Mazda 6 GH (2008-2012) Questions & Answers

Yes depends on condition. Check whether your car is part of the airbag recall.

Its a recall issue which will be fixed free.

Spray lanolin down the 2 holes on top of the shocks. The issue was not enough grease on the stops on top of the suspension. It will do your head in to find it if you pull it all apart.

Hi, the GH mazda 6 is a good car. But the suspension is tuned towards comfort as for this generation Mazda is trying to make the 6 more for business rather than sporty like the GG generation. So it will deal with the bumpy road very well. It will drive smooth as the engine is 2.5 so lots of torque and the 5 speed auto should be very smooth. However the car weights more also longer so handling wise not as good as the GG series. But i believe the quality is high since it is made in Japan. Hope this help!

2012 Mazda6 is considered 2nd generation, the suspension settings works fine on bumpy roads, 3rd generation is even more soft (comfortable). Be careful about humps on roads, the ground clearance of Mazda6 is only 12cms or so, easy to scratch lip.

It depends on a few things really. Are you buying it from a first owner who has a full service history? Is it auto or manual? Auto gearboxes are usually sealed and cannot be serviced. if it has been abused it would need replacement soon and replacing an auto gearbox via a dealer would cost you about AUD $7.5k. You might be able to source a used one from a wrecker for about $1.5k + labour to put it in your car, but then you don't know the condition that's in either so it's a bit of a risk. Generally Mazda's are bullet proof. But if it gets abused and not maintained properly, that reliability goes down the drain.

The best thing to do if you are serious about this car is to get the current owners permission to get it assessed via a mechanic of your choice and get everything thoroughly checked out. Don't bother with the RACV check that they do for about $300. It's useless. Take it to a mechanic you know and get them to take it apart and give you a report and base your decision on that.

Electronics wise, things have been reliable for me. We haven't replaced a single light globe in the car since we owned it from new (2010 till now). Aircon, heating, electrick seats, wipers, headlamp washers, etc etc all have been working like a swiss watch. The only thing that stopped working was the under seat bose amp ( a few months ago) which i replaced with an alpine amp and headunit which was cheaper than replacing the original bose amp from the dealer (dealer quoted AUD $2400 to replace the bose amp). I think it can be fixed with a lifetime warranty (by a business in Dandenong) for less than $500. My car was missing the factory reverse camera and navigation so I went with an Alpine amp and head unit which has all the bells and whistles for half the cost quoted by the dealer to replace the amp. Hope this helps. All the best :)

Thanks a heap ScreenX,
I asked the owner he said he is the 2nd owner and he has all the service log book. But you are right I should bring it to a trusted mechanic. The problem is I do not know any mechanic in Sydney at all. Hence, I am thinking about using Redbook, because they sayd they have warranty on what they examine pre-purchase. Is it worth using them or any further advice? Really appreciate that.
All the best

Hi there. Ours is 190.000 kms. Ours is fine. Theres a little bit of luck involved with any car really. Even new. Get it cheap, If its an ex lease or reps car it may be fresh motorwise as hot kilometers are great. Can you afford a compression test? Cheers

No. The drivers side rear passengers usually have better leg room as the drivers side is deeper and the driver has more leg room. I've had a rearward facing baby seat for two years and now boosters for a 4 and 6 year olds. Their feet touches the front seats due to the way booster seats work. The front seats are adjusted to me the driver ( just over 6 feet tall) and my better half who is about 6 inches shorter than I am.

I may not be of assistance as I have the turbo diesel 2013 model. Paid over triple of that price though. My Mazda has no concerns.

Thanks for replying, brought car and so far very happy with it.

Hi ishopper, a standard single mattress is usually 1800mm long. I have a 2012 Mazda wagon and with seats down and front seats in comfortable driving position (I am 5'9 in the old foot inches scale) you have 2000mm available. Width is 1140mm and height is 750mm for the rear cargo. Both rocking chair and mattress maybe a challenge, potentially doable with rocking chair flat. Hope this helps.

Thanks, Shaggy, I appreciate your help with measurements. Standard single mattress length now seems to be 1880, mine is 1910 for some reason. 2000 should be plenty even if the front seats have to be moved back a bit. Width is fine. Height will be a struggle, but I'm hoping the mattress will give enough to allow the rocking chair which is wooden, but quite narrow. At least now I can drive further afield to see a Mazda 6 wagon knowing there is potential.

