View Full Version : Quality Of your MSP?
stree_wario
10-08-2003, 04:17 PM
What do you think of the quality of your MSP, im very close to buying one but the thing that is holding me back is that its a cheap ass car with a cheap powerful engine...or isnt it?
Other then the clunk, there is no wide spread problem any longer.
It won't be the best car for all out power but it should last to well over 100,000 miles in stock form.
NoVaMSP
10-08-2003, 04:22 PM
great car for the $ a great comprimise of quality/fun and price ... over all . 3rd new car
Price is the real good thing about it. Many are getting them for less then $17,500 out the door now. Compare that to the only real competition the MSP has, the SRT/4 which is around $22,000 out the door, and the bargan is obvious.
MackDadam
10-08-2003, 04:29 PM
bull shit. im going to get over 200,000 miles on mine...i can see it now, my son will be driving it........:D
Black Majik MSP
10-08-2003, 04:32 PM
Cheap car?...HA! Other than the leather (which I hate), I think this car is nicer than my mom's 2000 Accord EX-V6.
MackDadam
10-08-2003, 04:33 PM
i dunno...i had leather in my ES and i miss that everyday!!! hell ill trade my msp interior for some non smoked in great shape p5 leather!!!
RAAZ227
10-08-2003, 04:35 PM
Definatly a DRIVER'S CAR!
NoVaMSP
10-08-2003, 04:38 PM
interior seems well done , exteior (body kit) seems so-so
the rest you prob allredy know
loj68
10-08-2003, 04:52 PM
quality is great........it's what you'd expect from a Japanese car.
SpicyRay
10-08-2003, 05:12 PM
for a japanese car, im having quite a few minor problems, but i think once those are sorted out, this car is going to last. my dad's 90' 4runner has about 144,000 miles on, and its still going strong.
no_more_jettas
10-08-2003, 05:27 PM
Compared to the Jetta I traded in, the interior isn't quite as nice to the touch, but on the other hand, the quality of materials may actually be better. I don't expect to get the same peeling finish on the door handles in the MSP as I did with the Jetta.
The center console design is not be the best out there, but it is very functional and to me everything is where it should be.
The exterior is perfect. Take off the spoiler and you have a great sleeper car.
FrozenMazda
10-08-2003, 06:32 PM
It is already a great sleeper car. It doesn't have some monstrous body kit with a mouth big enough to drive a Miata through... it doesn't have a rear spoiler stolen from a top fuel dragster or a Boeing 727... it doesn't have an exhaust that sounds like 10,000 angry bees with a muffler tip that can repair a howitzer... (nervous)
ok ok ok... now that I'm done with the rant (sorry) I will say, bang for the buck, there's nothing better in the sub $20k category. Quality is good, stereo is incredible (yeah it's aftermarket, but it's STOCK aftermarket), and the ride... words can't explain it.
That's my humble opinion. Take it as you like.
coming from many honda's ( leather too), I find the interior in this to be quite well done. The silver parts ( on all cars these days ) could be better, but the overall quality of the car is defintely on par with all other jap cars imho
stree_wario
10-08-2003, 07:23 PM
Originally posted by SpicyRay
for a japanese car, im having quite a few minor problems, but i think once those are sorted out, this car is going to last. my dad's 90' 4runner has about 144,000 miles on, and its still going strong.
what do u mean by "minor problems"
stree_wario
10-08-2003, 07:25 PM
Originally posted by no_more_jettas
Compared to the Jetta I traded in, the interior isn't quite as nice to the touch, but on the other hand, the quality of materials may actually be better. I don't expect to get the same peeling finish on the door handles in the MSP as I did with the Jetta.
The center console design is not be the best out there, but it is very functional and to me everything is where it should be.
The exterior is perfect. Take off the spoiler and you have a great sleeper car.
Thanks alot, because im either looking at this car or a Jetta 1.8T. Do you really think that the MSP is better quality then a 03' VW Jetta?
