Mazda 6, good or bad?

I would steer well clear of them well unless you get it for peanuts

What about a 1.8 Avensis like this:


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Avensis/Toyota-Avensis/201440227372186/

Not going to set the world on fire but its' reliable, decent on fuel and the LUNA spec gets decent equipment.

Might be worth talking to the seller anyway, the 1.6 litre is easier to sell than the 1.8 so there might be some movement on the price. It looks a fairly fresh car for the money.

Breffnigolfer wrote: »

Do NOT buy a Toyota vvti engine, they are an absolute disaster.

"Japanese giant Toyota’s reputation for rock-solid reliability has taken a knock, as owners have been reporting problems with its hi-tech VVT-i petrol and Lexus diesel powerplants.

The 1.8-litre VVT-i engine is found in models across the line-up, but can suffer from excessive oil burning from as few as 50,000-60,000 miles, according to main dealers. The problem is being blamed on the piston ring design, and Toyota says that any unit consuming more than one litre of oil every 1,000 miles will be looked at and, full service history permitting, rectified.


Read more: autoexpress.co.uk/toyota/30438/toyota-engine-woes#ixzz3H3yP3CWk"




I don't know how this company gets away with calling itself "the best built cars in the world" after all the disasters of the past 15 years?

IMO the best Japanese engines are Honda, if it's Jap car you're set on.

That problem with the vvti was in the early avensis up to mid 05 as far as i know.It did not appear in every engine as i have one myself and it wont use any oil in 10000ks .Those later models like the one above should be fine.A buyer could always get the emmisions tested before purchase.

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

really? which one, petrol or diesel? cos the petrol has a good rep apart from heavy on oil

Are you really asking what's wrong with a car that burns oil!!

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

all cars burn oil No Im not asking that. It just seems to be accepted if you read a few past threads

Mine never budges between services if it does burn any it's a tiny amount not noticeable on the stick.iv had quiet a few vehicles and they were the same.

Just because they all burn oil it doesn't make it acceptable it will only lead to huge costs down the line.

Breffnigolfer wrote: »

Do NOT buy a Toyota vvti engine, they are an absolute disaster.

"Japanese giant Toyota’s reputation for rock-solid reliability has taken a knock, as owners have been reporting problems with its hi-tech VVT-i petrol and Lexus diesel powerplants.

The 1.8-litre VVT-i engine is found in models across the line-up, but can suffer from excessive oil burning from as few as 50,000-60,000 miles, according to main dealers. The problem is being blamed on the piston ring design, and Toyota says that any unit consuming more than one litre of oil every 1,000 miles will be looked at and, full service history permitting, rectified.


Read more: autoexpress.co.uk/toyota/30438/toyota-engine-woes#ixzz3H3yP3CWk"




I don't know how this company gets away with calling itself "the best built cars in the world" after all the disasters of the past 15 years?

IMO the best Japanese engines are Honda, if it's Jap car you're set on.

Nothing wrong with the 1.8 vvti in the avensis, it's as reliable as any engine, even a Honda engine :eek: early vvti's in the mk1 avensis burned a bit of oil but most were recalled and the short block replaced, even these weren't unreliable though, they just drank a bit of oil.

The avensis is probably the best all rounder of all three cars but the Accord is the nicest imo.

Your post is way Ott tbh

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

so you have a mazda 6 petrol?

No I was referring to my car doesn't burn oil
Or others iv had in reply tovyou. Saying all cars burn oil.

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Nothing wrong with the 1.8 vvti in the avensis, it's as reliable as any engine, even a Honda engine :eek: early vvti's in the mk1 avensis burned a bit of oil but most were recalled and the short block replaced, even these weren't unreliable though, they just drank a bit of oil.

The avensis is probably the best all rounder of all three cars but the Accord is the nicest imo.

Your post is way Ott tbh

Had a 3.0 litre vvti engine in a Lexus IS and it was bulletproof although mpg was not beyond criticism.

However, Toyota's diesel engines are not beyond criticism - emissions, mpg, and reliability have been weak points. As part of it strategic partnership with BMW, Toyota is now selling many of its European models with BMW diesel engines:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/toyota/verso/85839/toyota-plans-bmw-engine-family

Breffnigolfer wrote: »

Is that not a contradiction? How can a car be good if it's heavy on oil?

arthur daly wrote: »

Are you really asking what's wrong with a car that burns oil!!

