Mazda6 Sedan

pat

psst, ashu ... if you use the "Recent Msgs" link, you will always see the last 20 or so... And if you have just posted, that is a way to immediately refresh the display without reposting your message.

: )

mazda6s

I think you have a responsibility as a fellow Mazda6 owner to contact the guy.

newcar31

that I would like better. They should have had the stand alone 17 inch wheel package all along. I wonder how much they're going to get for that stand alone option?

A couple of random thoughts:

The brake dust is outta hand on this car.

Nobody has mentioned anything about the horn of the Mazda6. I never really thought to try it when I was test driving, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Mazda6 doesn't have one of those wimpy Japanese car horns. I swear, people didn't care when I honked the horn in my Protege, they just laughed. It was too wimpy sounding for them to change their driving behavior. My parents 92' Camry had a wimpy horn too. When did the Japanese start changing their horn tones?

mazda6s

Thanks for the 2004 info. I'll gladly trade the power seat for the 17 inch wheels on the 6s!

What are my chances of being able to order a 2004 6s-MT with just the SAB/SCA pkg as the ONLY option? If I can't get that, what else would I have to add to get the SAB/SCA pkg?

thegreatvudini

What about rear seat head restraints? or navi? or HID?

thegreatvudini

In today's Yahoo News...
-- Mazda Motor Corp. will recall 64,000 Mazda6, Miata and MPV models built in model years 2001 through 2003 to fix a fog lamp socket that could come loose and set a bumper on fire.

-- Mazda also issued a separate recall for 45,600 Mazda6 sedans, which went into production last year, to fix an indicator in the brake fluid reservoir.

mazdamarla

well I sent him an email and crossed my fingers that he wouldn't think I was some nutcase. He replied quite enthusiastically. He has the 6s automatic with just the spoiler. Sounds like he loves the car, and the fact that they are (for the time being anyway) a unique vehicle. I told him about this board and the other one also, so hopefully he'll be joining at some point!
:-)

glideslopes

Typical Yahoo. That recall information is months old.

mjvchicago

Sound pretty good... I'm very interested to see how the new spoilers look on the sport package. Actually, I find that the first year of a car is often the cleanest and "purest" form of the car. Year after year, bolt on changes in appearance sometimes break the natural lines.

Also, prefer the in-glass antenna than a mast... one of the great surprises I had when researching this car.

Who else wants to vote Marla as the official recruiting officer for our group?

ian2

My mom's 92 Camry didn't sound wimpy. Neither does her 03 Accord. The 98 Civic I had on the other hand has a horn that sounds like road-runner.

newcar31

Your Mom's Camry must have had a different horn than my parent's 92' because their's went "meep" and it was wimpy.

ashutoshsm

I agree, Newcar - the horn is awesome! I've used it a couple of times when I pull up to the (air-conditioned!) bay at my dealership where they accept cars and take it out back for the actual work - I honk to have the door opened. Woke me up the first time!

Brake dust - I applied my leftover TurtleWax (nothing but Meguiar's for the body!) on the wheels, generous coat - brake dust now rinses off (quite a bit) easier, and I suspect the next chance I get to hand-wash it again (this weekend?) will be the true test of the usefulness and effectiveness of the wax. If happy, I might quickly reapply another coat of wax to the wheels. Just doing the wheels is easy enough - the whole car takes (me) forever!

Also, for those that already know where it is (easy enough to figure out from my username) - my cardomain site has pictures of the car after being waxed. Let me reiterate - I love the looks of the car, and particularly the Lapis Blue color! You'll also find a couple of pics where the wheels are shining from the coat of wax and the black tire dressing Don't forget to vote

ashutoshsm

And getting better and more fun!

Some recent 'spirited' driving coupled with the few miles its been driven by friends and/or dealership lackies saw the mean mileage dip to the 25-26 range, but the last fillup showed 27 again. I'd say my mileage mix is 50-50, and I rarely ever cruise along - I'm always getting around slow-pokes even on the freeway

r2s2

I have a rear roof-mounted antenna on my 2001.5 VW Passat GLX and it isn't, to quote a US Vice-President from long ago, worth a bucket of warm spit. The window-antenna in my 6s works great, on the other hand. And I like how the 6 looks without that, er, protrusion.

akumaz

I'm sad that they might drop Steel Grey- the color I wanted most. I thought it was selling well -_- I am curious about the Pebble Ash color though; it sounds like it would be an unique type of grey.

