Test drove a 6-speed 2002 Miata today...

zverg said:
I sure did like how close everything felt to me.. I liked how the gauges, shifter, radio and climate controls.. everything so close, I felt surrounded. Getting back in my Protege5 it felt like a minivan because everything was so far away.

Exacly how I felt after taking a spin in my friends 300ZX.
 
zverg said:
Almost as bad as the first salesman I talked to at the Subaru dealership where the Miata was. "If you aren't ready to sell your car today, I'm not going to bother getting the keys for this. It'll be sold in a couple days guaranteed, so I don't need to sell it to you. If you aren't serious, I'm done. I don't get paid by the hour".
"So then I kicked him right in the yarbles and he went down like he was tackled by an invisible linebacker, screaming like the little nancy eunuch that he is..."
 
zverg said:
No, instead I walked away and said "You just lost a customer.. I'll never come back here --asshole" and then realised I couldn't just leave it at that and went inside to talk to the sales manager to make sure it wasn't company policy to hate teenagers.
...and THEN you kicked him in the balls.

Right?
 
why'd you expect the paint on a 2002 miata to stand up better to the paint on a 2002 protege?

I agree with Ken - if you're really interested, buy a new one. Won't have many of the issues you mentioned.
 
Captain KRM P5 said:
you can find an 04 mazdaspeed miata for 19k, brand new leftover if you look hard enough

That's why I thought it was ridiculous that they wanted 16.9 for the thing. I really doubt the Mazda dealership in my hometown would let me test drive a new Mazdaspeed Miata... I'm looking in the 12-14k figure right now anyways, I don't really have a job and I'm in school full time.

I'm actually considering an 03.5 Hyundai Tiburon GT V6 6-speed. I know, I know, I'm probably going to get flamed for saying it. Before you flame me, please go drive one. I am thoroughly impressed with my friend's 04 with intake, headers, cat-back, and short shifter. I drove it stock and there's definitely a big power gain, that 2.7 takes much better to mods than our FS-DE. The handling doesn't feel at on par with my P5, but that can be fixed, unlike the slowness of the P5 (without making the car sorta unreliable). The build quality is great, the design has grown on me substantially.

All this is just if I can't get my rust problem solved. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my protege and want to keep it for at least another year. Every time I think about another car all I have to do is drive my Protege and my love for it is instantly rekindled. zoom zoom is a lifestyle.
 
Lord_Zath said:
why'd you expect the paint on a 2002 miata to stand up better to the paint on a 2002 protege?

I agree with Ken - if you're really interested, buy a new one. Won't have many of the issues you mentioned.

Same color code and everything, sunlight silver metallic :p

I don't even know why I was considering the Miata. After seeing the trunk (which I honestly thought would have at least twice as much space as it does.. that thing better have a full size spare hidden under it) I don't know if I could even consider it. New would be nice, but all I could get new is like a Kia Rio without having to dump more money in.. I'd really like another Mazda, but I really don't like the looks of the Mazda3 and everything else is above my price range right now.

I guess I'll just wait for the Nissan Sport Concept to be released *drools*.

Nissan is the only other car company that I can really take serious for the way I drive, but the Sentra is by far the worst car Nissan sells right now.
 
you've still got plenty of room for mods like cat-back exhaust, header, intake. That stuff isn't too expensive and will give you a pretty decent performance boost...

... that's of course if you can get the rust issue fixed. Good luck man.
 
i hate when dealers don't take a customer seriously. i usually try to dress "business casual" if i'm going to shop for a car, in hopes of raising the dealer's visual "wealth estimate." :)

good luck on your search and on the rust issue. zoom zoom is a lifestyle is a choice quote.

have you considered the mazda3? (you probably have)
 
eh I like to dress as casual as I can. Let them find out the hard way if I have money or not. Helps weed out the salesmen looking for a huge comission.
 
Lord_Zath said:
eh I like to dress as casual as I can. Let them find out the hard way if I have money or not. Helps weed out the salesmen looking for a huge comission.

i usually dress with jeans and a polo when shopping for cars. pair of nice shorts maybe.....you don't want them to think you are wealthy or anything but you don't want to look like a poor bastard......car shopping is a PITA. i never like working with dealers.....
 
Astral said:
i hate when dealers don't take a customer seriously. i usually try to dress "business casual" if i'm going to shop for a car, in hopes of raising the dealer's visual "wealth estimate." :)

good luck on your search and on the rust issue. zoom zoom is a lifestyle is a choice quote.

have you considered the mazda3? (you probably have)

I've considered the Mazda3.. I still don't like the way they look. They look too round to me. Their interior is a nice upgrade from the protege though.

As much as I like shopping for a car to replace my Protege, I really love the P5 and the only reason I'm even considering getting a different car is the rust issue.
 
Lord_Zath said:
you've still got plenty of room for mods like cat-back exhaust, header, intake. That stuff isn't too expensive and will give you a pretty decent performance boost...

... that's of course if you can get the rust issue fixed. Good luck man.

I already have intake and the Mazdaspeed axleback, I'm looking into headers and having custom piping made all the way back. I just have to decide on a muffler to go with it, I like the Mazdaspeed axleback but I want the exhaust to go under the suspension instead of over it.

I'm honestly happy with the performance of my car as it is currently, but then I get behind the wheel of a much faster car (like the 3.5 litre Nissans in my driveway) and I lust for that performance.

I should just give up and turbo my car and deal with reliability issues.
 
zverg said:
As much as I like shopping for a car to replace my Protege, I really love the P5 and the only reason I'm even considering getting a different car is the rust issue.

how much rust do you have......????
how many miles on your car....
 
Protege52003 said:
how much rust do you have......????
how many miles on your car....

I have paint bubbling off behind the back wheel on the passenger side, rust seeping out of the seam between the car and the back bumper, rust starting t hat looks like surface rust where the side skirt ends in the back. It sucks, and the service manager wasn't in again today so I still don't know if they'll fix it.

Car has 50100 miles on it as it sits in my driveway right now.
 
Lord_Zath said:
yeah turbo it if you're over warranty. If under, look into stuff that'll work for both i.e. 2.5" or 3" exhaust.

I'd really love to turbo it but it's such a big investment. I think I might just do headers and a full custom exhaust, maybe cams and flash to the MP3 ECU or something and be done with performance :(
 
I wish I fit into a Miata. I can't get my foot on top of the clutch unless the steering wheel is adjustable (which it isn't) or the seat could be pushed back 2 clicks (which it can't).
 
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