Discussion
Owning one (56-reg and 58k) and had it for 1 year 3 months now.
Very reliable provided that it is very well maintained!! Gearbox, transfer box and LSD oil change every 27k and brakes every 18k. All fluids are expensive and then there are labour charges. Noticeably faster and more economical after minor service - very sensitive to air filter (i.e. blockage due to dust and under-servicing), oil and oil filter change. Personally I have a high-flow K&N panel filter changing every 9k and fully sync 0W30 oil (Castrol Edge) and filter (Bosch) every 4.5k.
Minor service is very cheap (under £100 labour costs + parts which I supply) and my interim oil and filter change cost £20 labour rate (+ parts which I supplier). 27k, 54k, etc. service is over £300 labour + parts which I supply. All done at main dealer which are happy with me supplying parts - they charge £14 per litre of oil (6 litres needs), c.£20 per litre of gearbox and transfer box oil and c.£30 per litre of LSD oil, hence I supply the parts.
Known faults are VVTi and cam-chain rattle (due mainly to under-service and wrong oil used), air-con joints corrode between pipes and where pipe goes into condenser (aged related) and engine mount and diff mount rubbers (heat and aged related).
Tax has been mentioned.
Insurance is very cheap - mine is £360 fully comp with 9,000 miles limit, 31 year-old in central London with the IAM. It would appear some insurers do not have enough data to run the 6MPS so have classified at the low risk category.
Great in snow with active 4WD (95:05 shift to 50:50) and mechanical LSD on the rear axle so this is our ski trip car with folding rear seats (hidden extra known to insiders).
Driving can feel detached if not set up correctly. The car, even rear suspension, can be adjustable for toe and camber so need the rear geo spot-on for the car to feel sharp.
Steering can feel detached if not using hard tyre wall AND correct pressure. Default is Bridgestone RE050A extra load and minimum pressure is 38 psi all round. Most garages (inc. my main dealer) do not know these cars well and I had once got mine set to 32 psi all round after a service and the steering feels awful. (I think 32 psi all round is default on standard Mazda6). Need high load setting for fast driving (39 psi front and 42 psi rear).
Tyre - expensive due to odd size 215/45 R18 95Y XL
Fuel - very sensitive to grade and general consensus on the owner's club is it needs 99 RON so Tesco or Shell only. Possible on 98 RON but definite not on 95 RON. Engine has been known to pink and mis-fire on 95 RON and possibly throw a con-rod. Personally I find even on 99 RON, if the fuel is more than 2 weeks old, the engine feels slightly lazy compare to new fuel so I only fill up enough for the trip so I avoid old fuel in the tank (I have 3 other cars so sometimes I don't use the 6MPS for 3-4 weeks).
Economy - 18 mpg in stop-start, winter central London congestion charge zone driving. 30 mpg in summer, 80mph steady cruise.
Clutch - relatively heavy but very sharp at the biting point so not easy to control in stop-start traffic.
Price - seems to fall into 2 camp with good condition cars at £5-6k and bad condition ones at £3-4k for the same age cars. However, I would buy on condition and maintenance only (same to say as the E39 M5 which I also have).
As a daily driver, it will be dependable and reliable ... provided you keep on top of the servicing.
However, the car does not really comes alive until you hit 3-figure speed as at normal speed, the chassis is very competent. Coupled with a 1,665 kg kerb weight that the drive can feel stale / boring rather than pointy ... even on snow and ice.
Very reliable provided that it is very well maintained!! Gearbox, transfer box and LSD oil change every 27k and brakes every 18k. All fluids are expensive and then there are labour charges. Noticeably faster and more economical after minor service - very sensitive to air filter (i.e. blockage due to dust and under-servicing), oil and oil filter change. Personally I have a high-flow K&N panel filter changing every 9k and fully sync 0W30 oil (Castrol Edge) and filter (Bosch) every 4.5k.
Minor service is very cheap (under £100 labour costs + parts which I supply) and my interim oil and filter change cost £20 labour rate (+ parts which I supplier). 27k, 54k, etc. service is over £300 labour + parts which I supply. All done at main dealer which are happy with me supplying parts - they charge £14 per litre of oil (6 litres needs), c.£20 per litre of gearbox and transfer box oil and c.£30 per litre of LSD oil, hence I supply the parts.
Known faults are VVTi and cam-chain rattle (due mainly to under-service and wrong oil used), air-con joints corrode between pipes and where pipe goes into condenser (aged related) and engine mount and diff mount rubbers (heat and aged related).
Tax has been mentioned.
