 This car is great -- I've owned Honda, Mercury, Nissan, Pontiac -- and I can say this car beats them all.  It's extremely reliable, with most repairs only due to a car accident in which some idiot slammed into the side of me while he was exiting a gas station.  Because of that accident I had to get both front-wheel bearings replaced (and of course the entire door replaced).  Outside of that (and general maintenance), I've had to do the following repairs:•	28,000 miles:  new brakes/rotors front-only ($375 for 2)•	49,000 miles:  4 new tires – 18” winter ($1,000) + replace LF wheel bearing (warranty)•	53,000 miles:  fix corroded/leaking rear pipe exhaust ($90)•	64,000 miles:  RF wheel bearing ($350)•	71,000 miles:  replace AC hose ($220) •	78,000 miles:  repair muffler flange ($142)•	83,000 miles:  new brakes/rotors both front and back ($750 for all 4)•	98,000 miles:  replace the CA07-20-370H Vacuum Tube ($180)•	102,000 miles:  spark plugs ($330 for the 3.7L engine because they have to remove the block as 1/2 of them are under plenum)Technically things like brakes, spark plugs, and tires fall under general maintenance, but I thought I’d list them to show how expensive some of the ‘general maintenance’ is!  And the wheel bearings needed replacing due to the accident I was in.  So if you remove all these items, the true repairs have only been $90 + $220 + $142 + $180 = $632 total over 100,000 miles.  And honestly, it rides extremely well even to this day.  You can read about performance and handling in other people’s reviews – I don’t have much new to say about that.  I like that it looks sporty, has a bit of punch (with the V6 engine), and drives OK in the snow (with snow tires).  But reliability is just as important to me.  And the small things add up.  Like the fact that I have never had to replace headlights, only replaced the battery once (at 50K – though I’m about to replace it again), only had to replace front brakes twice and rear brakes once, and no other major repairs outside of my accident…it’s seriously night and day when compared to every other vehicle I’ve owned.  Those other cars always seemed to have something going wrong with them and were constantly in the shop – especially the Mercury Sable and Pontiac Grand AM.Bottom line:  Great car, some maintenance is very expensive, but overall doesn’t need a lot of repairs even up to 100,000 miles.  If you want something that looks nice, handles well, and is reliable at a reasonable price – you won’t go wrong with Mazda.