Mazda6 Sedan

1wiseguy

After a lot of research, negotiations, haggling over trade-in value of my SUV and waffling over different models, I bought a M6 GS-V6 with moonroof and premium audio yesterday. Here's my experience:

M6- Initially drove the car and loved it. Was February (Car only came out in january) and dealers wanted full MSRP. I was not crazy about the leather and thought you needd leather to get the moonroof. Dealer lied to me about trade-in value (claimed my SUV was a different trim line than what I knew it to be and tried to lowball me by 4-5K in the process). Decided to wait on the M6 and in any event not buy from that dealer.

Acura TSX- Waited til April so I could drive one. Figured that if I was going to pay close to MSRP I wanted to compare the 6 with the car that was supposed to be better. I drove the TSX and liked it, but not at the price is was offered. Even with 1000 off MSRP it was still 35K (after freight/PDI) plus taxes. Too much for a 4 cyl car that takes premium and gets mediocre fuel economy.

Honda Accord: I went to a dealership and sat in the Ex-L. ery nice interior- actually quite similar to the TSX. So much so that I had a real problem ponying up 6K more for the TSX. Don't like the Accord's looks and couldn't bring myself to buy one. This crossed off the Honda and Acura.

Nissan Maxima SE 2003: I wanted a powerful car wih a manual transmission. The 04s were in and the 03 SE was beign heavily discounted. I was able to negotiate over 5K off MSRP. Couldnt get them to take my trade at any cost- they wanted me to sell it privately and then come back and do a "courtesy sale", i.e use i as a trade in (and get the full tax advantage) and they would then sell it to the buyer I found at the same price as the trade in. Well, I couldnt find anyone to buy my SUV privately and didnt have the time to deal with a bunch of people coming over for test drives. At the end of the day, the decision was made for me by Nissan runing out of 03 Maxima SEs with the manual transmission. None left in Ontario or Quebec.

Back to Mazda. It's been a few months sine the 6 came out and based on the numbers I had been able to negotiate before, I was able to bring the price down to something reasonable. I also realized (after looking at the TSX and the Max) that I wasnt crazy about the M6's leather. So, I bought the GS (cloth) with the GFX package, premium moonroof, etc.

In the end, the M6 is not perfect but it definitely represents the best value for my current mix of needs and wants. I just hope that its reliability is on a par with the others I was considering.

anonymousposts

An Atlanta area Mazda dealer is offering the 6i for $16,850 off of an MSRP of $19,050. Guess it's safe to say the discounting is starting. 0.0% shouldn't be too far in the future.

stretchsje

that's was posted here when the '6 was first released. No asterisks or anything, either. You see advertisements for nearly all cars with rediculous prices like that, and there are always conditions.

Either:

1) Only one car is available at that price, and it sold.
2) Does not include destination.
3) Requires financing
4) Requires a trade
5) Requires recent college grad rebate
6) Requires buyer to be hassled for additional packages/warranty

With the college grad rebate, this is still above invoice, and without it, it's net cost. Not bad considering the publicity it's probably getting.

sickasadog

the sunroof on my 6sAT tilts only slightly. looking at the grooves that the tilt function works with makes it appear that it can tilt a little more. does anyone know how to tilt the roof fully?

another thing is that a wire attached to the subwoofer in the trunk looks very vulerable. is it advisable to tape it down (up) so that its out of the way or will that create a different problem now or in the future?

last thing is that someone mentioned that driving with the TCS off gets better mileage. have a lot of people tried this and does it work? and is it bad for the car in any way?

other than these minor concerns, i love this car!

any advise would be appreciated.

stretchsje

7) Hefty dealer, advertising, and processing fees.

accord7

I'm planning on buying a 6 by this fall. I have a couple questions. On my recent test drive, I didn't really test the stock radio much being with a salesman. I turned the volume up to 20, then quickly turned it back down. Can anyone tell me how much louder you can crank it up before distortion or speaker vibration comes in? Also, since I travel for a living in heavy city traffic, I'm considering the automatic. I've loved shifting 5-speeds over the years, but I'm wondering if the manumatic feature would satisfy me. Any former manual drivers enjoying the auto shift gate as much as their manual shifters? Thanks in advance.

shawnvt

While I haven't played with the manumatic transmission much, I can say that it is no manual transmission experience. Maybe I will have to play around with it a little mre to get the feel for when to shift. Since the 6i AT is only a 4 speed, the ranges where you would shift your 5-speed MT would be different. I kind of wish I would have gotten the MT, but my wife doesn't drive stick so I had to make a concession there.

