Faults:

Surprisingly nothing. The big Mazda's been through a lot of punishment (and no servicing!) but remains intact. Condition wasn't good though.

General Comments:

My mum had told me before buying it that Mazda's are the easiest cars in the world to drive. She had a point. I had originally wanted an old BMW 3 Series (E30 or E36) or an old 5 Series (E34) due to their driving. I took a 626 2.0 Auto out for a drive and it was brilliant.

This one had power steering and anti lock brakes, so you can tell what it was like. So of course I bought it. It was a huge bargain. Only £800.

I would also like to add that whereas the S-Class is credited for being the first to bring new innovations like air-bags, seat-belts etc, but the original 1960s 626 was the first car to have folding rear seats. An innovation in it's own right.

The only problem that I had with it was the running costs and the economy as it was good everywhere else. But the 2.0 has a thirst for unleaded.

I sold it for an economy car, a 1.3 Toyota Corolla. I sold the best car that I had ever owned to save a few pounds in petrol, and now I regret it, because it was brilliant and this is abysmal.

Faults:

There have been a few minor problems, like the CV joints being replaced at 160,000 miles; fairly cheap and quick to replace. I hear that's common in front wheel drive cars.

The front tires do wear down a little fast, but that could just be because I have a speeding problem.

The stiff suspension is great for corning, but makes the ride a bit rougher; doesn't bother me really.

I needed to change the A/C over from R-12 to R134a.

The exhaust gasket behind the catalyst converter is replaced about every 30000 miles. The part is like $2.

There have been fewer problems with this car then many of the others I have added to my garage since.

General Comments:

This car was a gift for my 16th birthday years ago.

It was my first car and I still drive it daily.

It really is a good car. I've driven it around the country many time and it still has the original engine and transmission at 200,000 miles. Surprising how much this one little car can take. I know the first few years I drove it hard trying to make it to school on time. But it is still a fun car to drive and good on gas. Paint is just as shiny as ever. The 93 Mazda 626 is a good buy.

As a fair warning...

I have also had a 95 Mazda 626. The 93 and 95 look the same, but very different in reliability. The automatic 93' 626 has a Mazda built, 5 speed ATX transmission. While the 94' through 97' share a Ford built, 4 speed automatic transmission with the Ford Probe. The Ford Transmission is more economical, but far less reliable. The transmission on my 95 went out at 124,000 miles. I believe Mazda offered a short recall for some of the transmissions, but it is now long expired.