Greetings from Australia Scotty! My elderly Dad has a 2005 Mazda 6, 2.3l, 5sp auto, 68,000km. He is no longer fit to drive, my son can have the car for free, but should he replace his 2006 Corolla with 280,000km? The Mazda 6 needs premium fuel, uses more fuel, but has climate control, steering wheel controls, cruise control that the Corolla doesn’t have. And a lot less km. The Corolla has very low maintenance and running costs, do you think he should swap?
A Mazda 6 should not need premium fuel. I am not sure how great their quality was than due to their partnership with Ford. What shape is the corolla in and how many more years/miles do you need out of it? If the Toyota was in good shape I would stay with that vehicle.
Well, it has a sticker near the fuel cap “premium unleaded fuel only” so I guess it does! Fuel grades are probably different in Australia 😁. Corolla is average body wise, we don’t get rust in my area. Mechanically it is perfect, we’ll maintained, everything works, no repairs needed. The Mazda is immaculate as it has spent it’s life in a garage. It is Japanese built. The Mazda also is better to drive than a Corolla, suspension and steering is nicer. Difficult to decide, hence asking the question.
One more thing, my son is just starting a family, his wife has a much newer car, whichever car he has, he will drive it till it dies!