7 passenger MPV

[KakaMazda5]

do you guys think it's not a good idea to buy a 2006 MPV? Is it too old?
there's one from a private seller, LX model, with 105k miles asking for 6800

I see the advantage of have an extra seat cause you never know when you need that.
it has 3.0 engine mated with a 5 speed auto. It doesn't get the same mileage as the newer (eg. 2009 +) models.

for some reason, I only see 2012 and 2009 models being sold in my area. no 2010.

getting this to replace my wife's beat-up 92 civic
your thoughts?

thank you

 

[Robotazky]

do you guys think it's not a good idea to buy a 2006 MPV? Is it too old?
there's one from a private seller, LX model, with 105k miles asking for 6800

I see the advantage of have an extra seat cause you never know when you need that.
it has 3.0 engine mated with a 5 speed auto. It doesn't get the same mileage as the newer (eg. 2009 +) models.

for some reason, I only see 2012 and 2009 models being sold in my area. no 2010.

getting this to replace my wife's beat-up 92 civic
your thoughts?

thank you

From your comments, it sounds like you are calling the Mazda 5 and the MPV the same thing. Not sure if that's what you are really thinking. They are totally different vehicles.

105K miles is pretty high. If I were considering this for a family car, the first thing I would do is take it to a trusted mechanic for an opinion. Have you checked the value of it on KBB.com or NADA.com?

 

[the_saint]

I think '06 was the last year in the US for the MPV, and the LX is a MPV trim, not a Mazda5 trim.
Also, AFAIK, the US Mazda5 never had the 2nd row center seat. If that is correct, then there has never been a 7 passanger Mazda5 in the States.

All that being said. A quick look on autotrader.com makes it look like the MPV you're looking at is priced on the expensive side. I found multiple MPVs at dealerships priced under $7k that were under 100k miles. Considering dealers price out higher than private sales, I would pass on the one that you're looking at.

 

[flcruising]

I think '06 was the last year in the US for the MPV...

Yes, not sure what 2009+ vehicles he's looking at, but that is probably what threw off Robotaz.

 

[KakaMazda5]

Actually the private seller one is priced below KBB. Just found one at a dealer, to my surprise, is asking below kbb. it's 2006 LX with 87k miles. going to see it Saturday.

 

[Robotazky]

Actually the private seller one is priced below KBB. Just found one at a dealer, to my surprise, is asking below kbb. it's 2006 LX with 87k miles. going to see it Saturday.

Those are good cars. They're from what I call the Protege days when Mazda seemed "beefier" to me. I've got an old MX3 V6 that you can floor the gas everywhere you go, redlining it all the way, over and over and it has almost 300,000 miles on the original engine. My brother in-law's Protege had probably 300,000 miles on it when he sold it. I always saw the MPV as the last of that era for Mazda.

 

[the_saint]

They're from what I call the Protege days

So true!

I'm still driving my wife's 2002 Protege that she bought new. It's up to 208,000 miles and still going strong. Oil every 3~5k miles, brakes twice, shocks/struts once, a battery every few years, and that's about it really. The thing is a tank!


Artist's impression -->(greenpro)

 

[doctorz]

FWIW, we had an '04 MPV that we traded for a 5 two years later. The MPV was fine but I think we loaded seven people in it exactly once (we have two kids). The third row in the 5 is tighter now that we have a teenager, but the MPV was too big for us in daily driving. It's a tradeoff. There's no comparison in gas mileage; the MPV could get 25 mpg on the highway, but usually we struggled to get above 20 mpg.