The oil isn't a big problem if you keep it topped up apart from the oil it is a reliable car. I'v 200k on mine and it's still going strong However I've mine since almost new but I would be very skeptical of buying one secondhand because if the owner left the oil run low too many times you could have big engine trouble.

faral wrote: »

actualy I think mitsubishi is top for reliability, honda is great but more complicated.im really suprised by the fact that toyota's vvti engine suffering any serious problems,

In my experience Mitsubishi is no where near Honda or Toyota. What serious problems does the vvti suffer from?

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Well, Ive decided my chariot of choice will be a Mazda 6. Drove all 3 main choices and loved the Mazda. Not going to set the world alight but its a nice looking comfortable family car.
Drove a very clean 1.8 Petrol, 2006, 80,000 miles. NCT to Jan 2016 (Test was done in June this year. Nice alloys. Aircon, cruise control, stamped service book, manual
Only 5 gears though. Was on for €4k, and the bloke immediately said he'd knock 500 off it. So could get a couple hundred more of it.
Really tempted.
Looking at donedeal, there's 2007 ones with similar mileage but is it worth 500-1000 more?
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nct-25-07-2016/7643762
even a diesel one for 3600
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mazda-6/7716541

so to 2006 or 2007, petrol or diesel????

Stick with petrol as the diesel will give trouble. I saw a 06 mazda 6 1.8 during the summer on donedeal looked spotless in the ad and low mileage advertised for €2k gone that evening. €4k sounds a bit steep even more so if it's a private sale. I would be offering him under €3k.

If going for a Mazda 6 check the underbody well as they are prone to rust under there.

fmcg_scribe wrote: »

Had a 3.0 litre vvti engine in a Lexus IS and it was bulletproof although mpg was not beyond criticism.

However, Toyota's diesel engines are not beyond criticism - emissions, mpg, and reliability have been weak points. As part of it strategic partnership with BMW, Toyota is now selling many of its European models with BMW diesel engines

Don't think that's entirely true - the 1.4 and 2.0 D-4D are generally excellent for reliability (as long as you go for the newer 124 bhp unit introduced in 2006 in the case of the 2.0 litre unit), they don't even seem to be that prone to DMF failures or the other weak points of modern diesels.

The only unreliable one is the 2.2 and its well known tendency to go through head gaskets - and aside from the Lexus IS220d, there's shag all of them in Ireland, so it's not really relevant. The 3.0 in the Land Cruiser can be a bit hit and miss from what I gather.

As for BMW diesels in Toyotas, the only one so far is the Verso, thankfully. I think it's a major step backwards by Toyota, replacing their own in house diesels, which are very reliable, with an engine that everyone in the industry knows is a heap of junk. Yes the N47 engine will win more plaudits as it's capable of producing a lot more power than a D-4D engine, but it's an inferior engine with that ticking timebomb at the back of the engine (otherwise known as the timing chain). Anyway, the more recent reviews I've read of the N47 say that even by the very low standards of four diesel engine refinement, the N47 is very noisy and rough, so I don't even know if it's going to be a step forward from the existing D-4D engine except for the potential power increases. Toyota should be done for false advertising claiming that they make the 'best built cars in the world' when they're offering that engine - because it's simply not true to state that while fitting such an unreliable engine to their cars (though like I say, at least only the Verso is saddled with that engine for the moment). Toyota also have the PSA diesels in their ProAce van, now I don't think the DV6 engine is that bad anymore, it was changed in 2011 and there doesn't seem to be problems just yet, but I still doubt it will last as long as the D-4D engine in the Avensis or Auris (which is still a Toyota engine).

As for the VVTi engines, yes the earlier models do suffer from it, and yes even the ones that have been 'fixed' will burn oil eventually, but only once the mileage is above say 130,000 miles, and then it's only what you'd expect from a car with that kind of mileage - in other words a very long way from one needing to worry about an NCT failure or the like because of excess oil burning. They're a very reliable engine and will easily get to 200,000 miles (and more) as long as you service them on time with good oil.

gerardk55 wrote: »

I have an '05 Mazda 6 1.8, with 420,000kms on the clock, super car.

Only issue is fuel economy, max I've gotten in around 35mpg, the lack of a 6th gear for motor way cruising is the killer for my driving.

Aim for the sport touring (02 - 05) or executive (05 - 07) trim levels, as these will have climate control and cruise as standard.

If you can find one with genuine low mileage and service history you should get plenty of year motoring out of it.

Best of luck.

You must have a very heavy foot I get 44mpg on the motorway with my 2007 1.8 mazda 6 I don't exactly drive it like a granny either. That's great mileage on yours and she's still going strong.