Something seems fishy......

[Falango]

Well, I bought my Protege about 3 weeks ago from a dealership just outside Vancouver, BC. Guy was awesome, went through everything on the car, but now that I've seen a few other ES models on the road, a few things came up.

I read the FAQ and it says under 2001 changes, that 16" alloy wheels and a spoiler were stock on the ES model.........I don't have either. I don't have a spoiler, doesn't seem to be any signs of there being one before, and I got 15" steel rims.

My car has the ES 2.0 decal on the fender behind the front wheel, even though the FAQ also says that this tag was not included on 02 models because all Protege trim levels had 2.0 engines. I checked the VIN and it's sure enough a 2002 car, not screwed there. But it makes me kind of unsure about the situation. My car has fog lights as well, not sure if it was an option on the LX though. I have the newest italicized Protege tag on the back that came on the 02 Proteges.

It's really starting to confuse me about seeing some ES features, but not seeing others. I'd liek to hear some input on this from you guys, and possibly any answers to what the heck is going on, and if I'm the only one that is experiencing this.

EDIT: One other thing, on the plastic wheel covers, there is no Mazda logo, the center is blank. I don't know whether these were the wheels and wheel covers that came with the car, but if they are, it seems kind of weird to not see a Mazda logo on them, and the fact that I haven't seen them on any other Protege at all.

[joka1]

what color is your interior? and does it have a sunroof??

[KpaBap]

looks like you have the black interior and also the top of the upper grill is black (it is body colored on lower models) so I'd say you have an ES that someone took the wheels off of, I believe you could buy the ES without a wing, not too sure


you know what, stop wasting our time, call MNAO with your vin and they'll tell you everything you want to know

[Falango]

It's not a biggy anyway, just kind of curious, because it's going to be modded anyway. Wheels will change, spoiler would have been changed even if there was one. it's more about the dealership's honesty if you know what I mean. It's getting real later here, I can't think of better words to describe it, lol. I mean, if the dealership messed with me, I'll take it to a different one if I ever have any problems with it.

Joka1: No sunroof, it's the Charcoal interior, and I have the 3 spoke steering wheel as well, I know in 02 they switched to that over the 4 spoke in prior years.

[KpaBap]

yea yea you bought it already, not like you can do anything about it, I'm sure you have better things to do with your time than dabble into false advertising litigation

[J dragon]

KpaBap stop Hatin....He is asking a question, and our fellow Mazda members should answer it if We can help him.

I dunno man doesn't seem like an ES to me without a sunroof, and a spoiler, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. Btw congrats on your purchase ^_^

[Thug541]

Hmmmm thats odd. What color are the guages in the interior?

[DavidPrice]

Maybe it is a fake Mazda?

[Protege52003]

Pretty sure all ES's come with 16 alloy wheels and a spoiler? The lx/dx's they were options but the ES was the sport version.......my 01' ES2.0 came stardard with both......

[chaosProtege]

my ES didnt come with a sunroof, i think it was an option. it came with 4 wheel disc brakes,which i dont think it was an option on the lx. mine does have a spoiler and 16" wheels tho. maybe the trim levels are a little different in Canada?

[kickniteasy]

Yeah, my ES has no sunroof but did come with rims and a spoiler.

[joka1]

the sunroof is a option......... but on every es their is a spoiler and 4 wheel disk brakes stock

[KpaBap]

oh gnoes I threw the hater-tots

[KpaBap]

oh gnoes I threw the hater-tots by recommending him to go to the only credible source of information about his car :rolleyes:

[markmdz89hatch]

my ES didnt come with a sunroof, i think it was an option. it came with 4 wheel disc brakes,which i dont think it was an option on the lx. mine does have a spoiler and 16" wheels tho. maybe the trim levels are a little different in Canada?

chaos is right, ONLY the ES came with rear disc. LX and DX models had rear drum, and disc was not an option. My cataloge said that all ES's came with spoiler, 16's and fogs stock. Another easy way to check is if you have 4 or 5 lug wheels. 4-lug = LX, DX 5-lug = ES

Also, my '02 ES has a patterned fabric on the seats centers, and black bolsters. This interior was not available on the LX, or DX. The LX and DX both had solid color interiors.

Another "feature" of the ES is orange backlighting on the guages and radio/climate controls, as opposed to green on the LX and DX.

Not that there's anything wrong with the LX or DX, but if the car was advertised and "badged" as an ES, but it's really an LX, then there's definitly a problem.
1. Did the asking price reflect that of an ES or LX?
2. Both LX and ES are equipped with alloy wheels from factory. The fact that you got steelies should have impacted the price (in a negative way)
3. If it's got an ES 2.0 sticker and no sign of the LX, then I would suggest looking for repaint b/c I would suspect the fender(s) have been repaired/replaced. If that's the case, I would suggest bringing the car to a body shop to be put on a rack to determine if it's got a straight frame/front end.

