Mazda 5 - is this car safe to buy?

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Sun 12 Jan 2020 13:26
Mazda 5 - is this car safe to buy? - Machina

me and family need to get new car due to ULEZ and need a 7 seater.

We had this Mazda 5 www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20191014330...5 in mind but I have paid for RAC history check and found only last 5 years of MOT history of which 3 were fails. are they something to worry about for the future if I bought this car?

I will be driving about 3k miles a year.

here are the the 3 separate fails

year one

Test date

18th Jul 2019


Mileage

79,217 mi


MOT Comments

FAIL

Nearside Headlamp not working on dipped beam (4.1.1 (a) (ii))

Offside Front Suspension arm ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))

Nearside Rear Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (5.3.2 (b))

year two

Test date

10th Oct 2018


Mileage

73,004 mi


MOT Comments

FAIL

Nearside Front Outer Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.1.7 (g) (ii))

Nearside Front Lower Suspension arm ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))

year three

Test date

17th Jul 2015


Mileage

44,171 mi


MOT Comments

FAIL

Nearside Front Tyre tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (4.1.E.1)

ADVISORY

Offside Front Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.E.1)

Thanks for any advise

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Sun 12 Jan 2020 13:37
Mazda 5 - is this car safe to buy? - badbusdriver

A new car doesn't need its first MOT till it is 3 years old. This takes us to 2014. On the Gov website for checking MOT history (no charge for using), you will find all the MOT's (BTW it passed the first one)

Nothing particularly worrying, though i get the impression it has been driven hard!. Good reliable and fairly simple cars. it would either be one of these or a Toyota Verso for me. Just be aware that the rear seats are really for children only.

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Mon 13 Jan 2020 13:47
Mazda 5 - is this car safe to buy? - wilmarub

Seems like pretty standard types of fails - cv joint, tyres etc. That's pretty normal, especially with out pot holed roads.

I'd pay more attention to the body work and ensure there is not accident damage. Just cause a history check says it isn't written off, it does not mean a car is accident repair free.

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Mon 13 Jan 2020 14:10
Mazda 5 - is this car safe to buy? - SLO76
Good cars these and there’s nothing particularly scary on that Mot history. Look for a full service history with evidence of annual oil changes. Chain driven engines in particular don’t take kindly to neglect but look after it and there are few vices. Look for rust underneath too.
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