Questions Before I Buy CX-50

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Bay Area, CA
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CX50 PPT PMG/T
Hello all. New to this forum and this is my first post. I’m loving the look of the CX-50 and seriously considering the turbo Premium Plus Package trim. Went to a dealership yesterday and sat in one and pulled me in more. Loving the poly metal gray combo with either terracotta or black interior . I’ve never owned a Mazda and I hear that reliability is one of its strengths. That is high on my list. I’ve owned Lexus and never had any major issues. But before I dive in, I have a few questions which some of you CX-50 owners may be able to answer.

1. Bose sound system - how does it sound? I didn’t get to listen to it while at the dealership.
2. Brakes - are they ceramic or semi metallic. I’ve owned German cars and didn’t like the heavy brake dust. Had to wash the wheels every other day to keep them clean.
3. What don’t you like about the car?
4. I have a friend who owned a CX-9. Forgot the year but it was at least 10 years old when he got rid of it. The water pump went bad after 10 years and it would’ve cost $3K to fix since the water pump is in an area where the engine would have to pulled to replace it. I hope this car is not the same.
5. Due to the current shortage, most dealers are adding markup over MSRP. I’m told it will be this way for a while. I’m not willing to pay markup. I’d rather keep my old car than over pay. Am I being unrealistic in these times?

Sorry for the long post but just have to get these questions answered before I pull the trigger. Thanks in advance.
 
I still disagree. For giggles and grins, go to a dealer, you'll see 12 cars on the lot and 1 customer in the store, at least that's what I saw when I stopped at the parts department. Used cars are up because there are no new cars on the lot, not because they sold out of new cars but because they don't have them coming in
trust me, we have plenty of customers and it sucks having to turn people away because what they want isn't available. Mazda cut production 40% last month so inventory levels will be extra tight for at least 2-3 months.

That dealer with 12 new cars on the lot would likely have had 150+ in "the before times." Of the ones that do come in, 1/3 to 1/2 already have deposits on them and never make it onto the lot. CX50 production got delayed 4-6 weeks with this new slowdown. There weren't a whole lot getting made to begin with and now they are just trickling out. Of the 6 we are allocated, 4 have deposits on them and 5 aren't even made yet
 
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I still disagree. For giggles and grins, go to a dealer, you'll see 12 cars on the lot and 1 customer in the store, at least that's what I saw when I stopped at the parts department. Used cars are up because there are no new cars on the lot, not because they sold out of new cars but because they don't have them coming in

Foot traffic is not really indicative of sales though. Especially during a pandemic, when a good number of people may prefer to wheel and deal over the phone or via email instead of negotiating in person. I personally think that we'll see a lot less foot traffic in dealerships as the younger generation comes into the market.
 
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It is really unfortunate that an apparently high demand new vehicle for Mazda isn't available in the volumes the market could support. And it isn't just Mazda being challenged by supply chain issues--besides the US maker challenges more commonly on the news here, I've seen that Toyota and Subaru are having to cut production even with high demand. Heck, Mazda even has a formal apology linked to on the front page of their Japan website.

I guess those of us with our vehicles already should feel very lucky.
 
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Okay, I'll retract my statement, and re-word it. At the end of April I (so maybe not you), on behalf of my girlfriend, refused the dealers $2,000 package. After 3 weeks of getting calls from 3 dealers I got one from a dealer who said "you wanted the Premium Plus in Zircon Sand, we have one coming in next week, if we can do MSRP as you requested when can you be in?"

Done. So again, I'll rephrase my original comment - I refused and eventually got a call back at my price. Just like the people asking about mpg, I guess it all depends.

They got cars coming on which they have not yet taken a deposit, in my mind that says they don't have a line of people waiting for them.

At least try it - look at their inventory including what's coming in (can also look at the Mazda website and it will tell you the same thing), call them up and say "I'm be in tonight to buy the car if you can sell it to me at MSRP - no ifs, ands, or buts and no dealer package, Just MSRP (maybe doc) and TT&L. If not, thank you for your time and I'm going to look around" None of this "I think we can come close, when can you come in so my manager can see you're serious" - NOPE either you can or you can't
 
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I just went to look at a CX-50 Preferred Plus - the only car my local dealer had in stock. They were asking for a $5000 markup over MSRP (no "accessories" just straight add-on). I told the salesman I didn't like that and he shrugged sheepishly and said "we are forced to do that". I didn't pursue it.

