Shopping for 2017 6 Touring

LeMansteve

Member
:
BMW 330i
I am replacing my 2004 BMW 330i and test drove a 6 Touring yesterday. I'd like your feedback on the car.

What are the common issues with this car (pardon me, but this is a standard question in the GERMAN car forums!) Any regrets or complaints from any owners? Is this a durable car?

I was drawn to Mazda because in 2017 they are one of very few manufacturers that offer a reasonably-priced family sedan with stick shift and a decent set of features (proximity key, rain sensing wipers, dual zone climate control, decent infotainment system). The only other 2017 family sedan with stick shift on my radar was the Accord Sport, but the Sport trim lacks many of the features on the 6 Touring.

I really like the styling and interior on the 6. Power is adequate, steering was very impressive for an electrically-assisted rack. I thought the armrest location was odd. Blue Mica and Soul Red are my favorite colors.

I have an iPhone. I've read Mazda Connect doesn't play nice with texting and emails through the iPhone. Is that true? How does Connect handle texts and emails with iPhone? I don't plan on texting a lot, just curious.

I will miss the power and brakes of my BMW, but not the maintenance :)
 
I have 53k on mine and haven't had any serious significant issues. Because mine was a grand touring the wheels began to peel and Mazda paid to have them refinished, so they're like new. Some owners have had issues with the brakes becoming warped or shuttering around 30-40k miles, but mine have been flawless because I commute in the vehicle and brake easy (it's not a race car!). The maintenance cost is low, but you want to use the mazda OE oil filter on it if you do the maintenance yourself - but it's $6-8 unlike your BMW filters. The transmission is sublime for an automatic, and you'll get used to how it holds gears instead of overdownshifting.

What you'll find if you're like me is that 184hp is enough for everything, and you'll coast very long and into the backs of other people if you hypermile. You'll love that it turns 1500rpm at 50mph, quiet and effortless for a 4 cylinder. You'll want to go on road trips because you'll average 34-38mpg on trips. The fuel tank is huge for the fuel economy, so 450-500 miles between fuel stops is normal! Lastly you'll love the maintenance because it's nonexistent in terms of cost. If you do get a light color interior it will wear faster than you may like, but use plenty of leather conditioner and it will hold up well.

As for maintenance I do oil changes every 7500 miles by the book with 0w20 synthetic, and use OE filters, and my running costs for maintenance including a new set of tires at 25,000 miles has been under $0.02 per mile. I recommend doing the cabin filter yearly, they get dirty super fast on these cars, and for $15 it's worth changing. Also you should get apple carplay in the future as they are going to introduce an update for cars back to 2014 that have the connect system, so give that some thought and hope.
 
Love my 2016 GT. So much car for the money. Gas and oil changes only thus far. 17.7k miles on mine. I'm still impressed with the car 20 months after buying it.
 
Thanks eyedoc. The BMW takes 7qts of synthetic every 15,000 (I did 7,500). The filter is actually not very expensive since it is a cartridge style filter. The BMW fluid maintenance is reasonable, but the leaks are what get you! Leaky oil gaskets, phantom coolant leaks, piston rings that wear out and burn 1qt per 1,000 miles!!! Not to mention falling headliner and cheap plastic headlight bowls that fade and crack. On and on...

Funny, I was just reading a couple weeks ago how CarPlay was not likely to come to Mazda. Then tonight I saw multiple articles quoting Mazda about the future release and retrofit possibility. Makes my decision even easier.

I think I will go for Eternal Blue Mica or Soul Red with a tan interior. Stick shift for me.
 
There are a grand total of three 6 Tourings in the entire southeast that have tan interior, stick shift and Blue Reflex Mica or Soul Red exterior.

Anyone have experience with shipping a new car from another dealer and what it should cost? I've asked my dealer for a truck transport quote but I want to make sure I'm not getting ripped off.
 
There are a grand total of three 6 Tourings in the entire southeast that have tan interior, stick shift and Blue Reflex Mica or Soul Red exterior.

