Hello all.

First off I'd like to say that just registering here and seeing all the support available makes me want to buy this car even more now despite the problems that it has.
The car is a beautiful red 92 DX with 175k miles. It has three problems that I saw but I'll concentrate on the problem that kept me from buying this car today. Basically, the auto tranny seems to be on the way out. Perhaps some of you informed folks can change my mind on this? When the car is cold, the transmission slips rather badly...I press the gas and the motor just revs and the car barely moves. After a few blocks the fluid warms up and the transmission works farily decent. It still refuses to downshift from drive at low speed and full throttle but if you manually drop it into 2nd or 1st it will shift and pull like the dickens. That 16 valve motor really likes to rev
The tranny fluid on this thing looks gone. It's an ugly color of brownish/black. Any color except the nice red/pink color it should be. Is it possible this all this sweet little car needs is a filter and oil service? If the car does indeed need a transmission, are they expensive to buy and install? I don't have a shop to do the work myself. I know 175k is a lot of miles for some cars but is that a lot of miles for a Protege? The car runs and drives great with a nice tight feel to the suspension and body. HELP pleasse! If anyone wants further details of any kind just let me know...like the asking price maybe? Anyway, thanks for reading this rather lengthy post and I look forward to your advise

 

A filter and oil service would be a start. as for pulling the tranny that is easy. the price i am not sure of. How much do they want for it? What kinda shape is the outside and inside in?

 

Thank you Gro and islander.....two differnt points of view. Hmmm
Well the car is in very good to great shape apart from the transmission. It has a couple of paint scrapes on the rear bumper but it doesn't seem to have even one parking lot ding that I could find. The interior is very good as well. The glass is great. What is odd about it is that it has the 16 valve engine even though the car is a DX with no power accesories...is that really an oddball thing? The Dealer is asking 1000.00 for the car and it is a local to NM car and I see no rust at all on it. The paint is nice and glossy and looks to have been garaged for a great portion of it's life. The seats ect. are not faded on the top either.
The dealer called a auto recycler while I was there and was able to find a used transmission with a warranty for 150.00. He said he had a friend who would put it in for an additional 200.00. Does this sound bogus? My mom had the transmission on her import auto go out and we couldn't find anything for any less than 1000.00 as Gro mentions in his reply so 350.00 to fix a transmission sounds a little good to be true. For now, the car is going to sit and wait a while....Thanks again for your advise and I still hope I can own a Protege. After reading the posts here I have developed a great liking for this car. All of you certainly love your cars and they come across as very reliable and fun cars to own.

Mazda Dreaming!

 

damn i wish i could have got paid 200 to pull my tranny. was a 1000 his bottom dollar. also if i was you i would look around for a tranny. check the net, local junk yards. dont have him do it. and check with some shops.
How much are you looking to spend on a car?

 

I have about 1500.00 for a car but can save about 500.00 a month

 

do you know a mechanic that you can trust. that you could test drive the car to. and get a better idea on what it might need. Other then that you might want to look around some more.

 

Yes, the car is going to sit a few days and see what happens...maybe the price will drop. I must admit however I'm a bit infatuated with this car.

 

I know what you mean.

 

I'd really kinf of like to get an auto. My current car is a 5 speed and that is one of the reasons I want another car. I'm tired of shifting

 

pffft... auto. whats the point then. I didnt know the tranny was the selling point for ya.

 

During the past few days I've been looking for another Protege.......nobody is selling these cars! Evan ebay only has a few for sale