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I am keen to buy a Madza and found a 2004 Madza Alexa hatch , 2 litre, only 50,000 km . It's a private sale and under $10,000 and an import. I have to travel 2 hours to view it but before I do , they mention the engine mounts have been replaced as one was broken. Why would that be? Seems a bit strange?

Hi there,
It is common on these cars to have the top engine mount wear out and cause a knocking noise, so it is good that it has been replaced so you should no longer have to worry about it.

Thanks Cade. Just a few other questions: I'm a girl living in Dunedin and want a Hatch that's reliable and safe and good on the open road and can spend up to $10,000 for a car. After looking on the internet I am leaning towards a jap import- more bling for my buck. Here's my questions; Madza Alexa - should i be worried about a tiptronic transmission? Are all 1.8L tiptronic or most of them a straight auto? Some are 1.5 - much difference to the 2.0 L?
I've been looking at the following and would like your pick on the following:
2004 Alexa - 50,000km - 2.0L @ $8,500 - private sale.
2008 Alexa - 72,000km - 1.5L @ $10,000 - car yard
2007 Alexa - 106,000km - 1.5L @ $8,000 - car yard
2006 Alexa - 75,000km - 2.0 L @ $11,000 - tiptronic - car yard

My parents like Toyota Corolla or Auris as another option or a Nissan Tilda ( my old car was a Nissan Pulsar ) . I heard conflicting stories about the Tilda CVT's some said they're fine and some say not. Haven't seen any that don't have a CVT , The Tilda have the 1.5 or 1.8 option. If i brought a Tilda I can get a newer model than the Madza's & Corolla but I don't want an unreliable car, of course what ever i brought i would be getting an AA appraisal. Would love your thoughts of all my questions, Much appreciated, Lisa.

Hi Lisa,
I don't think the Tip-tronic transmission has many issues on the Axela, well not that I've heard of.
The 2006 with 75k for $11,000 is a bit expensive, ideally I would offer under 9k.
2004 with 50k for 8.5k is very good considering the low km's even though it's 2 years older than the others (low km's and larger engine make the difference). But being private sale, you don't have the consumer guarantee backing, so definitely get it checked.
The other 2 are good deals, if you get a car around the 100km mark, just check up the service history and cambelt replacement (if it has one), as there might be a large service due at 100km (fluids, filters, sparkplugs ect).
Toyota Auris, Runx, ist are good Toyota options.

sorry to trouble you but What were your thoughts on the Tilda?

Sorry, Lisa just remembered this morning that I didn't even mention the Tiida.
The Tiida is very popular, however we do get a lot of complaints about the CVT transmission
more often than not they complain about a shudder. Generally it's best to try and avoid CVT if possible. However Mazda and Toyota seem to be pretty reliable, even the CVT's.
Honda Fit, is also a popular choice, but again the CVT has been subject of complaint, but they say most can be remedied with a good fluid change and an additive. But can be very expensive if a CVT requires any more repairs than this.

Thanks again, would a AA inspection pick it up if it has that problem or does the shudder happen later on say over 100,000 km?

Hi Lisa,
I'm not aware of a certain km's that it happens. If the transmission did anything strange on the small road test (up to 50kph) then they should mention it in the report, and recommend further investigation to be carried out.