Im looking at a 2002 Protege 5 at a dealership.

Its a stick with all other options. I have never owned a protege before, but Ive had two probes. A gt, and a base. Is the engine the same as the FS probe 2.0 motor? I know there is some time seperating the vehicles, but I had some troubles with my FS 4-cyl, but overall I was pleased with its torque.

What trouble signs should I be looking for? What stuff is typical after 40K? I know clutches are mostly how you drive them, but are the clutches weak like in probes? What is some little stuff I can have them do BEFORE I buy it so I dont get stuck repairing it myself?

What kind of price should a 2002 Protege 5 with options minus auto with 40K miles get? The dealer is obviously asking WAY too high, but offers more on trades. Im trying to drive that down, since taxes are based on the sale of the new vehicle, not the true out the door cost.

I noticed the rims in the rear were flaking. Is that common? Is it fixable or is it requiring repair? If the coating is removed, are the rims unattractive? I was considering having them blasted and polised. I was going to do most of that myself. Does that sound retarded? Does the bolt pattern fit 3rd gen RX-7 wheels? They are pretty wide, but could be accomodated.

Well, anyways... Thanks in advance for any tips, sorry I didnt do more
searching first, I did see the caliper problem and some misc engine probs.

 

Welcome aboard!

Lots of questions, but first, how much is the dealer asking?
Beat him down with:
* Has the clutch chatter TSB been performed?
* The rotor rust TSB?
* The engine clatter at start-up TSB?

You can knock him off his pace with some questions like this... The problems are minor (IMHO) and don't apply to all P5s (not mine anyway!) . When he says 'i don't know if it was performed' ask HIM to do them. Now that he is squealing - drop your offer by $[i don;t know, maybe a coupla' hundred?:shrug:]

Buy the car!
The handling is awesome and the quality is very good. Read the 'i love 'em posts'.

 

problems to look out for (IMO):

verify all required and scheduled maintaince has been done on the vehicle. If they cannot provide it let them know that you WILL NOT buy a car that is not mechanically up to date and how dare they try to sell you something when it's condition is questionable.

check tires and break wear. Tires seem to go out around 40K on these cars...brakes about the same.

all in all I've had almost no problems with my p5. It sounds like the issues that your car has are mostly roadsalt or winter problems.

when and if you buy the car I'd plan on replacing the front motor mount ($65) and getting a nice intake and exhaust. Simple, low-dollar mods like that make the car much more enjoyable.

 

There is a TSB for that?!
I'll check the internet but mine was used, is there a place that lists all the service bulletins? Can I get a Mazda dealer to perform them even though my car was bought used elsewhere?


If this Protege doesn't work out, look for another... Consumer Reports gave the Protege/Protege5 the "Recommended" check each year for excellent reliability, interior room and comfort, value and "Very Good overall safety" rating.

 

^yes, but i don't have the number [mumble, mumble, senility, mumble] with me...

And it was tied to mileage and may not apply any more...

And most dealers were surly when questioned about it...