Frankly, though I love the new exterior - much more than the CX-5 - I was not impressed with the interior, especially compared to our '19 CX-5 Touring. Seat materials and monotone (black) interior just didn't look as good. I was really disappointed. Maybe the up-model leather interiors will look better?
 
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I still disagree. For giggles and grins, go to a dealer, you'll see 12 cars on the lot and 1 customer in the store, at least that's what I saw when I stopped at the parts department. Used cars are up because there are no new cars on the lot, not because they sold out of new cars but because they don't have them coming in
Your perspective in anecdotal, runs counter to the data, and is somewhat self-contradictory.

Besides, what's the point of a new car buyer going into a dealer to kick tires and test drive if there are none on the lot? You might as well pick your make/model/trim from research and work out a deal over the phone or internet.

Here's an anecdote. Even in August 2020, before this supply- demand imbalance and elevated pricing, I spent about 2 1/2 hours in a dealership on a cash buy worked out in advance with the only thing left to do was some haggling on the trade. I didn't see another customer walk in the door that entire time. It was under 15 minutes in the F&I office mostly chatting about Packer football. Why the delay? The internet sales manager I was dealing with was busy as hell, as well as the gal who handled title and license.

As regards supply, demand and pricing, why would it matter if dealers are sold out of new cars or none are coming in? Either way they are sold out. It should be obvious that demand exceeds supply. If used car prices doesn't tell you that I don't know what would/
 
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When I dropped by my dealer last week to pick up the hitch & harness, ran into my sales guy looking glum. Not sure how true it all is, but he said:
  • All their inbound CX-50's are being sold before physical arrival and demand outstrips availability. Interestingly, he mentioned that it is unusual to see so many potential customers specifically focused on a particular color and trim.
  • Sales overall are being lost because there aren't enough vehicles across all models available for the demand due to ongoing supply chain disruptions (chips, etc)
  • Their in-stock vehicle inventory is extremely low
  • Mazda Japan has temporarily stopped MZD 3 and Miata production or at least certain trim/configs to push the available supply chain materials to the CX-30 & CX-5 as more in-demand vehicles
  • That hurts because of strong demand here at least for the 3 as the only remaining sedan in the current line up
I was apparently very lucky that my dealer was able to bring in the vehicle (one of two exterior color choices and the then hard-to-find terracotta PPT) I wanted from another in-state dealer. Not sure what they traded to get that completed back in May, maybe someone's soul. ;)
 
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I’m waiting on the color combo I’m looking for which will be here soon. It is already reserved for me. The only thing is, it is PT not PPT. So I’ll just have to sacrifice the added safety features which is not a show stopper for me.
 
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I’m honestly not that impressed with the new CX-50( hate all that plastic body cladding). Also I agree with others about not buying 1st year cars as there are always issues that get fixed the following year. Was really hopping they would’ve added twin turbo 6. About the ground clearance being an inch or so higher then the CX-5(not that big of a deal as a majority of people do not take their cars off road where ground clearance is an issue. Also, the interior size room is almost exactly same size as the cx-5 (including the trunk). I plan on taking a test drive when I go for my next free oil change. The wider track of the cx-50 should help it to corner better.

Also, paying over MSRP is foolish as it’s not special edition or offering that much more then a fully loaded cx-5.
 
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To each their own. The CX-50 cladding is practically subtle compared to the CX-30. :) And I think it makes a great-looking visual accent. I test-drove a CX-5 as well and found the 50 more comfortable (I don't like how the CX-5 sits so high, way more SUV than car), drove better (no body roll unlike the 5), and the 50 has more interior room unless you're carrying tall, vertical items. (L and W are both more, only H is less.)

Anyway, cars are highly subjective. Some people don't feel like RAV 4s are designed to be comfortable for 70-year-olds. (And those silver buttons on the nav LCD look like they came off an 80's boom box.) My girlfriend inexplicably went for a Subaru Crosstrek over the CX-5 she was looking at.

So it really boils down to driving the cars and seeing how they feel to you. Personally, the car-like handling of the CX-50, the interior which is a generation ahead of the CX-5's, and the more comfortable driving position made it a clear sale for me.

But I will definitely agree about not paying any markup. It just took a few calls for me to find a dealer a little farther from my house that happily sold at MSRP and gave me a more-than-fair deal on my trade.

Besides, we're heading into a recession. Markups will be gone in a couple of months when it takes hold, and the dealers who have been gouging people for the last year will have lost a lot of customers once they're back to a competition-driven, instead of supply-driven, environment.
 
