MajorVery commonBody & Rust

Mazda Mazda6: Severe rear wheel arch and sill rust (GG)

Severe rear wheel arch and sill rust (GG) is a very common body & rust fault on the Mazda Mazda6 on the 2002–2008 cars, and we rate it major. Putting it right costs $600 to $3,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. Below is what goes wrong, the symptoms to notice on a test drive, where to look, and what to ask the seller before you hand over any money. It is one of 48 documented faults on the Mazda Mazda6.

Vehicle: Mazda Mazda6
Years: 2002–2008
System: Body & Rust

This page covers the Mazda Mazda6 as a model. Some faults only affect particular engines or build years — enter a plate below to narrow the list to one car.

All Mazda Mazda6 faults48 documented faults on this model

What you are looking at

No photograph available

We do not hold a verified photograph of the Body corrosion yet. We would rather show none than show a picture of a different part.

What goes wrong

The GG Mazda6/Atenza is notorious for rust bubbling through the rear wheel arch lips and spreading into the rear quarters and sills — bad enough that Mazda ran extended anti-perforation warranty claims in some markets. On NZ cars and JDM Atenza imports the arches are often already bubbled or have had cheap bog-and-paint repairs that come back within a year. Structural sill rust is a WoF fail and proper repair costs more than many GGs are worth.

What you would notice

Paint bubbling along the rear arch lips
Rust bleeding from under side skirts and sills
Overspray or mismatched paint on rear quarters from past repairs
Crusty metal inside the boot around the wheel wells

How to check it

Where to look. Rear wheel arch lips, sills, rear quarter panels, boot wheel wells

Run a fingernail under both rear arch lips feeling for bubbles and filler; a small magnet will fall off bogged arches. Look under the sills and behind the side skirts with a torch. Inside the boot, lift the carpet and check the wheel-well seams. Treat a fresh repaint of just the rear quarters with suspicion.

Parts involved: Body corrosion.

What it costs to put right

$600 to $3,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

Ask the seller

“Have the rear arches ever been repaired or repainted?”
“Is there any rust noted on past WoF checks?”

Now check the Mazda Mazda6 you are actually looking at

Everything above is true of the model, and it is free. What it does not tell you is whether THIS car has been looked after: its odometer history and whether the reading has ever gone backwards, whether there is still money owing on it, whether it has been reported stolen, how many owners it has had and what it is really worth today. That comes from the official records for that plate. Enter the plate for the free details, or get the full history and a market valuation from $13.49.

Not sure what you would be paying for? See what a full KickTyres check includes.

Where this comes from

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

mazda6club.com GG rust megathreads
UK/AU used-car buyer guides flagging GG Mazda6 arch corrosion
Mazda extended corrosion warranty claims history reported by owners

Mazda Mazda6 buyer questions

Is severe rear wheel arch and sill rust (gg) serious on a Mazda Mazda6?

We rate it major and very common on the Mazda Mazda6. The GG Mazda6/Atenza is notorious for rust bubbling through the rear wheel arch lips and spreading into the rear quarters and sills — bad enough that Mazda ran extended anti-perforation warranty claims in some markets. On NZ cars and JDM Atenza imports the arches are often already bubbled or have had cheap bog-and-paint repairs that come back within a year. Structural sill rust is a WoF fail and proper repair costs more than many GGs are worth.

How much does it cost to fix on a Mazda Mazda6?

$600 to $3,000 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That figure is for this job on its own. A car showing the symptoms on this page is usually worth either walking away from or negotiating down by at least the repair figure.

Which Mazda Mazda6 years are affected?

Our research records this fault on the 2002–2008 Mazda Mazda6. Build dates move around, especially on imported cars, so treat the range as the years to look hardest at rather than a guarantee either way. The official records tell you the exact build and first registration date for the car in front of you.