2005 MAZDA MPV

10 years of ownership: RUST...RUST...RUST

Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 3 Value Rating: 2

When my first son was born my wife said "we need a minivan!". I strongly disagreed. So we "compromised" and got a minivan. But as it turned out, I loved this van...for the first 6 years of ownership. Then I started to see a little rust at some of the body seams. Hmmm. And the rust kept going. Now, the van is 10 years old and starting to rust though *FROM THE INSIDE* at the bottom of the doors. For reference, I have a 12 year old lexus with zero rust. I don't live an area that uses road salt and I maintain the exteriors of my cars with washes and waxes regularly - Google "mazda rust" and you'll see that all the mazdas of this era have premature rust problems. Other than that the van has been OK; I have replaced only the drivers window regulator and the coil packs twice and the radiator just this year (85K miles). There is a small oil leak from the oil pan. On the plus side, my wife loves the visibility and ease of parking (it's a "skinny" van). My son loves the view from the back seat and complains about not being able to see out of every other car we drive. But overall I feel like the van aged too fast too soon, and now I'm stuck with a van with no resale value. I do not recommend a used MPV and would not buy another mazda anytime soon.