17 yo nephew wants a 2011 Mazda CX7...What does GRM think ...

Like the title says my 17 yo nephew called and asked if I'd go look for cars with him (he just ran his hyundai dry and locked the motor).

He is not very good with cars like most millennials  as noted by running his previous car dry. The car before that he put too much oil in. 

Needless to say I hope he's learned his lesson and will treat this next car better.

I thought I heard these CX7's have the speed 3 engine in them but detuned?

Any info and things to look for and consider would be great.

The specific CX& he wants is a one owner 2011 with 130K miles.

Thanks

Firstly, I have nothing productive to add to this.

Secondly, what about that '91 Civic that is a couple links down? He'll definitely learn to be more in-tune with the car in something like that.

I loved my MS3. 

That said, young man + space in car = trouble 

IIRC not all CX7s had the turbo motor. 

That's a bad idea. Turbo CX-7s are horribly unreliable, enough to make a first-gen BMW X3 look like a RAV4 in comparison.

Well if it was up to me (it's not) I would steer him towards something smaller and cheaper but he's been working and saved up enough money and this is the type of car he wants. I'm hoping since he's choosing the car instead of being told "this is what you get. Like it!" he'll take better care of it.

I've had several Mazdas albeit not a CX7 and have really liked them. 

Fine vehicles and one of the better bargains out there IF it is a FWD, 2.5 engine. Otherwise avoid it at all costs.

And teach that kid how to go into Jiffy Lube and ask for an oil change every 3-6 months. Jeez.

failboat said:

IIRC not all CX7s had the turbo motor. 

I just read that. Apparently SV and Sport came with Naturally Aspirated 2.5

mtn said:

Fine vehicles and one of the better bargains out there IF it is a FWD, 2.5 engine. Otherwise avoid it at all costs.

 

And teach that kid how to go into Jiffy Lube and ask for an oil change every 3-6 months. Jeez.

Thanks! Believe me I'm shocked he didn't learn the first go around. His mom is horrible about car maintenance so apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

The turbos were pretty well phased out by 2011. They were known problem vehicles - one of the worst Mazda products on record.

I own a N/A 2010 CX-7 that I bought new and it's been a perfectly reasonable, if slightly boring car-based SUV. It's been bone reliable for us. Doesn't do anything exceptionally well, but isn't half bad as a tall station wagon. We cross-shopped it with the RAV-4 and at the time a comparably equipped Mazda ran about $4k less.  

Just checked out the dealers site and the car is a "sport" edition with the 2.5 non-turbo

I had a friend with the CX-7 turbo. It munched its way through the original engine and 3 used engines in the span of a year. It spent more time at the shop waiting for the engine to be replaced than he drove it during the year he owned it. And my friend barely puts any miles on cars, does not beat on them, and has them serviced religiously. It was shocking just how dreadful that thing was. The used car dealer bought it back and he got a Captiva instead.

dankspeed said:

He is not very good with cars like most millennials  as noted by running his previous car dry. The car before that he put too much oil in.

He is not good with cars because he's in a certian generation- he's not good at cars because he's dumb.

Tell him to get a Civic/Accord or other bog-standard simple car until he learns how to maintain one.

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

He's not dumb that is for sure . He's actually very smart. Cars just don't interest him. Not everyone who owns a car is good at caring for them. 

He's young. He has time to learn. 

He's being made to spend his savings to replace this last car and is picking something he wants not what someone told him he has to drive.

Hopefully that helps.

mtn said:

And teach that kid how to go into Jiffy Lube and ask for an oil change every 3-6 months., then check the dipstick before leaving to be sure they didn't forget to put the drain plug back in.

Fixed that for you.

I wrote extensively in this thread. 

The answer is NO to a 2.3L turbo awd Mazda CX-7.

The answer is YES to a 2.5L na fwd Mazda CX-7.

Since he is looking at a 2011 model, if it has cloth seats it is a 2.5L fwd, GOOD.  If it has leather seats it is a 2.3L awd, BAD.  

Eh, I’ll give him a pass. I did some dumb things with my cars (maintenance wise and otherwise) around that age despite being mechanically inclined and interested. At 32, I’m an “elder millennial” technically speaking, so it’s certainly not generational. The real question is why a 17 year old is interested in a lifted minivan in the first place. 

I've heard nothing but bad things about the CX-7 in terms of reliability. And that's coming from someone who likes Mazda CUVs (we own a CX-9). Don't recall the details but when we were looking at mid-sized CUVs we were told to "run, not walk" away from any CX-7. 

"My nephew wants a minivan"

I have no words

Knurled. said:

"My nephew wants a minivan"

 

I have no words

Kids these days are smart. 

When i was 16 i was SO SMART that i rebuilt my own engine. 

When i was bolting the cracked flexplate back on i finally figured out where my rod knock had come from. 

Everybody makes mistakes. 

A 2.5L CX7 is a good car! It's like an Escape with slightly more personality. For a non-car person, that's a good car!  

lol about a teenager wanting this kind of car. I said the exact same thing to his mom. 

When I was his age I wanted something fast and low but this is what he picked. For all I know his girlfriends parents have one and he wants to impress.

My other nephew is the same age and has a mustang. He's already wrecked it twice doing dumb E36 M3 so maybe it's best he wants a lifted minivan.lol

penultimeta said:

Eh, I’ll give him a pass. I did some dumb things with my cars (maintenance wise and otherwise) around that age despite being mechanically inclined and interested. At 32, I’m an “elder millennial” technically speaking, so it’s certainly not generational. The real question is why a 17 year old is interested in a lifted minivan in the first place. 

Technically, the nephew isn’t a millennial at all, he’s gen z!

Good to hear everyone on this forum never did anything dumb before they knew not to do it. 

I love my mazda's - they drive nice and are reliable/easy to service. Sounds like the 2.3 is to be avoided in this case, though everyone on the internet says my 2.3T MS3 is going to blow up any second so ???

In reply to accordionfolder :

In the hands of a "commoner", non GRMer it is possible that 2.3t would be short lived.