# Mazda 6 or Hyndai Sonata or ?



## Rose Pink (Nov 7, 2008)

This is the size car we prefer.  Not too big, not too small.  A couple of our children have sonatas and my husband likes them--reasonable price.  My dd purchased hers new a few months ago for less than 18k.  Saw a new Mazda 6 in the showroom today with sticker price above 30k but it had leather seats, etc.  Is the Mazda that much better of a car mechanically, etc?

What other cars in this size category would you recommend?  I don't think we are in a big hurry to purchase a new car but the time is getting close.  I'd like to try a hybrid but my husband thinks they are totally ugly and won't even consider it.  If I even mention hybrid, I get a tantrum.


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## Jbart74 (Nov 7, 2008)

Rose Pink said:


> Saw a new Mazda 6 in the showroom today with sticker price above 30k but it had leather seats, etc.  Is the Mazda that much better of a car mechanically, etc?



I have driven both as rental cars on business.  Strictly based on power and stability, I would recommend the Mazda 6.  

In other aspects, the Mazda is superior as well, in my opinion.  The interior is much nicer,(in the cars I've rented) the 'feeling' of safety is a little stronger, and I like that the driver's seat rides a little lower in the Mazda 6.  

Is it worth 10K+ more?  I guess that depends on what you can afford.  I wouldn't turn away a free Sonata if it were offered, but if I could comfortably afford the Mazda, I'd go in that direction.   

JMHO


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## ricoba (Nov 7, 2008)

In that size car, I would also look at the new Hyundai Genesis.


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## Rose Pink (Nov 7, 2008)

Jbart74 said:


> Is it worth 10K+ more?
> 
> Wow, I just typed a response to this and all that posted was the quote.  So, I'll try again.  I should clarify that the base price of the Mazda 6 is 19k to 20k, which is more in-line with our price range and similar to the Sonata.  The 30k upgrade that I happened to walk past in the showroom had leather interior and fancy schmancy wheels.  I don't need fancy schmancy wheels as they just attract thieves.  It seems like a better car to me than the Sonata and I appreciate you posting your experienc comparing the two.
> 
> Rick, thanks for the link.  Had never heard of the genesis.


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## AwayWeGo (Nov 7, 2008)

*Mazda5.*

I'm holding out for Mazda5 -- not that there's anything wrong with Mazda6 & Hyundai. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## theo (Nov 7, 2008)

Rose Pink said:


> This is the size car we prefer.  Not too big, not too small.  A couple of our children have sonatas and my husband likes them--reasonable price.  My dd purchased hers new a few months ago for less than 18k.  Saw a new Mazda 6 in the showroom today with sticker price above 30k but it had leather seats, etc.  Is the Mazda that much better of a car mechanically, etc?



I can't offer any comparisons, being completely unfamiliar with the Mazda and not sufficiently familiar with sedans in this size range to offer other recommendations. Isn't Ford somehow associated with Mazda (....and is that necessarily a good thing)?

That said, I recently had a current year Hyundai Sonata on a short term basis while my own (American) car was out of commission for an extended period. I was pleasantly surprised and genuinely impressed with both the performance and apparent quality of the vehicle. I was fuilly prepared to dislike and dismiss the car as being Korean junk. Not so; I can't say a single bad thing about the vehicle and was a bit sad to later return it. 

However, I'd recommend seeing how the customer satisfaction and quality ratings stack up for your cars of consideration in Consumer Reports. While CR is certainly not the authoritative or final arbiter of automotive quality, real junk tends to be promptly and correctly and identified as such, reflecting consistently abysmal histories of oft-required repairs. You can buy the current year CR vehicle book on most any newsstand for under $10.

Disclaimer -- I have absolutely no affiliation of any kind with  Hyundai, Ford, Consumer Reports or any newsstand.


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## CMF (Nov 7, 2008)

*"or?"*

I strongly recommend you drive a Toyota Camry and a Toyota Avalon if you are considering sedans in this price range as they are the standard for the rest of the class.  


Charles


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## Luanne (Nov 7, 2008)

We've had a couple of Mazda 6 (well it was the model before that) and were very pleased.  Our dd is currently driving a Mazda 3 and loves it.  I also strongly recommend the Toyota Camry.  Currently I'm driving a new Prius and LOVE it.


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## UWSurfer (Nov 7, 2008)

I've got an 2000 Accent hatchback and a 2002 Camry.   

