New guy from Ohio

J

jesse_ohio

Member
:
2003.5 Protege5
Hey all, just checking in with the obligatory first post. I just picked up a cherry (as in condition) red (as in color) 2003.5 Protege5, 5-speed manual. The previous owner was pretty meticulous about maintenance and record-keeping, so I have all the paperwork and history on it. Clean as a pin, the paint is in gorgeous shape, and the body is great minus a couple door dings. Interior is minty fresh. 87k miles on the odo when I picked it up.

QXUJ8r0.jpg


Anyway, this is going to be my fun daily driver so I don't have much planned in the way of mods/building it up. Only thing on the radar is a stereo upgrade (got a Pioneer double-DIN DVD unit and a bunch of Polk speakers en route), and a tint job. Other than that I just want to keep it clean, stock and running nice.

I come from a long history of VWs, I'm a big euro enthusiast, but I've always had a soft spot for Mazdas. My dad had a ~90 626 hatchback 5MT that was a blast to drive and lasted him a good long while. I've always had fond memories of that car and my Protege seems to be carrying the torch well.

No real outstanding issues with my Protege, except for the apparently common flaky idle. It's not awful but it is irritating. I'll see about cleaning my EGR soon :)

Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hi since I'm sure I'll be around. Looks like a nice forum!


Jesse
 
Congrats on the purchase and welcome! Many happy and safe miles to ya :)
 
pcb said:
Seafoam cures hiccups and coughs.

Can I ask what you paid for that ??
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Cool, will give it a shot. I haven't used seafoam since my first car, an ancient Chevy Corsica!

I probably paid too much. I gave $5700, which is a bit less than he was asking. I know I could have gotten him down if I waited, but I didn't want to risk losing the car to another buyer. I know he had several people lined up to see it after me, and i knew from the moment I saw it it was exactly what i was looking for. Plus I was hoping to find something under $6k to begin with, so it worked out.

Used car prices are outrageously high right now. Between the credit crunch, decimated economy and that ridiculous cash for clunkers program, people are charging (and paying) what would have been exorbitant prices for used cars five years ago.

In the end I'm happy with the deal I got. I wanted something clean, well maintained with documentation, and lots of life left in it. And I'm having a blast driving it :)
 
I paid $6,500 for mine three years ago with 142,000 km (88,000 miles) and your car looks REEEAAALY nice. I think you did fine. If you love it to death the way I love mine you'll be happy for a long time.

Just don't love it like this guy.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...build-thread&p=5994525&viewfull=1#post5994525

That's way too funny...

He even had to change his bed sheets afterwards........
I don't need to see that................
 
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pcb said:
I paid $6,500 for mine three years ago with 142,000 km (88,000 miles) and your car looks REEEAAALY nice. I think you did fine. If you love it to death the way I love mine you'll be happy for a long time.
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Thanks man! I've been driving my wife's Toyota Avalon for about a year (we had 3 kids so now she drives a minivan) and it was such a soul sucking experience driving that thing day in and day out. My P5 is like a punch in the face (in a good way)!

Just don't love it like this guy.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123807873-rar40941-s-build-thread/page49 POST 731

That's way too funny...
Click to expand...


O...m..g...
LOL!!!
 
Welcome aboard! Make sure you check out the Ohio section of the forums. There will be a lot going on after this winter weather goes away. Nice find BTW! Car looks good.
 
Perro del Sol said:
Welcome aboard! Make sure you check out the Ohio section of the forums. There will be a lot going on after this winter weather goes away. Nice find BTW! Car looks good.
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Ah, cool - I didn't even realize there were regional sections on the board. Thanks!
 
Congrats on the purchase! I was planning to go and buy that car, but I called the guy back and he said he sold it. One owner, titled on 04, sounds like he was an older guy and like you said seemed to have a lot of records for it. I was really upset with myself that I didn't go get it when I first saw it on CL last week. I was holding off buying it until I can at least get my current car for sale (G35 coupe). Planned on doing that this past weekend, but wasn't able to. I really want an 02.5+ with leather and 100k miles or less. It met every detail I want except for leather, which I would be flexible about for a well maintained car like that. It's cool to see it on here. I am in Lexington ky and in the market for a p5.
 