Anyone have experience with shipping a new car from another dealer and what it should cost? I've asked my dealer for a truck transport quote but I want to make sure I'm not getting ripped off.
The dealer will be less inclined to deal on a car he does not own... Maybe go to one or any of the other dealers instead? If they are serious, there are some dealers that will drive it to your home deliver and sign the papers in your kitchen.
 
The dealer will be less inclined to deal on a car he does not own... Maybe go to one or any of the other dealers instead? If they are serious, there are some dealers that will drive it to your home deliver and sign the papers in your kitchen.

Yeah, he definitely wants to sell me the car that's sitting on his lot, but the color combo is not what I want at all. I understand why he wants to move his own stock but I just don't want what he has in stock.

The dealers that have the cars I want are several hundred miles away. I would not consider having the car driven all that way before taking delivery.

I don't mind paying to ship the car if the cost to ship isn't outrageous. This is my first new car and I plan on keeping it for 8-10 years. I want to get exactly the configuration I want.

First World Problems.
 
'16 GT with tan interior.
I keep my car clean inside. Outside? Not so much due to California drought.
Love the Mazda6. I do have the wheel peeling issue, but Mazda will take care of it. Waiting for wheel shipment.
I do have a vibration when launching a bit more aggressively. (cannot always drive a like grandma, can I?)
It gets worse if I launch harder. It resonates badly around the left-front side.
So, do proper testdrive. I did not since I own a Mazda3 (same engine/tranny) also. I thought Mazda6 should be similar. Big mistake.
Anyway, I will sort it out with the dealer. No worry.

Other than those, and frequent software updates (on my 5th) to iron out all the issues (mostly trivial) with the multi-function display....
(make sure you have the v.56 or v.59 versions in your new one).

I used to own a '98 BMW 540iA. Do not get me started on that one.
I loved it when it worked.
 
Yeah, he definitely wants to sell me the car that's sitting on his lot, but the color combo is not what I want at all. I understand why he wants to move his own stock but I just don't want what he has in stock.

The dealers that have the cars I want are several hundred miles away. I would not consider having the car driven all that way before taking delivery.

I don't mind paying to ship the car if the cost to ship isn't outrageous. This is my first new car and I plan on keeping it for 8-10 years. I want to get exactly the configuration I want.

First World Problems.
Then perhaps you can just go to the dealer that has the car you want, in the colors you want? Hate loading that thing on a truck again and transporting it, hopefully the tow truck driver knows how to drive a stick properly as he breaks in your clutch for you...
(nailbyt)
 
Then perhaps you can just go to the dealer that has the car you want, in the colors you want? Hate loading that thing on a truck again and transporting it, hopefully the tow truck driver knows how to drive a stick properly as he breaks in your clutch for you...
(nailbyt)

I finalized the deal last night! They couldn't get me a blue one, so I took a Soul Red Touring with Sand interior.

The car is going onto a flat bed truck. Usually they are too steep to drive up, so they pull the car with a winch. I suppose at worst I am risking 1 or 2 bad clutch slips, but I'm not too worried.

I wasn't interested in driving 5 hours just to get to this other dealership.

The car has 16 miles. I'm taking delivery at the end of next week! (drive)(wiggle)
 
I finalized the deal last night! They couldn't get me a blue one, so I took a Soul Red Touring with Sand interior.

The car is going onto a flat bed truck. Usually they are too steep to drive up, so they pull the car with a winch. I suppose at worst I am risking 1 or 2 bad clutch slips, but I'm not too worried.

I wasn't interested in driving 5 hours just to get to this other dealership.

The car has 16 miles. I'm taking delivery at the end of next week! (drive)(wiggle)

WOOOOO HOOOOO! Excited for you! Glad you got what you wanted!

(nana)
 
I finalized the deal last night! They couldn't get me a blue one, so I took a Soul Red Touring with Sand interior.

The car is going onto a flat bed truck. Usually they are too steep to drive up, so they pull the car with a winch. I suppose at worst I am risking 1 or 2 bad clutch slips, but I'm not too worried.



I wasn't interested in driving 5 hours just to get to this other dealership.

