Should I Buy??

[theZD]

Hello everyone, I am officially a n00b here, and I hope this is in the right forum!! I'm in the process of looking for MP5s for sale because it's the only car I want. It's absolutely perfect! :)

Anyhow, I've found one and I really like it so far. I've done a lot of reading on these forums and so I know quite a bit when it comes to the MP5. This one is a 2002.5 and has obviously had some modifications done to it. I see the hood, short shifter, and I think the engine picture shows a cold air input installed - does it not?

Anyways, I think it seems like a good deal and I might be able to talk them down to $10,500 or so. The only thing I'm worried about is if someone made these mods, they might've raced it too and I'm really wanting something that's going to be really reliable.

Finally, my questions for the awesome regulars of this forum are:
1.) Does this look like a good deal?
2.) What do you think the chances of this car being raced are with the mods that it has?
3.) What are the chances of the car being less reliable because of some racing done?
4.) Do you see any other mods done on the car that I didn't spot?
5.) I will probably be test driving this car tonight - what kinds of things should I look for?

Thanks for all your help!!! Lastly, here's the link to the car. :)
http://tinyurl.com/lhoms

[mountjonas]

that looks like the dg ram hood. with a short ram intake, not a cold air.
it looks like it has leather seats, it doesn't look like it was lowered, though.

there's a chance it could've been raced. although my car was modded (CAI, eibach pro-kit, kartboy ss) and i never raced it.

you should be able to talk them down in price considering it was modded. good luck.

[MP3Architect]

hey thats a very nice and quite expensive hood! i dont see anything else besides what you spotted, however those pictures do suck. As far as racing....its hard to really tell if a car has been redlined a lot or not. in its current state it doesn't really look like a "racer" but its more than likely that the car had more things done to it before it was sold to the dealer. many people put thier cars back to stock before selling. he may have not had a stock hood or air box to put on the car when selling. see if you can find a mazda guy on here from that area to check it out for you. they would be able to get in the car and really check it out for you.
Good luck! (thumb)

[theZD]

I will have to research the ram hood and ram intake. I've not seen those discussed anywhere before. Thanks!

And MP3Architect (and anyone else) - you can actually click on a picture to make it slightly bigger - but then you can also click on the slightly bigger picture to bring up a full size picture. Still somewhat small, but better nonetheless. :)

I will also have to see if I can find a Mazda guy around KC like you said.

Thanks a bunch! And anyone else with more input - keep them coming!

[Katya4me]

Well, if it has made it past 30K miles without anything happening, you are fairly safe. You may want to see/listen to the exhaust to see if anything has been done to it. The car definitely is not dropped. I can't remember if clutch chatter was covered w/ the '02.5 or just the '02. If you like the hood, it could very well be a good car for that price. Good luck whatever you decide. :)

[theZD]

Thanks Katya!

I was wondering about how the short shifter would be, since I've read here that sometimes they can make noises or be stiff if not done right - so that's something I'll be paying attention to when I test drive.

I do love the look of the hood, so that's good. I just want to make sure I'm not going to be spending loads on repairs in a few months. :) Thanks again for the input!!

[mountjonas]

http://dgmotorsports.com/details_1.asp?ProductID=50-61-1099&ProcessType=1

that's the link for the hood.

my 02.5 was covered for the clutch chatter. i had it replaced around 30k miles. short shifters can make a little bit of noise. with kartboys urethane bushings, the transmission noise was amplified a bit into the cabin of my car. nothing bad, just a little more noticeable. you can always open up the console and lube everything up real nice if you're not sure if it was installed correctly.

[n0rthwall]

pretty sweet looking car. i want that hood!!!!!!!!!!! (bowdown)

[Captain KRM P5]

welcome to the forums

[hyperboarder]

Not bad, I got mine, bone stock, but identical otherwise, for 9k in August (minor body damage, all repaired too, I got a freakin sweet deal). That hood and air kit is worth like a grand or so, and that looked to be a Kartboy shifter setup. Both are good mods, hard to mess up. Check the normal new car things, leaks, rattles, any of that jazz, but otherwise, go for it, I'd probably take that for the price.

[Black_Protege_5]

It also had the DG carbon eyelids. That price is not bad especially with that hood. If you could talk them down that would be great. I doubt the car was raced but there is a chance that he probably hit the high rpm's in the streets. Just listen to the idle and take it for a drive. You will really feel how the car is.