I primarily drive the Hyundai and must say I've been pleased over all with it.  I outfitted it with a surf board rack and bike carrier and it is my all around car.   Early when I purchased it (resale), I had a washing machine at the house die a month out of warranty.   2 days later while helping my brother move a piece of furniture he bought at an estate sale, the exact same washer was for sale for $125 and was the last hours of the sale.  I folded down the back seat and placed the washer on it's back and IT FIT with the hatch back closed!!!  I was amazed.

My wife drives the Camry mostly and its a nicer car than the Accent.   Obviously the Accent is not the same class of car you are looking at, but after 8 years it has been running with very little trouble.  The only note is Hyundai's typically looses it's resale value very quickly when you look at blue book values.


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## Deb from NC (Nov 7, 2008)

We had a Hyundai Azera as a rental car on our last trip..I was pleasantly surprised with how nice it was.  It had leatherseats, seat heaters, etc.  My personal car is an Acura TL and the Azera felt comparable to me.  You can get one a year old for about $ 19K..have you considered something like that?  We almost never buy new cars....too much depreciation the first year! (Can you tell I'm an accountant and hate to part with money ?  )
Deb


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## cerralee (Nov 7, 2008)

We have both a Mazda 6 and a camry xle.  I personally prefer the Mazda even though the camry has more bells and whistles.  they are both several years old (2004).  The camry's brakes seem a little "spongy" and the dealership says thats just the way the model is.


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## normab (Nov 7, 2008)

I would say that even though I love Mazdas (former Mazda protege and 626 owner), I have had Sonatas as rental cars and I liked the way they handled too.  

The main reason I like Mazdas is the zoom-zoom-zoom!  They always seem to have an option for a peppier engine and since I have spent my commutes getting on and off highways, I always chose the Mazda over the other Japanese models.

Now, mind you I now have a Prius, which has adequate pickup, but it's no Mazda!!!


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## beachsands (Nov 7, 2008)

I have owned two Sonatas, a 1990 & 2000. Both vehicles were driven about 150,000 miles or so. Rarely needed repairs on them. Extremely dependable cars.

On my 2000, it came with a 60,000 mile or 5 year warranty. Hyundai of America bumped that warranty up to a 100,000 mile or 10 year, bumper to bumper. Never needed it though.

I see new Sonatas here in Erie, for $15,000. My SIL that lives over in Ashtabula Ohio, bought a 2007 Sonata for $14,000 and change. They love it.
I would look around. You may want to even look at ebay. I know that some tuggers have purchased cars using ebay.

The only reason we bought a jeep this time was for the 4X4. We travel 30 miles one way in bad weather. The dealer down the street from our restaurant gave us such a good price that I couldn't turn it down. 

Joel


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## grest (Nov 7, 2008)

We drove a toyota camry, but while traveling we rented a sonata...we really liked it, and now we have both a camry and a sonata.  The new sonatas are lovely, and we like it a lot, would definitely buy one again.
Connie


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## silvib (Nov 7, 2008)

I would go for the Mazda.  We've had 2, the Mazda 626 coupe (this was in Europe) which had a 2.0 16v twin cam, we bought it new and kept it for 10 years, it was just brilliant.
Then (here) we bought a 2 year old Mazda 929 in 1995 which I actually still have as an emergency car at the office. It has 135,000 miles on the clock and still runs like a dream.  Hardly done a thing to it - spent a bit on mending the a/c about 18 months' ago.
It's probably like household appliances, they don't build them like they used to, but our personal experience has been great.


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## Debbyd57 (Nov 7, 2008)

When I turned 50 and had no more children to take to soccer and baseball, I purchased a Mazda 6 sport edition with a V6 engine.  I love it!!!!    I goes from 0-60 in seconds :whoopie: (probably why my gas mileage isn't the greatest), and it is a fun car to drive.  After driving vans, it feels small and sporty.  I highly recommend it.  Debby


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## Rose Pink (Nov 7, 2008)

I spoke with a Hyundai salesman today.  The Sonata's are less expensive than I thought.  The 2009 are $16,400 (or something like that) and financing through Hyundai is 2.9%.  That's mighty tempting.  I was planning on keeping my little protege for an other year or so but now I don't know.  DH wants a new car.  Thought about just buying it to surprise him but I'm not sure if he wants to be surprised.  He's been thinking about selling his cherokee.  Maybe I should just take that down to the dealership and trade it in. Then I could keep my Protege.  Would I find my marriage in jeopardy?


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## Steve (Nov 7, 2008)

*Mazda 6*

I love my Mazda 6 sport edition with the V6.  It's a cool looking car, it's fast, and it's fun to drive.  I have had it for five years, and it is in great shape.  It's been extremely reliable, and I still smile when I get behind the wheel.  It's a great car!