Enjoying my Steel Gray 6i AT, loaded.

Shawn

caligirl94

Thank you to all who responded to my post asking for help about the extended warranty.

I've since gone back to another dealer I'd talked to, and they seem pretty eager to make a sale. So eager, in fact, that I'm now driving a fully loaded 6i MT until Monday night. When I asked the salesman I've been working with if I could take it out for a drive alone again, he offered to let me take it home (this was Sat night) until Mon night. Needless to say, it didn't take much twisting of my arm.

The only possible negative about this is that all that stuff that I didn't consider mandatory before is starting to sway in that direction.

So far I've driven it about 50 miles around town (Alexandria,VA/ DC area) and had no problems at all. In fact, if only this car was in the color I want, I'd probably just end up taking it.

Thanks again for your help; I'll make sure to check the bill of sale thoroughly before signing. If any of you have any other advice on options or wrangling a good price (though I am an avid Edmunds reader), it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

ambull

I test drove a 6i with sport pkg yesterday to see how the different wheels & tires felt compared to the regular 6i. They are a little firmer, but not too bad. The salesman also offered to let me have it for the rest of the weekend, but I declined, since I won't be buying until June. He said I could take him up on the offer later and that I could test drive an RX-8 when they get some in early June. I will definitely go back there! He's a really nice guy and I hope I can buy from him, but we haven't talked price yet since I can't decide what I want.
BTW, he said they have sold all their 6s manuals and can't trade for any, since they are the hot ticket and Mazda isn't making many. Actually I think I could be pretty happy with a 6i (at the right price).
As far as the manumatic being satisfying, it wouldn't be for true manual-transmission lovers.

anonymousposts

No astericks. They are offering S-plan prices to the public and giving an additional $750 dealer rebate. They don't require you to finance it with them or trade anything in. This particular dealer has a set doc charge (this is where we bought our Protege). It could be that they are just trying to move the cars. They are offering 600 Mazdas with the S-plan pricing. And no, you don't have to be an S-plan member .. they are just offering the S-plan prices to the public according to their ad.

gee35coupe

maxamillion1

Can any of the salemen here give me any information on the optional combos for the Mazda6 currently?

In other words, what are the optional combos right now.

Will Mazda be making any changes soon?

I really like the 6s 5spd., but I cannot get one the way I want it.

fowler3

Have you tried Mazda's web site and configuring a 6 to your specifications?

http://www.mazdausa.com

Example: Last month, to get a moonroof you had to buy the leather package. This may not be the case in April and May. The 6i doesn't come with ABS, the 6s does. You may be able to get ABS without additional packages -- check the web site.

fowler3

marchhare

State Farm must have gotten the 6 in their computers recently. I'm a 24 year old male, so my bill for auto insurance is rather high. But I got a statement the other day saying that because I'm driving the 6 (and not the 626 that was in their computers, I guess) I save $45 a month. Sweet!

Too bad I can't get back the 5 months of payments I've already made.

maxamillion1

And it made me that much more confused.

mike1770

I went to the Mazda Rev-It-Up in Houston yesterday. It was a pretty nice event. I got there around 10:20, got the safety lecture (Chalk Talk) then went to the first clinic, Brake & Turn. The cars are all Mazda6 s models with AT and sport package, and all have Falken (sp?) race tires on them. In the Brake & Turn clinic, you race down a short straight at full throttle, then slam on the brakes at the white cone while turning left. It's really amazing how much grip the car has, and how much turning control you can have with the ABS fully engaged. It was so much fun I did that clinic twice. There's also a Slalom clinic, then Racing Line/Practice for the actual competition event. I did pretty poorly in the two competion runs (40 and then 36 seconds, vs. the best drivers who ran just under 30) but I had a great time. I went with a female friend who had never done anything like that, and had never really pushed a car hard. She was a little intimidated by some of it, but had a good time overall. It was definitely worth the $39, just to see how well the 6 handles (especially with racing tires.)

We also test drove a 6-speed Miata, and sat in the new RX-8 (none were available for test driving.) The RX-8 is nice -- great seats, interesting interior, cool looks -- but the back seat is really tight. I would have loved to take one for a drive, though.

