2024 Mazda CX-5 Pricing and Specs

Proper maintenance is overlooked by many car owners, and it’s a real problem. Modern engines work very hard and have lots of intricate oilways and mechanical clearances that simply won’t tolerate dirty oil. On paper, the car you’re looking at hasn’t had clean oil or a filter change in 20,000km and that’s an awfully long time between drinks. In fact, it’s enough to perhaps give Mazda cause to void any new-car warranty remaining on it, should something mechanical go wrong.

Your best option would be to find another CX-5 with the options and in the colour you want, but with an up to date and complete service record. That’s the best way to prevent any major disasters down the track. The good news is the CX-5 was a popular model, so there should be lots to choose from.

A second-hand engine from a wreck is often a good an option, but only if you can find one that has been tested and comes with a warranty, otherwise you could be replacing your worn engine with an even more worn one. But with a diagnosis estimate of $5000 (and any actual repairs on top of that) I reckon a different workshop would be your best option. Frankly that seems (on the surface) a ridiculous figure and suggests that the workshop in question either doesn’t want your business or is assuming you’re a sucker.

Low oil pressure can be caused by various problems, and a good workshop should be able to check it out and give you a definitive answer on whether it could be fixed or the whole engine replaced. The good news is that the CX-5 is a popular model, so a replacement engine shouldn’t be too hard to track down.

The CX-5 is a well regarded vehicle in the trade with a good reputation for going the distance and remaining reliable. However, that’s a lot of kilometres for any vehicle.

Which means, you must approach this one purely on its individual merits. That starts with the service history. Unless you can find a complete, detailed record that proves the car has been absolutely maintained correctly, you could be taking a huge punt. You’d also want to learn as much as you can about who owned it and how it was driven. For instance, 300,000km of gentle highway running is a lot different to the same distance in city traffic or towing a trailer around.

Even then, it would want to be really cheap as you might easily find it’s getting very close to the end of its useful life. That said, a well maintained, carefully driven CX-5 can cover this sort of mileage, so maybe this one has some life left in it. Maybe.