1.8T or MP5

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BinoMP5

Member
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MP5
so i'm trying to figure out what to do in my situation... i have a 2003 Mazda Protege5 Laser Blue with around 65k on it... it has that SportAT crap...i owe a little under $10k... i went to the Mazda dealership with my mom to show her the new CX-7s and see if I could sway her into the Zoom Zoom craze... this is also the same dealership i bought my MP5 from...
on the lot... i see a 2003 Mazda Protege5 Black 5-speed... also on the lot... for the same price was a 2003 VW Jetta 1.8T...

i test drove the 1.8T to know what a turbo feels like... mind you this is the second car i've driven that was turbocharged, the other being an SRT-4 over a year ago...

It felt good... i kept it under 4k while driving away from the Dealership... then i opened it up at the next stop... man... turbocharged cars are fun(hump) before i knew it I was at 65mph when i looked back at the speedometer... i opened it up again at the next stop with the windows down so i can hear the turbo spool.... which is a sweet sound btw...

the 1.8T was said to get 25/35 mpg... i work out of town so this would be nice being that my car gets around 20/25mpg and around 330mi for a full tank with mixed driving. plus the 1.8T has 180hp(150whp) and the MP5 is 130hp(100whp)... i also think there would be more potential in the 1.8T... my mods are listed on my sig.... all of that has to be turned back to stock if i choose to trade it in... so be on the look out for those items for sale or for trade...

I didnt drive the manual P5 because I already have one...sort of... but I might be able to trade my current car for one of these and pay about the same... I was wondering what you guys think? I dont mean to betray Mazda or anything like that...

there was also a SP23 on the lot too... maybe i shouldve checked her out... :3
 
Just a FYI the 1.8T is known to sludege up on high milage VW's. As far as which one to go for thats souly upto you man. You already know the weak areas for the P5 so I would do some research into the VW. Then go from their.

BTW whats wrong with your car that you get 20/25 mpg? Also do some research in real qorld gas milage for the VW.
 
VW's are cool, no doubt, i have a lot of friends who do the Euro thing. but i personally don't think they're worth the headache. always having issues, especially electrical ones. (i.e. - "my taillights just stopped working for no reason, WTF?") don't get me wrong, they are more than capable of looking good and can be built to run with the best of them out there (i've been outrun by a couple 1.8T's on a number of occasions) but i think the headaches you go through to keep them up and running correctly are more than it's worth. then again, i could be completely wrong and it's a perfectly working vehicle.

that said, i'm going to completely go back on exactly what i just said and tell you to buy the VW. for the cost, it sounds like more fun right now, and life is about right now (at least for me)
 
just buy an MS3, and get it over with.... or a slightly used wrx =)
 
engine in jetta > engine in p5
rest of car in jetta < rest of car in p5

decide what's more important to you


that said my vote is for keep the 5 year old car that you still owe $10,000 on and worry about new cars later
 
what about a SP23? i saw one of those on the lot... a big factor for me is the transmission... the biggest reason why i want to switch the one i have now is because its an automatic... is it worth to spend a grand and a half to swap out the transmission? There are some wrecked P5s out there and here at the FS section that told me to make an offer... what would be a decent price for a Manual P5 Transmission, ECU, pedals and shifter and shift linkage??
being an automatic is the biggest struggle i have now... let me rephrase that... having a stock, unmodded automatic transmission is the biggest struggle because i know i could spend the same ammount and build the hell out of it Lentech style... but limited to Drag and Street events... not much for AutoX as I am now...
 
have you had the dealer appraise your car? what did they offer you if so?

sp23 is a 3 with an appearance package isn't it? so i'd say it's ok depending on what they want for it

also why do you want a manual? i know manuals are the way to go but you sound like you need one.
 
more want then need... i'd be able to utilize the motor better... i hear, from here, that the manual get to use the full effect of the torque and auto has less power... it was jamesk's thread about the 626 manifold that really made me want a manual transmission... he was talking about the lightened flywheel/626IM combo... plus the fun factor of manual
 
just get the car with the manual tranny mp5. vdub maintenance = poo.
 
You will loose more money trading in for another P5 or 1.8 than swapping in for the MTX. Unless they give you 10k for the p5 which probably wont happen.
 
BinoMP5 said:
more want then need... i'd be able to utilize the motor better... i hear, from here, that the manual get to use the full effect of the torque and auto has less power... it was jamesk's thread about the 626 manifold that really made me want a manual transmission... he was talking about the lightened flywheel/626IM combo... plus the fun factor of manual
Click to expand...
in that case i reaffirm my previous statement about waiting a while before thinking about a new car. you're going to take it in the bum on the trade and a want for a manual transmission isn't enough of a factor to make it worth it
 
a lightweight flywheel and 626 manifold really made the NA motor come alive. like i said i would pick my NA set up protege 5 vs a 1.8t.
 
I came from a MKIV 1.8T GLI to my P5. Loved the car. Revo reflash, TT cams, HR cup kit, C2 Motorsport Intake Manifold, etc etc. Really loved the car, when it worked.

What I didn't like about it:

The CEL coming on every other week for something that always seemed to cost over $100.
Electrical problems, there will always be at least one bulb out.
Replaced the coolant system(radiator, hoses, pump, and all) at 70K miles.
Replaced ignition system(cap, wires, plugs, ground wires) at 50K miles.
Having to go to a Euro shop because of the Vag-Com OBDII codes. Normal scanners won't read all of the codes.

Pros:
Huge market for parts.
A great following for national meets.
Fun to drive.
Rear windows go all of the way down.
Monsoon sound system, eight speakers.
Factory BBS rims.
 
even though this thread is a month old... it's still very helpful... one of my friends is looking for a Jetta and i told her to get a 1.8t if she wants a peppy car within her budget... the one i saw has about 118k on the mileage... thats about the time is getting into high maintenance... and after reading this whole thread again i'm going to tell her it's not worth it... now i should just convince her in getting a Mazda!
but Honda and Toyota would be better for gas mileage within a 6k budget, right?
 
Was in the same boat myself, except I was looking at a GTI VR6. Test drove it every day for a week but in the end, the maintenance costs scared me off. I was really nice though. Monsoon sound system, CD changer, leather, Manual trans.

In the end, the P5 had lower miles, was more practical, much cheaper to own, an at least as good looking.
 
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