Distributor died at 120000kms, bought full Mazda replacement at exorbitant cost to my hip pocket, only for it to fail again 2 years later at 180000kms. Bought a modified replacement from a local manufacturer.
Front suspension bushes had cracked causing knocking noises through the floor, it took three shops to work out what the problem was.
Hydraulic clutch flexpipe blew in heavy traffic, had to wait an hour for the traffic to die down so RACV could tow me home. Replacement flexpipe was only AU$80ish, so I fitted it myself.
Rust has become apparent around the top of the front windscreen and near where the front suspension mounts onto the chassis.
Front windscreen is prone to cracks, and it generally doesn't take much work to crack it... perhaps that's due to the chassis prematurely fatiguing. Have replaced the front windshield three times, had have retired to the fact that the next crack will stay there.
The 4WS front rack is now continuously leaking, and thus I am considering replacing the car now as the repair bill is approximately AU$1200, without taking into account the cost of any parts that break while the action is performed.
This car was great! It's not so fantastic any longer, but it's still a lot better than most other cars out there in the new car market today.
It's been to the moon and back, I've been everywhere with that car since I bought it after my first car (which was brand new) suffered loss of brakes and caused an accident.
The reason it's not so fantastic any longer is most probably because of the fact that to get anything fixed on it, it costs and arm and a leg, and every time something's done the car handles or performs less like it did when I bought it.
I bought the car because it was a nimble machine, almost like a grasshopper... but nowadays I'm feeling as if the now evident structural weaknesses and ageing parts are going to throw me into a tree one day.
Most of what you describe is fair wear and tear on a car with this sort of mileage, but it does sound as if it's been frontalled and then badly repaired.
Renewing the car's struts and suspension bushings will make your aging 6 into a new car (I know, another cost, but if it was me, I'd do the work myself and save a bunmdle- its not that difficult).
A
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