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I have driven Mazda vehicles since 1992 and our family have bought 7 used and 10 new Mazda vehicles over the period. In all that time we have never been stranded or had any major issues with our Mazda vehicles. Then we bought a 2023 Mazda CX-50 GS-L. No problem with the purchasing and delivery experience--all great. First trip from Toronto to Ottawa (Sunday July10) and the engine just stopped after completing 150 or so miles and would not restart. Called the Mazda Roadside Assistance line to arrange a tow, car rental and what ever---after waiting 9m30secs for someone to answer they offered to get me a tow in 1.5hrs to the nearest Mazda dealer. No other services were offered so basically find your own way home!
Finally managed to get the car running again and got it home after 4.5hours. Next day, July 11, took it in to the dealers shop for repair. Turned it was a defective fuel pump harness, no spare parts available from Mazda so repairs were made to fix the defective harness. I got the car back July13.

It has completed about 500 miles total so far without any recurrence of the fueling issue. Compared to our 2021 CX-30 this vehicle has numb on-centre steering, less precise handling, softer brake pedal, sluggish to get rolling, a softer ride when travelling at speed and the rear wheels skip at speed on rough pavement. It is not significantly quieter than the CX-30. So far I am disappointed with this vehicle.
 
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It’s been a great car! I have even grown to like the cladding. And the rest. Even realized the radio is easy to use after learning all the knobs. Handles like a dream. Plenty of power too, which also makes shifting smooth most of the time (I have turbo). Haven’t had it long but it’s been great!
 
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Hello all. New to this forum and this is my first post. I’m loving the look of the CX-50 and seriously considering the turbo Premium Plus Package trim. Went to a dealership yesterday and sat in one and pulled me in more. Loving the poly metal gray combo with either terracotta or black interior . I’ve never owned a Mazda and I hear that reliability is one of its strengths. That is high on my list. I’ve owned Lexus and never had any major issues. But before I dive in, I have a few questions which some of you CX-50 owners may be able to answer.

1. Bose sound system - how does it sound? I didn’t get to listen to it while at the dealership.
2. Brakes - are they ceramic or semi metallic. I’ve owned German cars and didn’t like the heavy brake dust. Had to wash the wheels every other day to keep them clean.
3. What don’t you like about the car?
4. I have a friend who owned a CX-9. Forgot the year but it was at least 10 years old when he got rid of it. The water pump went bad after 10 years and it would’ve cost $3K to fix since the water pump is in an area where the engine would have to pulled to replace it. I hope this car is not the same.
5. Due to the current shortage, most dealers are adding markup over MSRP. I’m told it will be this way for a while. I’m not willing to pay markup. I’d rather keep my old car than over pay. Am I being unrealistic in these times?

Sorry for the long post but just have to get these questions answered before I pull the trigger. Thanks in advance.

Hi,

I've had the 2023 CX-50 Turbo Premium for about 2-3 weeks now and to answer your point #1 and #3, here are some things that I don't like about the vehicle so far (in no particular order) and they are somewhat of a personal opinion. I didn't notice some of the items until I started putting more miles on the vehicle more so take some of these items with a grain of salt if you will. I still enjoy driving the vehicle so far and I'm sure I'll find some more gripes but here are a few below:

#1. Bose Audio
  • I am not an audiophile by any means but the Bose speakers are average for what it's worth; it seems that they are geared more towards bass heavy music than anything and I wasn't really blown away by the sound quality. I have Infinity REF3022CFX/REF6532EX's installed on my CX-5 and the vocals sound much better for my genre of music that I listen to even though I am using the stock head unit from Mazda.

