Miatapower List Archive

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: "Michael Hagerla" <(email redacted)>

No Mazda ever has had the quality that the Miata has had. That said, Ford
sucks IMO - I know so many people that have had stupid crap go wrong with
them it is amazing they are still in business.

I had a 1986 Ford Escort(that I bought brand new) that was a complete piece
of crap - dash board rattles/squeaks that they were unable to stop, the
plastic light covers on the pax side vanity mirror fell off one day(heat
warped the plastic), drivers side seat tracks had to be replaced because
they didn't lock into place firmly, window trim began to decay from UV
damage(noticeable at about the 2 year marker), both cvjoints went bad at 40K
miles and the timing belt broke at EXACTLY 62K miles(just out of warranty) -
enough said.

A friend of mine bought a brand new Mustang GT back in 1988 and a week later
it had an electrical fire and burned to the ground right on the side of the
road - yeah, great quality there...

The Bronco II is one of the lamest "trucks" ever made IMO. My brother had
one and at 80K miles he had to sink over 2K to fix the tranny. Then he had
to get the engine rebuilt because it was leaking oil so bad he couldn't park
it anywhere without making a mess. My cousin also had one - he spent a LOT
of money to constantly fix the tranny(twice in less than 5 years).

One of the fellas I work with bought a brand new Ford Expedition(the
gigantic one) and he hated it - he turned it in for an Acura MDX. He didn't
have anything major go wrong, but the brake pads needed changing after only
6K miles and the dealership was unable to fix the power windows - the front
pax side would jam up sometimes and the drivers side was a lot slower than
the rest of the windows - sure, the dealership mechanics are probably to
blame, but the problem should not have existed in the first place.

/rant off :D
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Hotaling [mailto:(email redacted)]
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 10:54 AM
To: David Colby; Quentin J Sarafinchan; (email redacted)
Cc: (email redacted)
Subject: Re: [npc] Is Mazda quality really THIS bad??


This notion and a similar one in the Jag world got me to thinking... Fords
have been (are: F-250 and Bronco II) some of the best cars I've owned over
the past XX years. No complaints from this address.
----- Original Message -----
From: David Colby
To: Quentin J Sarafinchan ; (email redacted)
Cc: (email redacted)
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 12:22 PM
Subject: Re: [npc] Is Mazda quality really THIS bad??


I was going to say I guess they didn't grease them as much as the
rest... Mazda miata's have had a fairly good history. Although aren't they
owned by FORD now... thus maybe the quality decline was due to that? LOL

David

Quentin J Sarafinchan <(email redacted)> wrote:
When I went to purchase my Miata, I had a choice between a Mitsu
Spyder and the Miata. I emailed the Lemon Care dude, and he replied
that a Mazda is a GREAT buy and a Mistubishi is a average buy. I
think it depends on who is doing the list and how involved they are,
and perhaps how much kickbacks they are getting from the Mfgs...

-=Q=-

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 09:06:32 -0400, "Ackley, Ray (R.A.)" wrote:

So I’m reading my JD Power Car Guide – Best &
Worse Cars of 2004 mag on 2004 manufacturer quality ratings. I’m
expecting to see Mazda up there near the top, or at least above the
middle, as
all the Miatas I’ve owned have never had a problem that wasn’t
somehow brought about by my tinkering.



To my horror, I see Mazda came in #33, only four spots from
the bottom and below such brands as Kia, Che! volet, Dodge, GMC, Ford,
Jeep,
Mini, Suzuki, etc. The ONLY brands it beat were Hummer Porsche Scion
and
VW. Which isn’t saying much at all. I owned a 2002 VW and it
was a complete POS.



What’s going on? Why has Mazda’s quality
become so abysmal? Has it always been this bad and I was just really
lucky with the cars I’ve owned?



Ray Ackley

Cheers,
Quentin

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: "Bob Hotaling" <(email redacted)>

...ooou..the anger!
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Michael Hagerla=20
To: (email redacted)=20
Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2004 5:11 AM
Subject: RE: [npc] WAS Is Mazda quality really THIS bad?? - FORD is REALL=
Y BAD


No Mazda ever has had the quality that the Miata has had. That said, For=
d sucks IMO - I know so many people that have had stupid crap go wrong with=
them it is amazing they are still in business.

