Mazda5 questions for possible new purchase

I am looking at buying a 2010 Mazda5 with 101,000 miles on it and I have a few questions before i pull the trigger. First I would like to say i love the look of the car and loved how it felt to drive on the test drive. My questions pertain to the future I guess.

How is the pricing and availability of parts? Is there a lot of interchangeability?
What parts are known to go out, and with it being over 100,000 miles what should I look to maybe replace immediately if I go ahead and purchase?
How are these things in the snow?
What is the largest thing you've been able to or seen fit into the back?

This car is best summed up for me with a quote from a review article, "It’s the type of vehicle for somebody who might need a minivan’s space and utility, but isn’t ready to start living the Toyota Sienna life." That being said I am wondering if their are any modding options for the body, engine, suspension ect.

Thank you for your time.
 
Yep - I have the newer 2018 cx5 2.2 diesel now but changed up from the older model last year - the engines are very good across the range but at that mileage - cam drive belts/ chain - on petrols spark plug coils , suspension , shocks - brake discs unless all motorway driving ( good service record).Mods / - loads - side steps / window draught guards / A Bars , aftermarket lighting / LED,s etc.the list goes on for these popular motors - I was bitten with the first one and the saga continues…. I have always found spares and availability very good as you would expect with a Jap car - and generally good economical runners - mine keeps around 40mpg generally and 48/ 50 on a motorway cruise - can’t complain
 
The motor mounts will fail, as will the rear upper shock mounts.

Luckily, they are easy to change, even in a driveway, and very inexpensive.

If it has an automatic, the TCM will sometimes fail due to heat because it's bolted straight to the top of the tranny. What I did with mine was relocate it up off of the transmission and moved it to the firewall where it can get cooling. I wrapped the brake lines with some rubber fuel line, then zip tied the TCM there. I did this while changing the transmission mount, because you have to move the TCM to change that mount anyway.

Other than that, you're good to go. Most of the parts have nearly interchanges with the Mazda3.
 
Thank you guys for your input. I am going back Saturday and have a better understanding thanks to a bit of research based on your posts.
 
You are more than welcome as the other guys say if the car you are looking at is basically mechanically sound and the body work is reasonable the parts available for bolt on repairs etc. Are relatively cheap as per most Japanese cars ( And these are actually built in Japan ) and the aftermarket parts and inter changeability between Mazda 3 and in some cases the 6 etc make the car a good choice for both dealers and self repair if you have the knowledge. Mind you I am Bias being a CX5 owner twice over…..😉
 
As noted here the engine mounts and rear shock mounts are common failure items on these cars. Since the ‘10 model is before the 2nd gen refresh the rear springs are a little less supportive. Several of us have swapped out springs from heavier vehicles, and/or you could put helper bags inside the springs to keep it from sagging in the rear with lots of stuff in the back.

The 5 handles just fine in the snow….. depending on the snow, depending on the tires, and depending on the driver. I’ve driven it with snow tires (Bridgestone blizzard) on for the last five seasons and it handles just fine. I‘ve definitely taken it out in snow deeper than I really should’ve….. had a big blizzard in the mid-atlantic several years ago and got between 3-4’ in a day. Drove home from work in the middle of that, and some of the highway ramps I was only able to drive on because I was in the wheel tracks of tractor trailers. I actually did high center on another ramp during that drive, but had a shovel so all was fine.

The 5 is a compromise vehicle. You can comfortably carry four people with the option to carry another two. The additional two third row seats are really just fine for kids, or for adults you really don’t like. You can carry an impressive amount of stuff in the back of the 5, and I’ve had my packed full to the headliners multiple times. The largest single thing I’ve loaded into it was actually my sister’s ‘08 model where we put a love seat into it. The limiting factor on any large item is the doorway because it’s smaller than the interior dimensions of the cargo area. The compromise part comes in when you try to load both people, and things into the van. It doesn‘t do both of those things together very well.

The end result is a perfectly fine vehicle, however compared to a minivan it: holds fewer people, holds less stuff, has less power, has fewer fancy features, and still gets roughly the same gas mileage.

Ours was a perfect vehicle when we bought it, but we had one fewer children, and no live-in nanny at that point. We’ll be looking to upgrade to a mini-van in the next several years. Still it’s worked well for us, and with a roof box holds plenty of stuff for a trip.
 
Ride can be a little firm and springy on light weight driving ( un loaded) - I swapped out shocks & struts for gas adjustables at a reasonable cost - feels so much better……plenty of after market options for cx5’s
 
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