Bad Carbon Build-Up In Protege Engines???

[Laughter]

Hello,

This is my first visit to this website, and I have a big question for someone who knows about Proteges...I get the impression that this is a perfect place to ask for your expertise!
I am about to purchase a 2002 Protege LX from private owners. It has 34,500 miles, it's a 5-speed, a clear Carfax report, and is in great condition from looking it over and test-driving it (keep in mind, I am not mechanically inclined). The owners also provided the service records for the car as well.
Anyhow---when I called the local Mazda dealership to ask about costs of inspecting the car for me (prior to final purchase), the service manager there warned me about Protege's issues with "engine carbon build-up." He said that some type of service must be performed every 15,000 miles or else the car/owner are screwed as far as repair bills, etc.........his final recommendation was to not purchase the car. He actually recommended a Subaru, Corolla, etc.!!!
Here is my dilemma---I need to "educate" myself in regard to what he mentioned. I do have the funds to purchase the car and so forth, but not a lot of extra cash to zap into huge repair bills, etc...
Please help me with the above issue (if it truly is an issue). Please know that I appreciate your time and help in advance!!!!

Take care, Laughter

[bazooka joe]

i've had my car since new and it has 77K on it and it runs fine, not had any special service work to reduce carbon??

[chiefmg]

What the service manager told you may have been about the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valve getting carboned up occasionally. Do a search on here, there is a how-to for cleaning it. I have an '03 ES with a 2.0 engine and I had to clean mine around 30,000 miles. My gf has a '99 ES w/a 1.8 engine, she has had hers for about 10,000 miles (total of 93,000) now with no sign of any problem. I think with the EGR valve a lot has to do with how you drive (ie if you drive it harder the valve is more likely to carbon up).