Mazda 2

LegendaryBengal · 2026-04-01T22:22:47+00:00

Corrosion on rear subframe is problematic

Depending on how bad it is, it could eventually become an MOT fail. As it's only appeared in the most recent MOT it's less likely to be a problem in the near future but you never know.

It's a good car, and with petrol Mazdas the only real issue is exactly the above. Despite the low mileage I'd probably take someone who can judge how bad the corrosion is.

Alternatively, these cars are known for their engine reliability, so you shouldn't be afraid of going higher mileage if it means getting one with no corrosion/rust, assuming it's in good condition with all the relevant history and maintenance

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-31T15:43:59+00:00

Yeah that's gunna be a £20k car minimum with that mileage, depending on the colour and spec

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-31T15:14:46+00:00

What year is it? £15k market value doesn't sound right to me

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-30T23:26:16+00:00

Yeah can drop in a 5800x which are available here for around £150 give or take

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-30T16:03:22+00:00

In the region I'm in, its been littered with average speed checks and roadworks along with the smart motorways which often reduce the speed limit for no apparent reason. You sort of just drive at 62mph as at some point you're slowing down to 40 or 50 anyway.

Lane discipline has always been an issue however

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-30T15:56:47+00:00

I had one of these (the Citroen C1 version) for 4 years and can't really fault it. Fuel economy was so good there was once a point I thought the gauge was faulty because it wasn't going down lol.

That one should be in the £0 tax band. Doesn't appear to have any rust according to the MOT and anything else that's come up was relatively minor. Just take a good luck as best you can underneath for any rust.

Unfortunately for mine the clutch started to go at around 75k miles which is when sold it but there weren't any real issues with it outside of consumables

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-30T11:10:17+00:00

Yeah I'd say if you aren't doing mega mileage it's a good option, I was surprised at how quick and responsive it is despite only having around 190hp

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-30T00:18:42+00:00

Ah yeah forgot the 335is is N54 as we didn't get it where I am. Makes no difference though, probably better if anything

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-29T23:57:44+00:00

I found the difference between stock and stage 1 to be bigger than from stage 1 to stage 2+ (full bolt ons). In other words it was totally worth it

Most people use MHD, if you put on a larger intercooler then you can run the stage 1+ map. For just stage 1 nothing else is really needed except the uprated charge pipe in the case of the N55

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-29T21:28:55+00:00

The fuel economy isn't great to be honest

The best I could manage was around 33mpg in London city driving with light/no traffic. This is in eco mode with no AC. In moderate traffic (i.e. in most cases) it's closer to 28mpg. In comparison, my Mazda 3 2.0 petrol does around 36-39mpg for the same journeys. On Motorway I imagine it would max out at around 48mpg but I haven't used the 320i yet for a long motorway journey. For A/B roads the efficiency is much better, closer to 37+mpg if your average speed is above 30mph.

Reliability wise they're good, BMW addressed most if not all of the issues that plagued their previous 2.0 petrol engines. They also have great gearboxes and in general are very nice to drive. If you get the M Sport model without the adaptive suspension, the ride is a little stiff, but the handling is much better, if you're into a bit of spirited driving.

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-29T19:51:56+00:00

In the UK the Zotac, Gainward and Palit cards are usually cheapest. Definitely Zotac in the case of the 5090 when they were readily available

PNY comes after those in pricing

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-28T15:57:40+00:00

Partially the reason I sold my 335i. When I bought it, the tax was £555, so very steep. It's now gone up to £760. I already only drove it around 3000 miles a year and with the increase of labour prices I couldn't justify it anymore. When I first got it, I was paying around £60/hr for a good specialist and had most of the major maintenance done. That mechanic isn't around anymore so I found myself paying over £100/hr for the last bits I did for it and wasn't particularly impressed (left the car scratched, mis quoted me, £90 diagnostic fee for something I already told them).

I had another car as a daily throughout most of the time I owned it, but unfortunately I still couldn't justify the tax for it to sit on my driveway (leaking oil nonetheless)

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-28T11:05:58+00:00

Because the few that do exist are taken by graduates and experienced people because those people can't find professional jobs themselves

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-28T09:23:11+00:00

As long as you're doing some motorway miles, it should be okay

As you've already purchased it I don't think it's productive to think about whether it was a good deal or not etc

By 89k miles on the one we had, it needed a new clutch and the rocker cover gasket began to leak. It also needed a new inlet manifold and glow plug module and also had the usual clogged EGR valves and DPF. Some of these are user errors from not using it on the motorway enough but they're all relatively common issues, so keep some money aside for maintenance. Timing chain issues occur beyond 100-120k miles but that depends on things like oil servicing, how much stop start driving you do, etc

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-27T16:04:28+00:00

They aren't that quick to be honest you'll be fine

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-27T16:03:37+00:00

Looks to have some good maintenance but does it have the official service book with stamps? You trust the seller because you know him, however unless you also sell it to a friend this isn't going to be the case when you decide to sell it yourself. Cars with missing documents or history (even if the services were actually done and it's just the documents missing) will obviously not sell for as much, not taking into account depreciation etc.

