what makes a good "companion car" for the 8?
06-23-2010, 09:03 PM
#28
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I've been playing on tirerack.com. I think i really like this car.
I tried actually shopping for one on cars.com and they seem hard to find. (at least near me, with a manual)
I tried actually shopping for one on cars.com and they seem hard to find. (at least near me, with a manual)
06-23-2010, 09:35 PM
#29
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My winter car is a Mazda3, and my wife's car is a Mazda6. The 3 is 10x more fun, and still just about as practical.
The P5 is also an excellent choice.
My main point here is, if you're interested in fun factor, avoid the 6. It's not horrible (certainly way, way, way better than a Camry or an Accord), but there's better choices.
The P5 is also an excellent choice.
My main point here is, if you're interested in fun factor, avoid the 6. It's not horrible (certainly way, way, way better than a Camry or an Accord), but there's better choices.
06-23-2010, 10:00 PM
#31
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My winter car is a Mazda3, and my wife's car is a Mazda6. The 3 is 10x more fun, and still just about as practical.
The P5 is also an excellent choice.
My main point here is, if you're interested in fun factor, avoid the 6. It's not horrible (certainly way, way, way better than a Camry or an Accord), but there's better choices.
The P5 is also an excellent choice.
My main point here is, if you're interested in fun factor, avoid the 6. It's not horrible (certainly way, way, way better than a Camry or an Accord), but there's better choices.
06-23-2010, 10:50 PM
#33
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I had to wait a couple of months to find a decent Protege5 to pick up. People really like to hold onto them so only a few tend to pop up at a time! Here are some tips on what to look out for on them:
1.) Rust, rust, rust. I'm not sure why, but they like to rust. Check the rear wheel wells for rust and in the engine bay as those are the hot spots. If it's just bubbling then sand it down and have it fixed. If it's already starting to rust through you might want to look for another one.
2.) Motor mounts. The stock motor mounts tend to crap out at (or around) 100,000 miles and one of them is around $150 to replace. The others aren't bad. If the mounts haven't been replaced try to negotiate $500 out of the price. That should more than cover it and labor.
3.) If it idles a little funky don't sweat it. Part of the EGR system gets clogged with carbon over time and needs to be cleaned out. Replacing the part that does it (the name of which escapes me, sorry) is only around $150, but you can just as easily take it off and clean it yourself free of charge!
4.) Try to pick up a later one if at all possible as they seemed to come with more goodies right away. Our '03 came with a 6-disc CD changer, sunroof, and a subwoofer in the trunk. These were options on all of them but these were much more common to find on the later year P5's for some reason.
That's about it. Outside of normal maintenance at 90,000 miles ours hasn't skipped a beat and runs like a champ. It's going to get my fiancee through two years of nursing school with no trouble I do believe and is a fun car to drive in place of the RX-8 if need be.
1.) Rust, rust, rust. I'm not sure why, but they like to rust. Check the rear wheel wells for rust and in the engine bay as those are the hot spots. If it's just bubbling then sand it down and have it fixed. If it's already starting to rust through you might want to look for another one.
2.) Motor mounts. The stock motor mounts tend to crap out at (or around) 100,000 miles and one of them is around $150 to replace. The others aren't bad. If the mounts haven't been replaced try to negotiate $500 out of the price. That should more than cover it and labor.
3.) If it idles a little funky don't sweat it. Part of the EGR system gets clogged with carbon over time and needs to be cleaned out. Replacing the part that does it (the name of which escapes me, sorry) is only around $150, but you can just as easily take it off and clean it yourself free of charge!
4.) Try to pick up a later one if at all possible as they seemed to come with more goodies right away. Our '03 came with a 6-disc CD changer, sunroof, and a subwoofer in the trunk. These were options on all of them but these were much more common to find on the later year P5's for some reason.
That's about it. Outside of normal maintenance at 90,000 miles ours hasn't skipped a beat and runs like a champ. It's going to get my fiancee through two years of nursing school with no trouble I do believe and is a fun car to drive in place of the RX-8 if need be.
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