vB Easy Archive - Need some advice about a potential Mazda Protege5 purchase

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Need some advice about a potential Mazda Protege5 purchase
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Posted by: SodiumSulfate

Hey Everyone,

One of my dad's co-workers is going to be giving up his 2002 Mazda Protege5. My dad took a look at it and thought it might be a nice general use car. I checked it out and know zero about cars. I would appreciate any help that you all could provide.

Here are the specifics:
- Mustard Yellow colour
- seems to have all the ammenitites (auto, air, power locks, etc)
- drive seems okay, a bit "wobbly" but my dad said that it's might be the tires
- driven on a construction site, so it's pretty muddy
- about 50K kms
- alloy wheels (will need a new set of tires)
- a few *tiny* rust spots here and there, i'd say about the size of a drop of water at various locations around the lower body

I can have it for about $11,250 (I take over the end of lease buyout).

Is it a good price? What additional costs am I looking at to nip the rust at the bud, new tires, etc?

Thanks for all your help!

Posted by: Zeta_G

i still leasing a 02'Protege 5 too
overall the car is gd...
handles really well w/ oe equipments...
but parts are a bit $$$ compare to honda and toyota.....
and the OE tires suc when wet...
and $$$ too cuz they are low profiles...
as for the rust part...
i say u just take it some touch up and give it to a detailing shop and clean it up
should last u couple more yrs b4 seeing them again, if u take take of the car well...

Posted by: ggskateboards

Personally, I wouldn't do it, it could ruin a good relationship if you have troubles with it

But other then that, good car overall, probably only needs new tires (350 bucks prolly), maybe front end alignment since it was driven all over dirt it's whole life (if you want it perfect but get the tires first to make sure that is the problem)

Sounds like a good deal to me!

Posted by: SodiumSulfate

Thanks for the advice!

To my knowledge, it's only ever been serviced my the Mazda dealership it was bought it. I don't think the guy ever did any rustproofing because he was going to give it back at the end of his lease.

I did take it for a test drive...I found the engine noisey/knocky, but my father said that it was because it was a 4 cyclinder car (i'm used to V6 cars) and the drive as a whole was okay. We used to have a Mazda back in the day and I remember it being hard to turn (I find Toyota's are easy to make turns, the steering wheel just needs to be pushed slightly). I found that I had to use more force on the Mazda.

The car itself seemed okay, but I found that it was really wobbly...like driving with a flat tire. My father said that it was probably just the tires, and the owner recommended that if we do pick up the car, we get new tires. Driven on a construction site, so I'm sure he's driven over a bunch of nails and just had it patched.

All in all, i'm thinking for around $13K on the road, I should be able to pick up the car and fix the rust, rustproofing, etc...is it a good buy?

Posted by: ggskateboards

Quote:

Originally Posted by SodiumSulfate

Thanks for the advice!

To my knowledge, it's only ever been serviced my the Mazda dealership it was bought it. I don't think the guy ever did any rustproofing because he was going to give it back at the end of his lease.

I did take it for a test drive...I found the engine noisey/knocky, but my father said that it was because it was a 4 cyclinder car (i'm used to V6 cars) and the drive as a whole was okay. We used to have a Mazda back in the day and I remember it being hard to turn (I find Toyota's are easy to make turns, the steering wheel just needs to be pushed slightly). I found that I had to use more force on the Mazda.

The car itself seemed okay, but I found that it was really wobbly...like driving with a flat tire. My father said that it was probably just the tires, and the owner recommended that if we do pick up the car, we get new tires. Driven on a construction site, so I'm sure he's driven over a bunch of nails and just had it patched.

All in all, i'm thinking for around $13K on the road, I should be able to pick up the car and fix the rust, rustproofing, etc...is it a good buy?

looks a lot like the first post

It's probably just in bad condition cause he figured he's just giving it back for a lease, so it probably wasn't treated like a princess

Posted by: WoNGsTeR

if the tire is wobbly.. i would suggest to check out the rim.. just incase.. cause the rim might be warped if it was driving on the construction site often.. and have the under body check for any holes or rips.. cause sounds like the owner didnt really take care of this car...