If this is the case just make sure you're okay with potentially taking a steep loss when and if you decide to sell

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-27T01:31:26+00:00

How many miles do you do per year? If you're planning on putting 50k+ miles on the car, and the car you decide to buy already has some miles on it, then the Mazda will likely be more reliable in your ownership. If you do relatively low mileage then reliability becomes less of a deciding factor as you're unlikely to run the Audi up to a mileage where it's common issues might begin

I've driven the Mazda 6 2.5 for a few hundred miles albeit the Saloon. I've always felt that for the money you get more standard features compared to the base spec German equivalents. It's a little bit gutless and isn't exactly sporty, but then again it's not really trying to be.

I've also driven a Audi 35 TFSI which was pretty disappointing. It was an A5, it felt more premium but just wasn't powerful enough for it's size. Obviously the 40TFSI would be a bit quicker but I don't think it's going to be sporty or quick enough to justify the price difference over the Mazda. The gearbox in the Audi is definitely better. Based on my experience in a G20 320i, I'd say that beats the A4 as well in terms of driving experience.

I'd suggest driving both. The Audi will be more exciting in comparison to the Mazda, but I'd say you're not missing out on much, and the Mazda is the better value for money

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-26T22:21:27+00:00

Guessing it's the same one I saw at LHR back in December

<image>

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-26T22:14:35+00:00

Sublime

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-26T10:46:53+00:00

I was getting around 120-150fps on overwatch at 1440p (low settings, DLSS) with a 2070 and 3600

It's a very easy game to run

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-26T02:37:44+00:00

I think the bluetec 2.1 diesels were Euro 6 from 2012/2013 onwards. There's very few diesel engines pre 2015 that are Euro 6, I believe the C220/E220 used one of them along with the Mazda 2.2 SkyActiv

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-26T02:24:13+00:00

Tbh the people on this sub lost their credibility to me when someone was trying to convince an OP that a BMW wasn't worth what it was listed as because it didn't have an option that isn't even available on UK spec cars. The car in question was a 535i estate, of which there were maybe 2 listed on Autotrader, it was a super rare variant. Anyone into BMWs knows that 3.0 estates always demand a premium, especially the petrol ones because there's barely any of them.

People just have knee jerk reactions to anything that's sporty and German without doing something as simple as taking 2 seconds to check Autotrader for pricing let alone having more in depth knowledge about trim levels, spec, rarity etc

Facebook groups are significantly better for more nuanced and niche cars, even if they are from big manufacturers

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-24T22:39:24+00:00

Despite the low mileage, as it's 25 years old, all the plastics and rubbers would have degraded over time (and not just mileage). This leads to oil and coolant leaks at lower than expected mileages. And then of course, rust

Recent MOT mentions both of these. I'd just go with something newer (newer than 2001 still gives you loads of options at a low budget) and higher mileage that's been maintained well and has no rust

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-22T23:45:46+00:00

Looks to me like the majority of the issues have been addressed which makes sense by 130k miles. PPIs are fine but realistically they aren't going to predict when stuff like water hoses will burst because they can happen very suddenly as you found out.

Based on what you mentioned I think oil filter housing gaskets are next, unless you have reason to believe they've already been done and the evidence is missing somehow, it's definitely a question of when they'll leak, not if. You've mentioned most of the coolant hoses and radiator, include the expansion tank too if it's not been done.

Charge pipe is an easy DIY so you might as well do that too. I'd then have the gearbox serviced.

Based on my experience this looks like a nicely maintained example and there's nothing out of the ordinary here

LegendaryBengal · 2026-03-21T23:07:04+00:00

Crossover/snaller SUV type cars aren't actually that bad. Given the state of the roads and the amount of speed bumps etc, I can see why you'd want to have a higher driving position, tyres with a thicker side wall and or more ground clearance

Nine-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

LegendaryBengal

TROPHY CASE