About to pull the trigger on a 2002 P5 Sport Wagon: What's the rundown of these cars?

T

TysonTonko

Member
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Mazda P5
Looking to pick up a second car to compliment my main car. I came across a P5 sport wagon with only 171K KM on it (roughly 110K miles) with a lot of recent maintenance done to it. Yes it has rust on the rear wheel wells but it doesnt matter to me since ill be using this as a beater.

I will not be taking care of the P5 wagon near as good as my main car. I test drove it today (02 Sport wagon) and it seemed really good. The car only has 171K km on it (roughly 110K miles) and very well maintained. New brake job, 1 year old tires, set of winters with its own rims, ATF changed, brake flush, coolant flush, new timing belt and water pump and pulley, new serpentine belt.

All bushings and struts are still original.

1) How durable are the auto trannies on these cars? Should I expect it to be able to outlast the car or are they prone to failure? I will only be driving the car for maybe 3-4 years, roughly 20k km a year.
2) Also the hatchback door spring doesnt work. When I lift up the door, it falls and doesnt hold. How is this fixed and is it a pricey repair? What do I need to pick up for parts?
3) Is there anything else you guys want to warn me about on these cars?
4) How long can I expect the engine to last in terms of miles? Will they last as long as a Honda?
5) I hear that the front wheel bearings are prone to fail on these cars early, is that true? How can I test to see if the wheel bearings need to be replaced by just driving it? Any way?

Thanks
 
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Proteges are great cars.

I rarely hear of problems with the auto transmissions.

You need a couple of these hatch supports: Very simple. just two 10mm bolts.
https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)

There is no way to just say whether or not an engine lasts as long as any other engine. There are alot of variables. It might last longer, or not, or you could have the longest running motor of all time, you just cant know until it breaks.

You'd hear the wheel bearings if they were bad.
 
Very nice cars. Engines and transmissions (auto and manual) are solid. However, if you live in the salt belt, they will disintegrate around you. If the wheel wells have started, the rest isn't too far behind.
 
"I will not be taking care of the P5 wagon near as good as my main car."

Reliability doesn't mean that you can neglect maintenance and expect it to run. If you do your oil changes, watch out for rust, and get calipers that are in good condition, the car will last. Good thing is, most wear items on this car cost less than $50.
 
Jackie chan said:
Proteges are great cars.

I rarely hear of problems with the auto transmissions.

You need a couple of these hatch supports: Very simple. just two 10mm bolts.
https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)

There is no way to just say whether or not an engine lasts as long as any other engine. There are alot of variables. It might last longer, or not, or you could have the longest running motor of all time, you just cant know until it breaks.

You'd hear the wheel bearings if they were bad.
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Thank you, much appreciated.
 
gilella said:
"I will not be taking care of the P5 wagon near as good as my main car."

Reliability doesn't mean that you can neglect maintenance and expect it to run. If you do your oil changes, watch out for rust, and get calipers that are in good condition, the car will last. Good thing is, most wear items on this car cost less than $50.
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I know. Sorry what I meant was that I will still take care of the car, I just wont be going the extra distance for it as on my main car. For instance, I wont using 0W20 full syn oil in it. I wont be using top grade oil filters on it. I will use the cheapest oil i can find when on sale, I will buy economy grade filters.

The good news is that I wont need to do a brake flush or coolant flush or ATF change, cause they were all done within the past year. And chances are, since I only plan on keeping the car for 3-4 years, I might not have to do it again for the time I have it.

Exocet said:
Very nice cars. Engines and transmissions (auto and manual) are solid. However, if you live in the salt belt, they will disintegrate around you. If the wheel wells have started, the rest isn't too far behind.
Click to expand...

The car has rust on the back fenders (which isnt an issue to me). But over time, will the rust make the car start to break apart? From what I understand rust is purely cosmetic and the car wont start running even if the rust gets really bad. But can it get so bad that the car will fall apart and then cant be driven?