[theZD]

Thanks a lot guys!! I ended up test driving this car last night and it was beautiful!! The shifter is GREAT and it looks really nice. The dealership said they've had a hard time selling the car because it's on a Honda lot and there's a Mazda lot nearby - so not too many people come there looking for Mazda's. :) Plus, it was the last day of the month so I actually talked them down to $10,000!!!!!! I couldn't believe it.

The only thing I don't like is the muffler. The previous owner obviously had a louder fat pipe installed, and I just don't like it. I'm going to see if they will replace it before I buy the car. But other than that, the thing looked flawless, especially the leather interior!! I really looked at the car good for a very long time and there's just nothing wrong with it as far as I can tell. And no clutch chatter. It shifted wonderfully.

All in all, I believe I'm buying this car tonight. I'm so excited - the thing is absolutely perfect. Thanks for all your help and I hope to be on these boards more often now that I'll be a proud owner of an MP5!!!! :)
ZD

[Canecreekfreak]

Sounds like you're getting a great deal. Take some good pics if you end up getting it. :)

[hyperboarder]

Take a close look at the muffler, see if it says anything on the tip (racing beat, greddy, anything like that). With the other stuff done to the car, the previous owner wasn't some yahoo that didn't know what he was doing, he bought quality parts, so I'm betting it's a catback or axelback as opposed to a welded on fart can.

[mountjonas]

it could be the mazdaspeed sport axleback. that thing drones pretty loud.

[CTt3P5]

The only thing I don't like is the muffler. The previous owner obviously had a louder fat pipe installed, and I just don't like it. I'm going to see if they will replace it before I buy the car. But other than that, the thing looked flawless, especially the leather interior!! I really looked at the car good for a very long time and there's just nothing wrong with it as far as I can tell. And no clutch chatter. It shifted wonderfully.ZD

If they wouldn't take the muffler off for you, you could have that done and put it up a f/s thread. If it is of course a good quality one like hyperboarder mentioned. In my short time on the forums I have seen quite a few f/s and WTB threads regarding exhausts.

Congratulations and welcome to the fam. Looking very forward to seeing some better quality pics too (poke) . That hood is beautiful (thumb)

[theZD]

The muffler is MazdaSpeed, so I think I'm going to keep it on there. haha!

This car is really amazing me with it's speed. It's going to be hard to not get tickets. Let alone drive it normally for gas consumption / engine care. :)

My digital camera sucks, but should be good enough for some shots when I get the time....when I'm not driving around town, hehe. I will definitely post them.

[mountjonas]

Congrats! I loved every minute of the P5.

[theZD]

Some updates:

First tank of gas was 26MPG - which is very good considering I drove it hard a few times. :)
The car does indeed have clutch chatter. Going to call the dealer tonight and see if they will replace it. I have a limited warranty, but the hard part is going to be proving that the problem exists. It seems to only happen when it's cold, and the place is a 30 minute drive away, so the car will be warmed up by then. I just hope they fix it. What all needs replaced for this? Just the clutch? Or the whole tranny?
Finally, the Mazdaspeed muffler/exhaust does drone a bit when going down the highway. I can live with it, but I'd also like to think about getting a different one if I can. What needs to be replaced to fix this? The entire exhaust system, or just the muffler?
Thanks for any help, and I do hope to post pictures very soon!!

Edit:
Oh, and last night I had to replace a low beam headlight. This forum proved VERY useful as I was having a very hard time getting the old bulb out. The search feature really *IS* my friend. :D

[mountjonas]

The mazdaspeed exhaust is just an axleback, so it's the tip, muffler, and a small section of pipe. If it really bugs you, I've got an old stock axleback that's taking up space in my friend's garage.

The clutch chatter usually only happens when it's cold. To get mine replaced, I had to drop off the car at night and they test drove it in the morning and were able to reproduce the chatter. the should replace the clutch, flywheel, but not the tranny itself. Theres a few other parts, but I forgot which ones.

As for MPG, I averaged about 350 miles/tank which comes right to 30 mpg. Have fun with the car!

[Pretzellogic]

Welcome to the forums, and the P5 owners club. That's a pretty good deal, considering that hood is worth a considerable amount of moolah. Also, kartboy short-shifters rule.