Love the fact that the 17" alloys will be an option on the 6i- which will make picking them up that much easier.

The roof-mounterd antenna in intriguing. When I saw the first pics of the 6 with the roof-antenna, I loved how- with the Euro-taillights and 17' alloys- it looked dynamic and stylish. Personally, I could go either way on that, but having it that much closer to my ideal is exciting.

Couldn't care too much about the power seat option, as I always go manual. However, the deletion of the ABS/Traction Control is puzzling. Either it'll be a part of a more expensive package (boo!) or could it become standard on the 6i as well? I'd love to see that.

ashutoshsm

I hate protrusions on the clean lines of this car. However (if you see the Accessories and Mods section) - I've pretty much decided I *need* XM radio again, and will have to make do with a small protruding (albeit barely 3"x2" and 1" high) XM antenna on my trunk lid again.

Que Sera Sera (kind of)

breld

Stopped by a Mazda dealer today for kicks and they had pretty much exactly what I want available: Silver 6s, manual, loaded. I don't particularly care for the sport grill, but figure that's easily remedied.

I know this is somewhat of a rare find, so I am very tempted to go this afternoon and buy it. I'm eligible for S-plan pricing, and they offered a great trade-in for my 4Runner.

My only hesitation is in wanting to wait 'til next year for the next Subaru Legacy (turbo), or the M6 hatch. But, man, it's so tempting when I could be driving in that silver 6s today!

ashutoshsm

Especially considering (my assumption) this has the Sport Package - and they're willing to accept S-Plan on it!

The hatch would be cool - but I tired of waiting as well and took the plunge - no regrets! The Scoobie is a whole different animal. If you have a genuine need for its signature features (that the M6 lacks) like AWD and kick-^$$ power from the turbo, then that's the only thing that would/should hold you back.

Make sure to get all available rebates/incentives as well as good financing deals available.

I know its personal - but I think the Sport Grille looks approximately 74,391 times better than the chrome moustache

breld

It does have the sport package. And Bose, leather, comfort, moonroof, SAB, auto-dim, etc. All for about $23,600 on the S-plan.

I'm dying here at the office, wanting to call and say I'll be there this afternoon to buy the car!

I think I'd be OK not waiting for the hatch, but I used to have a Legacy, and I sure liked the AWD here in Colorado. Although, contrary to what many think, there are only a handful of truly bad snow days each winter.

By the way, here are a couple of little nits that I'd like to see Mazda change on the 6: make the auto window up and down, and add the auto feature to the passenger side. And make a little hole from the bottom of the center console to the top compartment - so you can use the charger for a cell phone, and keep it stored in the top compartment.

If those are my primary gripes, why am I not buying today?

soon1

I was wondering how the traction in snow is with the 17" tires? Several people have told me that if I were to buy a 6 with the 17" tires, I would need to buy a set of snow tires for the winter's in the northeast if I expected to be able to get around.

apriln

<<And make a little hole from the bottom of the center console to the top compartment - so you can use the charger for a cell phone, and keep it stored in the top compartment. >>

There is! If you lift up the fabric liner in the top compartment, there's a round disk that can be removed to allow the charger to be placed through, leaving a small opening for the thinnest part of the cord.

I haven't used it yet, but it's definitely there.

ian2

You'd either be crazy or stupid to take them onto snow. Plus, you don't want salt corroding away on the alloy wheels anyway. Snow tire is a must! I'd go with 16" steel rims.

glideslopes

I think audi said the information on Steel Grey being dropped was not as solid as Yellow being dropped. If it is, it will certainly add to the exclusivity for those driving Steel Grey 6's. That's ok with me!!! : )

Mark.

audia8q

sorry I don't have more details yet.

but, I can tell everyone that pebble ash is a 2003 Tribute color. so everyone can see it....

ian2

It's certainly one of the more popular colours of all the 6's on the road. I haven't seen many other colours at all! On Saturday, there were 3 steel gray 6's parked between 2 houses: mine, my friend's and his neighbours.

mazda6s

My guess on the antenna is that they are going to integrate the XM/Sirius antenna and the AM/FM antenna in one unit. Then you don't need it in the rear glass (saving a few bucks).

If you've seen some of the GM cars with the XM antenna on the roof just above the windshield, they look kind of dumb. A single unit in the rear looks way cooler.

aromas

soon1: Had the same concerns as you with the 17" tires in snow. I bought my 6s in february and we had a really bad winter in Toronto so I had a good month of driving it in the snow. The car performed much better than my expectations due to the low centre of gravity of the car and felt almost as planted as my previous car-a Subaru Legacy GT- which is saying something.

The worst part of the mounted antennas was that it would never power all the way up in below freezing weather with ice on the car which really killed the reception not to mention forgetting to turn off the radio when you entered a carwash which I've done. Boy am I glad they don't have it on the 1st year models.

chikoo

the dealers here in the NorthEast ABSOLUTELY refuse to accept s-plan on the sport package. In fact they are not even willing to talk less than MSRP on the sport package. A couple of dealers are even not willing to talk s-plan on app. pkg. What the!!!!!

Anyway, I am still vascillating between the onyx black and Glacier silver.

Audia8.....is ur delaership accepting s-plan on sport pkg? If so, I might be interested in a loaded 6s manual from ur lot.

chikoo

the appearance pkg from a MZ6?

chikoo

changed for the 2004 model?

I mean is it available w/o no strings attached?

stretchsje

For one, the side sills would leave holes when removed. I don't know about the front and rear bumper extentions.

chikoo

What is Mazda up to?

To begin with it does not discount the Sport Pkg.
Currently, I see that there are 64 sport pkg v6 manual cars in and around Stamford, CT compared to 24 in Gray interior and 4 in beige.

At this rate, the sport pkg is getting itself ready for a biiiig discount.

ian2

How many of them have 5MT though?

000nexus000

Man I love that blue!

Can you comment on your technique for applying the wax. I know you're not supposed to do circular motions... but what else do you do?

BTW, what made you choose the 6i over th 6s? I know it's cheaper, is the V6 not worth the extra $$?

boxfan

has a long-term test update of the 6 (their main gripe is a lack of low end torque) in which they mention a Mazdaspeed version of the 6 coming out "next year"? Can anyone confirm that it's coming that soon?

Breld--that would be the car to wait for--a turbo, AWD, hatchback version of the 6. At least that's what they've shown at car shows.

mazdafun

And I second the reflux reflex on the metallic orange color. Ick.

I prefer the rubber mast antenna. Looks cool, generally mast antennae can work much better than in-glass antennae, depending on how diligently the engineering was done, and assuming similar sensitivity of the tuner. After all, what else are you gonna stick that bright yellow foam ball that you use to help find your car in a lot full of SUVs and minivans?

houset

Stretchsje - 3 questions: I remember you mentioning that you bought the Clarion compact subwoofer, how did they work out for you

How exactly did you hook the amplifier up in your car to the back of the stereo, did you have to splice the speaker wires? I never installed an amp, so I might just take it to Circuit City.

Finally, if I buy an amp would you recommend me keeping my stock speakers, or getting a new pair for the front and rear?

chikoo

these are all 5MT cars....I did not even look at the Automatics....

ashutoshsm

He He - not long ago, I was listening carefully and hanging on to every word uttered about waxing by our esteemed Protege fans/friends protegextwo and mdaffron over on the Protege forum (as well as a few others on maintenance and waxing fora here on edmunds and elsewhere), and now I'm being asked about *my* waxing 'technique'

Nothing special - wash well, dry well, wax in straightish pattern, don't let the hazing bother you into buffing early - wax the entire car, then remove all the wax, then buff/shine the whole thing. Repeat with wheels. Rain water still beads perfectly - over three weeks after I waxed it.

