I guess a good thing to find out is how the Mazda 6's being built at AAI are in terms of fit and finish, squeaks, rattles and paint quality. Considering the '05 is moving there I think it will be an good way to just look at the little nuances we could get with the car. I know early Mazda 6's had premature rusting at any seams in the door, trunk because of using an improper resin or something like that.

As for the 94-04, it seems to be lots of good cars, a little bad, as expected.

 

I bought my 95 GT vert with 49,000 miles on it. Within a month I replaced the radiator--my fault for not having done a thorough prepurchase inspection. Now it's only got 64,500 truble free miles on it. These cars are reliable as heck, IMO, and I think the 2005 is going to be great.

 

According to the latest reports, Mazda's quality has fallen steeply over the last year :scratch:

Not good




How do you powershift an automatic tranmission car? You sure you don't mean drop-shifting? And if so, shame on you.

 

I had read the same article a few weeks back on CNN. Made me wonder also ...

 

Quality is a design issue, not an assembly plant one.

 

Sounds nice, but not really true at all. The truer statement would be it could be either.

Build can't overcome a bad design ... But you can build a well designed product poorely.

 

Sounds nice, but not really true at all. The truer statement would be it could be either.

Build can't overcome a bad design ... But you can build a well designed product poorely. [/b][/quote]
The thing with that data is it looks at a brand as a whole, we don't know how the 6 stacks up in those figues... it could be much better or worse

From what I hear though the build quailty (gaps, paint, etc.) is really good... can anyone comment?

 

I don't ever think I'm gonna try to hook an amp up again......mine was aftermarket, but it's good to find out about that kinda stuff before-hand.

This would be my first Ford.

 

Right now I own an import.....mainly as a reliable way of transportation from my house to college. Many highway MPG, and few repairs.

Now as college as coming to an end....and I'm looking at new cars. I can't stand some of the imports A/C systems. Honda's A/C SUCKS!!!! Toyota does a good/great job on A/C, however Honda's A/C is just a plain joke.

Living in Texas A/C is a must, I hear American cars have awesome A/Cs.

I'm also set on a 5/6 speed manual coupe. GM doesn't produce many 5/6 speed coupes that are a decent price(GTO<---32-34K).
HAHAHAHAHA

I just don't trust Chrysler's record......so I'm finished looking at them.


My dad was telling me in his experience, American V4's and V6's haven't worked very well for him. However American V8's have always had a better reputation.....after hearing this I was convinced to look exclusively at a GT.

The manual transmission thing makes me feel better too. Since it's going to be my first new car....I want it to be as trouble-free as possible.

 

The thing with that data is it looks at a brand as a whole, we don't know how the 6 stacks up in those figues... it could be much better or worse

From what I hear though the build quailty (gaps, paint, etc.) is really good... can anyone comment? [/b][/quote]
It is true the ranking above indicate only Mazda as a whole, and not individual lines. This means it may not be a good indicator of quaility for the 6 at the flatrock plant. The only place I know to check indvidual cars is Consumer Reports -- and they seem awfully biased for a non-profit.

I've ridden in a 6 a few times (and driven one once), and the fit and finish seemed really good.

 

Wow, overall this seems like a lot of issues. I'm new to Fords, having stuck with imports since my Trans Am self destructed in 84. I've never had issues with any of them, not a one. Even my 01 PT Cruiser has had zero issues, not even a rattle in nearly 4 years. I'm starting to wonder if the 05 convertible is the fun family car I'm expecting next year. Any other trouble-free Fords out there? Oh well, I'll still check it out in Foxboro tomorrow night, and I'll remember to keep the tranny-drops to a minimum.

 

You're asking a large group of people. of course in a large group you'll find problems. if you'd like to know, We also had a Toyota 4Runner in 1998 that lasted ONE year before we ditched it because it had so many issues. I have a friend who has a PT Cruiser who hates it because it rattles like a bucket of nuts and bolts.

Another friend had a Sebring Convertible (98) who had the quaility issues and traded it for a Suburban. A co-worker of mine has a 92 Acura CL and had many problems. The last of which was the catalytic convertor went out. He had that replaced. Now the check engine light is on and stays on. My sister has an Accord, and never had one problem.

If you visit any import message board or BMW, or Mercedes, out of any large group you'll find a portion of people that have had problems.

For instance you'll notice many said they had NO problems, others said they had a few, others like me have owned multiple Mustangs and they had problems no problems in some and a few in others. My wifes 2003 Explorer has had no issues.

On top of that, your also generalizing a new car against a model that isn't made anymore. I'm not sure any accurate conclusion (for older models, or the as yet to be made model) can be made from any of this.