Again, it was a pretty cool event overall. If it's coming to your town, you should definitely consider attending -- I thought it was well worth it.

seaf

Do the clinics cost extra $$ on top of the $39 fee? Can someone who ddin't pay the $39 fee try the clinics or test drive cars there?

mike1770

All the clinics are included in the entry fee, and you can do them multiple times if you wish (limited to 2 runs on the Practice course.) You can only do the clinics if you've registered and paid the fee. The test drives, on the other hand, are open to anyone for free -- they had Miatas, 6's, a P5, and a Mazdaspeed Protege available, and you drive around a course designed to test various aspects of the cars. They also had a kart track -- but it costs extra for everyone. I didn't have time for the karts -- I was too busy driving real cars. ;-)

glideslopes

I was surprised as well with my call to State Farm last week to check on insurance with the different vehicles I have been looking at.

The 6s was $57.00 less on my six month bill. This is with identical coverage transferred from my 00 Protege' ES.

Mark.

bostongio

I agree with gee35coupe, I'd buy one tomorrow if the hatchback were available. I don't understand how Mazda could've missed this timing opportunity, when Saab pulled out of the hatchback market in the U.S. for this model year...

chikoo

and that too when sales of thir very own Protege was boosted with the introduction of the P5.

amazing marketing guys at MNAO.

markjenn

I'll chime in too. They really have shot themselves in the foot. By the time they ship, they'll have been upstaged by several new wagon, small sport-utes, and crossover vehicles. The window of opportunity to make a big impact will be over. And they've paralyzed the current 6 market with people who are sitting on the fence to see these new models.

It appears DB-Chrysler can get an entire new car engineered and on the market in about the same time that Mazda takes to build the NA version of a wagon and hatch model they have been selling overseas for nearly a year.

Absolutely ridiculous. I have seldom seen such a fine car so ineptly marketed.

- Mark

ruefus

Marketing makes no dif to me - I bought mine and love it to death. If they never sell another car worldwide, I wouldn't care as long as they support mine.

stretchsje

Gotta love the nice weather. Sun setting, windows down, out for a drive. The tires grip better, the air smells fresher, and the wind demands a loud radio. It makes me want to drive with a little more... spirit.

From a slow rolling start, I really ripped into the throttle. With the pedal down the engine spinning up, I dropped the clutch from ~4000rpm and glanced to see the rev limiter already hit as I shifted to second.

Man, there's no way that my car, pretty well broken-in with 4000 miles on the odometer, is a 7.9 second 0-60 car as claimed. Granted, it was a rolling start from ~5mph, but I was at 7000rpm and over 35mph within within three seconds, I think, and that puts me into the engine's torque peak after the shift.

It really matters if the gas pedal is down to the floor or pressed hard against it- do the latter, and it feels almost as if it might still be building more power at and beyond the redline. It certainly felt like it, cause I was at 7000rpm when I thought I was at 6, and 60mph when I was only trying to get to 45.

I just thought I'd share- I love this car! From my experience, the Camry and Accord 4cyl engines (particularly the former) have nothing on this engine, especially the Camry's.

metenuzero

Today I was driving in the rain, and I guess I tried to take of a little too fast on a slippery road. The tires briefly squealed and pulled to the left and then they just straitened by themselves and stop squealing. A light came on for about half a second, located on the top, in the middle of the tachometer and speedometer. I assume this was the Traction Control light, but I want to make sure it wasn't Check Engine or some other warning light. Thanks.

anonymousposts

Well, according to most magazines the 4 cylinder Accord has at least .5 second over everything but the 6s manual. It's also a more flexible and refined powertrain. And that's not just my opinion, but the opinion of most reviewers who have compared the 2 cars.

chikoo

I believe what stretch was trying to impress upon us was the fact that NONE of the reviewers tested the car with a BROKEN-IN engine. He certainly did agree to the reviewers when his car was new, if I am not mistaken.

Right stretch?

stretchsje

I personally own an '02 Camry 4cyl and 4cyl Mazda6, so that comparison is valid. I only test-drove the Accord, and remember thinking it felt much like the Camry.

What I was saying was exactly what you said, chikoo- after break-in, the '6 engine is world-class. Don't be mislead by magazines' initial impressions, because things change after break-in. Drastically, too- it's not subtle. That's all that I was saying. Granted my wife's Camry has an auto, but passing her isn't even a challenge anymore.

