Looking to buy, help me decide on this Protege (pic included)

[gksspot]

Hello all! Ive been lurking here for several weeks now and have been reading up as much as I can. I get a lot of info from edmunds.com as well regarding the different options for the different years but it will only give so much info. I was hoping you guys could help me out with some questions that I had regarding a 02 LX.

Here are its specs from the ad:
2002 MAZDA PROTEGE LX, silver, 49k miles, cd, full pwr, must see, drives good, $6,450

That is a really good price but its from a used car dealer and I tend to frown upon buying from these people (usually buy from private owners).

Anyways, to the questions...

1. Does the LX have rear disc brakes on the 02s? I know they are almost always standard on the ESs but I thought Id ask anyways
2. Do LXs have the option of a factory moonroof as this one has? Ive had bad experiences with ones put in by used car dealers.
3. Are those the stock 15 inch Mazda rims? So far Ive been only looking into buying an ES so Im only knowledgeable regarding the stock 16s.
4. Pinstripping never came from the factory right? This car has it and I wonder if it has been in an accident and they are trying to hide something by putting on pinstripes (read this tactic in a car mag before).


I just need to verify that its stick and I will go and check it out. I'm pretty excited about it but at the same time a little leary.

Here is a pic and below it is a pic of my 95 Miata that I modded. Might give you an idea of my first car obsession. Go Mazdas! (thumb)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/gksspot/Miata/02LX.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/gksspot/Miata/myMiata.jpg

Here is my cardomain site for the Miata

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/160905

Thanks in advance for your help fellas :)

[DiS]

ok to answer your questions.
1. No LX does not have Disk brakes in the back. Only ES, MP3 and MSP proteges come with rear disk brakes. DX and LX come with drums in the back.
2. Yes LX has optional everything, including moonroof, fog lights, rear spoiler, OEM optional body kit and few more.
3. Yes I believe those are 15'' wheels. They do look like 16'' wheels from 1999-2000 model ES but these are 4 lug and factory wheels. Factory protege wheels on LX came in 15''.
4. Pinstriping is always an option at the dealer or at any body shop. Few of my friends who have bought the proteges and other makes, requested pinstripes from dealer and it was done.

Just a quick question, how do pinstripes hide something if car was in an accident? All it is is just a very thin paint mark.

P.S. Great looking Roadster you got there. Looks good man!

[gksspot]

I read (and heard from a buddy that sold used cars for 1 yr) that somee places will lay pinstripes on a car to try and trick the eye into believing the replaced body panels and/or transitioning of paint from one freshly painted area to the facotry painted area looks normal.

Im just asking questions regarding the crappy pic I have, once it checks out (has a 5 spd) then I will go check it out and look it over real good. Its a very good ASKING price for its miles, year, and options for what I can find around here.

About the drums, I figured I was going to be wrong. I will read up on the forum and see what options I have for swapping discs and if it is a worthwhile benefit (see how much it decreases stopping distance). I just hate drums!

[gksspot]

Couple other questions that just came to my mind.

Does the LX sticker come off easy?
What about the badging in the rear?

[DiS]

oh yea as far as paint transition, thats quite possible regarding pinstripes.

It definetly is a great price for that many miles on the car. Also, if its possible, get a carfax report on that protege. Best way to find out what was wrong with it before or if its been in any kinds of accidents.

As far as drum brakes, lol you're not the only one who hates them. There is a thread about doing a drum-to-disk brakes swap somewhere here on the forums (i think its in 3rd gen section). Parts are listed in that thread I believe.

Best of luck to ya man, and hopefully this deal will work out for ya. Keep us updated (thumb)

[DiS]

Couple other questions that just came to my mind.

Does the LX sticker come off easy?
What about the badging in the rear?

as far as LX sticker.....its easily removed. I took my LX stickers off, car looks much cleaner without them.
As far as the badging on the trunk, its pain in the ass. Those badges are not on glue, they are held on plastic studs, if you would call them that, heh. In other words, if you were to remove the badging in the rear, there would be holes. I wanted to remove those also, but when found out about the holes, I never did try.

[gksspot]

...the hunt contiunes... its an auto... oh well maybe the ES that I want will pop up. The original plan was to buy a car in SoCal over XMas break. I will be there two weeks and the market there is huge, Im bound to find something!

Anyone know if the California cars are tuned differently from the factory to meet the tough emissions?