1997 Mazda 626 LX from North America - Comments

I was extremely hesitant in purchasing this vehicle; the mileage was a bit higher than I wanted. I had it set in stone in my head that any car above 100,000 miles would be nothing but trouble.

I purchased it from a private owner; originally it was a leased vehicle, so I felt it may have recieved better maintenance for it.

I purchased my 97 Mazda 626 in December of 2005. It's good running car, I must say. The first three months were blissful - having a reliable car - but I became petrified one day when I was driving home from work and it began smoking. Turns out I had a busted water hose. It was not very expensive to have repaired. I was also told that my radiator failed check-up and would need to be repaired soon. To opt on the expensive maintenance I just had it flushed. It hasn't overheated since.

Throughout the rest of 2006, I had no other problems, I only had to address normal wear & tear (tune-up, few oil changes, brakes, tires, alignment)

As of now, a few weeks ago I had to have my power steering pump replaced - it cost about $150.

The air isn't the coldest, and the transmission will give me problems soon (the fluid is black). The owner told me he had just replaced it before I purchased it, and Mazda's are notorious for their transmission issues.

The engine is very strong though. The ride is okay...it's a little rocky aroung 60-70 mphs.

I would definitely consider getting another Mazda, just not a used one. For 2000 bucks I wouldn't expect it to last more than a few years.

Nice interior - it might need some custom improvements like a better CD player, tinted windows, etc.

The ride is a little bumpy, but this isn't a luxury car. It's the vehicle that gets you through college.

Not extremely pricey to maintain, but it cannot be neglected.

Its better than a Toyota Tercel. :-)

Just to update - I'm at about 161,000 miles now and I've had the radiator flushed, back brakes put on, new tires, water pump replaced ($200) extensive tune-up including wires, plugs, valve cover gasket, pvc valve, radiator hose, and belts replaced; the day after my tune-up I noticed white exhaust coming from the tail pipe after a cold start for about 15 seconds. The car drives wonderful, but this concerns me. I added fuel injector cleaner and pray its not the head gasket. Also, the O/D light comes on sporadically and I have to cut the engine off and turn it back on to stop it from blinking. This only happens at highway speeds. I think its the trans, but I hope I can keep with this "temporary fix" at least until the end of the year.