SpicyRay
10-08-2003, 07:29 PM
minor problems: the classic MSP coolant leak, and then dimming headlights with aux. fan and a washer fluid pump that isn't pumping (yes, there is plenty of washer fluid in the tank).
stree_wario
10-08-2003, 07:43 PM
and you got this all fixed?....how about rattling?...any problems with cheap interrior?
no_more_jettas
10-08-2003, 07:50 PM
Originally posted by stree_wario
Thanks alot, because im either looking at this car or a Jetta 1.8T. Do you really think that the MSP is better quality then a 03' VW Jetta?
I had the 1.8T for 3 years, and had to replace 2 O2 sensors and 1 MAF sensor, the ruberized surface on the door handle, and center console wore off in many spots, and the taillight bulbs don't last more than 6 months (count how many Jetta you see with one taillight out). Not to mention VW service departments are very poor across the board.
Plus the 1.8T can't touch the MSP on price. I haven't had any reason to regret switching from VW back to Mazda. (used to have a 99 miata before my son was born).
VR6KILLER
10-08-2003, 07:52 PM
Originally posted by SpicyRay
minor problems: the classic MSP coolant leak, and then dimming headlights with aux. fan and a washer fluid pump that isn't pumping (yes, there is plenty of washer fluid in the tank).
Where is this "classic" coolant leak located?
stree_wario
10-08-2003, 07:52 PM
interesting...thanks again
Flat Black
10-08-2003, 07:56 PM
Originally posted by VR6KILLER
Where is this "classic" coolant leak located?
Upper coolant hose going to engine block.
VR6KILLER
10-08-2003, 08:04 PM
Originally posted by Flat Black
Upper coolant hose going to engine block.
Thanks !
SpicyRay
10-08-2003, 08:15 PM
nothing fixed yet, havent called mazda yet, just got the car back from the body shop. i gather ill call tomorrow. rattling, feh, if i get a good strong bass hit.
murdock_
10-08-2003, 08:26 PM
i have the newest bushings, and the flash, and i now have zero complaints about my car.
stree_wario
10-08-2003, 08:28 PM
what are "bushings"?
FrozenMazda
10-08-2003, 09:26 PM
If you look under the rear of the car, there's a big red bar with the words "RACING BEAT" on it. You should be able to see two black rubber things wrapping around the big red bar. Those are the bushings murdock_ is talking about.
On some other threads, they talk about the "clunk". The bushings are PART of that problem.
stree_wario
10-08-2003, 09:53 PM
what is the purpose of the "bushing"
To avoid the dreded clunk. But thats the problem with them.
oldzoomer
10-08-2003, 10:34 PM
My previous Protege is 12.5 years old and still runs perfectly. I expect the new one to be almost as good. I say almost because the Mazdaspeed is a new model and new models always have issues. As long as you have a good dealer/service rep then the issues will quickly fade and you'll have fun tossing this car around. I'm enjoying the heck out of the MSP.
stree_wario
10-08-2003, 10:57 PM
im test driving a MSP this weeknd, any suggestions on things to do to it?
Maestrokneer
10-09-2003, 12:01 AM
Originally posted by stree_wario
What do you think of the quality of your MSP, im very close to buying one but the thing that is holding me back is that its a cheap ass car with a cheap powerful engine...or isnt it?
The Quality?
Well..........other than the clunk, the hesitation, the broken shift fork, the coolant leak, the broken subwoofer, and incessant rattling...............it's top notch. :rolleyes:
yeah, i think that the MSP is a pretty high quality car...the only problem that i have with it is that it's...
FWD ! blah...i guess i just miss my miata:'( i wish i had money to fix it
Bhamsan
10-09-2003, 03:49 AM
I just wish it came pushing 200hp, not at the wheels. It'd be really easy to make it into a WRX killer....
I almost went for the WRX. Heck, I test drove it and was on my way to picking one up. But of course, as fate would have it, the Mazda dealer was next door, and walking by the MSP, I fell in love. The body styling stands out, but doesn't scream "rice rocket", and I feel it's a nice compromise.
