Possible '03 P5 purchase, couple questions...

T

Tasty

Member
:
2003 Protege5
I am considering buying an '03 P5 and I just have a couple of questions about them. First of all, reliability wise what are they like? Comparable to something more "well known" like a Civic or Corolla? Also, as far as parts availability for common items on the car are they available at say O'Reilly or Autozone most of the time? Anyone that has had service done on the car, is it outlandish to have worked on, or is it mostly able to be a DIY thing if you have some knowledge of them.

I am going to sell my '95 GMC Sierra to pay for most of this car, and I hate to see it go because I can do most of the work on it myself and save a bundle. Parts are SO easy to come by too. Just wondering if I am going to trim my gas bill way down and up my maintenance bill severely. Please chime in...:)
 
I have put about 30k on my p5 with nothing but oil changes and gas.

However, I have searched parts quite a bit (for upgrade reasons), and stuff seems pretty cheap. The p5 is also the first car I have ever worked on, and with the exception of changing the rear motor mounts, it seems like a pretty easy car to get around in.

I would highly doubt the p5 will cost more to maintain than an old gmc sierra.
 
Yeah what he said. Maintenance is pretty easy, and I think it was consumer reports who said the Protege had great reliability.

General stuff like changing the oil is really easy with the car. You'll be surprised as hot much room there is under the hood, it's far better than dealing with a cramped Honda Civic engine bay.

Parts aren't hard to find, and if I recall correctly we share some parts with other Mazdas (I think we have the same brake rotors and pads as the MX-6 and Ford Probe for example).

If you have the time anything you really need to do to the car will be a DIY thing, but unless you are doing performance modding there really won't ever be much to do aside from changing the oil, air filter, etc.

Oh and I'm at 63k with 0 reliability issues. I have never been left out in the cold by this car and I love it more and more every day. You really can't go wrong with a Protege5.
 
If you like to DIY then you'll like working on the Protege.

The aggravating exception is when you have to replace the rear pads, then it becomes a chore. You'll have to disassemble the rear emergency/parking brake system.

The EGR valve is a bit awkward to get to.

I wished the engine was about 3 to 5 inches more forward but then I'm splitting hairs here......

And get snowtires for it b/c apparently it's a nightmare to drive in winter on the stock tires.

The stock tires are a bit hairy to drive in the rain too.
 
I'm at 96 thousand miles on my 2003 Protege5. I drive the snot out of it. I have been very happy with it and have done all the mods in the driveway except allignments and my current paint job that is under way.

See my cardomain page for ideas of what can be done to a P5.
http://www.cardomain.com/id/rednecks_r_us
 
66k on mine no major problem yet, I have done full tokicos, and msp springs, along with rims and other mods, along the way, I have done injectors, plugs, battery, belts, and hoses, no real reason though other then I am anal about my P5, and am a little over cautious.

ChefChris:)
 
Oh yeah another DIY hint. Changing the spark plugs takes 5 minutes max :)

They are just right there, in plain sight. two are connected via wires, two fire directly (ignition coils right on top of them).

easiest spark plug change I've ever done.
 
Thanks very much for the feedback everyone. I can't wait to close the deal on this car. I am happy to hear I can still get under the hood on this ride too and do the maintence myself. I love spending time with my vehicles. I will post pics of this car once I get it. It is VERY tastefully modded right out of the box for me. Everything that is already on it from the previous owner is exactly what I would do if I had purchased one new.
 
standard or auto? auto is what i have, and if i had the choice i would definitley go for the standard. P5 is an amazing car ive gone 60k with no problems good choice!
 
yup. i had 67k miles on the clock when i traded it in. other than the clutch chatter (which wasn't that bad to begin with) it only recquired general maintenance.
 
mountjonas said:
yup. i had 67k miles on the clock when i traded it in. other than the clutch chatter (which wasn't that bad to begin with) it only recquired general maintenance.
Click to expand...

Did it start after the warranty period for you? Mine has done it a little bit, but only when it's really cold. It wasn't enough of a bother for me to get it fixed before the warranty was up.
 
5 spd
Leather interior
Injen cold air intake
SR Motorsports cat-back exhaust
Kartboy short throw shifter, kartboy bushings
Eibach Pro-kit springs (lowered vehicle about 1 inch front and rear)
17 inch IKON GT5 rims with 205/40/17 Yokohamas
(Rims and tires have less than 3,000 miles on them)
cross-drilled rotors, front pro-stop, rear Brembo, 95% pad life remaining
Corksport intake duct

I have been looking for a P5 for months now for a decent price. This one is a nice price for the way it's been kept up and the mods it has. Everything that's done to it is exactly what I have wanted to do, I don't have to do the footwork. Deal is supposed to go down Wednesday. Can't wait to hit some corners in this car. Gonna be so much more fun than my 1/4 ton pickup.
 
One thing I DO want to add is the street rings. I see they are in stock over at Street Unit right now. $55 though. :(

Also, shorty antenna, black the headlights. Then I'm done.
 
Last edited:
KanseiZM said:
Did it start after the warranty period for you? Mine has done it a little bit, but only when it's really cold. It wasn't enough of a bother for me to get it fixed before the warranty was up.
Click to expand...
luckly, i had it documented at ~13k miles (they couldn're replicate the problem, but it was noted in their records) at which point they told me that the clutch was a wear item and only waranteed for 12k miles. but with a little persistance, i had it replaced at ~30k miles. the problem was that it would start to chatter when the car was warm. two days before i took it in i drove 4 hours from san jose to los angeles and when i got off the freeway, the clutch chattered at 5 consecutive stop lights. after it was replaced it would only chatter sporadically and only when cold. i learned to live with it as it wasn't bad the second time around.
 
i have almost 60K on my P5 and she has been nice to me......

brakes are easy to do, plugs super easy to change, along with oil (filter is in a tough place though).......

cost me nothing but mods and maintance stuff.......

enjoy your car......

-R
 
You'll be happy with the purchase. It's a great car for what you pay. Compared to other cars in it's price range/class, you won't find a better looking car - inside and out. If you do buy it, make sure you take it to the dealer to have it inspected. There's a recall on them regarding the intake. Here's one of the threads:

http://www.msprotege.com/vbb230/showthread.php?t=123628205&highlight=recall

Check the VIN and contact Mazda. Unfortunately, the recall came after the damage to my car, but Mazda fixed it and refunded my money. Other than that, I've had no problems. Wish I had purchased a manual, but at the time I was commuting 30 miles in stop-n-go traffic to work so I got the sport-tronic.

Good luck,
garu
 
I think you'll enjoy the P5. Maintenance seems pretty easy on this compared to my old Camry. Parts are easy to get (and easy to get to). I bought mine in June 04. All I've replaced are spark plugs, oil, filters and tires. Should do the brakes soon if I don't sell or trade. I got mine for $12.5K OTD with 24K miles.
 
Tasty said:
The carfax I ran showed no open recalls.
Click to expand...

Only a certain number had a recall. The first page that I had linked has a pic of the letter from Mazda stating the VIN nunber ranges. If yours doesn't fall in that range, then you should be fine.

g
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

I
Is it possible to check the Protege5 Timing belt?
Replies
5
Views
2K
pcb
P
BenjiHoggi
205/55R16 Snow tires - bad idea?
Replies
5
Views
1K
bwalt
bwalt
S
P2009 and P0660 error code questions
Replies
0
Views
1K
smetzger
S

Latest posts

Back