Need Some Advice

I have a 2008 Mazda 5. I bought it used from a ghetto dealer in Austin, TX. I test drove it and found that it had "bumpy" tires and wanted to wander all over the road. It did have a low tire light on at the time. The ghetto dealer did not have a compressor. It had been a long day and I knew that I had about an hour and a half drive home in rush hour traffic.

Anyway, like an idiot... I bought it and drove it home. In Texas, you have to get inspections and the ghetto dealer had done one from a certified place and it passed. Long story short... I took it to my local place and they said it never should have passed especially due to the shape of the tires. Under the threat of reporting her. She agreed to have it looked at. She said that she took it to "Mazda"

She sends me a message with a picture of an "alignment report" Showing it was all in alignment. Honestly, the report was not on a dealer or shop letterhead. For all I know she could have made it with paint.

Anyway, she replaced the tires and the problem went away.

A few months later and the tires started getting "bumpy" again and have gotten progressively worse as has the wandering all over the road.

I can see the inside of the tires are worn more that the outside. I am pretty good about rotating, FYI.

My question is... What should I replace, if anything, before I go buy new tires and get an alignment.

The reason I ask is that there is not a Mazda dealer close by and my guess is they will be little to no help and have me replacing crap I do not even need.

I have had 3 local mechanics tell me there is nothing wrong... Obviously, there is.

The tire shops are not mechanics and will not know what to do.

I just do not want to spend the money on the tires and alignment and then have it start the bumpy and wandering a few months down the road.

Thanks to anyone that can help.

If it were my car I'd start by getting the alignment checked before I went replacing parts. I've heard the older 5's had some issues with alignment and tire wear. Don't know if that applies to the 08's or not because mine is an '09. Maybe someone who's experienced that on their 5 could tell you more

I had similar symptoms when my ball joints wore out.

crxguy89 said:

I can see the inside of the tires are worn more that the outside. I am pretty good about rotating, FYI.

Thanks to anyone that can help.

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This is a known problem with older Mazda 5s. It can be fixed by using adjustable rear camber arms such as those made by SPC. See http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123740821-Rear-Wheel-Camber-is-Eating-Tires

There are multiple postings on the camber setting making the inside of the tires wear faster than the outside.

I would start there before changing other suspension parts. How are the shocks? There are also multiple postings about how weak the Mazda suspension is and what parts people have started to replace.

Good luck