Posted by: evolution921

Go to a Mazda dealer to test drive a couple of Protege5 there, see if you notice any difference.

Posted by: TheRupp

Sounds like its been beaten to absolute hell. $11,000 is a LOT of money for a 2002 Mazda that's seen some abuse. Have it checked out by a Mazda tech. I'm personally concerned especially since it's out of warranty at its mileage.

Posted by: evilgabbie

i wouldn't do it.. warrenty is little if any exist at all.. 11000 will fetch a far more reliable honda/toyota

Posted by: c^2

I'd avoid it, based on the fact that it was driven on a construction site and has rust on it. It seems like your dad really wants you to buy it, doesn't he?

Posted by: 03 P5

i own a 2003 P5 hence the name 03P5, it is a great car for around the town use, like other posters say handling is great. but like you said its an end of lease buyout, the guy most likely didn't take good care of it. not true for all but majority of people that lease cars don't take good care of the car cuz hey, after the lease your returning it anyway. so i wouldn't do it if i were you, just my thoughts.

Posted by: dead_cactus

Protege's are great cars. I have a '01 ES sedan.

Check out www.toprotege.com

Posted by: rip

Quote:

Originally Posted by c^2

I'd avoid it, based on the fact that it was driven on a construction site and has rust on it. It seems like your dad really wants you to buy it, doesn't he?

agreed, those little spots you see is rust coming from inside out, who knows how really rusted it is.

and it's a lease!...no he's just trying to make money off your dad! stay away!

Posted by: mawti

Quote:

Originally Posted by rip

agreed, those little spots you see is rust coming from inside out, who knows how really rusted it is.

and it's a lease!...no he's just trying to make money off your dad! stay away!

Not true. Those tiny rust spots, the size of droplets of rain, are most likely caused by stone chips. Given that it is driven around a construction site, a small splattering is well within reason. Even simple daily commutes down the motorway will pick those up. Unless any of those holes show signs of cracks, either in the paint or in the body panel itself, I say those paint chips are not that big of deal. Nothing to be overly concerned about.

What I would be looking at is the "wobbly" drive your dad spoke of. Yes, it could be a bad tyre or a bent wheel. But it could also be some problems with the suspension. Make sure you won't be needing to replace parts--shocks, struts, control arms etc--that shouldn't need replacing yet. Have a mechanic give it a once over. If everything checks out, you can put your worries to rest.

Don't listen to some of the people here. Check the Blue Book value. $11,250 CAD is a very decent price to pay with such low mileage. Although trade-ins are usually higher, my coworker just traded his 01-02? Protege5 in with over 60K on the clock for about $15,000 when he purchased his new Subaru WRX Wagon.

If the car is mechanically sound, there is little room from him to "make money off your dad". That is total rubbish. Anyone that says that deserves a good bollocking.

Anyways, good luck~

Posted by: pr5owner

dont get a P5 there are better cars for the money, such as a mazda 3 i have an 02 protege5, its a good car but its discontinued, theres no more support, aftermarket is pulling out. better to get a car thats still being manufactured (IE Mazda 3)

the P5 is 1 kick a§§ handling car though, you lower it with tokico luminas and eibach pro kit springs and it will handle like its on rails, the car will take a corner faster than i can, ill chicken out way before i reach the edge.

Posted by: ggskateboards

Quote:

Originally Posted by pr5owner

dont get a P5 there are better cars for the money, such as a mazda 3 i have an 02 protege5, its a good car but its discontinued, theres no more support, aftermarket is pulling out. better to get a car thats still being manufactured (IE Mazda 3)

the P5 is 1 kick a§§ handling car though, you lower it with tokico luminas and eibach pro kit springs and it will handle like its on rails, the car will take a corner faster than i can, ill chicken out way before i reach the edge.

he makes a good point, parts are gonna get more pricey in the next 5 years and are gonna continue to go up because they're gonna be special order. I recommend searching for a car that is still made and probably will be for a while.