This car is worth every penny. Hell, I think its a steal. Finally, I got to rip off a car company. Take that Mazda! Turbo, Racing Hart rims, Kenwood sound system w/ MP3 player, and the kit?? What more could you want?
charles
10-09-2003, 01:40 PM
You can often get aftermarket leather seating (and door inserts) for $1000 if you are unsatisfied with the stock cloth seats!
EVILSRT
10-09-2003, 02:11 PM
I love my car. I have had no problems but hesititaion, now that its fixed I love my car.
SpicyRay
10-09-2003, 04:16 PM
a little addition, washer fluid problem fixed (sometimes it is the simplest things)...heh...anyway, the MSP is a damn good car, should outlast those Ecotech Cavaliers you know.
kwiktsi
10-09-2003, 04:34 PM
Originally posted by Bhamsan
I just wish it came pushing 200hp, not at the wheels. It'd be really easy to make it into a WRX killer....
Hehe- it is real easy to make into a WRX killer.. Lol- a friend of mine just test drove one and his exact words were "it was a ridiculously slow POS" :).. He really liked my MSP when I had it and was actually with me the night I smoked my friends high 13 second WRX :).
Joe
cough, cough..race gas..cough
(rofl)
ARunto
10-09-2003, 04:48 PM
race gas smells good
Fatdaddy
10-09-2003, 04:48 PM
I hate mine because of the hesitation. It's cool looking and has a lot of nice features, but that doesn't make up for it running like an old car that needs a tune up. I had the Flash done and it still does the same crap! I thought the slogan was "zoom zoom zoom", but it's more like "zoo-oo-ooo-oom, zoo-oo-oom." Seems like Mazda needs to get their sh_t together from seeing the results of the MSP and the RX-8.
CarlM2
10-09-2003, 06:50 PM
There are a few known issues with the car that get brought up here quite often. I traded a 2001 Miata for this car and have not regretted for a second. The Miata has its fair share of issues as well.
I'd say VW and Mazda are neck and neck for poor dealer service. My wife has a '99 Jetta III which I've worked on mainly to avoid the dealer.
I test drove a new VW special edition Rabbit/Golf and was impressed with it overall but it was way too 'bling-bling' for me. Driving the regular GTI 1.8T was not fun... lots of turbo lag, poor handling, heavy feeling... just didn't like it.
I also drove a Mazda6s which was a really nice car but, was kind of big and overly practical. I test drove the MSP as sort of a laugh... The rear spoiler really turned me off but, I liked the rest of it. I've driven a few Protege's as rentals and was always surprised at the high level of quality and ride comfort.
The MSP not only had the high quality but, had a balanced, responsive driving quality that was intoxicating. I absolutely love driving this car. I like it better than my past 2 Miata's. It suits me and my driving style perfectly.
I'm getting the clunk and the hesitation fixed Tuesday. If that fixes it, I will have no complaints about the car. However, finding a good dealer can be the big issue. But, that's true for many/most car manufacturers.
WndrWmn
10-09-2003, 07:12 PM
Its a nice car, decent for the price. But quite disappointing also.
In the few short months that we have had it, the rear lip had to be put back on after starting to slip off due to the cheapo double-sided sticky crap that they used to attach it. They could have used something a little more stable.
The rotors are already rusting (the silver painted parts), where the ones on our other car that we painted ourselves (silver - looks the same as the MSP) have lasted 2+ years with no peeling or rusting.
Also, we have had the "flash" upgrade and although it got rid of most of the hesitation that we experienced in the beginning - it still hesitates. And we don't really notice more power at any point. But I guess if you had hesitation before and none after its going to feel more powerful.
The "snap your head back in the seat" that I expected in the test drive was totally not there, but I like that in 5th you can still feel it pull. Hopefully after some modification the levels of torque will be more noticeable. Sorry, but I want to feel it in the butt-dyno.