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alej said:
Congrats on the purchase! I was planning to go and buy that car, but I called the guy back and he said he sold it. One owner, titled on 04, sounds like he was an older guy and like you said seemed to have a lot of records for it. I was really upset with myself that I didn't go get it when I first saw it on CL last week. I was holding off buying it until I can at least get my current car for sale (G35 coupe). Planned on doing that this past weekend, but wasn't able to. I really want an 02.5+ with leather and 100k miles or less. It met every detail I want except for leather, which I would be flexible about for a well maintained car like that. It's cool to see it on here. I am in Lexington ky and in the market for a p5.
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Ha! That's crazy! I was wondering if anyone on here would recognize it.

Yeah, he was a nice guy, a little older, very anal about maintenance. He was detailing it before I came and when I pulled up a few minutes early he was still going over it, and I could tell he just wasn't "done" -- it wasn't up to his standards of perfection yet, though it looked flawless to me. The entire test drive he was in the passenger seat, cleaning bits of dust off the radio knobs, etc. Once when a car ~50 yards ahead kicked up some road spray (snow just melted) he asked me to drop back even more so the front of the car didn't get dirty :lol:

I saw his post hours after he made it (I've got RSS feeds set up since I've been scouring for a deal for months). I contacted him right away but he said he had gone out of town and wouldn't be back for 4 days... yeesh, who does that right after posting a car for sale? Anyway, I emailed him like 4 times and called him the moment he got back to set up a time. He said when I bought it off him that he had 6 or 7 people lined up to see it after me, but he was happy to sell it to me because I had the same name as his son, who is my age as well. Strange!

Anyway, sorry you missed the chance on it. Well not really, I'm super excited I got it, but you know what I mean. There was another clean yellow p5 on Craigslist, probably up toward Dayton. Had 102k on it I think. Maybe worth looking at if its still available.
 
Welcome from a fellow classic red owner. ;)

Congrats on the purchase as well, pretty good deal for such a well taken care of car. Since it is an OH car, I'd suggest keeping an eye on the PS strut tower, doors, rocker ends, rear qtr panels and emblems on the hatch. These spots are notorious for rust on our cars.
 
CTt3P5 said:
Congrats on the purchase as well, pretty good deal for such a well taken care of car. Since it is an OH car, I'd suggest keeping an eye on the PS strut tower, doors, rocker ends, rear qtr panels and emblems on the hatch. These spots are notorious for rust on our cars.
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Indeed! I've read a lot of the Protege rust horror stories and it does have me worried. Those were the first spots I checked when I looked at the car. All look new to me, I didn't see any sign of rust in those spots whatsoever.

I did notice that there is something happening on the door hinges inside the door jamb... almost all of them have this whitish, bubbling thing going on, looks like maybe some kind of corrosion or oxidation. Doesn't look like rust per se, unless it's under the white ooze. Looks more like corrosion you'd see on a battery terminal. Ring any bells to anyone? I was thinking of wire-brushing it off and putting rust-proof chemical metal protector/sealant on it.
 
Damn....wanna trade...i have a red one too. :p. Lol

Not sure about your door jambs...have never heard of what you mentioned. Possibly rust forming? :-( hit up josque in the oh section...hes a former body shop guy and pretty darn good too.
 
I'm thinking it might be smart to place an ad looking for a P5 (if that's what you wanna buy) saying willing to pay a premium for a well maintained well documented car.
If the car you buy doesn't have documentation and you can't prove that the T-belt and water pump were done then it would be wise to just do it and that could easily cost over $1,500 alone, then you've got wheel bearings rear calipers, etc. etc.
I was quoted $1800 (plus tax)for just a timing belt job of which $500 was for the T-belt kit.
I did it myself for less than $300.

I couldn't figure out why I was getting rust in the engine bay around the strut towers. I finally reached up underneath beside the strut and found a four inch hole facing toward the fenders. It was holding water dirt and salt in a puddle inside. I just discovered it last fall and plan on getting to it in the spring. I've gotta remove the struts to gain access.
 
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