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1,015 Posts
My current 6 is hitting 60K miles and 3yrs so I'm starting to look for a new car. I stopped following the MS6 awhile back after reading about all of the limp mode problems. Not to mention I experienced this problem first hand while test driving one last year. It just didn't sound like Mazda had their act together when it came to the MS6.
Anyway, its a year later, I'm more in the mood to buy, so I figured I'd give Mazda another chance. After a quick check on this forum and Google for any major issues with the latest MS6, I headed to the dealership. The car was as ugly to me as it was the first time I saw it; too high off the ground (thanks to 4WD), front lower grill way too big, the back was too plain (lack of a real spoiler), the rims are downright ugly, and silver is no longer an optional paint color.
As soon a s I saw it I almost walked out, but, the price kind of caught my eye. Last time I checked these were going for $36K fully loaded yet here one sits for $26K fully loaded, which is the same price I paid for mine 3yrs ago. After getting ripped off, I mean trading in, my car I'd only owe about $16K for the next version of my car with more power and the latest features. I could even swap the headlamp assemblies from mine to the MS6 so that I could have integrated fogs and stock lower fogs. That would be pretty sweet considering how difficult it was to get lower fogs in my current 6 and I would get around the fact that integrated fogs combined with lower fogs is usually an impossible combination to achieve.
So, with all that weighing in the balance I decided to try another test drive, the test drive would be the deciding factor.
The biggest complaint I have about the test drive is the clutch. As much as I've wanted a clutch, the MS6 truly disappointed me in that department. I've never driven a performance based car that had that much clutch travel. When the clutch was all the way up my knees hit the steering wheel, yet if I slid the seat back it seemed to take forever for the clutch to reach the floor. I ended up engaging the clutch just enough to shift gears which isn't good because I probably was not fully disengaged the pressure plate. I drove the Acura TL 6 speed previously and the clutch/shifting action was nothing short of perfect. The clutch in the Acura almost touched the floor, the shifter was so short you didn't even think about shifting to the next gear, and the pressure plate re-engaged instantly when you released the clutch. If the MS6 had been even close, I think I would have gone for it. But a performance car with a clutch pedal that is higher than the the brake pedal is just a hard one to stomach.
The next eye opener was the reduced warranty. I had a lot of problems with my current 6 between 40K-50K miles, the new warranty on the MS6 (3yr/36K) would have left me high and dry. When I asked the salesman about it he said Mazda was falling in line with other major manufacturers. But when I mentioned that all the other major manufacturers were still providing at least 4yr/50K for their flagship models he didn't have much to say.
Overall it looks like the MS6 is still not for me. If Mazda had stuck with the V6 (less revs, more torque), implemented rear wheel drive (retained the lower profile, shaved weight), super charged the v6 (more torque, simpler config, smoother power), and kept the looks of the 2003 Mazda6 (integrated windshield antenna, ground effects, spoiler, body shape, smaller front grill), I would already own a MazdaSpeed6.
For me, Mazda really missed the mark with the MazdaSpeed6 so it looks like my next car will definitely not be a Mazda. Everything here is strictly my opinion, I'm not trying to offend any MS6 owners, but I simply do not like the direction Mazda took, and based on the discounts they are offering, it looks like a lot of other potential buyers don't either.
BTW, the out the door cost for the MS6 I looked at was $28,529. This included taxes, tags, dealer fees etc. This was for a 2006 MS6 Grand Touring edition. I may have gotten it cheaper, but I didn't feel like haggling for a car I no longer wanted.
Anyway, its a year later, I'm more in the mood to buy, so I figured I'd give Mazda another chance. After a quick check on this forum and Google for any major issues with the latest MS6, I headed to the dealership. The car was as ugly to me as it was the first time I saw it; too high off the ground (thanks to 4WD), front lower grill way too big, the back was too plain (lack of a real spoiler), the rims are downright ugly, and silver is no longer an optional paint color.
As soon a s I saw it I almost walked out, but, the price kind of caught my eye. Last time I checked these were going for $36K fully loaded yet here one sits for $26K fully loaded, which is the same price I paid for mine 3yrs ago. After getting ripped off, I mean trading in, my car I'd only owe about $16K for the next version of my car with more power and the latest features. I could even swap the headlamp assemblies from mine to the MS6 so that I could have integrated fogs and stock lower fogs. That would be pretty sweet considering how difficult it was to get lower fogs in my current 6 and I would get around the fact that integrated fogs combined with lower fogs is usually an impossible combination to achieve.
So, with all that weighing in the balance I decided to try another test drive, the test drive would be the deciding factor.
The biggest complaint I have about the test drive is the clutch. As much as I've wanted a clutch, the MS6 truly disappointed me in that department. I've never driven a performance based car that had that much clutch travel. When the clutch was all the way up my knees hit the steering wheel, yet if I slid the seat back it seemed to take forever for the clutch to reach the floor. I ended up engaging the clutch just enough to shift gears which isn't good because I probably was not fully disengaged the pressure plate. I drove the Acura TL 6 speed previously and the clutch/shifting action was nothing short of perfect. The clutch in the Acura almost touched the floor, the shifter was so short you didn't even think about shifting to the next gear, and the pressure plate re-engaged instantly when you released the clutch. If the MS6 had been even close, I think I would have gone for it. But a performance car with a clutch pedal that is higher than the the brake pedal is just a hard one to stomach.
The next eye opener was the reduced warranty. I had a lot of problems with my current 6 between 40K-50K miles, the new warranty on the MS6 (3yr/36K) would have left me high and dry. When I asked the salesman about it he said Mazda was falling in line with other major manufacturers. But when I mentioned that all the other major manufacturers were still providing at least 4yr/50K for their flagship models he didn't have much to say.
Overall it looks like the MS6 is still not for me. If Mazda had stuck with the V6 (less revs, more torque), implemented rear wheel drive (retained the lower profile, shaved weight), super charged the v6 (more torque, simpler config, smoother power), and kept the looks of the 2003 Mazda6 (integrated windshield antenna, ground effects, spoiler, body shape, smaller front grill), I would already own a MazdaSpeed6.
For me, Mazda really missed the mark with the MazdaSpeed6 so it looks like my next car will definitely not be a Mazda. Everything here is strictly my opinion, I'm not trying to offend any MS6 owners, but I simply do not like the direction Mazda took, and based on the discounts they are offering, it looks like a lot of other potential buyers don't either.
BTW, the out the door cost for the MS6 I looked at was $28,529. This included taxes, tags, dealer fees etc. This was for a 2006 MS6 Grand Touring edition. I may have gotten it cheaper, but I didn't feel like haggling for a car I no longer wanted.
