What would you recommend I have a mechanic do as part of a pre-purchase inspection of a used MazdaSpeed Protege?
I'm ready to buy my first used MazdaSpeed Protege. I've found one that seems to be in very good condition, with under 60Kmiles, for $7500, at a local used car dealer.
What often fails on the MSP? What maintenance or wear items are particularly expensive aside from the usual suspects for any car: timing belts, tires, brakes, clutch, exhaust ...
In addition to the basics for any car, I was thinking of a compression test of each cylinder to check for wear to the piston rings or valves. I'm not sure how they might test the operation of the turbocharger or limited slip differential aside from a road test. What else should they do?
I'm planning on having an independent mechanic who specializes in Japanese imports, but not performance, inspect the car. He is very well respected and trusted locally and he used to head a Mazda dealerships service department 20 years ago, but they don't do much performance work or have access to Mazda-specific scan-tools. I doubt he's worked on Mazdaspeed Proteges before but then I doubt many of the techs at local Mazda dealerships have either. Would you recommend going with such a mechanic for the inspection or looking for a decent dealership or performance shop?
I'm sorry for asking so many questions at once. My main question is, given your experience with MazdaSpeed Proteges, what should I be sure to check for in a pre-purchase inspection and how.
Thank you,
Eric
p.s.
Based on my own very novice preliminary inspection, the car drove beautifully, aside from the torque steer which I sort of enjoyed, a rare surge or drop in boost and power, and rear suspension squeeks that I guess may be the rear sway bar bushings and the dealer promised to fix. I saw some signs of body damage with very subtle paint mismatch on a rear quarter panel and a 2003.5 front fascia on a 2003 MSP. The car is missing the original Sparco short shifter and Racing Hart wheels. I do not have any maintenance history of the vehicle and have not been able to contact the last owner. When I removed the oil filler cap and looked in with a flashlight I saw no sludge or varnish in the head and the visible camshaft lobe had nearly no wear. I could still see the machining marks on the surface camshaft lobe. I'm not sure if the car simply received frequent oil changes with a very high quality synthetic oil or if the camshaft, head, or entire engine were replaced recently.
I'm ready to buy my first used MazdaSpeed Protege. I've found one that seems to be in very good condition, with under 60Kmiles, for $7500, at a local used car dealer.
What often fails on the MSP? What maintenance or wear items are particularly expensive aside from the usual suspects for any car: timing belts, tires, brakes, clutch, exhaust ...
In addition to the basics for any car, I was thinking of a compression test of each cylinder to check for wear to the piston rings or valves. I'm not sure how they might test the operation of the turbocharger or limited slip differential aside from a road test. What else should they do?
I'm planning on having an independent mechanic who specializes in Japanese imports, but not performance, inspect the car. He is very well respected and trusted locally and he used to head a Mazda dealerships service department 20 years ago, but they don't do much performance work or have access to Mazda-specific scan-tools. I doubt he's worked on Mazdaspeed Proteges before but then I doubt many of the techs at local Mazda dealerships have either. Would you recommend going with such a mechanic for the inspection or looking for a decent dealership or performance shop?
I'm sorry for asking so many questions at once. My main question is, given your experience with MazdaSpeed Proteges, what should I be sure to check for in a pre-purchase inspection and how.
Thank you,
Eric
p.s.
Based on my own very novice preliminary inspection, the car drove beautifully, aside from the torque steer which I sort of enjoyed, a rare surge or drop in boost and power, and rear suspension squeeks that I guess may be the rear sway bar bushings and the dealer promised to fix. I saw some signs of body damage with very subtle paint mismatch on a rear quarter panel and a 2003.5 front fascia on a 2003 MSP. The car is missing the original Sparco short shifter and Racing Hart wheels. I do not have any maintenance history of the vehicle and have not been able to contact the last owner. When I removed the oil filler cap and looked in with a flashlight I saw no sludge or varnish in the head and the visible camshaft lobe had nearly no wear. I could still see the machining marks on the surface camshaft lobe. I'm not sure if the car simply received frequent oil changes with a very high quality synthetic oil or if the camshaft, head, or entire engine were replaced recently.
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