 

Kevin is right on that one. Think about it, the plant only puts together what they are told. Not what they personally want to do, but what the designers tell them to.

 

No, he's still wrong (apologies, kevin).

Yes, they put together what they're told and it is true a poorly designed item has almost no chance of succeeding. But, a person can put together a well designed product WRONG or not well. Because *people* are involved in the process, then there are any numerous things that could wrong. A person may misalign a door, forget a screw, install the wrong item, forget to plug a harness in (or not well) etc.

To say a well designed product will always be put together properly is absurd. A well designed product can lessen (to an extent) the margin of error for the worker, but until everything is precisely installed via automation (as opposed to heavy human intervention) it doesn't matter how well it was designed.

Kevin was quoting something that is MORE true in the software world, and is commonly quoted there (in some form or fashion). In that a well engineered piece of software does not fail the user when used as intended, but a poorly written program will fail everytime.

 

Right, but that would only affect a single vehicle. A problem that would cause a recall, or problems with vehicles that make it over 100 problems per 100 vehicles, is definetly not human error in the plant. That is human error during the design process.

 

No problems with my GT since I bought it in AUG03, The car's birthday is coming up in June. Yes I will celebrate it too.

My V6 2002 coup had no problems until last week. I think the universal joint is going. When I make a right turn there is a click sound. Only when I turn the wheel to the right. My friend thinks that it could also be a T-Rod.

My girlfriend has been driving the V6 since last October, so it figures.... :bang:

 

The reason I've asked is because I've owned an import for 5 years now. Never owned a domestic, and was wondering about Ford's quality specifically their pride and joy.....the Mustang.

You can tell a lot about a car by its history....cough...Gremlin.....cough. The Mustang has lasted 40 years, so obviously people buy it for some reason.

I was just wondering if people bought Mustangs over and over just for HP, disregarding repairs and everything else.

I'm looking for a daily driver not something that makes me look cool Friday night....then has to be in the shop for 2 weeks. I just needed a general idea of problems.

In the last 5 years these are the repairs I've made to my 93 Civic.
Replaced Water Pump(other devices I've forgot already) $400
Brake Problems <--don't remember
Replaced Starter $200
Replaced Radiator $200
Needed to jump starts due to my aftermarket amp........causing corrosion on my battery terminals(my fault not Honda's)

Of course I've put 78K(99-present) on top of my parents 63K(owned 93-99). Making a total of 141K for you non-math wizards.

 

A very blanket statement was made, that wasn't true even in theory (except in a best-case fantasy world). Barring recalls (which *IS* bad design), even vehicles with over 100 problems for every 100 vehicles could very well be ill-trained workers, workers who don't care, workers who mess up, or assembly line process problems in general. or, a combination of all of the above.

Witness Hyundai. They had a significant drop in problems per 100 vehicles from the previous years -- WITH basically the same cars. They improved training and the process by which they assembled the vehicles.

The *process* of the assembly would have a far greater impact on the quality then the design. In fact, the reason many Japanese makes had such great perceived quality is because of their touted PROCESS for assembling the cars, not necessarily that the underlying design was any better.

Ford is now touting their flexible manufacturing process. They are also touting the newer factories (which allows many of these new process to work more fluidly).

 

Mestizo, the comment wasn't a direct response to your post, but to another post that was assuming Mustangs must be horribly built based on the posts in this thread. I was only pointing out this would be an inaccurate assessment.

I think overall, Mustangs are fairly well put together. I've known people who've had them for quiet some time without any problems. All of the problems I've had were fairly small, and more annoying then important. All were also fixed under warranty.

Also, of the Mustangs I've had, I've never shelled out for a repair (all fixed under warranty). That may not be the norm, I don't really know.

 

Correct, I saw the person's response....I was just saying it has been very beneficial to myself, I'm about a 1-2 years away from buying a new car.


So I've started dreaming now.....getting a wish list together, doing research. I was interested in some Dodges and Chrysler's however after hearing many bad things...I've Xed them off the list. About Dodge's bad repair record.....both the Stratus and Sebring being on the most stolen car list(ironically the two I was looking at). The SRT-4 having cheap interior......etc.

I wanna get the dirt on the car company, and get my facts straight even before I start test driving. Also it's kinda hard to get a sense of how well the 2005 model will be, until it is built. So I'm trying to see how many people have kept their car and what problems they experience.

Like they say...those who don't learn from history are bound to make the same mistakes in the future.

I understood your post, I was just saying that the topic and the vast number of responses have been helpful. It gives a general pool of information. Rather than one guy saying, MUSTANGS RULE!!! or MUSTANGS SUCK!!!