Used 1998 Mazda 626 Consumer Reviews
Don't do it!
I bought this car used about two years ago as a commuter car. It had about 36000 when I bought it. Now it has 78000 and the transmission is beginning to slip. After reading other reviews it appears as though my opinion of FORD quality has been reaffirmed, Fixed Or Repaired Daily. I am also geting a grinding noise from the driver side from tire. I had an older Mazda previous to this with no problems, but this car is awful. The Mitsubishi that I replaced had 170000 miles on it without ever getting the problems I am having with this car.
very reliable
Bought the 626 to be different than all my neighbors who were driving Camry's. Opted for the 5 speed manual. Never had any problems with this car for the first 100,000 miles. After that...just normal wear and tear. (fuel filter, brakes, plugs) Love the car and would consider buying the new "6" that just came out
Runs Well
Had this vehicle for over a year now and have had no major problems. Drives smoothly, and after reading all the commnets am happy i got the manual transmission. Could use a little more power though.
My 1998 626
It has been the best car I have ever owned. It's hard to believe it was built as a joint venture with FORD.
Piece of Crap
Since buying this marvel of technology we've had the transmission die at 60,000, the front axel brake, the drive chain fall off, the fuel sensor die causing us to loose all acceleration power while driving on the highway, and a recent intermittent ABS failure. If it weren't for an extended warranty, we would have cut our loses long ago. I would like to add that the many other cars we've owned in our lives (no other mazdas) have not had these problems.