Roywhitep5
Member
- :
- 2007 350z
oh yes
Mazda 3 Reliability...After all it's just a Ford
- Thread starter neomonkey
- Start date
- :
- 06 LS MS6
07 BM GT (shell has been struck from the roll)
CASH FOR CLUNKERS
should ONLY apply to vehicle purchased form NON bailout companies
the other cheesedicks already got their handout
mr_mazda329
Member
- :
- 97 Mazda Miata; 09 CWP Mazdaspeed 3
oaklandopen
Member
My first car was a Ford Crown Vic, my brother has it now and it's got about 180k on it. I can't even begin to count the number for Ford Taxis in NYC I've gotten into that had 300-450k on them. These are cars that have been utterly thrashed on, 450k of stop and floored, but get the exact maintenance they're supposed to.
Just my 2 cents worth.
We have an F-250 turbo diesel pickup with 480,000 miles on it. 7.3 liter engine. It did have to have a valve job just a bit north of 300,000, and it's had the clutch replaced due to normal wear, but that's all. Going strong. No need to consider replacing it at this point.
Not a defender of Ford or even seeing how the comparison can be made: My MS3 was maunfactured and assembled in Hiroshima, Japan, but I thought I'd make a point that with regular maintenance almost all modern cars and trucks can last a very long time, unless you just happen to get a lemon, which can happen with any brand.
Not a defender of Ford or even seeing how the comparison can be made: My MS3 was maunfactured and assembled in Hiroshima, Japan, but I thought I'd make a point that with regular maintenance almost all modern cars and trucks can last a very long time, unless you just happen to get a lemon, which can happen with any brand.
SallySpeed3
Member
- :
- GT Mazdaspeed3, Cosmic Blue
My dad owns a 94 GT Mustang and has never had to do any servicing on it at all except for new brakes. The car was totaled years back. Drunk driver hit the car while it was parked going about 80 miles per hour (according to report). It flew approx. 25 feet in the air in did a 180. He paid the extra cash to get it repaired and it still ran great. Unfortunately, it now sits on the curb and hasn't moved in 2 years because he's lazy.
Mom owns a 94 Explorer. Also no problems except for a transmission rebuild last year. Car has close to 200k miles on it.
I for one love Ford. I would have gotten a Mustang GT had I the extra few thousand bucks, but I didn't, and got the Speed3 and am completely happy with it.
Mom owns a 94 Explorer. Also no problems except for a transmission rebuild last year. Car has close to 200k miles on it.
I for one love Ford. I would have gotten a Mustang GT had I the extra few thousand bucks, but I didn't, and got the Speed3 and am completely happy with it.
kwsmithphoto
Member
- :
- 2009 Mazdaspeed3
I drove a 99 Cougar for 10 years. Ya I know, chick car, get over it, but it was great for my needs at the time, and the design literally changed the shape of what other car companies were doing. Very avant garde in it's day, and they still look contemporary compared to much newer cars.
Designed in Germany, developed in Belgium, and shared the exact drivetrain as the Mondeo and Contour. Which was Ford's first "world car." The chassis was designed by Ford UK, the structure was designed by the German division, and the V6 started life as a Porsche design that Ford bought and had Cosworth re-engineer.
It was built in the same Indiana plant as the 626 and Probe, which later started turning out the previous generation Mazda6, and now spits out Mustangs (which have some Mazda technology in them, btw).
Anyway, the Cougar was literally a Mondeo coupe. Except for some brake and suspension changes, exactly the same car under the skin down to the millimeter.
And what a POS it turned out to be. It had no Mazda or Volvo engineering, it was just built in the same Ford/Mazda Indiana plant, Auto Alliance, and the euro version was shipped overseas.
I could fill a page with all the problems I had with it over 85K. The big items were a failed hood latch that nearly killed me, and a total brake failure. That was when it was under warranty. After several quiet years other systems started giving out, like the complicated intake manifold design (twice), all 3 cats went south at about 60K, the A/C compressor (twice) and many, many other things broke along the way while the paint decomposed.
In the end, I only got $600 for it on trade for my 2009 MS3. I maintained it by the book but you can't really maintain a car that was s*** to begin with, you're just constantly fixing things and getting the oil changed as long as it's on a lift getting an expensive part fixed. Global Ford engineering, Mazda/Ford assembly, Fiat reliability. The mechanically identical Contour was a much more reliable car.
