hey guys! new here.

[pliskin679]

i just went and drove my friends MSP and i really loved it. i want one now. i did a bunch of searches and only found one in my area at 85k for 6 grand! do these cars usually last awhile or no? ps, did i mention im in love with the car?

[Spiced MSP]

i just went and drove my friends MSP and i really loved it. i want one now. i did a bunch of searches and only found one in my area at 85k for 6 grand! do these cars usually last awhile or no? ps, did i mention im in love with the car?

it's a nice car, very rare in a lot of areas. It's nice to have as a daily driver. It can be stressful if you want it to be a daily driver + modding.

[Speedkid]

Welcome to the forums.

[Ricktalife]

yea man for a protege these suckers are expensive.

[pliskin679]

i can tell you the only mods ill be doing are FMIC and possibly a BOV. although it seems that a BOV makes these cars have compressor surge like no other. i found a MSP blue with 115k on it. if maintained decently, is this car known to blow up at high milage? i also know the trans on these are junk from what i hear, but i want one so bad

[pliskin679]

or should i just get 20th anniversery GTI lol.

[pliskin679]

it looks bone stock. no exhaust or engine play

[Ricktalife]

screw the GTI. VW's are more problematic than Mazda's.

[Rush]

If properly cared for, the MSP can last for a long time.

If not properly cared for, the MSP can blow itself up fast.

We can help you more if you send us a link to the MSP you're considering. Get us some engine bay shots and some exterior shots so we can see what (if anything) has been changed!

[pliskin679]

http://www.importsautosales.com/web/1847/vehicle/139870/2003-Mazda-Protege-MAZDASPEED

[pliskin679]

i really appreciate it guys

[Rush]

Engine bay:
It definitely has a cold air intake -- Injen, prolly. Painted strut bar. Missing engine cover.

Exterior:
Painted calipers (sort of, looks like the paint job must've been kinda shabby). Lots of curb damage to the wheels (or at least the one that's pictured close-up). Some sort of modification to the exhaust -- could be the whole system or just the muffler, cause that's not the stock 03.5 oval tip.

Interior:
Non-stock pedals. Non-stock head unit. Subwoofers are obviously non-stock, heh.


That's about all I can see. Looks to be in fairly decent shape .. but judging from the condition of some things, it also looks like it might've taken some beatings throughout its life.

[pliskin679]

id try my best to talk them down to 6000, and maybe put like 2g's down. idk, when i have time i might go look at it

[Outlawstar98]

looks good from the pictures, minus the wheel scratches.

[pliskin679]

this car has been for sale for quite some time now if its the same car im thinking about, in about a month ill be prepared to buy a car... i want to sell my honda hatch for a grand, thats it lol. im going to seriously consider this.. hopefully ill become a proud owner of a MSP

[pliskin679]

it also helps that the only color i really like it in is blue too so...

[pliskin679]

is there any MSP owners around who maybe could take a look at it if i throw em some money? and you guys think i should atleast go look at it? i want it pretty bad

[boostdprotegelx]

good luck with the buy!!

i'm going to sell mine sometime in the near future.. but it has WAY less miles than 115k... but it'll be more than 6500.00

[pliskin679]

yea, i really dont have much money. i dont drive much either, ill be going away to school and taking it with me, its a 5 hour drive there so i wont be comming home... like ever. i was going to buy a SRT4 or a RSX-s, but for soem reason thsi car really stands out at me. is the insurance murder on these? my srt4 quote was 450 a month :X!

[BOOSTR]

If you are serioulsy going to buy it ask them if they have replaced the timing belt & water pump. If no, then they need to come down off of that price because you will have to given it's mileage.

The struts will need to be replaced as well. Performance struts are not intended to last that long. Another price knock down.

CV shafts are another area of concern for a car with that mileage. MSP shafts are dealer items or you can have them rebuilt. Recyclers might have some too.

There is a lot of stuff to check out on a car with that mileage. Don't let your love for it and the color make you pay too much for it.

Insurance cost all depends on your driving history, credit history, claims history, policy limits & coverages and garaging location. Imo it is not an expensive car to insure unless you have negative issues in one of those areas.

[boostdprotegelx]

i have a bad driving record.. and my insurance isn't too crazy honestly..

[pliskin679]

ill deffinatly bring that up, i was hoping to bring them down to around 5.8 or maybe 6. i have 2 points on my liscense from 3 years ago so im sure they are cleared by now from doing 15 over... those are my only problems... ill deff go look at it... another question is my friend bought his modded, so he doesnt know, but when you get going in this car, do you feel the boost? im not comparing it to a evo or SRT, but should i atleast feel the turbo? i know its only boosting at like 6-7 pounds, cause i drove a 1.8t GTI the other day and i didnt feel a damn thing

[boostdprotegelx]

that's the idea w/ stock turbo cars.. thye're supposed to be smooth.

get an exhaust/fmic and you'll feel it more.

or, buy mine:) just, for more money.

[pliskin679]

lol, sorry man. i wish i could but im going to have plenty of trouble as it is with this car. i want a FMIC and its going to be converted to a side exhaust just like every other car ive owned. pretty much right after the down pipe. im just tired of my boosted hatch... it fast as hell, faster then ill ever make this MSP. but its still just a 2 door civic :x

[boostdprotegelx]

dude.. no side exit exhaust. just get an exhaust cutout.. it looks and performs.

[TheDirtyGoatee]

Its about out of gas too. Might wanna make them fill that bitch up cause it takes premium only. Remember that when you say you don't wanna spend alot of money.

Also, this is a controversial topic here in the MSP section but I'd suggest going full synth on oil changes. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't. It's a turboed car, think about it.

Other than what's already been said, yeah... I agree. It's a nice car. That ones definitely been modded.

Here's a tip I didn't see anyone else suggest, get the VIN and look it up on the MSP registry on these forums. Then, you can get a better idea of who might've owned it before you if they are on these forums. Just a tip.

[pliskin679]

i got the vin and its # 2513... i did a search and i dont think anyone here claimed it