Here is the car

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/...ge/1157571404?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

Seller said she would sell it to me for $1100CDN. Does it seem like a fair deal or am I overpaying? She has done a lot of work to it over the past year, including timing belt, water pump, new brake job and calipers on all wheels, almost new tires, includes winters and its own rims, brake flush, ATF change, coolant flush, etc.
 
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Treat it well and it will prob outlast whatever your main car is lol. We have two engines with over 320km on them. Both in better condition than my mazdaspeed protege engine with 140km lol. The body rusts if you dont keep the car clean and touch up nicks asap. Mechanical is super cheap and piss easy if you work on it yourself. If you wanted a little better handling from it its cheap and easy.
Even if you did blow it up, an engine can be pulled from another beater quickly and cheaply. If it was me id buy he nicest shell possible and expect to keep it a while. It will definitely outlast most new cars if treated well.

As a point of reference... I sold my silver p5 not long ago with new clutch and All new brakes. Did timing belt and put a new battery in.
All that s*** only cost me $700 cdn

Id honestly come to bc to find one with no rust. You will pay more but will be nicer.
 
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Valk said:
Treat it well and it will prob outlast whatever your main car is lol. We have two engines with over 320km on them. Both in better condition than my mazdaspeed protege engine with 140km lol. The body rusts if you dont keep the car clean and touch up nicks asap. Mechanical is super cheap and piss easy if you work on it yourself. If you wanted a little better handling from it its cheap and easy.
Even if you did blow it up, an engine can be pulled from another beater quickly and cheaply. If it was me id buy he nicest shell possible and expect to keep it a while. It will definitely outlast most new cars if treated well.

As a point of reference... I sold my silver p5 not long ago with new clutch and All new brakes. Did timing belt and put a new battery in.
All that s*** only cost me $700 cdn

Id honestly come to bc to find one with no rust. You will pay more but will be nicer.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

My biggest question is, will it be impossible to resale the car in say 3 or 4 years from now if it has lots of rust?

I dont want to spend more than $1200 on a car so in this price range ill have to settle for a P5 with rust.

What do you think of the P5 Im thinking about getting for $1100.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/...ge/1157571404?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

I wonder if i could bargain down more since the shocks for the rear door are needing replacement and theyre $90cdn shipped for a pair. YIKES! Its either that or I put a piece of wood inbetween the hinge to hold up the door each time lol.
 
Rust is the death sentance to any cars value im afraid. They wont really get a LOT cheaper i think. Anything around $1000 kinda crap unless its a blown motor kinda thing. Expect to spend $2000-$3000 cdn on one with a nice body and decent milage. People have a huge aversion to anything over 200km. Depends how it was driven i suppose.

Oh gawd that one looks awful lol. But low milage i guess....
 
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Valk said:
Rust is the death sentance to any cars value im afraid. They wont really get a LOT cheaper i think. Anything around $1000 kinda crap unless its a blown motor kinda thing. Expect to spend $2000-$3000 cdn on one with a nice body and decent milage. People have a huge aversion to anything over 200km. Depends how it was driven i suppose.

Oh gawd that one looks awful lol. But low milage i guess....
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Well im just looking for a beater, and want to keep the insurance down so im opting for an older car. Thankfully this one runs well and is well maintained with a lot of the big repairs and maintenance recently done last year.

I feel though for $1100CDN im paying too much for this one. 176k KM though is very low.

So are you saying if i buy this car and in 3-4 years, i wont be able to sell it? Ill be taking it to the dump?

Theres 3 things that would need to be repaired in the next few months.

1) Windshield (unless I can live with a crack in the middle of my windshield, its not bad but is it a safety hazard?).
2) Rear struts (back ones are bouncy). But since i would never have people in the back, i should be fine leaving as is.
3) Struts/springs on the rear door hatch. Like I said $90cdn shipped just for new ones. I could factor this cost into the cost of the car and lower it. But again, i could always just use a piece of lumber and put that inbetween the hinge to hold the door up lol.
 