Insurance is very cheap - mine is £360 fully comp with 9,000 miles limit, 31 year-old in central London with the IAM. It would appear some insurers do not have enough data to run the 6MPS so have classified at the low risk category.
Great in snow with active 4WD (95:05 shift to 50:50) and mechanical LSD on the rear axle so this is our ski trip car with folding rear seats (hidden extra known to insiders).
Driving can feel detached if not set up correctly. The car, even rear suspension, can be adjustable for toe and camber so need the rear geo spot-on for the car to feel sharp.
Steering can feel detached if not using hard tyre wall AND correct pressure. Default is Bridgestone RE050A extra load and minimum pressure is 38 psi all round. Most garages (inc. my main dealer) do not know these cars well and I had once got mine set to 32 psi all round after a service and the steering feels awful. (I think 32 psi all round is default on standard Mazda6). Need high load setting for fast driving (39 psi front and 42 psi rear).
Tyre - expensive due to odd size 215/45 R18 95Y XL
Fuel - very sensitive to grade and general consensus on the owner's club is it needs 99 RON so Tesco or Shell only. Possible on 98 RON but definite not on 95 RON. Engine has been known to pink and mis-fire on 95 RON and possibly throw a con-rod. Personally I find even on 99 RON, if the fuel is more than 2 weeks old, the engine feels slightly lazy compare to new fuel so I only fill up enough for the trip so I avoid old fuel in the tank (I have 3 other cars so sometimes I don't use the 6MPS for 3-4 weeks).
Economy - 18 mpg in stop-start, winter central London congestion charge zone driving. 30 mpg in summer, 80mph steady cruise.
Clutch - relatively heavy but very sharp at the biting point so not easy to control in stop-start traffic.
Price - seems to fall into 2 camp with good condition cars at £5-6k and bad condition ones at £3-4k for the same age cars. However, I would buy on condition and maintenance only (same to say as the E39 M5 which I also have).
As a daily driver, it will be dependable and reliable ... provided you keep on top of the servicing.
However, the car does not really comes alive until you hit 3-figure speed as at normal speed, the chassis is very competent. Coupled with a 1,665 kg kerb weight that the drive can feel stale / boring rather than pointy ... even on snow and ice.
Slight thread resurrection, but I'm not in here often.
I'd agree with a lot of what hygt2 says except on my 2007 40k example owned from new:
Tyres - most owners dump the original tyre size for the more common 225/40/18 which fits perfectly. Goodyear F1 Assym2 or Uniroyal Rainsport2 seem to suit them well, much better than the OEM BS.
Clutch - is as hygt2 describes which is why Mazda issued a TSB and free fix which makes the clutch lighter and more progressive. Apparently some dealers do it as soon as you ask, some argue than check with Mazda and give in! Worth checking its been done if you drive in town a lot.
Steering - get it tracked and aligned properly, it transforms it.
Economy - I've never managed to get mine down to 18mpg. The lowest with mostly town driving has been 24mpg, average 28 and 31 on a run, all on 99RON though I'm still on the original brake pads all round at 40,000 miles so maybe I have light feet!
Overall mine has been very cheap to run, especially compared with the 335d it replaced which loved the local BMW dealer's workshop. My 6 hasn't had a single problem while I've had it (touch wood).
I'd agree with a lot of what hygt2 says except on my 2007 40k example owned from new:
Tyres - most owners dump the original tyre size for the more common 225/40/18 which fits perfectly. Goodyear F1 Assym2 or Uniroyal Rainsport2 seem to suit them well, much better than the OEM BS.
Clutch - is as hygt2 describes which is why Mazda issued a TSB and free fix which makes the clutch lighter and more progressive. Apparently some dealers do it as soon as you ask, some argue than check with Mazda and give in! Worth checking its been done if you drive in town a lot.
Steering - get it tracked and aligned properly, it transforms it.
Economy - I've never managed to get mine down to 18mpg. The lowest with mostly town driving has been 24mpg, average 28 and 31 on a run, all on 99RON though I'm still on the original brake pads all round at 40,000 miles so maybe I have light feet!
Overall mine has been very cheap to run, especially compared with the 335d it replaced which loved the local BMW dealer's workshop. My 6 hasn't had a single problem while I've had it (touch wood).
Picking mine up on Wednesday, not really planning on any major mods (possibly the BBR 290bhp chip after I get used to the car) as the one I bought is slightly leggy (80,000) will be using 5w 40 oil getting an oil catch can and CAI fitted, might upgrade the pads to redstuff ones.
Will be debadged and posibly a 1.4tdi badge added
Car is shod with p zeroes, are these any good or should I be looking at changing them?
Any advice from owners welcome!