And my only interior complaint is that there is no clock unless the radio/cd is off. (unless one of you guys have figured out something I haven't)
Don't get me wrong, its a nice car and I like it. But, for being a brand new car, I sure have my complaints. We could have spend 5000 on a fixer-upper and spent the other 15K making it.... well you get the picture. Still nice to have all the "new car" ammenities, nothing like that new car smell :D
CarlM2
10-09-2003, 07:52 PM
You'll have to refer to the manual on the clock thing. I have a clock on all the time... even when the radio is off but, not flipped over. You can do all sorts of things to the display.
Bhamsan
10-09-2003, 08:30 PM
Yes, check out the radio manual, because you can set it so that there is a clock. Or, if you're lazy, I can just tell you how to do it (If i remember correctly)
If you push and hold down the Menu button (4/8 or 3/6 button, i forget) for one sec, it'll bring up the menu you just scroll to the part where it says change display using the AM or FM button to change between menu items. When it comes to the change display option, hold down the >> button for one sec, and it'll allow you to change the settings so that you can have the clock showing. It also has this cool option where you can have it show the CD title tracks and everything, and you can change the overall display so that theres this car racing scene going on. read the manual and play around with it a bit.
boostaddict
10-09-2003, 08:43 PM
Originally posted by stree_wario
What do you think of the quality of your MSP, im very close to buying one but the thing that is holding me back is that its a cheap ass car with a cheap powerful engine...or isnt it?
It's not a Porsche so it's obviously a car of compromises. If you look around here and see the volume of posts per day talking about it, it should be obvious that Mazda has picked a really good set of compromises.
If you want to win drag races then you aren't looking in the right place (stock anyway)... think SRT-4.
Put a Titanium next to a silver SRT-4 (done this with a guy I know) though and see which one the average person is more interested in. Everyone who sees mine thinks it costs way more than it does.... I just plain looks good.
Try to find a better stock stereo.
And leaving the best for last: Take one for a drive and blow your mind with how fast you can take a right hand turn merge at a stop light or how fast you go without even thinking down your favourite back road.
i'm pretty happy with it...but i'm still missing the RWD of my miata...:( for some reason tho, the MSP doesn't feel as fast as the miata did...maybe it's 'cause it's too comfortable while the miata was kinda loud inside and very light. pushing the miata to the redline is way different from the protege. in the miata, you feel like you're going really fast and there's a surge feeling when passing about 5000 RPM...in the protege it feels almost laggy and i keep wondering how fast i'm going even though i'm flooring the damn thing
Dexter
10-10-2003, 03:29 AM
to fix the clock problem just install a carputer :p :) :D
WndrWmn
10-10-2003, 04:28 PM
Originally posted by Dexter
to fix the clock problem just install a carputer :p :) :D
Install a what....?
I played with the radio and the manual for a while when we first got it. I'll have to look again and try to fix it.
I read back and I was pretty harsh about the car, I didn't even mention suspension, which is great. And the stock stereo is best Ive seen so far. Like it was said before, I think it looks better than the WRX, SRT-4 and the SE-R V if you even want to go there.
And with the Miata thing, the miata is much smaller and lighter. Prob a lot to do with the more sluggish feel of the MSP. Just a guess.
Are they going to come out with the MSP 2004, 05? 06? or is this strictly Limited E.?
The MSP is done, as the protege is no longer in production. Next year you will see a mazdaspeed miata but no more mazdaspeed proteges will be made.
WndrWmn
10-10-2003, 05:13 PM
Originally posted by 1st MP3 in NH
The MSP is done, as the protege is no longer in production. Next year you will see a mazdaspeed miata but no more mazdaspeed proteges will be made.
Sweet. That means less bolt on parts (ie altezzas and crap) Yay!
stree_wario
10-10-2003, 05:33 PM
and the Mazdaspeed 6
There will be plenty of bolt on parts for th eMSP to come as it uses the same basic parts bin as every other protege sedan. Not to mention, the MSP limited production turned into almost 10,000 units.
Originally posted by stree_wario
and the Mazdaspeed 6
I have yet to see a published release date but if the present course holds true, i would think 2005, then the RX-8 in 2006.
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