Windshield like $350 from speedyglass, struts like $70 each or you could buy ready struts. Not significant costs there. You could prob find cheaper hatch struts from napa or something. Or even princess auto. Just measure. Again a rust shell neuters the value badly. Doesnt matter how well maintained the go bits are if they have nothing to bolt to. Check the strut towers and under rhe rockers ect. I wouldnt pay more than $800 for that car personally. At that price id expect to drive it til it blows and recycle it.
If you buy it, live with the windshield but definitely replace shocks if needed. That is a bigger safety issue i think.
 
Valk said:
Windshield like $350 from speedyglass, struts like $70 each or you could buy ready struts. Not significant costs there. You could prob find cheaper hatch struts from napa or something. Or even princess auto. Just measure. Again a rust shell neuters the value badly. Doesnt matter how well maintained the go bits are if they have nothing to bolt to. Check the strut towers and under rhe rockers ect. I wouldnt pay more than $800 for that car personally. At that price id expect to drive it til it blows and recycle it.
If you buy it, live with the windshield but definitely replace shocks if needed. That is a bigger safety issue i think.
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Thanks. Thats what I was thinking too, $800 would be a fair price for that car but I was stupid to ask if she would take $1100 when I went to see and drive it last Wed lol. Now if I offer her a lower offer, she would tell me to take a hike. So im probably SOL right now, she will be offended lol.

Rear shocks id forsure want to replace. Windshield I can live with the crack since it doesnt get in my viewing way.

So if the wheel wells are rusted, where does it go from there?
 
Toooo bad. Its an appliance lol. Offer her $800 and the worst she says no.

Wheel wheels mostly cosmetic but it will creep up and destroy the bumper mount and the door jams. If the under rust is bad it can eat the rockers, the floor, strut mounts in the towers is a Common one.
Its cheaper to replace the engine than repair all that stuff on the body heh. If you buy the car dont spend money on it beyond safety things.
 
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Valk said:
Toooo bad. Its an appliance lol. Offer her $800 and the worst she says no.

Wheel wheels mostly cosmetic but it will creep up and destroy the bumper mount and the door jams. If the under rust is bad it can eat the rockers, the floor, strut mounts in the towers is a Common one.
Its cheaper to replace the engine than repair all that stuff on the body heh. If you buy the car dont spend money on it beyond safety things.
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It was my fault for not checking inside the strut towers with a flashlight to see how rusted they are. I would ask her but shes not car savvy enough to know what rockers are. If the strut towers are rusted to hell, maybe I should pass on the car? Cause like you said, the rust can eat that and the floor, strut mounts. If thats the case, then the car wont be drivable period. Cant drive a car if a strut mount cant bolt a strut onto. My guess is that there isnt a lot of rust on the strut mounts mainly due to the low milage of the car, but hard to say.

I would only replace whats absolutely needed on the car. If i can get away with not replacing the rear struts i would but isnt it a safety hazard driving with shocks that are soft? They will leak and blow right?
 
It might not be that bad. I just dont like rust period. Its not like these cars crumble apart or anything. Im just saying rust murders value. So if your biying it as a beater, treat it like one. Any car around $1000 is gonna have the same potential problems.
I will say if you can get an automatic for $1000 thats not bad. Most of the ones id be looking at in that price would be manual, rusted or not.
 
Valk said:
It might not be that bad. I just dont like rust period. Its not like these cars crumble apart or anything. Im just saying rust murders value. So if your biying it as a beater, treat it like one. Any car around $1000 is gonna have the same potential problems.
I will say if you can get an automatic for $1000 thats not bad. Most of the ones id be looking at in that price would be manual, rusted or not.
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Oh okay thanks. Yes this one is auto, are autos worth more?

So now would you offer this girl $1000 now knowing its an auto? Lol
 
No i wouldnt. But if you had to pay $1000 i guess id live with it lol. $800 better

Autos are worth more but manuals will last longer. worst that xan go wrong with manual is you need a new clutch. Whateves. $250 if you can do it yourself. Auto blows up, costs more than the car to fix heh
 
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Valk said:
No i wouldnt. But if you had to pay $1000 i guess id live with it lol. $800 better

Autos are worth more but manuals will last longer. worst that xan go wrong with manual is you need a new clutch. Whateves. $250 if you can do it yourself. Auto blows up, costs more than the car to fix heh
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