Your 5: How long do you think you will keep/last?

[v_tofu]

Just wondering how long some of you plan on keeping your 5?

I'm definitely going for 10+ years. So far getting great mileage, and with a growing family, I think it will hold for the time being. I really hate mini-vans, and the 5 fits the niche quite well. If I ever end up having more than 3 kids, I might have to upgrade to something bigger, but thats way off in the future to consider

Still have my 99 civic running with over 200,000 km, so I tend to be bias on keeping vehicles longer. Find that if you keep it in good enough shape, you're getting the best bang for your buck.

 

[Robotazky]

I'm planning 5-10, but you never know. The value of my '09, private party, is $20,900 and I only owe about $10K, so I'd like to drive it till the wheels fall off. But if I were to be suddenly unemployed, I may have to recover the equity and sell it. I always have backup plans for everything. That said, I hope to keep it for a long time.

 

[starlightmica]

We have kept our prior cars until repairs cost more than the car is worth, so that's 11-13 years so far. Hoping the 5 lasts at least that long.

 

[was98strat]

I'm planning on getting 10 years out of my 5

BTW what's the point of a poll you can vote on??

 

[Mazda5wannabe]

Based on my last two cars, 1990 & 1991 Honda Civic 4drs (and I still have both!) 10+ years, for sure. I have a 2006, so I'm already at 4 years.

 

[thaxman]

I've spent some time thinking about the seating arrangement in the 5. With out 9-, 6-, 3-year old and newborn, the 2 oldest sit tin the back now, but in <2 years, the oldest will swap places with #3, and then 5 years from now, #2 & #4 will swap, so we can probably keep all 4 kids un-cramped until the 3 year old is 11, so 8 years. But by then, the oldest will most likely be driving himself around and avoiding riding in the family car @ all costs, so we can keep this thing well into old age, as long as something else doesn't tickle my fancy first.
The upright seating position also lends itself to a senior lifestyle, while the mpgs are a good fit with Social Security payments (who am I kidding (sad1) )so I think I may keep it 20+ years! (naughty)

 

[Robotazky]

LOL Thaxman. Pretty funny analysis there man.

 

[KBrian]

We also keep our vheicles a long time. My mustang just turned 22 and the Aurora is almost 14. While both have had few problems, I would toss them without too many tears if there were major repairs.

We drive the 5 more than the other two combined and that has amounted to only 13000km since we bought the 5 in July 09. At this rate, it will be 12 years before we hit 200000km.

Mustang and Aurora are at about 120000km.

 

[a10thunder]

No option for 4 years? We just got rid of our '06. The car constantly had issues after the warranty expired. We kept out last two Toyotas for 100k+ miles but let the Mazda5 go at 80k.

 

[v_tofu]

No option for 4 years? We just got rid of our '06. The car constantly had issues after the warranty expired. We kept out last two Toyotas for 100k+ miles but let the Mazda5 go at 80k.

What type of problems were you encountering?


oops, I didn't realize i left a gap in the poll

 

[thaxman]

a10thunder, you definitely had the test mule. IDK anyone else who has had the bugs yours had. Maybe it was made by real WWII gremlins!

 

[AIMWO4]

I'm in the Thaxman boat.

Mine are 9, 4 & 3. The youngest will probably always have a seat in the rear - He's in the below 3% in size!

As long as it doesn't turn into a Saab, I think I'm safe.

 

[a10thunder]

What type of problems were you encountering?

Our 5 was fine while under warranty. As soon as the warranty was over, we started getting problems. Several of these are TSBs and could've been fixed for free under warranty.

- 4 strut failures
- both sliding door lock actuators failed
- collapsed engine mount #3
- engine hesitation and stalling at low RPM
- engine off timing error
- engine under cover fell out from bad bolts
- a roof rail cover piece that kept flying away (replaced several times)

I didn't think I was taking a risk by buying a first gen car, because it had been available worldwide for a couple of years before the U.S. release. However, as I ordered new parts to replace the broken ones, I can see that Mazda has made a lot of changes... even down to the bolts and fasteners for the engine under cover.

 

[thaxman]

a10thunder, I think that the global launch was only in early 2005. The Premacy that preceded it was obviously different enough.

Bummer that they all went out after warranty. I've had my 5 at the dealer so many times they know me by my first name, but all that ended with the PS pump last week. Been out of warranty since the beginning of the month, but the PS whine was documented over a month ago and parts ordered way back then.
I hope we are not looking at anything else for many many years, as I have a Volvo to suck the money out of my account. My list of warranted fixes:

- AC compressor
- door actuators (and locks) both rear doors (2 trips)
- tailgate crack (3 trips)
- unresolved trouble shifting into reverse and sometimes 1st (3 trips)
- PS pump (2 trips)

Wife has complained about low rpm hesitation. I experienced it 1X, and it seemed like a throttle position issue, but I was not made aware until late March, and it still occurs no more than rare occasion.

What's the engine off timing error you mention?

 

[zoomzoom mazda5]

Knock on wood for me, very few problems on my Mazda5. ( 4 years going strong ) Have to keep it because of college starting next year ( Daughter ), also need money to paid for a car for her. After that who knows what I get.

 

[kleptomaniak]

I own a US model 2006 GT. It literally was the first one in my color to hit the showroom. It's a 4-speed auto, and out of all the models ever sold in the states, it had the most TSB. Don't be deterred by this, as it is fact that all first-second models years from all makes tend to have high TSB activit. But after almost 5 years and 63000 miles, this car has been a gem. It's reliably and well built. I have two small kids and there is plenty of room. would I purchase another 5? Yes, but I would probably start with an 08just because they addressed all the previous deficiencies

 

[Rocket]

It seems the folks with lots of problems live in cold climates? Touch wood, I'm largely trouble free for 100,000+ miles in a warm climate.

 

[professorhank]

Ideally, I'd like to keep it 5-10 years to get a good ROI but wouldn't be surprised if I get bored one day 3 years from now and decide to get something else. Since May of 2000, I've never owned a car longer than 3.5 years. I would like to get a smallish, sporty coupe again reminiscent of my younger days. 3 years from now, I'll probably be in full-blown mid-life crisis mode so all bets are off at that point...

 

[5zoom]

My 08 5AT at 51k has been trouble free and I plan on keeping it till 100k or so. I've usually kept cars beyond 200k, but all the electronics and plastic stuff on this car kind of scares me from keeping it longer than the extended warranty allows me to file claims.

I hope the 2011 looks better in person than on paper/computer screen and that they made some of the changes suggested on this forum.

 

[coolmazda5]

I'll be trading/selling the 06 as soon as the rear facing seat is no longer needed (and I get wife convinced to sell it ). Both cars have been very good for the money paid, but 2 of the same is getting boring...

I've been through the 06 beta model warranty issues but the 2nd Mazda dealer I got has been very decent to get things done (services and sales). Regardless, nothing deal breaking, and I still love the driving/manual tranny and flexibility

I'll keep the 08 for longer I guess, but who knows