Faults:

Since I've owned the car, driving daily for the last year, just wear and tear.

New left lower control arm and two new short shafts (torn boots, tugging rough). Otherwise just basic stuff; oil change, etc.

I am the second owner of this car. My uncle purchased it brand new in summer of 93. He drove all highway miles and replaced things as they went wrong, as anybody good at taking care of cars does.

Oil changes every 4-5k miles, always Kendall brand oil.

The driver's seat is torn, but a seat cover looks fine and it's still comfy. The other seats and fabric are perfect, carpet is like brand new.

The body has rust on the liftgate (repaired) and on the passenger door (repaired). The whole thing needs to be re-painted due to a lot of fading, but it's silver metallic so it doesn't show too bad. It's on the third set of trunk struts; a pole holds it up fine; never bothered to replace them.

I should mention the timing belts go out every 4 or 5 years, so stay on top or get them replaced, and engine will stay running great.

General Comments:

This car runs and drives like brand new; fast and sporty. I get 29mpg mixed highway and city, which is pretty darn good.

In the last 2-3 years before I took ownership, it had new distro, plugs, cables, water pump, fuel pump, power steering pump, hoses, PCV, throttle body and sensor, MAF, timing belt, 4 new tires, battery, rear sway bar links and bearings. Front end links and bearings.

My car has the original clutch and engine. The air conditioner system is also all original, and blows ice cold.

Just shows if you take care of your car and replace things when they are worn, it will run forever. My car will be a collectable soon, and I plan to drive it to 500k miles+ if it will make it there. So long as parts continue to be made for the 02 Mazda 626, I'll have no problem maintaining.

Faults:

Well when I bought the car, it was running fine, although I was expecting some problems to be there because of the car's age.

Right now there is a coolant leak, and it idles low. It's either this or something else that's making the car a nightmare to drive. I got stuck in an intersection one night because the car didn't want to start from a clear stop (the car is a 5sp). I think that it's the throttle positioning sensor. It may need to be replaced or adjusted. The car had also sat for a while, so that could have been the problem too.

General Comments:

Other than the general problems that I have been seeing/reading about, this car is a fun drive. It sits low and hugs the corners like an expensive European car.

The V6 is a breath of fresh air, beats a lot of my friends "ricers" and four popper turbos. The original manual trans has lasted for over 152k miles and so has the original clutch.

It's a sleek looking car and it's really comfortable, the seats are so comfy compared to the old bench style seats that I have been using for the past two years.

THIS CAR IS A GREAT DOMESTIC TUNER!!!