Posted by: SodiumSulfate

Thanks for everyone's replies. We used to have a 93 Mazda protege, and appart from the mandatory oil change, we never had to do any work on the car. At around 100k kms, we had to change some internals, but appart from that, it was really reliable, and a perfect gopher car.

That said, my neighbour is a mechanic, and once he gets back from his vacation, i'll take him to check out the car. I don't think it's been terribly abused, but i'm sure it'll be very dirty since it's been on a construction site all it's life. I'll have to get it detailed from top to bottom. I'm not too concerned about the cost of the parts, you have to pay to play. If this car falls through, then i'll look into getting a new compact/subcompact. I just need a car to run errands and take my wife to and from school.

Physically, the car appears to be in good shape, but i'll wait for the green light from my neighbour before I put my name on the paperwork. I'm not really into "tuning" as such...since the car is out of warranty, I might try my hand at a carputer, but i'll see how finances are after purchase.

I did however find that the engine was a little to knocky for my liking, and there seemed to be a lot of road noise. I know i'll have to get new tires, but is there something else that can be done as well? I was thinking of getting some scraps of carpetting and cutting it to fit along the floorboards...i've read about some kind of rubber based undercoating that supposed to reduce road noise by upto 90%...I can't remember where I saw it, and google isn't being kind. Anyone know of what i'm talking about?

I'll probably also go with synthetic oil - people seem to love the stuff. Hopefully that'll quiet down the ride some.

Again, thanks for the input...it's much appreciated. Keep it coming!

Posted by: rip

for a few Gs more you can get a brand new Yaris, a great gopher and a gas miser plus you get a full warranty.

Posted by: SodiumSulfate

Well, to get something comparable, I'd have to get the Yaris with auto and either the D or the aero packages. Either way, the starting cost would be around $19K, so on the road i'm looking at about $22K-$23K.

I never really thought of the Yaris...Has anyone purchased one? What do you think of it?

I might just have to go for a test drive of the yaris

Posted by: ggweci

Quote:

Originally Posted by SodiumSulfate

Well, to get something comparable, I'd have to get the Yaris with auto and either the D or the aero packages. Either way, the starting cost would be around $19K, so on the road i'm looking at about $22K-$23K.

I never really thought of the Yaris...Has anyone purchased one? What do you think of it?

I might just have to go for a test drive of the yaris

my brother is looking at picking up a Yaris 5-dr... it's a nice little car. With the "B" package (a/c, abs, pw, keyless entry) it goes for $16,650 (add $1K for auto)... it's a great little car. The only drawback is that the interior is a little on the cheap side, but otherwise the car is very solidly built... plus you have Toyota reliability.

also, related to your post, i have a 2003 Protege5... it's an excellent car, handles amazing, and mine as performed flawlessly for me over the last 3.5yrs... i really like it.

basically is comes down to the following:

Yaris
Pros: new car, full warranty, a lot better on fuel, toyota reliabilty
Cons: more expensive, cheapy interior, not too much room in the hatch

P5
Pros: cheaper to buy, handles great, nice interior, great cargo room, probably cheaper to insure
Cons: used car (unknown history), uses more fuel (approx $400-$500/yr more based on 15K annual driving and gas prices over $1)

hope that helps a bit...

also, if considering the Yaris, you may want to look at the Honda Fit... the equivalent to the Yaris model above would be the Fit LX... it's $17,180 (add $1200 for auto) but comes with side/curtain airbags as well and a much nicer and more "configurable" interior. The BIG drawback, Honda won't budge on pricing and they are in short supply... plus no Graduate rebate if you have that option (you can get this with the Yaris).

Posted by: rip

haven't tested one as yet...but here is one of many reviews.

http://www.drivingtelevision.ca/seg...e=313&segment=2