Third Gen Mazda3 Rust Issues?

[MDE]

I'm looking at a '16 Mazda3 5 door to potentially replace my Jetta TDI once VW makes me an offer I can't refuse. The only real issue I had with my prior 3 was rust. After four years it had a fairly significant amount of rust and was part of the reason it was traded in for the Jetta. Has anyone seen\heard of rust issues on the third gen 3?

EDIT: Additional comments\observations on the car are welcome too.

 

[exar333]

Horrible rust on 1st gen M6. Otherwise great car. Can't speak for 3rd gen.

 

[Crono]

Not seeing any rust issues on my 2014 4-door. Also no other issues to speak of (knock on wood) after 37,000 miles.

 

[mikeymikec]

My Mazda 323 had to be scrapped in the end when I faced the prospect of having to get a third welding job done on it (all underside though).

 

[sontakke]

In our huge employee parking lot, only rusted cars are Mazdas

 

[exar333]

I like Mazdas just fine, but I would never buy one again in the northern snow/salt areas again. They drive great, but rust out like crazy. I see a lot of <10 year old M3 and M6s rusting really badly, especially around the wheel wells.

If you plan to keep your car for 10-15 years and don't mind it rusting out over that time, then its not an issue. If you plan to have a car that is worth anything in 5-7 years and sell it, I would be cautious.

Mazda dealerships are also a bit sketchy. Much preferred Subaru IMHO, but Mazda is no better/worse vs. GM/Ford. I would say around the same.

 

[exar333]

In our huge employee parking lot, only rusted cars are Mazdas

Yup.

Mazdas and early/mid 90s vehicles primarily.

 

[ControlD]

I can't speak to the newer ones, but my 2006 Mazda 3 had a decent amount of rust on it after 10 years. Still, other than that it was a shockingly maintenance free car for something so cheap, so I still would recommend one.

 

[MDE]

My 2008 was starting to rust in 2011, I know the first generation 3 had very bad rust problems.

Are the newer models better?