Talk me in or out of a MazdaSpeed 6

The GTO has been a good, trouble-free experience for me. However, as a commuter, I don't need all that power to crawl along in traffic every day. As a performance car I don't intend to stop using the FD for track/autox. It doesn't really make a lot of sense for both of my cars to be 2-door RWD with low fuel economy. And lastly, since it's in such nice shape I'm constantly worried about the resale value and getting door dings parking at work, etc.

I will miss the torque, reliability and soundtrack, but I think it's time to get back to my roots. So I found what looks to be a great deal on a 2006 MazdaSpeed 6 locally with under 90k miles on the clock. I haven't looked at it yet, but it seems a bit like the spiritual successor for my dearly departed GVR4. If I sell the GTO for anywhere near it's worth I could easily pick up the 6, spend 10k on repairs and performance parts and still come out way on top.

I've read the past threads about these cars and I can't imagine much has changed in the intervening years but if there's any reason to not go through with this I'd like to hear it. Things I value in no particular order:

• Decent performance
• Average fuel economy
• Ability to modify (not looking to make more than 350 whp if that can be done reliably)
• Good reliability (do not want to be working on this all the time, that's what the FD is for)
• Fits 4 adults comfortably for short trips (the GTO falls down on this due to ingress/egress)

Should I or shouldn't I?

Thanks!

From one FD owner and VR4 enthusiast to another - Do it!

Always been a fan of the 'Speed6 but don't have a need that can justify the purchase.

PCV system and smoking turbos start to show problems at this mileage.

I'm completely at peace with running a catch can or having to upgrade the turbo. That begs the question: how hard it is to run a bigger turbo/more boost with the factory ECU? Are they horribly unreliable when turned up? And lastly, are they a huge pain to work on? The engine does look a bit shoehorned in there.

Thanks!

MS3 owners can chime in, since aside from the awd related stuff, they're pretty much the same.

Also check for any seeping from the transfer cases. I know 2 that killed their transfer case because they leaked and the owners who where not car people never checked it and neither did the service centers. I found the gear shifting to be pretty clunky.

IF YOU HAVE 10K LEFT OVER, SWAP THE GOODS INTO A WAGON!

pinchvalve wrote: IF YOU HAVE 10K LEFT OVER, SWAP THE GOODS INTO A WAGON!

Listen to this man.

I loved mine. Put over 90,000 miles on it, and only had it to the dealer for a bad ignition coil, and the timing chain/VVT cam gear TSB. The only reason I got rid of it was to purchase my current 996.

The online community has excellent information that will take care of any of the car's shortcomings. My biggest complaint was suspension noises that I couldn't track down. If I had bothered to take it to a good shop, I'm sure it would have been taken care of. Drive one, I'm sure you'll love it.

I would say to get a fun FWD car that gets good gas mileage in the city, around 28+ mpg. I would look at a Civic Si, GTI, Jetta TDI, etc.

In reply to iadr: I would imagine that a lot of that is the ability of an aged turbo car to get expensive in a hurry for a dealership. They have enough power to hurt themselves stock, were likely modded poorly by previous owners and dumped as trade because no one feels bad doing that to a dealer, and are likely to be modified poorly by future owners who will blame the dealer for any problems. It doesn't necessarily mean they are crap, just that they have risk of being turned into crap making them a high risk sale.

That's.... weird. The MS3 and MS6 are a far cry from the old Mazdaspeed Proteges. In fact, i'd go so far to say that the Mazdaspeed Protege is the only turbo piston car that Mazda made that was junk.

MS6s around here don't last a week on the lot before they're snatched up. Extremely robust cars.

In reply to Swank Force One: "piston car" definitely noticed.

I mean... I really like the turbo magical spinning cars and think they can be good cars, but didnt feel like a rotary pissing in the wind argument was useful to the thread.

I'd trust a TII RX7 to get me to work everyday before a Mazdaspeed Protege.

Several reputable tuners throughout Texas absolutely refuse to work on MS6's, if that tells you anything

iadr wrote: A wagon with a 3.0, sure- buy it if you like it. But nothing turbo from Mazda, ever.

But, don't the V6's have nasty problems with the pre-cat coming apart and destroying the engine?

In reply to calteg:

Several reputable tuners in texas also seem incapable of tuning a BP, so....

IIRC the a/c on Mazda 6s is barely adequate according to some.

I have two friends with them and no major issues. One gets autocrossed regularly.

If you could keep your GVR4 running, an MS6 should be a piece of cake.

I don't autocross mine, but I do run at least 5 open track days a year in my MS6. I had a slightly smokey turbo over a year ago when I bought the car. Switched to Shell T6 5w-40 and it completely went away.
All the car's shortcomings have been addressed online. You can do all the work yourself plus Corksport has great how-to video's for all the goodies that you can buy for a Mazdaspeed 3/6.
My only advice is to get a completely rust free car like I did.
Tuning (and e-tuning) is just a Cobb V3 Accessport away...

I drive mine daily about 9 months out of the year and usually store it during the dead of winter.
My family of 5 can take a trip to the lakeshore or I can drive it to work everyday. After the last 25,000 miles, I don't question the cars reliability. I do have a slight drip from my transfer case, but when I check it early spring and mid summer, I rarely have to add anything. I'll address it yet this winter when I add my catless downpipe since all that stuff is in the same area.
Its a fast car and most people just see a regular Mazda sedan (including the police).
The MS6 is truly a modern day sleeper.

In reply to SlickDizzy:

The PCV issues were resolved in the 2006-2008 cars

fanfoy wrote: If you could keep your GVR4 running, an MS6 should be a piece of cake.

Sums it up nicely.

IIRC expect 22-24 mpg in normal driving.

fanfoy wrote: If you could keep your GVR4 running, an MS6 should be a piece of cake.

Haha I don't plan to drag race, rallyx, road rally, hpde or autox the MS6 for 10 years either. Should be cake :)

Thanks for the input so far everyone!

My best personal mileage was a 3 tank road trip, all highway running 72-73 mph. 26.5 mpg
I'm usually on boost most of the time because what the hell, its there and I like to hear the kids squeal and laugh from the back seat.
They refer to it as the racecar and they always ask to "make it go fast".
21-22 in mixed driving.