I have my reservations about Ford Products. I know the car was designed by a Japanese engineer. But the car has some FOrd Focus products in the car, but Mazda just will not say what products are shared. Sure its a great car to have, but what if the great M3 you buy breaks down 1 year after you purchase it? That is a true possibility. I am still very weary about the Mz3. I wish that Ford wouldn't own 34% of Mazda and taht Mazda still ran its own company while producing the Mz3. A chassis is a chassis, but it is the biggest piece of metal in your car, remember that. Anything to do with Ford, I'm running the other way. We'llhave to wait and see after the car has been released.
Mazda 3 Reliability...After all it's just a Ford
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It's 60% shared parts. If the car breaks down 1 year later, Ford/Mazda fixed it. *shrug* that's how I see it.
60% is quite alot. The Ford Focus has a terrible track record for reliability. This is going to be interesting for all you people who are going to get this car in December. I will make a car purchase later on the year. I'll have to see how the M3 does, maybe i"ll get the Civic after all.
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Even Civics have been known to have a lemon or two.
My family has a 2000 Mazda MPV, which came with a Ford V6.
56,000 km and not a SINGLE problem. Zip. Zero. Nadda.
I believe 10% of the Protege was Ford-ish.
I think even WITH Ford owning Mazda and integrating parts, I think that they're still good cars.
My family has a 2000 Mazda MPV, which came with a Ford V6.
56,000 km and not a SINGLE problem. Zip. Zero. Nadda.
I believe 10% of the Protege was Ford-ish.
I think even WITH Ford owning Mazda and integrating parts, I think that they're still good cars.
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That's actually untrue. The first couple model years had their problems, but the last few have not had any significant problems that I know of.neomonkey said:
Also, the MZ3 is based on the C1 platform, not the current North American Focus platform.
The 01 Civic was a POS - 1st yr redesign.
The 03 Accord has issues - see the Accord sedan problems and solutions board here: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/[email protected]@.ee997a9/5856
This is actually teh 2nd Accord broblems board - they filled the first one.
My 01 PRO has been great. Only issues were: CD player replaced in the 1st wk (ate my Sandstorm CD), replaced the spoiler's LED light as 2 min-light burned out, replaced ALL badges w/newer ones as my originals chipped. No tranny, engine, electrivcal, cooling, brakes, etc issues.
I'm not too worried. The chassis is not something that breaks. The engine is Mazda and the tranny in my case will be MT. Remember that Ford of Europe made a kick-ass Focus unlike Ford of America...
The 03 Accord has issues - see the Accord sedan problems and solutions board here: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/[email protected]@.ee997a9/5856
This is actually teh 2nd Accord broblems board - they filled the first one.
My 01 PRO has been great. Only issues were: CD player replaced in the 1st wk (ate my Sandstorm CD), replaced the spoiler's LED light as 2 min-light burned out, replaced ALL badges w/newer ones as my originals chipped. No tranny, engine, electrivcal, cooling, brakes, etc issues.
I'm not too worried. The chassis is not something that breaks. The engine is Mazda and the tranny in my case will be MT. Remember that Ford of Europe made a kick-ass Focus unlike Ford of America...
That's the key. The Focus does amazingly well in Europe because it's built by competent people. When they transferred the car to America and started building it in the US, that's when the recalls started. The MZ3 is built entirely in Japan just like the Protege, so I wouldn't use the US Focus as any indicator of quality.dinu01 said:
I hate to slam domestic cars, but I'm fed up with all the electrical/brake problems I've had with my Oldsmobile. Should've gotten a Protege to begin with.
i thought the 3 is made in Japan... no? so i didnt think that car woudl have anything to do with Ford's assembly in US?
mmm
well I have friends who would say bad things about mazda engines and drive trains... but the problems happened at 100000km +
I have had even more friends complainin about GM / Ford cars but i have driven a sunfire and an escort, each for 3 years and had no nothing.