I had a 1986 Ford Escort(that I bought brand new) that was a complete pie=
ce of crap - dash board rattles/squeaks that they were unable to stop, the =
plastic light covers on the pax side vanity mirror fell off one day(heat wa=
rped the plastic), drivers side seat tracks had to be replaced because they=
didn't lock into place firmly, window trim began to decay from UV damage(n=
oticeable at about the 2 year marker), both cvjoints went bad at 40K miles =
and the timing belt broke at EXACTLY 62K miles(just out of warranty) - enou=
gh said.

A friend of mine bought a brand new Mustang GT back in 1988 and a week la=
ter it had an electrical fire and burned to the ground right on the side of=
the road - yeah, great quality there...

The Bronco II is one of the lamest "trucks" ever made IMO. My brother ha=
d one and at 80K miles he had to sink over 2K to fix the tranny. Then he h=
ad to get the engine rebuilt because it was leaking oil so bad he couldn't =
park it anywhere without making a mess. My cousin also had one - he spent =
a LOT of money to constantly fix the tranny(twice in less than 5 years).

One of the fellas I work with bought a brand new Ford Expedition(the giga=
ntic one) and he hated it - he turned it in for an Acura MDX. He didn't ha=
ve anything major go wrong, but the brake pads needed changing after only 6=
K miles and the dealership was unable to fix the power windows - the front =
pax side would jam up sometimes and the drivers side was a lot slower than =
the rest of the windows - sure, the dealership mechanics are probably to bl=
ame, but the problem should not have existed in the first place.

/rant off :D
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Hotaling [mailto:(email redacted)]
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 10:54 AM
To: David Colby; Quentin J Sarafinchan; (email redacted)
Cc: (email redacted)
Subject: Re: [npc] Is Mazda quality really THIS bad??


This notion and a similar one in the Jag world got me to thinking... Fo=
rds have been (are: F-250 and Bronco II) some of the best cars I've owned o=
ver the past XX years. No complaints from this address.
----- Original Message -----=20
From: David Colby=20
To: Quentin J Sarafinchan ; (email redacted)=20
Cc: (email redacted)=20
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 12:22 PM
Subject: Re: [npc] Is Mazda quality really THIS bad??


I was going to say I guess they didn't grease them as much as the res=
t... Mazda miata's have had a fairly good history. Although aren't they ow=
ned by FORD now... thus maybe the quality decline was due to that? LOL

David

Quentin J Sarafinchan <(email redacted)> wrote:
When I went to purchase my Miata, I had a choice between a Mitsu
Spyder and the Miata. I emailed the Lemon Care dude, and he replied
that a Mazda is a GREAT buy and a Mistubishi is a average buy. I
think it depends on who is doing the list and how involved they are,
and perhaps how much kickbacks they are getting from the Mfgs...=20

-=3DQ=3D-

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 09:06:32 -0400, "Ackley, Ray (R.A.)" wrote:

So I'm reading my JD Power Car Guide - Best &
Worse Cars of 2004 mag on 2004 manufacturer quality ratings. I'm
expecting to see Mazda up there near the top, or at least above the
middle, as
all the Miatas I've owned have never had a problem that wasn't
somehow brought about by my tinkering.=20=20

=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20

To my horror, I see Mazda came in #33, only four spots from
the bottom and below such brands as Kia, Che! volet, Dodge, GMC, Fo=
rd,
Jeep,
Mini, Suzuki, etc. The ONLY brands it beat were Hummer Porsche Sci=
on
and
VW. Which isn't saying much at all. I owned a 2002 VW and it
was a complete POS.

=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20

What's going on? Why has Mazda's quality
become so abysmal? Has it always been this bad and I was just real=
ly
lucky with the cars I've owned?=20=20

=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20

Ray Ackley

Cheers,
Quentin

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: Robert Circle <(email redacted)>

I had a 94 Mazda 626 ES my brother still drives it. This is pretty much
a Ford product my brother has had a couple things repair headlight
switch and an AC leak. Now at 10 years and a 180K he might be looking
for something else, but the car still runs well. If mazda imported a
TDI in a sedan wagon or even a hatchback I would go with the Mazda. The
Mazda 6 is a good car and worth looking at. I know a number of repair
shop/business that got a lot of high mileage use from a Ford Escort
which used a lot of Mazda parts.

