My Automotive Experiences

Getting the Vehicle

My 626 acquisition was an ... unplanned event.  An encounter that I'd had with a deer in October 1999 wound up destroying my last car.  The pisser of it was that the damned deer survived the hit and walked away.  I could almost swear that it was snickering at me.

It didn't take long for the insurance guys to total out the one true asset that I'd owned in my life (my Protégé). I was handed a check for the paltry sum of $3200 and told to go find another vehicle.  I've never liked the idea of getting myself into debt and really resented the fact that I lost my car through no fault of my own. The consequence of this was that I had go into debt again just so I could obtain a vehicle to commute to work. To me, TRUE car insurance should give you enough money such that when another car is purchased you would be left at the same financial status as you were prior to the loss of your vehicle. However that is another rant for another website...

Having set a target price of $12,000 for another new car, I resigned myself to the inevitable and traveled around to all of the local dealerships.  To my shock all of the compact cars had dramatically increased in price.   Furthermore, in this town you now have to special-order a manual transmission in just about any new car.   All of the dealerships in town were only stocking automatics (with rare exceptions).  When I saw the sticker price of $17,000 for a 1999 Mazda Protégé LX, I knew I was in over my head.

Aside from sticker shock, I honestly must say that I felt as if I'd been dunked in a bucket of slime. Dealing with all of the automotive salesmen who were trying to rope me into purchasing a new car *that day* had quickly eroded my patience.  They pestered the hell out of me and it took a good deal of restraint at one occasion to keep from turning around and saying "Shut the f*ck up!  You're annoying me!"  Car salesmen, regardless of whether it's new or used cars, are a unique breed and I think that it wouldn't be bad form to suggest neutering the worst of them to keep them from producing future generations.  ;)

Following my shopping fiascos at the local dealerships I went to (www.autoweb.com) and started looking for cars that would meet my financial restrictions but give me the kind of features and dependability that I'd come to expect from my old Mazda.

After only ten minutes of fiddling around on their website I was surprised to find the car you see at the top of this page   A dealership in town had a 1993 Mazda 626 ES with only 70,955 miles on it.  The car looked like it was in good condition and excepting for a small problem with a faulty ignitor in the distributor (this 626 FAQ link will tell you all about that and more) the engine was more than I'd hoped for.  I had to accept the fact that it had an automatic transmission but I wasn't about to start griping over about that because there was too much to like about this car.  Back in 1993 when I'd bought the Protégé, the 626 had been something of a dream car for me, so it was like I had been presented with the chance to get the car I'd always wanted.

The car had been listed on Autoweb's site by the local Infiniti dealership, which is owned by the Dick Smith dealership group (www.dicksmith.com).  This explains why I didn't see the car when I'd gone crawling around dealerships since I never would've considered going to the Infiniti dealer (way too expensive!).  I looked closely at the interior and was amazed at the condition.  It looked like the previous owner had taken very good care of the car and based on the receipts I found in the glove box I knew she had gone to the Mazda dealership religiously for all of the work done on the vehicle (including oil changes).  Additionally, the salesman (Marshall New) turned out to be the same guy who had sold two vehicles to my parents back when he worked at the nearby Nissan dealership (owned by the same dealership group).  Given all of this coincidental evidence, I convinced myself that I was fated to get the car.  After haggling the price down to $8,400 I became the proud driver of a Hunter Green 1993 Mazda 626 ES v6.

The Maintenance Begins. . .

One thing that I HIGHLY recommend is that anyone who is going to purchase a used car also purchase an extended warranty (either from the dealership or through your bank).  One thing that is understood by owners of Mazdas is that anything that has to be done to them is EXPENSIVE!  For example, from October 1999 to February 2000 the following work had to be done:

-  Strut plate and bearing replacement: $85.00
-  Steering Rack replacement and front-end alignment: $975
-  CV Joints and Boots (caught it just a little too late to replace only the boots): $749
-  Distributor module replacement (aforementioned faulty ignitor module): $675

I wouldn't have been able to afford all of that work at the time without the warranty I'd bought from my credit union when I got my car loan.  I invested $700 in the warranty and more than recovered that in repair work done to the car.   Lesson learned?  I sure think so!

I had hoped that this car would surpass the reliability of my late great 1993 Mazda Protégé DX.  However the curse of hybrid Ford-Mazda engineering raised its ugly head and soon I understood exactly why the previous owner ran as fast as she could to the Infiniti dealership.

Maintenance Detail Pages
This section is written primarily for the novice car owner with no real experience in maintaining his or her own vehicle. While some areas may read as excessively technical, the devil is usually in the details with a Mazda. And should you wish to try to do some of the work on your own, this could act as a guide to help you feel out your confidence on various projects. On the other hand, knowing just how much is involved in working on your car will help you to understand the size of a bill or argue with confidence if you feel the bill's size is unjustified. Click on any of the section titles listed below to read the details.

* The Automatic Transmission - this is a MUST READ for any 626 owner whose vehicle possesses an automatic transmission (otherwise known as a slushbox). Reading this section alone may save your wallet!

* The Throttle Position Sensor - When this simple little sensor goes awry your v6 can become an inline-3 in a big hurry. Not to mention other consequences. Read to learn.

* The Air Conditioning System - I live in the deep south. This little 'gadget' is quite a necessity when the temps peak around 97 degrees Farenheit with 90% humidity (like it is most days here during the summer).

* The Water Pump - Miss replacing this one and your engine will fry, fry, fry...

* Everything Else... - This link contains a laundry list of things both completed and yet to be done that range from the mundane to the fairly important.

Death of a 626 - This link will take you to the page that details the unexpected demise of my 626 on November 11, 2003. Pictures will be included to show just what had happened to the car that I had loved the most of all I'd ever owned.

Some final notes:

Despite the troubles that I've had with my car, I still recommend using Autoweb.com's website to find a new or used car if you need to replace or purchase an additional vehicle.  By the way, if you live in the Columbia, SC area and find yourself dealing with Dick Smith Infiniti, make sure you ask for Marshall.  He's treated me and my parents right for the last 6 years.  He's honest and he won't give you any BS.

Extended trips made so far in the 626:
(all trips originate from Lexington, SC)
-  Virginia Beach, VA - three trips
-  Chicago, IL - five trips
-  St. Louis, MO - one trip
-  Greensboro, NC - two trips
-  Raleigh, NC - two trips
-  Myrtle Beach/Georgetown, SC - fifteen trips
-  Anderson, SC - eight trips
-  Louisville, KY - one trip

Other 626 Experiences:
- Chaz's 626 Central - Some good information about the 626 transmissions and the car model's history can be found at this site.

Todd Hill
accountant@nabiki.com