The 6's engine feels nearly as torquey from ~1800rpms (very unlike it's original behavior until 3000rpms), but unlike the Camry, it continues to pull clear up to the rev limiter. This is unlike the Accord, too.

The shifter and clutch in the '6 feel better with time, too.

I'm very happy with the 4cyl engine.

mjvchicago

So my mechanic gave me the $900+ estimate to get my car to pass emissions testing. Talk about good money after bad. It's time for the 6. But was wondering if anyone had any insight as to when/if Mazda might do a 0% or similarly low financing deal on the 6s any time soon... like May 1st?

mazda6s

"And that's not just my opinion, but the opinion of most reviewers who have compared the 2 cars."

That's it, all those reviewers must be right, end of discussion. Hey, there's no need to even do our own test drives or comparisons so we can formulate our own opinion anymore. We'll all just buy what the reviewers like best. It's so much easier!

alcjew

sickasadog: I hope you're profile name isn't an indication of your M6 experience. Just kidding.
The M6's snrf glass is about 16"(frt-bk) and I get about 5/8" tilt opening. The front portion bottoms out at this tilt and does not look like it will allow the glass to tilt any further. My Rodeo has a 18" mnrf glass and the tilt opening is about an 1". The frame depth is about the same. One factor may be due to glass size (frt - bk), the longer the glass the higher the tilt opening.
My rear subwoof has a cable clip holding the wire harness up out of the way. I stuffed a large box (packaged 99 gal deck storage box) in the trunk with the rear seats folded down and did not have a problem with snagging the sub's wire harness.
I seem to get a little better gas mileage (23 vs 25 mpg ave) with the TCS off. Also seem to get better pickup with it off. It shouldn't cause any ill affects to the car if you turn it off.

offmike1770: Thanks for the Rev-it-up update. Still have to wait until mid-July here in NE. On Semi-Finals $100K Fear Factor, they're giving away 2 '04 RX-8s before they hit the dealers showroom, one to the winner and another to the runner-up.

stretch: You're right, the weather today was ideal for rolling down/open your windows and moonroof. You should invest in a Gtech (or similar) performance or competition meter to get a fairly accurate measurement on your 0-60 time as well as other measurements (rear hp, torque, 1/4 mile time, g-force, etc). Saw some on-line auctioned for around $50 - $60 for the perf and $150 for the comp. Also saw Diagnostic Trouble Code tool kit ($200) for the OBDII on http://www.autotap.com to hookup to your car's computer and reset your CEL when it goes on from such things as a loose gas cap. If you have a Palm PDA that would work well with what autotap offers (another &20 for the cable). I'm sure there are similar DTC tools around also.

regfootball

finally got to test drive the 6 (both 4 and 6). Not much time right now, but pleased overall. Will elaborate in future post. Followed up my test of the 6 with a Saab 9/3 so it dulled my feelings on the 6 a bit.

miata10ae

With the car already running, I press the TCS button and the warning light that says "TCS OFF" lights up. When I turn off the engine and restart the warning light is off which means that my TCS is active. This means that everytime I want the TCS off, I have to explicitly do it. Is this the normal behavior or am I missing something?

stevesingapore

http://www.iht.com/articles/94657.html

aromas

miata10ae: Unfortunatley it's normal, a little pet peeve about the car but no car is perfect. Although can someone mechanically inclined explain how the TCS being left on affects engine performance in dry weather? I've read people saying that the car accelerates better with it off but I've never noticed a difference.

When is the RX8 supposed to come out in N.A., I'm itching to see it in person.

buddy_2_

do any of you guys no if you can get a performance chip for these cars....
or any kind of turbo

glideslopes

I noticed a couple in their mid 60's in an 03 Accord yesterday. It did seem to "move out" from the parking lot.

At least .5 of a second if not a tad more.

audia8q

I got the initial incentive changes for May and it appears that no changes for the mz6 at this time.....if anything changes I will let everyone know.

3.9% continues on the 'i' model.

Also, May is expected to be the last month Mazda is accepting orders for 2003's. So if you plan on factory ordering the MZ6 you need to get going.

