Mazda 6 MPS

MichaelAwkward

MichaelAwkward

MichaelAwkward

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Hi y'all,

Looking to "upgrade" my Mazda 6 2.5 SL to an MPS. The 2.5 is nice but it's more of a motorway kind of car and my commute is all country A roads so I'm after something a bit more exciting and the MPS seems like a good fit.

I do less than 10k miles a year so the extra fuel costs aren't a worry, and I'll actually get a refund on my insurance with AXA bizarrely despite the extra 90bhp.

I'm looking to spend less than £5k (less whatever I can get trading mine in or selling privately) on a 2006 model.

So far as I can see the major issues are:

Timing chain - should be able to hear if this is worn
Turbo seals - idle for 5-10 mins and then rev, grey smoke means they need doing
Rust - usual Mazda problem, rear wheel arches being the main area of concern

Everything else is just standard used car checks.

There's a dealer in Swindon who appears to trade in these as he has quite a few so I'm planning on popping over at the weekend to test drive some of his and hopefully get a good feel for the car and whether I think it'll be a good fit.

Anything else to look out for? Really I should have just bought one of these in the first place... but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
 
Check the boot floor for water, mine leaked like a colander and I could never find where it was coming in.

These are old cars now, hard to find in good condition, not sure how much of a country lane blaster they are either personally I would look elsewhere for that but the 4WD would be handy in the winter
 
Just a heads up on the turbo seals, a lot of them will smoke given the age if you let them idle of for that long unless they've fitted a bango bolt, or had the issue rectified. This is because earlier cars had an issue with crank case pressure, so although it may smoke under those conditions, there won't be much, or any smoke in use in some cases.

Obviously it's still the seals. If it smokes it smokes, but just something to keep in mind. I had a 3MPS for 3 years, it never smoked once - that was until I left it idling for 10 minutes, after a quick clear out, it never smoked again in my ownership.
 
I had a 6mps for a year or so about 3 years ago... I spent a good few months searching for the best I could find, it was about £5k, 60k miles and about 7 years old at the time, and it still turned into a money pit (~2k to keep on the road over 10months, kinda money). So, with an extra 3 years, I'd hate to think how bad they could be now...

Generally, I'd say the 6mps is an amazing sleeper and good fun in the snow/wet, great cheap insurance for the power and practical to boot. Rear seats do fold down (if you remove the boot lining) but a rear brace limits long loads. But, to be honest, I think they're well past their best now and just haven't been able to stand the test of time... I'd look at a scooby or evo for awd saloon action.

issues off the top of my head:
  • timing chain and vvt can stretch, skip a tooth and grenade the engine - make sure vvt/chain has been changed every 50-60k miles. This is a costly job, about £400-500 from an small garage and over a k from a dealer.
  • turbos - need to be warmed up and cooled down around "fun" times. So, without knowing how the previous owners have looked after it, then it's a risk (but, arguably no more so than any other 10+ year old turbo car)
  • rust traps - EVERYTHING underneath will be brown, but also check the bonnet. They have a tunnel in the skin to direct air into the top-mount intercooler, this is an amazing water trap, so check rust around the front of the bonnet on top of everything else
  • rear diff mounts are like chocolate, they can break if it's launched hard and used to be a common problem (not heard about them so much any more tho). usual early mod on the 6 is stiffer mounts.
  • parts - MPS specific parts are a pain to get hold of (well, they used to be, no idea now). Any rear-end parts like calipers, abs sensors, etc are all different from the normal 6, but helpfully Mazda's own service software calls up a lot of the 6 parts. e.g. an ABS sensor failed, so ordered the specific part number for £25, went to fit and found it was a different mount. Double checked with mazda, euro car parts, etc and they all quoted the part no I had, which was wrong for the mps. ended up having to get a mazda dealer to replace the sensor as I just couldn't find the correct part no to order. They had the car a week, as they originally ordered the wrong part, the same as the one I already had, and handed them with the car (and told them to double check before ordering anything)... With their labour it was £250 (and this was after a discount as I complained), I wasn't impressed.
  • tyres - due to the awd system it can throw errors (and I seem to remember reading rear diff faults being suspected by this) if the tyres are more than something tiny like 2mm different diameter. This is all explained in the manual too... So, you basically need to run the same make and model tyre on all corners (which isn't a bad thing anyway), but all tyres need to be replaced together - get a bad puncture on 1, that's 4 new tyres, instead of just that 1 axle... Any car you view with mismatching tyres - just walk away.
  • Quirky to tune - the mps engine has had a number of casualties due to poor tuning. At the moment a guy called Justin (DJJut, i think, on the owner's forum) is the only reliable tuner. Anyone else, even other reputable places like BBR have been found to have unsafe tunes (I seem to remember). So, any tune other than justing/j-tune then walk away, especially TotalMPS - anything touched by them, run away and don't look back...
 