#3. Things I dislike
  • Cup Holders: I really don't like the new design of the cup holders. If you owned a Mazda CX-5 you'll notice that it's a little wonky how they designed the CX-50. For example, the CX-5 cup holders are right behind the shifter knob area and the size is big enough to accommodate most 32-48 Oz bottles but the CX-50 does not. It's located right underneath the A/C controls area and the amount of real estate that you get with the cup holders is almost nothing especially if you have slightly bigger bottles. On that note, if you have a charger that plugs into the cigarette port like to charge your phone(s), you'll have cables that protrude out of that area which takes away space from the cup holders unless you purchase L-shaped cables.
  • Multimedia buttons on the steering wheel: It seems like Mazda chose form over function for this aspect as you would have a hard time pressing on the reverse/skip buttons accurately as they are super tiny and it's very easy to hit the change source button instead which changes the source from Bluetooth to say the radio. This forces you to utilize the volume knob which allows you to skip/reverse the track.
  • Driver seat rear pocket: On the CX-5, the rear seat had a pocket where you could fit any items/accessories that you wanted and it appears that the CX-50 does not have this behind the driver seat.
  • Mirror angle resetting: Each time I switch the ignition off and then switch the ignition back on, the angle of the mirrors appear to reset back to the original state which faces the vehicle itself. I typically have my mirrors set to face away from the vehicle to see the vehicles on other lanes but it seems that for whatever reason, the angle of the mirrors reset for my vehicle and I have to press on the memory function to have it auto-adjust for me. It's a nuisance to have to do this every time I get into the vehicle while parked and I did look at the owners manual but I did not find anything mentioning about the mirror angle reset. Please note that I am not referring to the folding mirrors feature where the mirrors fold inwards when the vehicle is off and it could very well be something that I glossed over. Disregard this, it appears that when setting the memory function, you need to press on the unlock button on the key fob as the final step so that the key fob remembers the memory setting that the vehicle settings were last set to.
  • Center Arm Rest: I don't like how it's split in half and that it doesn't have much much space to store many items.
  • Passenger Glove Compartment: There does not appear to be much space to store many items.
  • Windows: I noticed that the second row mirrors do not come down all the way, there is still at least 25% remaining even if you press down on the automatic folding button. It appears that this may have been an intentional design as the door panel probably doesn't accommodate the entire window.
  • Body Roll: I've noticed that the CX-50 is not as nimble as the CX-5 when doing lane changes at high speeds and there is a noticeable amount of body roll. Definitely not as bad as the 2022 Highlander at all when I test drove it though as I was cross shopping between the 2022 RAV-4/Highlander and the CX-5/CX-9 at the time of my test drives.
  • Brakes: I think that my CX-5 with the Raybesto Element 3's perform a lot better than the CX-50 OEM Mazda brakes. The Raybesto Element 3's have a better bite/stopping power but I also have the Michelin CrossClimate 2 SUV's installed as well so that could aid in the stopping distance due to better grip as opposed to the CX-50's that have the Goodyear Eagle Touring's installed. If you check TireRack reviews, there aren't many people that are pleased with this stock tire. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Eagle+Touring&partnum=445VR0ET&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Mazda&autoYear=2023&autoModel=CX-50 Turbo AWD&autoModClar=245/45-20
  • Mazda Remote Start: The vehicle came with 3 years of Mazda Remote Start using the MyMazda app and each time you use the app to start the vehicle and open the door, the car shuts off. This is a safety feature that Mazda had implemented and I am guessing it's to prevent vehicle theft but after the 3 years is over, I may opt to get a Compustar remote start installed instead.
  • OEM Key Fob: I am not a big fan of the new style of the remote as the buttons are on the side. It seems a little counterintuitive and having the buttons on the center of the actual key fob makes more sense like the older style. I am guessing it's to prevent people from accidentally hitting the buttons while the keys are in the pocket.
  • Seatbelt chime: I've noticed this along with others that have sat in my car and they've commented on how annoying the seatbelt chime is when a passenger/driver forgets to buckle in their seatbelts. The one thing about the CX-5 that they did good was that the seatbelt chime was unobtrusive and very subtle and I wish there was a way to lower the volume in the settings. It may be something that can be adjusted if we ever find a way to get into the maintenance mode of the vehicle.
  • Low Profile Tires: I like the tires since they look nice but I am worried that I will scratch them when parking and hitting a curb since they are low profile and the wide body stance of the Mazda CX-50 obstructs a lot of the vehicle when parking even with the backup camera. I am generally very good at parking but it definitely makes me very cautious since it's much less forgiving.
To conclude, I do not regret purchasing this vehicle and I am happy driving it but if you have the option to rent the vehicle out on a test drive for a 1-3 days using Turo, I would definitely do that to get a better opinion rather than a 5-20 minute test drive from the dealership if you are willing to spend that much money.
 
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Nice extensive write-up @Digbicks1234 but if I can add more to the Dislikes if you live somewhere that frequently gets a decent amount of snow:

The sensor dead center of the grill QUICKLY gets covered with a layer of slush/snow resulting in cruise control turning off and a warning on the dash that pops up indicating that some safety systems are disabled.

A significant portion of the headlights are recessed under the hood. The 2/3 that are under the hood edge pack up with slush/snow blocking that part of the headlight and encroach on the actual beam itself resulting in reduced visibility.

