What would you do if your car became an orphan?

"mazda616" (mazda616) 04/06/2016 at 09:51 • Filed to: Orphan Cars

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Would you keep it? Would you hurry to sell it?

Hypothetically, if your car’s manufacturer ceased operations in the U.S. for one reason or another (a la Saab and Suzuki and a few others), what would you plan to do?

I have two Mazdas in my household, and their sales have fallen over 27% from this time last year, which is surprising considering their relatively young product lineup at this point. I often wonder what their future will be in the U.S. if they don’t get another partner like they used to have with Ford.

Honestly, I’d probably try to find something else comparable as I don’t enjoy the idea of parts and service being more complicated than they already are (the dealer is 38 miles away). That being said, I am probably putting the cart before the horse as I am sure Toyota would step in long before Mazda left. Toyota has already seen they’ve got a good thing going with the iA (Mazda2). And Mazda has a Japan-only hybrid Mazda3 that uses Prius tech. As long as Toyota doesn’t make Mazda boring...

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 09:55

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I would first of all, shit my pants because it means hundreds of thousands of people would immediately be out of work (I drive a ford)

I would then keep it forever and beocme a brand snob/insufferable enthusiast about it. “OH! If ONLY everyone else realized how good ECOBOOST was. It had both “ECO” and “BOOST” you know!”

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 09:57

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Nah... I’d probably keep it. There’s enough around that there will be parts for years. And there’s lots of aftermarket as well.

OPPOsaurus WRX > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 09:59

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i’d burn it in a hipster music video

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:00

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KEEP IT

Proud owner of 2 Mercury Orphans.

Parts availability isn’t an issue, especially with it’s siblings that went long in production afterwards (speaking of the Milan with the fusion/MKZ/MAZDA 6).

I don’t get work done at dealers anyhow because of the cost.

Even when my 07 Milan was rear ended in 2013 I had no issues getting replacement parts and I can still even order accessories direct from Ford.

People worry about Orphan status too much.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:00

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Be thankful it’s mostly a Toyota under its skin...

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:01

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Mine sort of is:

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:02

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Wife has an 08 Astra.

Haven't sold it yet...

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:03

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Many older cars are orphans. Even when the parent company exists, eventually new parts for a model are no longer made as it’s not cost effective. That’s where the aftermarket comes inin and can be your friend.

interstate366, now In The Industry > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:11

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My cars’ brand is probably going to be around for a long, long time, but they are effectively orphans as the nameplate was discontinued nearly 15 years ago and most OEM parts, especially for the older two, have been discontinued. The upside, though, is that some of the small parts that were used 25+ years ago are still being used to this day, so there are some things that I’ll be able to get new for years to come.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:14

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My mothers sx4 is planned to be in the family for awhile.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:41

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My mom would probably still have her Vue if we would’ve gotten the transmission recall 2 weeks earlier than we did. It shared enough components with other Theta crossovers we could probably keep it on the road for years and years and years to come.

Tripper > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:43

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That depends. With the Audi, I would probably sell/trade as it’s very new and still under warranty. I’m also not emotionally invested yet. The M3 I would keep for the same reasons that I have kept it for the past 8 years. It’s too good, it’s paid for, and I know it inside and out.

Bourbon&JellyBeans > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 10:53

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If my car became an orphan, I’d probably have worse things to worry about (Ford going under would probably mean some kind of economic depression/divine intervention). But, eh, that aside, I don’t think it’d be the biggest deal. My girlfriend owns a Pontiac and its never been a problem for her. Now, if I owned a non-big three car whose brand tanked (see: Studebaker/Packard), then I’d be a little more worried. But, with those marques, you’re talking classics...so parts being hard to find kinda comes with the territory.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 11:09

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My dad has an orphan, Saturn Sky, but due to the awesome levels of badge engineering parts are still fairly easy to obtain from his local Chevrolet dealer.

mazda616 > Phyrxes once again has a wagon! 04/06/2016 at 11:12

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Yeah, GM has you covered there. Shoot, my S10 is a ‘95 and the model itself has been out of production since ‘05 and I can still find parts at any AutoZone if I want.

Mazda has recently developed their own platforms, though, so if they were to up and leave the U.S., it'd be more of a problem for me.

nermal > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 11:13

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I drive a late model domestic pickup. If it becomes an orphan, that means we’ve been nuked by North Korea or some radical middle-eastern terrorists.

In that case, I would make some new friends.

AutoSavant > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 11:23

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Keep it. I own a Magnum, which became a model orphan in ‘08, an ‘05 GTO, which is an orphan, AND a badge engineered Australian, and a ‘99 Honda Passport (aka Isuzu Rodeo), which was orphaned when Isuzu left the US market. All good cars with parts readily available.

Leadbull > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 11:28

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As long as Bavarian Autosport doesn’t go out of business...

scoob > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 11:32

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We have an Isuzu. It didn’t work only two or three times, iirc, ever since they left the US.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 04/06/2016 at 11:54

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Primary reason I bought one

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 12:13

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I do all my own work and buy a lot of second hand parts from salvage yards anyway so it wouldn’t affect me all that much. I can see it being a bother for those who rely on dealers and garages though.

Zohaibman72 > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 12:18

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I’m pretty sure if honda died the world would implode. Even if it did, there are like a bajillion civics of my generation, so it wouldn’t bother me. I’d maybe wait a bit and sell it overseas because my gen is unique to north america.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 12:33

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God forbid Lexus/Toyota go out of business. My family tends to own cars till they die 9/10 times anyways, average around 12 years before we sell it to a family friend. (Odyssey went to a family that needed to transport grandparents, Civic got hella-ruined by dad’s coworker carbon fiber hood, rims, the whole 9 yards AND THEN TOTALLED, and my TL’s transmission blew within 4 months.)

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 15:00

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Mazda is on my shortlist of manufactures that I would expect to be absorbed before they pulled out of NA, likely by Toyota.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > mazda616 04/06/2016 at 22:50

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I still have a 2004 GTO that I bought in 2008. I think that qualifies as an answer. And since then, to prove I’m crazier yet, I bought another Pontiac, this time an 85, just last year.

Bytemite > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 04/11/2016 at 21:10

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If it was really a Pontiac, it wouldn’t still be there.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Bytemite 04/12/2016 at 00:19

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My Mother-in-law’s 2001 Montana disagrees. Pontiacs/GMs may have a lot of plastic and body cladding, but they’ll run shitty for longer than most cars will run.