Subarus have far better aftermarket support and are much more widely known by garages. The boxer engines are pretty solid as long as you don't let the oil get too low. Quite easy to work on and lots of good tuners around too.

They also rust, but it's not usually to bad. It's mostly the fittings that go (bolts etc). Nowhere near as bad as Mazdas.
 
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All good advice, thanks guys.

These are the ones I'm looking at: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/services/car-dealers/uk/south-west/wiltshire/swindon/pitstop-motors-swindon-dpp-10004941/sort/default/make/mazda/version/b/onesearchad/used,nearlynew,new/dealer/10004941/postcode/ox120qb/model/mazda6

And this one, although it's a bit overpriced: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201708308809118?make=MAZDA&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&postcode=ox120qb&radius=30&aggregatedTrim=MPS&sort=datedesc&advertising-location=at_cars&model=MAZDA6&page=1

I've just ran a quote on a Subaru Impreza 2006, 2.5L, and they're unable to cover me on that, even though it's only 227bhp. There aren't any Evos for sale near me in my kind of budget either. :(

Makes me wonder whether I should just keep my 2008 Mazda 6. I do like it, and it's in great condition apart from a few marks and spots where the last owner tried to touch up the paint, it's been properly serviced it's entire life, still only on 73k miles. Only 167bhp though, 8 seconds 0-60.
 
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MichaelAwkward said:
All good advice, thanks guys.

These are the ones I'm looking at: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/services/car-dealers/uk/south-west/wiltshire/swindon/pitstop-motors-swindon-dpp-10004941/sort/default/make/mazda/version/b/onesearchad/used,nearlynew,new/dealer/10004941/postcode/ox120qb/model/mazda6

And this one, although it's a bit overpriced: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201708308809118?make=MAZDA&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&postcode=ox120qb&radius=30&aggregatedTrim=MPS&sort=datedesc&advertising-location=at_cars&model=MAZDA6&page=1

I've just ran a quote on a Subaru Impreza 2006, 2.5L, and they're unable to cover me on that, even though it's only 227bhp. There aren't any Evos for sale near me in my kind of budget either. :(

Makes me wonder whether I should just keep my 2008 Mazda 6. I do like it, and it's in great condition apart from a few marks and spots where the last owner tried to touch up the paint, it's been properly serviced it's entire life, still only on 73k miles. Only 167bhp though, 8 seconds 0-60.
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dont get a 2.5l impreza wrx. they are the ones that get modded and crash most because they couldnt afford an sti . look for a 2.0l legacy :p

you current car sounds ok tbh and really those mps look nice inside and but tbh the only photo you really want is of the bottom of the car. if i was looking for a mazda i would get it on a ramp and in the air first then look at inside and body work 2nd. tbh i would say the same for a subaru as well

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201708258688291?radius=1500&sort=sponsored&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&body-type=Estate&body-type=Saloon&maximum-badge-engine-size=2.0&make=SUBARU&postcode=ox120qb&model=LEGACY&advertising-location=at_cars&fuel-type=Petrol&page=2

ha ha i forgot they are all autos and the saloons are impossible to find :D

well here is a spec b manual which is very high price tbh

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...cars&body-type=Estate&body-type=Saloon&page=4

very nice car though
 
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Avoid the 2.5 wrx anyway, they were a bad patch for Subaru. The 2.0s are the ones to go for. Pre 2006 STIs are going up in value now too.

If you can find a late 90s one for good money they are a proper collectable classic. But probably need to spend more than 5k :)

Don't look at 5k Evos because you won't find one (not a healthy one anyway) and their running costs are in a different league.
 
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I looked into the mps 6. After researching about them, and speaking to people, it's not a car which is worth purchasing imo.
 
Sound advice on here :)

Wolf in sheep's clothing the MPS 6 but agree....better off getting a Subaru/Evo nowadays.

Owned a 3MPS and Mazda6 Sport btw :P
 
Somewhat of a hi-jack but a 2.0l petrol Mazda 6 TS2 has come up just round the corner from me at a reasonable price - anything to look out for on this model other than the rust issues highlighted in the OP?
 
I think they use a lot of the same components as Fords of the era, so may share issues. Like the steering rack one. That is quite an expensive repair.
 
Nasher said:
Avoid the 2.5 wrx anyway, they were a bad patch for Subaru. The 2.0s are the ones to go for. Pre 2006 STIs are going up in value now too.

If you can find a late 90s one for good money they are a proper collectable classic. But probably need to spend more than 5k :)

Don't look at 5k Evos because you won't find one (not a healthy one anyway) and their running costs are in a different league.
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Seconded, Evo's in that price bracket will be an-absolute-nightmare. Running costs on Evo's aren't really that extreme I've found, besides fuel. Just keep it maintained.
 
I was interested in a 6 MPS. After doing a load of research, I came to the conclusion it had a high chance of becoming a money pit...
 
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