The half of the tail lights that are on the hatch get completely iced over using the rear defroster on long drives (over an hour).

The auto-brights feature gets thrown for a loop when you have snow all around.

That said, the AWD system handles decent amounts of snow (4+ inches) rather well with the stock tires. It's fairly effortless driving it. We're just very disappointed that for our area in northern Michigan that regularly sees snow, there are big drawbacks that had we known about, we would've passed on the CX50. The new CX5 has the same design cues so I'm sure will have the same issues. They are very nice cars and I would recommend them for areas that don't regularly see snow.
 
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Nice extensive write-up @Digbicks1234 but if I can add more to the Dislikes if you live somewhere that frequently gets a decent amount of snow:

The sensor dead center of the grill QUICKLY gets covered with a layer of slush/snow resulting in cruise control turning off and a warning on the dash that pops up indicating that some safety systems are disabled.

A significant portion of the headlights are recessed under the hood. The 2/3 that are under the hood edge pack up with slush/snow blocking that part of the headlight and encroach on the actual beam itself resulting in reduced visibility.

The half of the tail lights that are on the hatch get completely iced over using the rear defroster on long drives (over an hour).

The auto-brights feature gets thrown for a loop when you have snow all around.

That said, the AWD system handles decent amounts of snow (4+ inches) rather well with the stock tires. It's fairly effortless driving it. We're just very disappointed that for our area in northern Michigan that regularly sees snow, there are big drawbacks that had we known about, we would've passed on the CX50. The new CX5 has the same design cues so I'm sure will have the same issues. They are very nice cars and I would recommend them for areas that don't regularly see snow.
Ok I have to take your word on that. Would be nice to see pictures of your car with the said snow packed on or in. Was wondering what that would do with the lights etc.
 
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Ok I have to take your word on that. Would be nice to see pictures of your car with the said snow packed on or in. Was wondering what that would do with the lights etc.

It's supposed to be unseasonably warm up here (upper 30s) for the next several days. Gimme a week or three and I'll snap a few pics. (y) I was just pointing out design flaws that will only affect the minority and might influence someone's decision on whether or not it's something they want to deal with. Granted two are only with a decent amount of snowfall (which we get often) but the sensor thing preventing the use of cruise control happens with any amount of snow/slush. Now, what I didn't discuss were two other issues that hopefully were anomalies.

My wife's had her CX-50 for 4 months and has racked up a little over 12k miles. First, the roads up here are primarily 2 lanes. The plow trucks plow and spread sand starting about a foot over the center so it can get a little tight on the road as you approach each other. Once, and so far only once, out of many drivebys with a plow truck, the Mazda safety system lit up something about accident avoidance, automatically hit the brakes and tugged on the steering wheel freaking her out. Had it been icy instead of snowy, she's wondered if she would've lost control with how hard it hit the brakes on her. Again, only has happened once so far but still could be a dangerous situation.

And second issue was when she stopped in for an oil change at the Mazda dealership, she mentioned how the car was sounding a little whiny to her. They pulled codes and nothing showed. They test drove it and noticed a little bit of a whine too. They spoke to Mother Mazda who told them to send them a video recording of the whine using the stethoscope and the area that it sounded the loudest. Upon review of the video, the dealership was instructed to replace the trans and send the original back. 12k miles. They also fixed a rattly sunroof she mentioned of which there is a service bulletin for. (Image attached for the repairs for those that need it)

Now before anyone questions her driving like our bad weather observations were questioned, she's one of those old lady driver types. Previous car was a Buick Encore for nine years that had 255K miles and only issue we had were two bad turbos. Prior to that it was a Dodge Caravan for 8 years (gotta have one of those when you have school-aged kids to haul around) that had 290K. Problems/issues while we had it also were only mechanical in nature like water pump, rust, radiator, brake lines, rust, and oh yeah, more rust. Buick we bought new and the Dodge was two years old. She babies them and we get scheduled maintenance on our vehicles religiously.

We do like the CX-50 overall and will just need to put up with no cruise control for the most part of winter and cleaning the headlight area out on heavy snow days. And the half of the tail lights that get covered with ice just block the reverse indicators. The brake light portion aren't mounted on the hatch so that part doesn't get iced over. Just a couple points in addition to the observations by @Digbicks1234 for someone to consider in very snowy locations even though the AWD does seem to handle copious amounts of snow and slush quite well. We wouldn't hesitate to buy it again if we lived in any other weather zone.
 

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