2 hours labour @ £75 plus VAT. Main dealer. No charge for diagnostic.

I'd rather worry a little now for free and save a lot of worrying and expense later. ;)

Edited by Mazda-Man on 08/03/2013 at 10:49

Why not buy an S-Max?. I have one and am very happy doing my 10,000miles pa with a diesel auto. Three years almost now and pretty much total reliability and nothing that has required anything more than to stop and restart the engine - usual electical gremlins. Certianly no visits to the dealer outside servicing.

The petrol engines are very good for your low mileage and the general driving experience is so far above your standard MPV you will be amazed. I remember renting a Mitsubishi Grandis a couple of years back and was totally disappointed by how dull it was with little steering feel.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I should stress my sizes are only approximate but I haven't yet toured the garages to compare in the real world so I'd be happy to consider Japanese or other non French estates providing they're not too much smaller than the Mondeo. I used to have a Volvo 940 petrol and found that fine but I reckon that was probably bigger than the Mondeo is (?).

I really like the flexibility of the MPV and am keen to try an SMax just to see if I could live with the room inside more than anything. I know it'll perform and handle far better than my Mazda but that isn't my main concern and if I'm looking at a petrol version to come anywhere close in terms of power I dare say I'll be paying a lot more VED?

I did briefly check out the Mazda 5 in the showroom the other day and wasn't overly impressed with the interior space and middle/back row seating although I love the sliding doors like those on my MPV. Haven't looked closely at an SMax or Galaxy yet so can't say how it compares to that and I feel a Galaxy might just cost me too much to run and maintain to make it a wise choice.

So I know I'll have to I compromise on the things I value most (space, practicality etc.) and will be happy to do so as long as my final choice avoids the sort of horrendous reliability and servicing/repair cost issues detailed in my original post (so far as that's possible nowadays...).

Anyway I'm here to be educated and informed by people who know more about things than In do so please feel free to make suggestions as to how I can find most of what I want and avoid the very costly lemons.

TVM

Whilst there have been some reliability issues with the S-Max they do not appear to be affecting more recent models and as i stated above mine has been spot on. there are better petrol engines in the facelifts and for the OP·s mileage that is what should look at.

It'll probably help to decide whether you want another MPV or whether a large estate will do equally well. Do you need 7 seats?

The MPVs I'd look at n your position are the Ford S-Max or Galaxy and the SEAT Alhambra. For large hatchbacks or estates look at the Skoda Superb, Ford Mondeo or various Volvos (although you'd have to get an older Volvo for £15k).

The S-Max is more car-like than most MPVs so could be a good compromise. The Skoda Superb can come with a 1.8 TSI petrol engine which is torquier than most and might suit your driving style without having to risk a diesel with a lot of in-town journeys. But there is evidence that newer diesels, like the common-rail engine in VW Group cars (VW, Audi, Skoda, SEAT) aren't having the same problems as the early ones fitted with DPFs.

Thanks for the reply. To be honest I love the practicality of the MPV and do use the extra seats from time to time but it's true we sometimes use them just because they are there if you see what I mean. My MPV replaced a Volvo 940se turbo estate and although I liked the Volvo I've never regretted it. If it weren't for my current usage (e.g. low miles & not much motorway use) issues with DPFs, dual mass flywheels and the like, I would be happy with another diesel. Having looked around a bit now, petrol models of the SMax seem very few and far between but I'd like to test both a petrol and a diesel. I'm interested to find out that HJ reports that Addision Lee has had very few problems with their diesel Galaxys because I'd have thought they be doing quite a lot of short journeys in town/traffic and this supposedly isn't good for DPFs etc. I did hear that the Ford DPF system is better than others but don't know if this is true.

Servicing costs are a consideration of course and I'm also wondering if any of the cars I'd be considering have huge service costs at 5 years of so for stuff like valve clearances, cam belts etc. I believe the Mazdas suffer in this manner but don't know how the others fare so it's something I'll need to check if I can't get the answer here.

An estate would really only be the answer if a suitable (size, engine type etc.) MPV isn't in my price range.

TVM