2003 P5 - Help needed in making a decision

[badu]

Hi,

I am a new member to these forums and was amazed by the amount of info available. Wish I knew about this before buying a used P5 last Nov.

I bought a 2003 P5 off a used-car lot for 8k. it had 79k miles on it. and had clean history.. seemed to be well-maintained.

i have put another 4k miles,

Now, I got hit with problems that need immediate fixing -

1) Motor mounts need replacement - small-time mechanic says will cost around 750. am sure a dealer would cost more

2) All four tires need replacement - tiresplus has a deal for kuhmo tires for around 61 apiece (is that good?). Including wheel alignment, that looks like a total of 300. The small-time mechanic has recommended toyo tires for a total of around 700

3) Suffered front bumper damage when it slipped in snow last Jan. Replacement would cost around 650

4) transmission shift feels very jerky. fluid flush and fill will cost around 140

engine noise is pretty heavy, and driving comfort is bad at speeds above 65. i read in this forum that it could be due to the motor mounts.
the gas mileage is very poor, i get only around 23 even in highway driving.. again it could be due to bad tires and the transmission

So, I need advice.. the current kbb good value is 7100.. if i spend 2k on this car, the price is still not going to be any different. Is it worth sticking to this car or sell it off and buy a newer one? I'm scared to think of what more maintenance is on the way if i stick to this car.

any opinions on alternatives for the above stuff?

appreciate your help.

Cheers,

[poison]

Hi,

I am a new member to these forums and was amazed by the amount of info available. Wish I knew about this before buying a used P5 last Nov.

I bought a 2003 P5 off a used-car lot for 8k. it had 79k miles on it. and had clean history.. seemed to be well-maintained.

i have put another 4k miles,

Now, I got hit with problems that need immediate fixing -

1) Motor mounts need replacement - small-time mechanic says will cost around 750. am sure a dealer would cost more

2, if not 3, out of 4 should be easy to do yourself, see the 'how to' section. Save some money there.


2) All four tires need replacement - tiresplus has a deal for kuhmo tires for around 61 apiece (is that good?). Including wheel alignment, that looks like a total of 300. The small-time mechanic has recommended toyo tires for a total of around 700

Which Kumho's?


3) Suffered front bumper damage when it slipped in snow last Jan. Replacement would cost around 650


Try a junk yard? This ones up to you and how bad it is.


4) transmission shift feels very jerky. fluid flush and fill will cost around 140

Manual or auto? This you can do yourself for under $50.




So, I need advice.. the current kbb good value is 7100.. if i spend 2k on this car, the price is still not going to be any different. Is it worth sticking to this car or sell it off and buy a newer one? I'm scared to think of what more maintenance is on the way if i stick to this car.

You're not going to get KBB with these obvious issues there. Fix it and be happy with a fun little car! Seriously, most of that is normal wear and tear. Are you going to sell every time you need a fluid change or new tires?

[Wagonbacker9]

everything poison said, but also, hold off on the trans until you fix the motor mounts. It may feel a LOT better with the mounts fixed. I recommend aftermarket mounts (AWR, is my personal choice, but do some research, there are other brands), and you CAN do all these yourself. I do most of my own work and still elected to have the rear mount done as long as the shop had it to replace my diff.. its a pain.

tires are a personal choice. if you're running all seasons (you clearly have to deal with snow) i recommend continental contiextremecontacts. decent all around tire. If you're gonna run snow tires, then you can get 2 cheaper sets and still get away with it as they are going to be less of a comprimise for each.

for the bumper, start checking local scrap yards, you will eventually get lucky and find one already your factory color. swapping em will take you half an hour, give or take. If you're impatient, you can get a new one, or used one, and get it painted. Also, If you're handy, you may be able to repair your current bumper, and then get it painted later if you so choose. this depends on how damaged it is also... up to you.

REGARDLESS: do the mechanical repairs (at least). selling a car in poor condition sucks, so if you want to offload it, you're probably going to have to put the money into it.

[MazdaSpeeder]

1) Motor mounts need replacement - small-time mechanic says will cost around 750. am sure a dealer would cost more

You could do inserts from RR-Racing and AWR...$100 or so for everything, plus some wrenching. There are how-tos on here.

2) All four tires need replacement - tiresplus has a deal for kuhmo tires for around 61 apiece (is that good?). Including wheel alignment, that looks like a total of 300.

Sounds like a good plan there.

3) Suffered front bumper damage when it slipped in snow last Jan. Replacement would cost around 650

I don't know how extensive it is, but this how-to (http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123683305) might help if you think it is something you can tackle on your own. I would worry about mechanical issues first.

