1988 Mazda 626 2000i GT 5-dr hatchback review from UK and Ireland

Only the components you expect to wear have needed replacement. As my car has now done 153,000 miles, quite a few things have had to be replaced, eg brake discs and clutch. But nothing has broken unexpectedly.

Parts are rather expensive, and most are not easy to find, but my dealer has always been able to source anything I've needed within a couple of days. Specalists are best for some parts - eg brake pads and discs. Ferodo pads can be bought for £26 from brake people, but don't expect Halfords to stock anything. The oil filter for the 626 GT is different from the normal 626 one, and only available from Mazda dealers - don't use the pattern ones - you'll be told the normal filter fits (and it does) but the correct one is best.

I run my car on synthetic oil. It will still do over 130 mph on German autobahns, and reach 60 in a touch over 8 secs. I bought it at 5+ years old with 82,000 on the clock - I've done 70,000 in 4+ years.