Safe to buy a high mileage mazda 5?

[djern]

Hey all,

been lurking for a while but gonna jump right in.. I'm looking to buy a 2008 Mazda 5, 5 Speed, Price guy is offering me is $4000. test drove it and it drives ok But has the clunking when hitting bumps..this is he 3rd 5 i've test drove and all of them make the same noise. I think its the swaybar bushings, seller replaced the front struts thinking that would solve the clunking.

anyway, the vehicle has 185,000 miles, the body is fine..small dents here & there and scratches...interior needs a good cleaning as well as engine bay, I saw no obvious leaks, the engine sounded good and pulled pretty good thru all the gears.

is it worth buying a high mileage 5? Its definitely an auction car (the seller told me), i'm waiting for the vin results to come back

 

[mazdadude]

Hey all,

been lurking for a while but gonna jump right in.. I'm looking to buy a 2008 Mazda 5, 5 Speed, Price guy is offering me is $4000. test drove it and it drives ok But has the clunking when hitting bumps..this is he 3rd 5 i've test drove and all of them make the same noise. I think its the swaybar bushings, seller replaced the front struts thinking that would solve the clunking.

anyway, the vehicle has 185,000 miles, the body is fine..small dents here & there and scratches...interior needs a good cleaning as well as engine bay, I saw no obvious leaks, the engine sounded good and pulled pretty good thru all the gears.

is it worth buying a high mileage 5? Its definitely an auction car (the seller told me), i'm waiting for the vin results to come back

Well, that is kind of on the high side, but since you saw in person, you can probably get a little bit of a sense of how it was maintained...

The 2008 has a 5 speed Auto instead of the earlier 4 speed, as well as a few other minor changes from the 06-07 models. Having driven both myself, I would prefer the 08 and up.

The Front Sway Bushings are notoriously at fault for clunking... Many mistakenly replace the struts thinking that is the problem, but it ends up being the cheap little sway bushings instead...

Many Mazda5's of that era were Previous Rentals, that should show up on the CARFAX if it is the case.

$4000 sounds a tad high to me... $3500 sounds better... (2cents)

 

[djern]

Well, that is kind of on the high side, but since you saw in person, you can probably get a little bit of a sense of how it was maintained...

The 2008 has a 5 speed Auto instead of the earlier 4 speed, as well as a few other minor changes from the 06-07 models. Having driven both myself, I would prefer the 08 and up.

The Front Sway Bushings are notoriously at fault for clunking... Many mistakenly replace the struts thinking that is the problem, but it ends up being the cheap little sway bushings instead...

Many Mazda5's of that era were Previous Rentals, that should show up on the CARFAX if it is the case.

$4000 sounds a tad high to me... $3500 sounds better... (2cents)

yeah he's not getting 4K for that thing...its the 5 speed manual, it needs a little cosmetic work and it needs a gooooooood cleaning..thing smells like dog and theres fur all over the back of it....this will be my daily as im trying to keep miles off my speed 6, my concern is how reliable the 2.3 & transmission in it is. I know its similar to the MZR motor in my car but would i be able to take this thing to 300k with no major problems.

 

[Secondtyme]

Absolutely yes! With diligent routine maintenance a manual 5 with the 2.3 should go 300k no sweat. The trouble with these cars ISNT the motor, its all the cost cutting they did in the suspension. If the car clunks front, rear, or both get it on a lift and inspect the hard points before you buy. The other thing these cars do is RUST, mainly rear wheel well sheetmetal, and under the side sills on cars so equipped.

 

[djern]

well guys, I didnt buy a 5. but I came home with this, a 2005 Mazda 6 Wagon 5 Speed!

 

[Hank3]

Even more rare! Congrats