4) transmission shift feels very jerky. fluid flush and fill will cost around 140

I agree with poison, do it yourself and save some dough. If it is an auto and it's jerking a lot, you might be in for problems down the road...hate to be the bearer of bad news there.

engine noise is pretty heavy, and driving comfort is bad at speeds above 65. i read in this forum that it could be due to the motor mounts.
the gas mileage is very poor, i get only around 23 even in highway driving.. again it could be due to bad tires and the transmission

The engine noise is a drawback to this car...it is an economy car, and there's not a lot of sound deadening. Driving comfort...if you mean vibration at speed, it's probably alignment, tires, balance or a combination of the three. Mileage: check your air filter, check tire inflation, maybe run some seafoam through the engine (if you're not comfortable running it through the brake booster, just add it to a full tank of gas). Your spark plugs might also be the issue

So, I need advice.. the current kbb good value is 7100.. if i spend 2k on this car, the price is still not going to be any different. Is it worth sticking to this car or sell it off and buy a newer one? I'm scared to think of what more maintenance is on the way if i stick to this car.

I say keep and enjoy your fun P5!

[badu]

Thank you all for the quick responses...

I guess I failed to mention that I'm not a great do-it-yourself guy, especially on cars (at home, small stuff). Plus I live in an apartment and don't have access to a decent place to work on the car. Motor mount instructions suggest jacking the car up to work underneath. Anyway, those are all good ideas and let me see if I can find some handymen friends.

So the Kumho site recommends Kumho Ecsta SPT (KU31) - 195/50R16. The tiresplus offer comes with no mileage warranty, and that's what worries me. I read in one of the forum posts that tires needed frequent replacement. I don't know whether that is an isolated case.

I already checked local scrap yards for the bumper.. apparently this car is not old enough to be in the scrap yard and of course we couldn't find any salvage vehicles. But as suggested I will keep looking as this is not an emergency work

Once again, thanks for all the responses.

Cheers.

[Wagonbacker9]

Thank you all for the quick responses...

I guess I failed to mention that I'm not a great do-it-yourself guy, especially on cars (at home, small stuff). Plus I live in an apartment and don't have access to a decent place to work on the car. Motor mount instructions suggest jacking the car up to work underneath. Anyway, those are all good ideas and let me see if I can find some handymen friends.

friends with garages rule all.

So the Kumho site recommends Kumho Ecsta SPT (KU31) - 195/50R16. The tiresplus offer comes with no mileage warranty, and that's what worries me. I read in one of the forum posts that tires needed frequent replacement. I don't know whether that is an isolated case.

I've yet to have a milage warranty claim on tires... and I've got 8 years of spirited driving behind me.. most of the tires I get come on the cars, or wheels I trade for. for $300, I think you're doing OK.

I already checked local scrap yards for the bumper.. apparently this car is not old enough to be in the scrap yard and of course we couldn't find any salvage vehicles. But as suggested I will keep looking as this is not an emergency work

i find this very hard to believe. car-part.com... look it up, its your friend.

[poison]

Thank you all for the quick responses...

I guess I failed to mention that I'm not a great do-it-yourself guy, especially on cars (at home, small stuff). Plus I live in an apartment and don't have access to a decent place to work on the car. Motor mount instructions suggest jacking the car up to work underneath. Anyway, those are all good ideas and let me see if I can find some handymen friends.

I do minor engine work, like plugs and air filter, while parallel parked on my busy street. Otherwise I'm up on ramps in the back alley. :D

I'm no mechanic, either, but the how-to writeups here are awesome. Just verify that you have the correct tools/parts, go buy them beforehand if you don't, and keep the tutorial nearby on your laptop.


So the Kumho site recommends Kumho Ecsta SPT (KU31) - 195/50R16. The tiresplus offer comes with no mileage warranty, and that's what worries me. I read in one of the forum posts that tires needed frequent replacement. I don't know whether that is an isolated case.

SPT's for $61? Do it, they're supposedly decent. Warranties are BS. They'll last you two years if you don't race, at least. $150/year on tires= cheap.

The P5 handles well, partly because it has some nice camber dialed in, stock. Don't worry about it, it's a reliable tank.


You still haven't said if it's manual or auto.

[badu]

You still haven't said if it's manual or auto.

sorry I missed that part.. it's auto with 4-speed manual option

[poison]

Ah, still, easy to change yourself, the only difference being you won't get all the fluid out, I guess. No biggie, if money is tight, change it yourself.