Will be debadged and posibly a 1.4tdi badge added
Car is shod with p zeroes, are these any good or should I be looking at changing them?
Any advice from owners welcome!
Edited by spawnofsatan on Sunday 29th July 07:39
Picking mine up on Wednesday, not really planning on any major mods (possibly the BBR 290bhp chip after I get used to the car) as the one I bought is slightly leggy (80,000) will be using 5w 40 oil getting an oil catch can and CAI fitted, might upgrade the pads to redstuff ones.
Will be debadged and possibly a 1.4tdi badge added as going for the sleeper look. Plate is a bit of a give away (MY06 MPS) so that might be up for sale if any owners are interested?
Car is shod with p zeroes, are these any good or should I be looking at changing them?
Any advice from owners welcome!
Will be debadged and possibly a 1.4tdi badge added
as going for the sleeper look. Plate is a bit of a give away (MY06 MPS) so that might be up for sale if any owners are interested?Car is shod with p zeroes, are these any good or should I be looking at changing them?
Any advice from owners welcome!
Edited by spawnofsatan on Sunday 29th July 07:42
spawnofsatan said:
Picking mine up on Wednesday, not really planning on any major mods (possibly the BBR 290bhp chip after I get used to the car) as the one I bought is slightly leggy (80,000) will be using 5w 40 oil getting an oil catch can and CAI fitted, might upgrade the pads to redstuff ones.
Will be debadged and possibly a 1.4tdi badge added as going for the sleeper look. Plate is a bit of a give away (MY06 MPS) so that might be up for sale if any owners are interested?
Car is shod with p zeroes, are these any good or should I be looking at changing them?
Any advice from owners welcome!
Each to their own. I understand possibly de badging but why bother with a 1.4 tdi badge. Your not fooling anyone really.Will be debadged and possibly a 1.4tdi badge added
as going for the sleeper look. Plate is a bit of a give away (MY06 MPS) so that might be up for sale if any owners are interested?Car is shod with p zeroes, are these any good or should I be looking at changing them?
Any advice from owners welcome!
Edited by spawnofsatan on Sunday 29th July 07:42
hygt2 said:
E39 M5 which I also have.
I have narrowed down my next car choice to either a E39 M5 or a Mazda 6 MPS.I know I would be a fool if I didn't get the E39 M5, but the MPS really seems to float my boat.
I think the Mazda servicing/running costs are about half the BMW dealerships and I the Mazda would be 5 years younger and with fewer miles.
My budget would be approx £9K, so I could get a good M5, but I could also get a good Mazda MPS and throw £3-4K of mods at it. I suspect that with a bigger turbo (eg GTX3076R)and support mods,400whp would be on the cards. So how good is a 400hp MPS with suspension mods compared to a 400hp E39 M5 ? I also suspect that they both weigh the same ? Anybody want to confirm this ?
Any comments hygt2 ?
John_S4x4 said:
hygt2 said:
E39 M5 which I also have.
I have narrowed down my next car choice to either a E39 M5 or a Mazda 6 MPS.I know I would be a fool if I didn't get the E39 M5, but the MPS really seems to float my boat.
I think the Mazda servicing/running costs are about half the BMW dealerships and I the Mazda would be 5 years younger and with fewer miles.
My budget would be approx £9K, so I could get a good M5, but I could also get a good Mazda MPS and throw £3-4K of mods at it. I suspect that with a bigger turbo (eg GTX3076R)and support mods,400whp would be on the cards. So how good is a 400hp MPS with suspension mods compared to a 400hp E39 M5 ? I also suspect that they both weigh the same ? Anybody want to confirm this ?
Any comments hygt2 ?
There are significant differences between the E39 M5 and the 6MPS - I would suggest you drive both before you decide which to go for. The 6 MPS is 1.6 ton and the M5 is 1.9 ton.
In summary, the M5 with a full suspension refresh will have a much more compliant and comfortable ride than the 6 MPS. The M5 should feel like an exec with good suspension response whereas the 6 MPS should feel like a sport saloon (Subaru Legacy Spec B/BMW 330i M-Sport). The gearing is also completely different - you maybe able to squeeze 400 bhp from the 6 MPS but the gearing is short so red-line in 6th = 160 mph whereas the top gear in the E39 is geared to 190mph+ so the gears feel more spread-out and more relaxed to drive with less gear changes. Obviously, the sound and power delivery is very different, one being a N/A V8 RWD and the other is a turbo 4 4WD. In fact, you have to push the 6 MPS very hard for it to feel 4WD but the M5 feels RWD at normal-ish speed.