I have always thought that cheap subcompact cars wouldnt be too reliable after the warranty anyhow... just the way they are... but they usually last that warranty time without major recalls.
mmm
well I have friends who would say bad things about mazda engines and drive trains... but the problems happened at 100000km +
I have had even more friends complainin about GM / Ford cars but i have driven a sunfire and an escort, each for 3 years and had no nothing.
I have always thought that cheap subcompact cars wouldnt be too reliable after the warranty anyhow... just the way they are... but they usually last that warranty time without major recalls.
You also have to remember that Mazda is somewhat relying on this car to get a sturdy, proverbial foot-in-the-door of the market of compact cars. It has to compete with Honda and Toyota, and in that respect they had better get it right, like they did with the 6.
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folderol said:
Psyclops: Mazda Mazdas are great cars, but not so Ford Mazdas (626 w/Ford AT, MX-6 w/Ford AT, B-series and Tribute).
The 323/Pro, 626 MT, Miata, MPV (even w/Duratech 3.0 block is good) are all recommended by CR and won/win awards.
Of course they're usually more fun to drive than the competition (in their price range obviously).
I would not hesitate to get a Japanese-made Mazda, like the Pro, Miata, MPV. One rule I'll break is not getting a 1st yr vehicle, but I just can't resist.
The 323/Pro, 626 MT, Miata, MPV (even w/Duratech 3.0 block is good) are all recommended by CR and won/win awards.
Of course they're usually more fun to drive than the competition (in their price range obviously).
I would not hesitate to get a Japanese-made Mazda, like the Pro, Miata, MPV. One rule I'll break is not getting a 1st yr vehicle, but I just can't resist.
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"not so Ford Mazdas"?
The Mazda6 wins every award it competes for. That's got a nice big Duratec pumping under the hood.
The Mazda6 wins every award it competes for. That's got a nice big Duratec pumping under the hood.
I wasn't dissing the Duratech, but rather the crappy ATs that Ford fed into the 626 and MX-6 that turned many NA buyers off Mazdas in the 90s.
The Duratech as I mentionend in the MPV comment has been good and it's a solid engine, no doubt. Don't confuse it with the Vulcan though... (not you MZ6) but other posters.
The Duratech as I mentionend in the MPV comment has been good and it's a solid engine, no doubt. Don't confuse it with the Vulcan though... (not you MZ6) but other posters.
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There was nothing wrong with the Vulcan either.
It was never Ford engines that had a problem... it was the rest of the car
That being said... those AT's weren't actually made by Ford. (uh, at least I'm 95% sure) But you're right, they were problematic.
It was never Ford engines that had a problem... it was the rest of the car
That being said... those AT's weren't actually made by Ford. (uh, at least I'm 95% sure) But you're right, they were problematic.
Well it's Ford that forced Mazda to take those trannies...
Anyways, I like the 6 a lot and have defended it against Honda maniacs and general public ignorance of Mazda and if I had the $ to get an I4 M6 GT in Canada I would, but for less $ I can have a fully loaded 3, hence my 400+ posts here
Anyways, I like the 6 a lot and have defended it against Honda maniacs and general public ignorance of Mazda and if I had the $ to get an I4 M6 GT in Canada I would, but for less $ I can have a fully loaded 3, hence my 400+ posts here
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HAHA yeah I wasn't trying to sell the 6 over the 3. They're each for people with different needs and/or budgets.
Yes, ford sucks. Every ford I've owned, (contour, focus) weer garbage. I can't believe it. We'll I bought used contour when it had 101K miles. Guess what? It started breaking apart and I traded it in for ford focus when it had 104K miles. Focus was brand new, but again, at about 15K miles, it had bunch of problems. No, not all problems are covered by warranty. Ford is just crappy here in USA. They just worry about quantity rather than quality. This is why if I plan to buy Mazda3 I will wait a year or 2 to see all problems and stuff.
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