Michael Hagerla wrote:

> No Mazda ever has had the quality that the Miata has had. That said,
> Ford sucks IMO - I know so many people that have had stupid crap go
> wrong with them it is amazing they are still in business.
>
> I had a 1986 Ford Escort(that I bought brand new) that was a complete
> piece of crap - dash board rattles/squeaks that they were unable to
> stop, the plastic light covers on the pax side vanity mirror fell off
> one day(heat warped the plastic), drivers side seat tracks had to be
> replaced because they didn't lock into place firmly, window trim began
> to decay from UV damage(noticeable at about the 2 year marker), both
> cvjoints went bad at 40K miles and the timing belt broke at EXACTLY
> 62K miles(just out of warranty) - enough said.
>
> A friend of mine bought a brand new Mustang GT back in 1988 and a week
> later it had an electrical fire and burned to the ground right on the
> side of the road - yeah, great quality there...
>
> The Bronco II is one of the lamest "trucks" ever made IMO. My brother
> had one and at 80K miles he had to sink over 2K to fix the tranny.
> Then he had to get the engine rebuilt because it was leaking oil so
> bad he couldn't park it anywhere without making a mess. My cousin
> also had one - he spent a LOT of money to constantly fix the
> tranny(twice in less than 5 years).
>
> One of the fellas I work with bought a brand new Ford Expedition(the
> gigantic one) and he hated it - he turned it in for an Acura MDX. He
> didn't have anything major go wrong, but the brake pads needed
> changing after only 6K miles and the dealership was unable to fix the
> power windows - the front pax side would jam up sometimes and the
> drivers side was a lot slower than the rest of the windows - sure, the
> dealership mechanics are probably to blame, but the problem should not
> have existed in the first place.
>
> /rant off :D
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Hotaling [mailto:(email redacted)]
> Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 10:54 AM
> To: David Colby; Quentin J Sarafinchan; (email redacted)
> Cc: (email redacted)
> Subject: Re: [npc] Is Mazda quality really THIS bad??
>
> This notion and a similar one in the Jag world got me to
> thinking... Fords have been (are: F-250 and Bronco II) some of the
> best cars I've owned over the past XX years. No complaints from
> this address.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: David Colby <mailto:(email redacted)>
> To: Quentin J Sarafinchan <mailto:(email redacted)> ;
> (email redacted) <mailto:(email redacted)>
> Cc: (email redacted) <mailto:(email redacted)>
> Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 12:22 PM
> Subject: Re: [npc] Is Mazda quality really THIS bad??
>
> I was going to say I guess they didn't grease them as much as
> the rest... Mazda miata's have had a fairly good history.
> Although aren't they owned by FORD now... thus maybe the
> quality decline was due to that? LOL
>
> David
>
> Quentin J Sarafinchan <(email redacted)
> <mailto:(email redacted)>> wrote:
>
> When I went to purchase my Miata, I had a choice between a
> Mitsu
> Spyder and the Miata. I emailed the Lemon Care dude, and
> he replied
> that a Mazda is a GREAT buy and a Mistubishi is a average
> buy. I
> think it depends on who is doing the list and how involved
> they are,
> and perhaps how much kickbacks they are getting from the
> Mfgs...
>
> -=Q=-
>
> On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 09:06:32 -0400, "Ackley, Ray (R.A.)"
> wrote:
>
> So I'm reading my JD Power Car Guide - Best &
> Worse Cars of 2004 mag on 2004 manufacturer quality
> ratings. I'm
> expecting to see Mazda up there near the top, or at least
> above the
> middle, as
> all the Miatas I've owned have never had a problem that wasn't
> somehow brought about by my tinkering.
>
>
>
> To my horror, I see Mazda came in #33, only four spots from
> the bottom and below such brands as Kia, Che! volet,
> Dodge, GMC, Ford,
> Jeep,
> Mini, Suzuki, etc. The ONLY brands it beat were Hummer
> Porsche Scion
> and
> VW. Which isn't saying much at all. I owned a 2002 VW and it
> was a complete POS.
>
>
>
> What's going on? Why has Mazda's quality
> become so abysmal? Has it always been this bad and I was
> just really
> lucky with the cars I've owned?
>
>
>
> Ray Ackley
>
> Cheers,
> Quentin
>