Steve


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## ctreelmom (Nov 8, 2008)

I'm car shopping now, too, although for an SUV or crossover (replacing an 8 year-old Chevy Tahoe with almost 120K miles on it).  I buy pre-owned, so that does limit me to what's available.  For what it might be worth, I can comment on how cars I've looked at appear to hold up.

I wanted to look at a Hyundai Santa Fe because they get positive reviews, have a long warranty, and we had a good experience with a Hyundai rental recently.  What I did notice, however, is that the perceived "lower priced" pre-owned vehicles, e.g., Hyundai and Saturn, could not pass for new as some of the other vehicles could.   And, they really weren't significantly less expensive than their similarly-equipped competitors.   I don't know if this is a reflection on the vehicles, their previous owners, or how carefully the dealers prepped them for resale.  I was much more impressed with the overall quality and condition of vehicles of similar age and mileage (I am looking for 2007s or 2008s) like the Honda CR-V, Volvo XC-90, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Volkswaon Tuarag (don't think I spelled that right).  The Ford Edges and Escapes I've looked at seem to show the wear and tear a lot more as well.

I've never owned a Mazda, but friends have and they rave about them. I did stop at the Mazda dealer and ask about used CX-9s but there were none available.  As to other sedans to consider, I am a big Honda Accord fan and my best friend's husband has a Toyota Camry that has over 250K miles on it and is still going strong. 

One other comment I'll share (sorry this is so long) is that I've been surprised at how unresponsive car salesmen are, even in this climate where their sales are down and car companies are in trouble.  I left a message at a dealership four days ago asking to see a vehicle advertised on their website and I haven't even gotten a return call.  You'd think they'd be bending over backwards when they "get a live one."


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## silvib (Nov 8, 2008)

I don't think we would bother to buy new again and would just carefully research the pre-owned market.  We've done both, but you seem to lose less money down the road on the pre-owned, unless you can get a really good deal in this market.


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## Rose Pink (Nov 12, 2008)

So I thought we were talking about Sonatas--DH wanted a Sonata.  He surprises me yesterday by buying a brand new Dodge Dakota truck!  Seems he only wanted the Sonata to replace my protege and when I said I wanted to keep it for a few more years, he decided to get a truck for himself.  The dealership gave him a good deal and no hassles buying.  He was very pleased that he didn't have to beat down a finance officer.  Now he just needs to sell his old Grand Cherokee and his Jeep trailer to make room for it in the driveway.

BTW, the dealership said they were required to put his name through the terrorist watch list.  It is illegal to sell a car to a terrorist.  DH and I figure no terrorist is going to buy a new car just to load it up with explosives--they'll just steal one instead.


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## Mosca (Nov 12, 2008)

Rose Pink said:


> BTW, the dealership said they were required to put his name through the terrorist watch list.  It is illegal to sell a car to a terrorist.  DH and I figure no terrorist is going to buy a new car just to load it up with explosives--they'll just steal one instead.




everyone has to be run through the OFAC list.


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## bigrick (Nov 16, 2008)

The way to buy a new car is via the internet.  Go to the website for the car of your choice.  Somewhere on the page there'll be a link for a quote via email.  Get quotes from as many dealerships as you want.  (When I did this, I got quotes from every dealer within a 2-hour drive.)  

The dealers will all send you an email with their price.  Pick among the emails.

I did this one month just to see how it worked.  The month I wanted to buy, I did this again on the last Saturday of the month.  Wow!  The quotes I got from just an email beat the at-dealer-quotes by $8,000!

That left enough money to consider buying another timeshare to celebrate!


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## nightnurse613 (Nov 16, 2008)

Bigrick has given everyone a good tip (although, in THIS market, I don't know how relevant it is).  Buy at the end of the month, end of the quarter, end of the year (especially when they are trying to meet a quota).


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## bigrick (Nov 17, 2008)

By getting quotes from many dealers you will get a rock bottom offer that you will take.  If all the quotes are for the same price, and you must buy now, then you can pick the dealer based on secondary offers or convenience.  The dollar ranges on the email quotes I received was amazing.  I was glad I requested quotes from beyond my local area.  I contacted several to see if they would/could match the lowest quote.  None did.  My gain!


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## Rose Pink (Nov 18, 2008)

Thanks for the tips on using e-mail quotes.  I'll keep that in mind for the next time.  DH's truck purchase was spur of the moment (and done without me) because he'd been looking/calling around just to see what was available and then he found a deal he couldn't pass up.  He's still in a good mood.  I'm still a little shocked because he was talking about Sonatas.


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