* Moral of this story, some dealers will be your best friend until you drive the car off the lot; Then, they'll forget your name 5 minutes later. All they're interested in is a quick sale. Granted, this is not the case with ALL used car dealerships, but you have to keep that in mind at all times.

** CARFAX: Damn Near Worthless if you're buying the car from a dealer. From a private party, you've got a better chance that it's accurate, but even then your can't be positive. In many cases, a dealer will buy a car at auction even if it's banged up, or damaged. Then they'll take it back to the shop, do a quick repair, and send it out to the showroom for sale.

The bottom line is that CARFAX only shows those accidents/repairs which are claimed through an insurance company. If the insurance company has no knowledge of an accident or repair, then CARFAX has no knowledge of it. Body shops are not required to report repairs to anyone. They are just independent shops doing independent repairs as requested.

[newfpw]

In Canada there was 2 es models,the one you and I have and a esgt that came with 4wheel disc brakes,spoiler and sun roof option.

[protege02]

if i were you i would ask what happen to the 16's and the spoiler because all U.S. protege es's should have 16's and a spoiler. also, the interior is black with sillver trim, red guage lighting, 4 wheel disk brakes, 5 lug bolt pattern, and power everything. sunroof is a option with cruise control and mazda also had the sunroof with abs which i think is for 2003 models(2002 cruise control came with sunroof and 2003 sunroof and abs i think that's right). also, if you dont want the parts, i would try to get a credit and you could get some mazdaspeed parts because the es wheels aren't cheap(i think $265 a wheel or more new) and that could pay for your suspenion mods and some minor engine mods. just a thought, but it's your car and money so do as you please.

[Falango]

Well seems like a have all the ES has except the spoiler and alloys. I got the white gauges with red lighting, same as the console and radio. Black seats with the different material down the center.

EDIT: Took out some nasty stuff I wrote because I have the truth now.

[chaosProtege]

assholes. i'd go with u to show them what a real ES looks like but you'd be there and back before i got to the border.

[chaosProtege]

you do have a well optioned lx tho.

[Falango]

Well I just gave them a call to find out that Canada DOES have two different ES trim levels, the ES and the ES GT package. Mine is the basic ES trim that still has 15" steel rims 4 lug wheels and no spoiler. Atleast I did get the truth and not some BS, but I still wish I had 5 lug 16" alloys and discs all around. Well, guess you guys have just wasted your time with this thread, lol.

[1garnetredlx]

I know what you mean about the 5 lug 4 wheel disc brakes. Between that and the plain LX interior I sometimes wish I would have gotten an ES.

[Falango]

Well the main thing was I definately wanted the black interior, liked the white gauges lit red way more than the indiglo, and the trim and door handle color matching the rest of the body.

[1garnetredlx]

Yea, I got all of the silver door switch bezels as well as the carbon fiber radio surrounding but I just don't like the light grey interior.

[Mikey444]

Here are the canadian specs for all 2002 protéges. It should answer all your questions http://www.auto123.com/en/new/carinfo/specs.spy?used=1&year=2002&make=Mazda&model=Proteg%E9

[meGrimlock]

i dunno if this is the case, mazda, and other ford owned companies sometimes have a mid-year refresh. example, 2003.5 mazdaspeed protege. minor changes but overall keeping the same specs and features.
-meGrimlock

[1sty]

Just to throw into thge mix, my girlfriends LX has 5 lugs. In 2003 in the states, only the dx has 4 lugs.

[Falango]

i dunno if this is the case, mazda, and other ford owned companies sometimes have a mid-year refresh. example, 2003.5 mazdaspeed protege. minor changes but overall keeping the same specs and features.
-meGrimlock

No Canada just has 2 different ES trim levels. The regular ES, and the ES with a GT package, which includes 4 wheel discs, 5 lug 16" alloy wheels, and a spoiler. I called the dealership and got the info.

[1sty]

No Canada just has 2 different ES trim levels. The regular ES, and the ES with a GT package, which includes 4 wheel discs, 5 lug 16" alloy wheels, and a spoiler. I called the dealership and got the info.

Thats not what he's saying. He's pointing out that like in the states, what those 2 trim level packages contained may have changed in 2002.5 or 2003.5. Several things changed on the cars here within there trim levels at those times.

For example, the 2002 Protege didn't have tweeters in the sill panels, the 2002.5 did. Also the 2003 had a roof rack, the 2003.5 ditched the roof rack and got a spare tire subwoofer. All where P5's, but all a little different in what was considered standard equiptment.

[Falango]

I know that, but it seemed like he was saying that my car was a mid-year change, which it's not, it's just a Canadian ES.

[1sty]

I know that, but it seemed like he was saying that my car was a mid-year change, which it's not, it's just a Canadian ES.

That doesn't mean its definitly a 2002 and not a 2002.5 as that would not appear anywhere on the vehical. You would need to find out which each of those included as factory equiptment.