Both my cars are standard and I use them for very different purposes, with the 6MPS being a winter/ski car and the E39 a garaged-car under dust cover.
Also for the M5, I would budget a lot more than £9,000 as a suspension refresh will be £3-4,000 with springs, dampers, suspension arms and bushes, sub-frame bushes, etc. (which are especially expensive compare to the still expensive springs and dampers and there are a lot of bushes which will be hardened/perishing by now 10 years old). Then you will probably have rust to sort out on the boot lid above the number plate, fuel filling compartment, possibly jack points and the boot sills. Also, the BMW digital TV conversion is a few hundred pounds as well, as all E39 came with analogue TV. If all the work has done by the previous owner, the car will be closer to £12,000 for the last of the line facelift car, or buy a facelift car for £6-8,000 and do the work yourself.
I would say the 6 MPS is a "buy and forget car" as I didn't spend any money beyond brakes, tyres and an engine mount (weak point and splitting on mine). You can get a very good 6 MPS for £5-6,000 or as low as £3-4,000 at the bottom of the scale. Whereas the E39 which will be at least 9-10 years old will need constant money spent on it to enjoy the full experience as intended by BMW. For example, the radiator will be 10 years old so may need a new one sooner rather than later, a friend of mine needed a new alternator at 11 year-old on his M5 earlier this year, etc. ...
Actually come to think of it, the 6 MPS is now 60,000 miles so I would be giving it a full suspension refresh sooner rather than later. I very much fancy the Bilstein B6/B8(?) set up which will make the ride more compliant so will make it more like the E39
Edited by hygt2 on Thursday 18th October 15:31
Thanks very much for the reply. I was hoping that you would suggest that I would be a fool going for the MPS and get the M5 but it seems the Mazda could be the better bet and newer.....I might have to still scratch that M5 itch though. I'll head over to the M5 forums and do some research. Thanks again.
John_S4x4 said:
Thanks very much for the reply. I was hoping that you would suggest that I would be a fool going for the MPS and get the M5 but it seems the Mazda could be the better bet and newer.....I might have to still scratch that M5 itch though. I'll head over to the M5 forums and do some research. Thanks again.
No problem.I guess if you still want to experience the proper E39 M5 experience for £9,000, one option is to find a decent pre-facelift car for £4-5,000 and spend the rest (but minimal) on replacement suspension parts as necessary for the driving experience as BMW intended. Hopefully on the older cars, more of the suspension/chassis would have been replaced and more of the rust spots would have been sorted out compared to a newer, facelift car.
However, these are really not collectables as yet so whatever you spend on suspension and drive-train, you probably won't recoup the cost back on resale as current second-hand E39 buyers won't appreciate the money spent. As such, you may have to drive 40-50k miles out of it so you get to enjoy the replacement parts to the full.
Akk said:
Hi there, can you tell me where you get all your parts for the Mazda 6 mps. ( oils and parts). I am in the London area.
Many thanks
Akk
Sorry for the delayed reply as I have been working abroad the last few weeks. I am in London too.Many thanks
Akk
Edited by Akk on Monday 4th February 22:58
Edited by Akk on Monday 4th February 22:59
I get most of my service parts from Bosch via EuroCarParts. Engine oil are 0W30 Castrol Edge from Costco when on offer (car takes c.5.5-5.7L so I separate out 6L unit for the 4.5k oil change interval + a little left over for topping up my other cars). Gear box, transfer box and rear diff oil from a variety of sources such as opie. Tyres from Costco (Michelin). Other parts are upgrades where I buy from US.
Hope these helps.
spawnofsatan said:
Picking mine up on Wednesday, not really planning on any major mods (possibly the BBR 290bhp chip after I get used to the car) as the one I bought is slightly leggy (80,000) will be using 5w 40 oil getting an oil catch can and CAI fitted, might upgrade the pads to redstuff ones.
Will be debadged and possibly a 1.4tdi badge added as going for the sleeper look. Plate is a bit of a give away (MY06 MPS) so that might be up for sale if any owners are interested?
Car is shod with p zeroes, are these any good or should I be looking at changing them?
Any advice from owners welcome!
Have you still got the registration. I've also got one which reads MPS I GAS - It's really MP51 GAS - I only want £250-£300 for it if anyone knows someone?Will be debadged and possibly a 1.4tdi badge added
as going for the sleeper look. Plate is a bit of a give away (MY06 MPS) so that might be up for sale if any owners are interested?Car is shod with p zeroes, are these any good or should I be looking at changing them?
Any advice from owners welcome!
Edited by spawnofsatan on Sunday 29th July 07:42
Gassing Station | Japanese Chat | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff