With that many miles, I believe the automatic transmission's further-life - is a bit of a crap-shoot. Some, here, have well-nigh 200,000 miles with 3rd Gen. Mazda6's with the automatic... but there are not a lot with that many miles. Not to say that that 6AT is particularly problematic... but just saying. One fellow, here, has more than 200,000 miles, albeit with a 6MT (and he is on his original clutch).

Does anyone here know what a factory remanufactured 6AT would cost? Is a factory Reman the way Others would go, if the tranny gives out? I suspect a Factory ReMan would be the safest way of proceeding in that eventuality, that is to say, if the Valve Body has been reman'd and the torque converter has be reman'd as well. If you go to a transmission shop, I believe you need to specify that those components, too, are re-done.

 

Can you post some links to sources that say the auto transmission is a problem if properly maintained? This is the first I have heard of it. Thanks

 

I believe the automatic is frequently the weakest link. Calculate to cost of transmission replacement and see if it still pens out. If it goes far after purchase then you'll come out ahead. Perhaps if you had good maintenance records it might be an easier decision.
I personally wouldn't do it. I would keep saving and looking.
Good luck.

 

I sold my first generation 6 with 170,000 miles and googled the vin a few years back and found it recently resold with more than double the miles. It could be a great deal or a money pit.

I would find a shop local to the seller (not related to the seller) and see if they would coordinate getting it to the shop to do a pre-purchase inspection.

The 12 hour drive and likely titling across state lines issues would reduce the financial benefit. I almost bought a car about that far away and concluded I would need to title it in that state pay the taxes and get a credit when I got home and titled it in my state. Neither state would issue temp tags for transport. The laws are different in every state and in this case you have to deal with 2 sets of state laws.

 

The only thing that would scare me, assuming it checks out with a close inspection and an oil analysis (yes, I'd pay the $25 to check wear metals at that mileage) is the gearbox. If it fails you're in for for a big bill so the question becomes how much is a reman if it happens?

With a stick at that mileage I'd budget a clutch into the equation and there it's mostly the labor because the clutch ITSELF is not ridiculously expensive. Then again I'm over 200k without problems, but I know how to drive a stick and many claim they do but don't, and with nearly all transaxles it's an all-day job to get it out and back in, so the labor charges are where the money is if you need to have it changed.

IMHO the ask on vehicles as you approach the 200k mark with an ATX has to assume the ATX WILL fail within the next 50-100,000 miles. It may not but it's odds-on that it will and as a result I start to look at ATX-equipped vehicles in the 200k mile range as economic zeros for that reason unless the transmission is able to be replaced for a REASONABLE amount of money. Unfortunately modern ATXs are stupid-expensive to replace unlike older designs. $2,000 is reasonable. $5,000+ is not. The net present value of a vehicle with <50,000 miles of usable life remaining on it without a $5,000 repair, no matter how nice it is, is IMHO economically under $5,000 whether the seller likes it or not.

 

Unpopular opinion: if you could get them to include an extended warranty that covers the transmission for that price, you might be in business. There's no reason they couldn't take some off the price and discount the warranty enough where it stays at the asking price. They know it's high mileage and therefore is risky for the consumer. If they won't budge, pass. My $.02.

 

Also, you wont get ANY financing on mileage that high, so taking that much out of your pocket only to have it break down means more money out of pocket. Im not even sure theres an aftermarket warranty company that would cover it with that high. These days, if you can afford $2-300/month payment, that puts you in a new or 1-2 year old car with a decent amount of factory warranty.

 

Those mtce items help, to be sure, but they are not a guaranty of NP's of course.

 

Shrug

178,000 miles reached this weekend and the auto trans is doing just fine. I've heard plenty of the same stories from Cx5 owners and friends who work in dealerships.

But to reiterate, if anything is going to go wrong at that point, it's gonna be the trans first. Everything else is rock solid.