Buying a used MSP need advice...

D

Diy Guy

Member
:
Honda, Civic Si
What's up guys.

I've been looking for a used car and the mazdaspeed protege seems like it would be a good fit for me. I want something that will be practical, economical, reliable, and most importantly fun. I will autocross it and spend the weekends in the hills driving from time to time.

I'm not looking for another project and I wouldn't be doing any real heavy modding for years. I am able to work on my own cars and can do repairs as necessary but would prefer not to on this car if I don't have to.

Here are the specs:

-2003.5 silver
-clean title
-California only car
-cold air intake
-forge waste gate
-manual boost controller (seen boost peak at ~10)
-no radio/sub
-outside/inside 8/10 (no dents)
-motor comp 175 on every cylinder
-no cels
-ripped motor mounts


My biggest problem is the reliability issues of MSPs in general. I know Mazda contracted Callaway to slap turbo kits on them. It bothers me that this one hits a solid 10 pounds. This owner has been driving on 10 pounds for about 9-10000 miles and he told me he uses 89 octane. He bought the car with about 75k on it and the previous owner before him already had the forge waste gate.

On the other hand the compression has checked out good though and the car drove very strong...

So what do you guys think? Should I have any concerns? What should I check?

I plan on doing my own compression test and checking the turbo for shaft play and bearing oil leaks. Any other spots to check out?

-Kyle
 
Walk away, for many reasons. No supporting mods for 10 psi, the dumb ass puts 89 in it. Ripped motor mounts can cause a lot of issues,look up the oiling issues with the protgs which is not good if you want to daily and auto cross it.

Just from reading that he puts 89 in it insinuates that oil hasn't been changed regularly and when it has its probably conventional, boost is at 10 psi, its probly been run hard at that and no supporting mods on a weak motor is basically buying a ticking time bomb
 
Damn, that doesn't sound good at all man. Thank you for your opinion...

Short of looking at the oil, doing my own comp test, and looking at the turbo is there nothing I can do to check the car? This is the lowest mileage MSP I've seen... I'll have access to the car tmw.

It also seems that most have ripped mounts.
 
If you're looking for a car that you don't have to put large sums of cash into then I would avoid the Speed... Just saying.
 
I wouldn't walk away from it, honestly it sounds like a solid car. It does need attention and some minor supporting mods to help it last longer but if the compression is good and the turbo and motor are in good shape it's probably as safe as owning any other used msp.

My MSP has been my daily for 3 years (and a Protege5 before that) and I have invested a minimal amount into maintenance compared to any other 10 year old car, I would argue the MSP and Protege's reliability based on my experiences. Every MSP and most proteges have torn motor mounts so that is nothing to worry about just replace them with solid mounts or oem if you can't handle the vibes in the cabin (oem will fail again eventually). The WGA diaphgram always fails which explains the upgrade to the Forge WGA, drive over bumps to listen for suspension squeaks and clunks, the front and rear swaybar bushings fail and cause a loud clunk. The silver part of the driver seat bottom frequently tears and the steering wheel leather is also frequently ruined. Check for cracks in the factory cast iron turbo manifold, you will have to remove the primary O2 to make it easier to get the heat shield off. Be sure to ask if the LSD has ever been replaced, the diff case likes to break off from the ring gear on all of these cars.
 
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Don't let the 10 psi scare you. Check out the motor yourself to confirm the compressions in each cylinder. Just because the person ran non premium does not mean that they drove like a fucknut pushing 10 psi of boost with each mile. The car would run perfectly fine with no boost using the lower octane. Not everyone wants bone jarring motor mounts or to pay what Mazda wants for new OEM mounts. So that fact that these are torn does not really mean much seeing how OEM mounts tear /rip all of the time.

Make sure that your engine vacuum at idle is in the 18 - 22 range.
 
Go run 89 in your car then. It's a small turbo that spools up over climbing a small hill which builds boost. You don't always notice detonation in a car
 
Depends on price whether or not you should consider it. If the motor mounts are ripped the exhaust manifold is likely to be cracking and if iirc ripped mounts can also be a cause or lead to the "lsd" breaking (that and launching it). How many miles does it have on it? Is there oil inside the compressor housing/intake pipes? What's the coolant look like? Check under the manifold heat shield for cracks. CEL might not be lit but there could be a code he's erasing before he lets you test drive. It comes down to how much and whether or not you want it. We can spat out information whether or not you listen is solely up to you. When it's working it's an amazing car to drive even though it's 10 years old now. Being 10 years old things WILL break and wear out. There's very little aftermarket support compared to other cars so don't expect to find a whole lot. You leave it stock it will probably be a lot more reliable. Especially if you take the mbc off IMO.
 
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