The car has 16 miles. I'm taking delivery at the end of next week! (drive)(wiggle)



Just curious, how has your ownership been so far on the 6 Touring model you got? How was the experience taking delivery of your brand new car from the dealership?
 
I just bought a 17 Touring AT with the Premium package in soul red with rear spoiler. Love it so far!! It is my first Mazda and hope I like it enough to buy another! My experience was good but disheartening as my local dealer was way off the mark on the price. I was nice and courtious and liked the local salesman. I went in, sat down, his first price was $28,400 and change. Then I said no way, too high and I said I have to be at or below $27,000 otd with a 4 year maintenence package. He came back and said the best we could do was $27,683 with a 3 year maintenence plan. I said no thank you I need to shop it with the other dealers but I'll give you 24hrs to reconsider and walked out expecting a call back that never came. I called one other dealer that went down to $27,294 but I knew I could get the price I wanted and ended up getting it an hour from my house for $26,900 otd with my 4year maintenence plan. I called them and said here is what Im willing to pay and they said if you come in now we will give it to you for which was 100$ less than my top budget. Great experience and even got them to throw in a free alignment 2 days after negotiations for when I get my new springs, wheels and tires. Worth the drive!
 
Mazda gives you a lot of car for the money. I didn't buy a new Mazda 6, honestly I never buy new. I wait for the original owner to take the depreciation bath then I swoop in as the second owner.

I do have OCD so I'll only buy Mazda Certified Used from the dealer I buy all my Mazda's from. Certified Used extends the warranty for 5 years plus you get roadside service. My Mazda 6 and CX-9 I bought this year have warranty and roadside until 2022 for no extra cost.

Not 100% sure on the new Mazda 6 but previous models suffered from A/C compressor rust in the bearing because of where the compressor sits in the engine bay. On my Mazda 3 the A/C compressor was replaced 3 times. The compressor sits at the bottom of the motor where water hits it. Even with the under side cover it will get wet.

My car had the dreaded Grand Touring paint / peeling issue with the 19 inch rims. The color was coming up and the rims becoming black.

The Dealership where I bought the car had them refinished correctly in gun metal grey.

BEFORE

Mazda Windows Tinted 1 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/143276860@N04/, on Flickr

AFTER

Mazda Rims 1 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/143276860@N04/, on Flickr
 
Mazda gives you a lot of car for the money. I didn't buy a new Mazda 6, honestly I never buy new. I wait for the original owner to take the depreciation bath then I swoop in as the second owner.

I do have OCD so I'll only buy Mazda Certified Used from the dealer I buy all my Mazda's from. Certified Used extends the warranty for 5 years plus you get roadside service. My Mazda 6 and CX-9 I bought this year have warranty and roadside until 2022 for no extra cost.

The official Mazda CPO program extends the basic warranty for 12 mos / 12k miles and the powertrain warranty for 24 mos / 40k miles. A good deal for sure but not 5 years. Or are you talking about some dealer-specific coverage? Like the dealers that claim to offer a lifetime powertrain warranty if you get all the service done there?

I prefer to search out the best new car deals over used and I'm confident I only pay $1k to $2k extra for that new car smell. Especially in the summer when the discounts come out to move the leftovers off the lots. The CPO prices don't come down as fast as the new prices, narrowing the gap considerably between them.
 
The official Mazda CPO program extends the basic warranty for 12 mos / 12k miles and the powertrain warranty for 24 mos / 40k miles. A good deal for sure but not 5 years. Or are you talking about some dealer-specific coverage? Like the dealers that claim to offer a lifetime powertrain warranty if you get all the service done there?

I prefer to search out the best new car deals over used and I'm confident I only pay $1k to $2k extra for that new car smell. Especially in the summer when the discounts come out to move the leftovers off the lots. The CPO prices don't come down as fast as the new prices, narrowing the gap considerably between them.

Yes, this is dealer specific for the extended warranty. I bought both my 6 and CX-9 there (few months apart) so both have this coverage for free.

My Chevy Traverse also had a version of this which included 2.5 years of free oil changes / tire rotations every 5,000 miles (could not come in earlier).

When I'm buying I tend to look for these programs, I've taken advantage of them on 4 cars now.
 
Back