No worries happy to help. I have the 2012 mazda 6 diesel touring 6 speed manual. It is a brilliant car, great driving experience with incredible fuel economy. Great family car, looking at other reviews it appears people have had some negative experiences with diesel, i have had absolutely no issues witb mine. The key is to ensure it has had regular scheduled servicing and preferably serviced at the mazda dealership. I was advised that the mazda specific oil needs to be used rather then generic diesel oil. We get on average 6.2 litres per 100km driving in Sydney traffic and have got it as low as 4.8 highway driving on holidays.

Well, if you have just 4875kms on the clock, then maybe about $20,000 - $23,000 at the most, assuming it was about $40,000 or so brand new.
If that's a typo and it has 48,750kms, then it's worth around $17,000 or so.
Trouble is it's 6 years old, which is kind of considered a bit 'aged'. So even if it is under 10,000kms, and pretty much as new as you could get, because of its age, I don't think anyone would be willing to pay above $25,000 anyway.
A quick search of Car Sales has a 2008 Luxury Sports Auto Sedan, with 10,000kms going for $16,990 through a dealer. But then another dealer is selling a 2009 Luxury Sports Auto Hatch with 89,000kms for $21,800. Anyone in their right mind would not pay that for that 2nd car, not with lower KM cars, of the same type, going for a much lower price.
Sell privately, dealers will short you about $4000 just because of their need to mark-up.
I traded in my 2007 Mazda 6 Sports Sedan for a 2014 Mazda 6 Sports Wagon early last year. My old Mazda had 70,000km on the clock and was in excellent condition. The dealer gave me $8000 for it. They had it advertised for $14,000, I reckon they would have sold it for around $12,000. Privately I had seen them from between $11,000 to $14,000, depending on the KMs.
So maybe ask for $25,000, and don't sell it for less than $20,000.

Thanks David for your feedback, (It really is 4875 kms) Its like a new car. Think its only been out in the rain once, which sounds ridiculous.

About right on the price, and the km's are better than average for the age of the car. Still worth getting it checked out by the NRMA or a trusted mechanic.

Here is the valuation

http://www.drive.com.au/car-valuations/SearchResults?make=MAZDA&model=6&year=2009&body=HATCHBACK&series=LUXURY%20SPORTS

My experience with Mazda 6 is that it is an excellent car especially for the models in the years before 2010. That's when Mazda started to outsource some of their car production in Thailand, I think.

I am personally very, very happy with my Mazda 6. Car is well made, good quality, very reliable. Excellent value for money.
Regarding the Mazda you are looking at, it sounds like a good buy at $15K with 90K on the clock. What I would look at is the log book service history if they have kept one. Mazda cars need to be maintained up to the manufacturer's specifications for scheduled maintenance to make sure the car has been well looked after.
Also, be aware that some Mazda engines require premium fuel only. It is no big deal as you will get very good fuel economy. However, if the previous owner did not feed it with premium fuel then you might have "dirty" engine parts....

Also, keep in mind that spark plugs must be changed at 100K.

Overall, I would say that, subject to a check by a good mechanic or your car club, that the Mazda you are looking at, is a very good car, very well made and good performance and good fuel economy. As mentioned above, I feel the Mazdas made before 2010 are of much better quality than the post 2010 ones. Therefore, you probably have a very good deal there for you ! Hope my observations help you. Cheers, Denys

Great feedback. Much appreciated as I've had a Toyota Corolla for many years which has served me. Once again thankyou

Hello Ral
I have not had the issue you have spoken about, sounds a bit strange to me,so many problems for a Mazda 6 is unusual, My son bought a 3 year old Honda Civic and had no end of trouble with it, mainly electrical issues and a mechanic told him it had been flood affected, so you cant tell sometimes. I know longer have the 6, I got tired of the over hard ride and sold it,I wish you well with it and hopefully Mazda will make the effort to find it- but at your cost!, cheers

Hi James. Nothing, but nothing should be moving within any seat in the vehicle. Supplementary restraint equipment in dashes, door pillars and seats are ALL solid state equipment. No components move until they are deployed of course. It may be a broken spring within the seat that you can hear or part of the seat structure has broken and come loose. If any vehicle warrenty remains, push this issue and have it inspected, otherwise you will need to investigate this issue for yourself.

Cheers and kindest regards

Paul Harrington.

Hello Loretta
The Mazda 6 isn't bad, we get about 10 litres to the 100k around town in prodominatly peak hour traffic. We have found that the Mazda is very reliable and reasonable to service. Hope this helps. Peter