "special treatments".

My main beef is that they didnt go far enough in the styling. When I first saw it in the magazines like all the reviewers I was amazed that Mazda would be that bold and it looked far ahead of everyone else anywhere near the price range. I still cant think of anything Id like instead except the much more expensive BMW 3 -5 series but by the time it came out - the competitors are moving targets , so they call updated their styles . though none of them are really that great - the Altima is the closest competitor , it isnt startling way ahead of them like I thought it would be.

I wish they would come out with the concept car version - which looks much cleaner and euro looking. All they have to so is redesign the front and rear bumper masks primarily and a few other changes.

Reply to
John

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