potential 5 buyer

[rcjunky]

I'm looking at a 2006 and am wondering if there's specific I should look for? Its only got 87000km on it and the price is right. Its missing the passenger stock skirt/rocker extension and has the Mazda rust on the rear fenders. Its priced around $1500 under market value (Its $6000, so a really good deal) and a friend that works at a Mazda dealership is looking in to the cost of doing all the body work to make it mint. I hear doing yearly undercoating will keep the body in awesome shape. The interior is in excellent shape as well. The seller is moving to the UK at the end of next month and I've got first crack at it and he's pulled the ad down. I took a look at it Monday and everything seems 100% legit. From all the searching I've done, it seems like they're the only option with enough cargo space and seat 4 people without being a full size car/van or small truck. I basically need to fit a folding table flat on the truck which I believe these will do no problem.

 

[Silentnoise713]

That's not a good deal to me and I am highly suspect of garage queens (low mileage cars) b/c they tend to be neglected -JMO. If the seller is the original owner and can vouch for proper maintenance with records, then have a deeper look.

Would a CUV or 4 door hatchback work for your needs?

 

[rcjunky]

Anything comparable with 100+k on it is$7-8k, some times more. Most hatch's are a bit to small just like my current Neon is (which has been solid, I've put 44k on it, bought it August 2012 with 54k) but I hate using the back seat as a trunk. A hatch will definitely fit my gear in the trunk, but not a table like I want it to.

 

[Vasy]

If the condition is ok and it fits your needs, go for it.
You many need some simple suspension work, but mileage does not seem too low.
maybe knock another $500 off for a quick sale.

Now, my friend just sold his 94 year old mother's-in-law 2002 civic, that one really did have low mileage.... it had 9,500km... Always insured and driven every year, just never in the rain, never on wet pavement and stored in the heated garage, washed and cleaned every 6 month and only driven 4 blocks each way every few weeks. he got $7k for in after about 5 minutes advertising.
My friend went to take a look, said it still had new car smell.

 

[supazed]

Hi I'm thinking of getting a 2006 Mazda 5 2.0d Sport. 86,000 miles on clock. Test drive today was fine & interior & exterior is near perfect. Only 2 questions- I can get a furano 2006 for same price but has 116,000 on clock as an alternative - only a couple of hundred quid cheaper. Also, the sport badge is missing from the back but looking at docs,it says its a sport. Any advice here please - Sorry I'm new to cars and so have been trying to figure which is better (is the furano split grill on the radiator just an asthetics thing?) and also heard some chat about rear shocks & tyre wear as a real problem on the 2006 5's.

Any advice wuld be gratefully received.

 

[Heat]

Hi I'm thinking of getting a 2006 Mazda 5 2.0d Sport....
Any advice wuld be gratefully received.

Avoid the '06 & '07 Mazda5, the tire issue alone with drive me crazy (bad alignment from the factory, Mazda will not acknowledge a problem, you will be replacing all tires maybe every 25,000 miles?)

The alignment issue was fixed for the '08 model year.

Overall I like the Mazda5 but I would not touch the '06 / '07 model years (I drive an '09).

 

[thaxman]

Avoid the '06 & '07 Mazda5, the tire issue alone with drive me crazy (bad alignment from the factory, Mazda will not acknowledge a problem, you will be replacing all tires maybe every 25,000 miles?)

The alignment issue was fixed for the '08 model year.

Overall I like the Mazda5 but I would not touch the '06 / '07 model years (I drive an '09).

Start with 2008. It gets rid of the 4-speed auto trans, adds 2nd row AC and MOST owners have seen the tire problem go away, but not all.

 

[Wishmaster]

Hi I'm thinking of getting a 2006 Mazda 5 2.0d Sport...

'06 & '07 did have issues with rear tire wear, but most vehicles with this issue should have been sorted out by now and it's pretty easy to check to see if the inner section of tire is wearing faster than the outer. The '08's scare me... the newly introduced 5 speed auto (from the 4 speed) that year seems to be just waiting to blow up on you (http://www.truedelta.com/car-reliability.php). '09 and above are a good choice if you have the cash and may just have the same suspension issues all Mazda5's suffer from: if the shocks and struts are original or have been replaced with original manufacturer parts, they are either blown or will blow soon... luckily it's an easily remedied fix by replacing the parts with any good brand of aftermarket shock or strut and not terribly expensive.