Car started making a whirring noise from the front left tire at about 73,000 miles. I thought it was a wheel bearing, so I decided to put it off until I had the money and time to replace it. I travel for work, so I only get to use my car on the weekends. I took it to the Mazda dealer and asked if they could see if it was the wheel bearing, or if it were something else. The mechanic said it was the transmission going out, and it had to be replaced. With parts and labor, it was going to cost $5,000 to fix. Since the car was only worth ~$7,000, I didn't see any point in fixing it. So I bought something new.