Rich

mazdamarla

Rich,

Any idea what estimated delivery time is for a 4-cyl AT w/Sport, Premium, Bose, Comfort packages would be, if I ordered it on March 31? It's been 4 weeks since ordered - I'm hoping I don't have to wait until July to get the car.

mazda6s

Is that 3.9% on all 6i or just the AT models?

cookie01

I disagree... My 6-cyl has really improved from a stop after 2000 miles of breaking it in. Yesterday I was at a light with two lanes, that changes to one lane (merge) fairly shortly after the intersection.
The guy next to me was itching to beat me off and make the merge. I completely left him in the dust. No hesitation. And I wasn't even using the manumatic. Of course, maybe the guy just doesn't know how to drive... but I've really been impressed with how much quicker the 6-cyl has become after break in.

mazda6s

So, you're saying the '00 SI has more power than the 6i at 1500 RPMs?

cookie01

My Chevy also had Traction Control and you had to press a button to shut it off. Each time you restarted the engine, the Traction control would be on again.

Here's the deal tho. I was told that the car did NOT drive differently with the button engaged or not engaged. And it would not effect performance or gas mileage to leave it on.
It's a sensor, it only engages the mechanism when it senses slipping in the wheels. If the wheels are turning normally, everything is the same.

At least, that's what they told me. I don't think you can get better mileage with the button at "off"...

I was told the only use for the "off" position was if you were stuck in sand or snow and needed the wheels to spin to help you rock yourself out of the difficulty.

crustacean

To give you an idea of estimated delivery time, I ordered a 6i MT with Sport, Premium and Comfort packages, plus moonroof, cassette, wind deflector, ABS, and Side Airbags at the end of February. Currently, the ETA for my car is the second week of June, though the salesman said it could be a week or two earlier.

To give you an idea of the process, I placed the order on February 25, and confirmed it with the dealer on Feb 26 after having to accept leather seats. It took Mazda 6 weeks to assign a VIN to my order. When I talked to the rep, she said that even though I placed the order at the dealer at the end of Feb, Mazda did not accept the order until March 20. I also understand that they are only running one shift at the plant, and that they are not running the line at full capacity.

So, if everything goes as predicted, it will end up taking around 15 weeks from initial order to delivery of my vehicle. From what I can tell, my order is taking longer than normal, but don't be surprised if you have to wait another 6-8 weeks. It's a good thing I'm patient and that my current vehicle isn't dying, otherwise I would have had to either get a 6 without options I wanted, or another vehicle like an Accord (yuck!!).

seaf

That a lot of people here have such a negative impression about the Accord, as if it is the worst car on the planet and should be avoided at all costs. I can think of a lot worse cars to buy. Both cars are good serving different needs, and everyone has their own priorities when deciding on a car. I don't see a lot of people in the Accord forum bad-mouthing the 6. Some have even curteously suggested the Mazda6 among other cars for those who were looking for better handling than the new accord. I personally don't want to be associated with such an immature group if I were to buy a Mazda6 in the future. To convince people of your views by insulting their views is not the brightest start. Just my thoughts.

mazdafun

...by a couple of contributors.

Most are pretty level-headed.

toolman02

You could try asking your dealer if there are any models incoming within the next few weeks to the dealers in your area that match the one you ordered. Since you ordered a 6i AT, there might be a similar one arriving soon.

When I ordered mine on April 5th, my dealer said he would keep his eye open for one that matched my config, so I wouldnt have to wait till late July.

crustacean

If your post regarding a negative impression of the Accord was in reference to my post, I did not really say anything horrible about the Accord. All I said was "yuck!!" Not that you knew it, but that is because of my own personal viewpoint about the Accord's styling, which does nothing for me.

That is not to say that the Accord is a bad car in any way, only that I personally do not care for its appearance. Actually, I know that the Accord is a well-built, extremely reliable car. That is why I took a look at one before deciding on the 6. I'm sure that it is a fine car, but I could not see myself driving one.

audia8q

I really like the ride and drive of the Accord but I find the design of the body to be less than appealing. I also find the ride and the drive of the MZ6 to be very different than the Accord and in some ways it could be considered superior. In some other cases the ride of the Accord may be superior. It all depends on the individual.

Many times when somebody buys something of value, like a car, they feel the need to be overly negative on the "other car"....the reason is simple. People don't want everyone else thinking they made the wrong decision. It's a way of trying to save face. It's a little foolish but we see it alot. Of course, nobody will admit they do this. haha

mazdamarla

Good idea. I've sent off an email to my salesman. He'd mentioned about doing that when I placed my order, but I haven't heard anything about it since.