Why? Parts sourcing and point of assembly, which differed. All car companies use suppliers and their quality can range quite a bit even if they're supposed to be built to the same design standards.
Many of the parts in the MS3 have "FoMoCo" stamped onto them, but that doesn't mean that Ford actually made them, they were most likely outsourced from any given point in the world. They just screwed the pooch on the Cougar, and dropped it after 4 years. A Mazda6 was on my short list of car choices, but when I learned that it was built at the same plant I changed my mind and got an MS3. Yes, the C1 platform was a joint Ford/Volvo/Mazda venture, but I'm approaching one year without a single manufacturing problem, recall, or warranty visit.
Reason? I can't be sure, but I suspect that since the MZ3 and MS3 were developed and built by Mazda in Japan probably has something to do with it. Not that Ford can't make a good car on their own - many of their products are rock solid - but the lack of "Fordness" and Japanese assembly factored into my thinking.
So far, so good. Significant engine mods are known to blow motors, but it already has enough power for a FWD car, so I've only made improvements to the suspension and love it. 3's are very very popular in my part of the country, and informal surveys by me suggest that it's a very reliable car. Having the last production run probably helps too, its 6 years younger than this thread is!
The Mazda6? Eh, not so much. Mazda tweaked Taurus engine and Indiana assembly might have something to do with that, but I know a few owners who've had several problems. Mustangs too, I think that plant is pretty much a lemon factory.
Designed in Germany, developed in Belgium, and shared the exact drivetrain as the Mondeo and Contour. Which was Ford's first "world car." The chassis was designed by Ford UK, the structure was designed by the German division, and the V6 started life as a Porsche design that Ford bought and had Cosworth re-engineer.
It was built in the same Indiana plant as the 626 and Probe, which later started turning out the previous generation Mazda6, and now spits out Mustangs (which have some Mazda technology in them, btw).
Anyway, the Cougar was literally a Mondeo coupe. Except for some brake and suspension changes, exactly the same car under the skin down to the millimeter.
And what a POS it turned out to be. It had no Mazda or Volvo engineering, it was just built in the same Ford/Mazda Indiana plant, Auto Alliance, and the euro version was shipped overseas.
I could fill a page with all the problems I had with it over 85K. The big items were a failed hood latch that nearly killed me, and a total brake failure. That was when it was under warranty. After several quiet years other systems started giving out, like the complicated intake manifold design (twice), all 3 cats went south at about 60K, the A/C compressor (twice) and many, many other things broke along the way while the paint decomposed.
In the end, I only got $600 for it on trade for my 2009 MS3. I maintained it by the book but you can't really maintain a car that was s*** to begin with, you're just constantly fixing things and getting the oil changed as long as it's on a lift getting an expensive part fixed. Global Ford engineering, Mazda/Ford assembly, Fiat reliability. The mechanically identical Contour was a much more reliable car.
Why? Parts sourcing and point of assembly, which differed. All car companies use suppliers and their quality can range quite a bit even if they're supposed to be built to the same design standards.
Many of the parts in the MS3 have "FoMoCo" stamped onto them, but that doesn't mean that Ford actually made them, they were most likely outsourced from any given point in the world. They just screwed the pooch on the Cougar, and dropped it after 4 years. A Mazda6 was on my short list of car choices, but when I learned that it was built at the same plant I changed my mind and got an MS3. Yes, the C1 platform was a joint Ford/Volvo/Mazda venture, but I'm approaching one year without a single manufacturing problem, recall, or warranty visit.
Reason? I can't be sure, but I suspect that since the MZ3 and MS3 were developed and built by Mazda in Japan probably has something to do with it. Not that Ford can't make a good car on their own - many of their products are rock solid - but the lack of "Fordness" and Japanese assembly factored into my thinking.
So far, so good. Significant engine mods are known to blow motors, but it already has enough power for a FWD car, so I've only made improvements to the suspension and love it. 3's are very very popular in my part of the country, and informal surveys by me suggest that it's a very reliable car. Having the last production run probably helps too, its 6 years younger than this thread is!
The Mazda6? Eh, not so much. Mazda tweaked Taurus engine and Indiana assembly might have something to do with that, but I know a few owners who've had several problems. Mustangs too, I think that plant is pretty much a lemon factory.
Nismothecat
Member
- :
- 08 Mazdaspeed3
damn, my buddy had a 95 GT convertible(bought brand new in 95) and it was horrible. alternator failed the day he bought it. owned it for 5 years and went through 2 trannies. it was a piece of s***.
