Welcome to the forum, Matt.
I'm sorry to hear about your mustang, but glad everyone (from the sounds of it) is okay.
Let me answer your questions to the best of my ability.
The 3s and 6i are certainly more reliable and far less prone to precat destruction than the 6s, especially once you surpass 120k miles.
I would say that the going-rate for 6s precat destruction after 150k miles is around 60-65%. Not very good chances, though my numbers may be skewed a bit seeing as we see more people joining this forum for help because the car died than just to say "hello, my car is awesome." Know what I mean?
Engine swap would actually only run you about an extra $1200 - 1700. These are Ford Durotech engines and quite readily available for about $700 - 800.
I say "only" but that's still more than not having to replace the 6i ever.
EGR swap, headers, cats, and the works would help prevent the destruction, but that's assuming that damage hasn't already been done - which is very hard to prove if it's worth the risk in dumping that money or not. It certainly doesn't hurt, but it may not extend the life long enough to be worth it if the car's already in bad shape internally.
Beyond that: these cars are an absolute blast to drive. The Mazda "Zoom - Zoom" slogan represents the joy of just driving and nothing more. These cars are meant for drivers, not A to B. The Mazda 3 is a little go-kart and it loves to zip around corners (my fiance has one) but if you want a more grounded and "robust" car, go with the 6. Not as agile, but it will make you smile when you take a turn faster than you'd expect to be able to in an affordable sedan. No honda or toyota in your range is going to do this.
The v6 will get you some nice power but the risk is yours to take. We have plenty of people on this forum in the 200k range who own v6s.
Anyways, sorry for the book. Hope this helps in your endeavors.
I'm sorry to hear about your mustang, but glad everyone (from the sounds of it) is okay.
Let me answer your questions to the best of my ability.
The 3s and 6i are certainly more reliable and far less prone to precat destruction than the 6s, especially once you surpass 120k miles.
I would say that the going-rate for 6s precat destruction after 150k miles is around 60-65%. Not very good chances, though my numbers may be skewed a bit seeing as we see more people joining this forum for help because the car died than just to say "hello, my car is awesome." Know what I mean?
Engine swap would actually only run you about an extra $1200 - 1700. These are Ford Durotech engines and quite readily available for about $700 - 800.
I say "only" but that's still more than not having to replace the 6i ever.
EGR swap, headers, cats, and the works would help prevent the destruction, but that's assuming that damage hasn't already been done - which is very hard to prove if it's worth the risk in dumping that money or not. It certainly doesn't hurt, but it may not extend the life long enough to be worth it if the car's already in bad shape internally.
Beyond that: these cars are an absolute blast to drive. The Mazda "Zoom - Zoom" slogan represents the joy of just driving and nothing more. These cars are meant for drivers, not A to B. The Mazda 3 is a little go-kart and it loves to zip around corners (my fiance has one) but if you want a more grounded and "robust" car, go with the 6. Not as agile, but it will make you smile when you take a turn faster than you'd expect to be able to in an affordable sedan. No honda or toyota in your range is going to do this.
The v6 will get you some nice power but the risk is yours to take. We have plenty of people on this forum in the 200k range who own v6s.
Anyways, sorry for the book. Hope this helps in your endeavors.