6i vs. 6s
- 6s MT in high demand - wouldn't have got a good deal
- 6s sips more gas
- 6s Auto not any more powerful at the low end than 6i MT (trust me - I drove about 10 6s AT at Mazda's RevItUp event, and drove my 6i MT there and back. Low end is nearly identical, and is reflected in near identical 0-60 times!)
- last car (awesome 95 Mazda Protege) had 92 HP and Auto, so the move to 160+ HP and MT was a HUGE change. I think the ridiculous HP wars are ... welll, ridiculous!

ashutoshsm

... posted a few audio-related questions on the M6 Access/Mods page, addressed at you, among others.

TIA!

stretchsje

Stretchsje - 3 questions: I remember you mentioning that you bought the Clarion compact subwoofer, how did they work out for you

It was ok- added punch but didn't go deep or loud enough for me. It was a definite improvement, but I'm rather picky about audio, and wanted more. I still have it for sale, if you're interested, and would whole-heartedly recommend it (or something similar) to someone who listens to anything other than rap and doesn't want to put a huge box in their trunk. Sound quality was rather good since the subwoofer was very close to the driver.

How exactly did you hook the amplifier up in your car to the back of the stereo, did you have to splice the speaker wires? I never installed an amp, so I might just take it to Circuit City.

I spliced the speaker wires, yes. I actually spliced them right after the head unit, but they could be spliced before the doors just as easily. I just grabbed them and cut- some people seem to not like the idea of cutting parts of their car. I crimped the wires to longer wires and ran them to a line-out converter. Some amplifiers do not require a line-out converter. Installing an amplifier is not that hard (believe it or not, it was my first time doing an entire stereo at once like this), and you'd be ok doing it with no prior experience. If you're not comfortable doing so, though, by all means have an amp installed for you.

Finally, if I buy an amp would you recommend me keeping my stock speakers, or getting a new pair for the front and rear?

The rear speakers are completely inconsequential. I hardly have them on- what I did was run the amplifier to the front speakers (more powerful than the rear) to the rear speakers. That same signal also goes to my amplifier to power the front speakers. So, the front speakers are still far louder than the rears, but at least the rears get a little more power. I did replace my rear speakers, but they are so quiet that I did so without any reward. Since the output from the rear is so minor relative to the front, they'd be fine if left stock. All the sound comes up front- the rear just fills it out a little bit. That's how it should be- all the highs coming from up front so that the imaging stays true.

chikoo

did u get get to negotiate anything under the s-plan & rebates?
 Only was it only s-plan and reabtes?

also, how much did the dealership charge u to put in the mp3 player?

audia8q

email me.. I will give you some info that might help

chikoo

$160 labor to put in the fog lights on top of the $200 parts.

does this sound right?

ashutoshsm

No - with S-plan, there is no further negotiation. They did charge me $25 documentation fees, but I wasn't in the mood to argue it.

MP3 player - well, like I said, I got a bucketful of options for a lumpsum parts+labor price (negotiated) to lie somewhere halfway between Invoice for the parts alone, and MSRP for the parts alone. It was a decent deal to them as well, because some of the installs were combined (MP3 and cassette requires the same, not double, labor). The Autodim/compass/homelink mirror seemed like it took a bunch of effort though. Mats, cargo tray, organizer - a cinch. I let them 'install' those, because they offered to!

ashutoshsm

... thanks for the answers. Did the stock front and rear speakers appear identical, or different? I'm thinking I could get away with moving the front speakers (if they're better) to the rear doors, and putting new speakers (currently unamplified) on the front doors.

Or should I wait until I can (afford to) get a 4-channel amp, and amp the fronts and add a small underseat sub simultaneously? And just do the XM thing now?

seaf

I finally got my 6 yesterday. woohoo! Anyone know of any good online catalogs for mazda6 parts and accessories? I know mazdastuff.com, any others?

Specifically, I'm looking for rear mudguards, oil filters, and a shop maintenance manual.

miata10ae

Mazda sent me a $250 coupon for attending the RevIt up event that can be used towards the purchase of any Mazda vehicle except for the RX-8. It is fully transferrable and it can be combined with any other discounts but it expires October 31st 2003. If you are seriously considering buying a vehicle before the coupon expires I will be glad to mail it to you. Just send me an e-mail. My e-mail address is in my profile.

newcar31

too late.

mazdamarla

Can you use it AFTER the purchase? ;-) As in, send it in to Mazda and they'll mail you a check for $250? hee hee If so, send it to me!