VikingDJ

I don't keep high HP turbo daily drivers past the warranty, so that's the deal. I wanted to buy a Legacy GT, but since the Speed 6 failed in the market, I could get one for considerably cheaper. The deal was INSANE, trust me. I couldn't believe how cheap I got this car for. The price was too good to pass up, and the risk wasn't there because I won't keep car past 4 years 50k miles anyway. The STI was super for me, but was too toyish looking for a daily driver, a bit loud and harsh for a long work commute, and I drew way too much negative attention from police and punks trying to rave me.

All we can do is go by our personal experience and experience of others. I happen to know a guy with an 02 WRX that's modded to about 300whp. It's his daily driver, and it has over 100k miles on it. Never a problem. It's just one experience, but you can't go by car forums for any accuracy. The Speed 3 and Speed 6, and especially the CX7 are having problems. TSB'S out the wazoo. I understand you're partial to your car, and will defend it at all costs, but just try a slight bit to look outside the box and think objectively.

Both car companies, and both the WRX and Speed 3 are great, but one has proven itself better at this time. Not to say the Speed 3 won't be reliable, but there's nothing to prove Mazda is a equally or more reliable car company, especially in high HP situations. They certainly don't have the tuning down like Subaru.

Betelgeuse

Well I was just curious as to why you went with Mazda and your explanation seems reasonable. The ms6 lost a lot of its value and the dealers just wanted to get rid of them. They offered me one for around 25k but I had my mind set on the speed3. Anyway in all fairness the ms6 is a new design (just like speed3) so some problems are to be expected. Hopefully yours will stay minor.

As for tsbs, well that's industry wide. Pretty much all cars do or will have a few. They're not bad things actually, at least not to me. It's good to know that a company is aware of a problem and has a fix.

I'm not sure why you'd think a forum is bad a place to find info on a particular car. I've been a member of several forums and have benefited directly from the data posted on them. I've seen problems and fixes posted on forums before the dealer/ manufacturer even knew about them. The speed3 motor mount issue is a good example. We knew months before and quite a few people had already tightened their bolts. Forums, IMO, are a far more valuable source of reliability data than any survey. Of course first hand experience matters too, but we can't have first hand experience on every car.

I think you have me pegged wrong. I will defend my car yes, but not at all costs. The speed3 is not perfect. Some people have had CELs and a few have had irregular boost spikes cruising in 6th. Some have complained about the clunky transmission, but that's just the way it is. There was the motor mount issue which Mazda issued a recall for and of course there's the 3rd gear gate issue which is more of a 'getting used to' thing than an actual problem.

With the exception of the motor mount issue (which is already fixed for the most part)there really isn't anything I'd consider serious. Only time will tell but so far so good. I haven't heard much problems regarding the CX-7 though, kinda curious about what's going on there.

Just like you've had good experiences with Subarus, I've had good experiences with Mazdas so we aren't gonna convince each other one is better than other. One thing I know for sure, every company has their 'lemons'.

Razz1

I like the MS3, the looks the way it drives and I hate the looks of a WRX

VikingDJ

I understand ya better now Betelgeuse. I admit I feel much more comfortable with Subaru making high HP cars, because Mazda is new to the game, and makes far less vehicles. I believe Mazda is very reliable and long lasting, but this is a new engine, and Mazda hasn't proven themselves on it yet. I sure hope this engine ends up being capable of 200--250k miles. I truly love my Speed 6, and I'd love to keep it past 50k miles. It's just annoying having to take it in for stupid things like a CEL, reflash, coolant leak, ect ect. I got my Speed 6 for $23500 in July of 2006, which was $2000 less then I could haggle Subaru for a Legacy GT. The Speed 6 looks nicer too, so I took the chance. No major problems, but sure enough, lots of stupid dealer visits, that are a HUGE inconvenience. Have to take it in YET one more time tomorrow for a coolant leak (there's a TSB on it). I pray this is the end, because I'm smelling RX8 deja vu.

My mom has been buying Subaru's since 1977, and never had problems with them. No car she ever owned had ONE single minor problem in the first 60k miles of ownership. I've owned two Subarus, and 4 Mazdas in my life. Perhaps bad luck, but the two Subarus never had one slight within the first 60k miles, and three out of the 4 Mazdas were at dealership right and left. Only one that was REALLY reliable was my 1988 B2200 pickup. Bad luck? Perhaps. Gotta hope the dealewrship visits stop, because If I have to go there 2 more times for problems within the next 3 years, I'm getting rid of it. I hope that doesn't happen.

delhi

I see the Speed3 like many others before it another SRT-4 or Astra VXR etc. The WRX has been doing this



...long before when Mazda was still injecting
to the market.

Chances are the Impreza WRX will continue to soldier on after whatever SRT nor Mazdaspeed incarnations have gone to the scraps.
It's one of the top choice in various Gran Turismo versions and will continue so. There is nothing to prove anymore with the WRX as it has already reached global cult legend.
About the reliability, the Subaru WRX is commonly superior over Mazda's. I have a stage II 92x (aka Saabified WRX) that is our 'gorcery getter/family hauler' and it sees a 60km daily commute. It has yet to visit the dealership for any warranty work. In fact all my subarus never. I just buy them and drive away. Being designed as a rally racer, the boxer engine is stupidly easy to work with for quick maintenance.
I am just sad that Subaru has somewhat softened the WRX in an effort for larger crowd appeal in North America. But with the huge aftermarket support, it is still a wonderful tuner car.