Protege5 Purchase Advice

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p5nc

Member
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2002 Mazda Protege5
So I'm thinking of buying a Protege5 and I'm looking at two cars in my area. I'm curious which of these is the better buy, given the mileage of each, and what I know or don't know about each car's history.

#1 is a 2003 with leather and 104k miles. Carfax says 1-owner no accidents, but I know absolutely nothing about the car's maintenance history since it's at a small dealer. I drove it the other day and it drives well. They're asking $5500 which IMO is overpriced when looking over KBB and Edmunds.

#2 is a 2002 with 207k miles. Also 1-owner no accident vehicle. Private party sale. Asking $3500. This one's been meticulously serviced though.
Here's the good stuff:
  • only synthetic oil used
  • newish tires
  • timing belt, gaskets, water pump changed at 162k
  • new clutch installed and flywheel resurfaced at 162k
  • transmission professionally rebuilt at 179k (w/ redline lube)
  • new control arms and front suspension bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, 179k
  • new front wheel bearings, 179k
  • optima battery
  • aftermarket stereo head unit installed
Here's the bad:
  • a/c needs a recharge every year, slow leak
  • light oil leak from rear main seal, no drip, just visible under engine

So, lower miles and no history, or higher miles and meticulous history? I read through the thread High Miles Purchase too risky? and it seems like as long as a car is well cared for, a higher mileage purchase isn't necessarily risky. If I go for car #2, what should I have my mechanic look at, other than the two issues it has?
 
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Car #1 is very high. I'd expect that to be in the 4000 range. Bring cash and the dealer may come down a lot. One owner is good, but look the engine over closely for timing belt stickers and sludge under the oil cap. If you can't find a sticker, use the fact that you'll have to install a new timing belt as a bargaining chip. One owner is good, you have to be dedicated to drive one car for 100k.

I'd be weary of the main seal leak on #2. It's only going to get worse, and should have been replaced with the clutch job. Use it as a bargaining chip as well.
 
If you're looking to make a drive out to west Texas, I may be looking to sell the P5... Tastefully modded with all the right parts and a TON of recent maintenance. I haven't decided if I'm getting rid of it or turning it into a track car.
 
If you live in California KBB/Edmunds price is 99% of the time going to be much lower than current market value. My last P5 had a KBB value of $4700 in excellent condition, the first offer from the insurance was well over that value but still too low. I accepted the second settlement offer of $7600+ for a 13 year old car with 139k.

Get carfax, use it. That's how I actually found my latest one after searching for 2 months. A dealer had just listed it (1 owner trade-in everything but leather) and I drove my butt 75 miles and bought it. However, even that car had some issues that needed to be addressed and in the last 6 months I have put over $2000 and I'm still not done bringing this

I personally wouldn't buy either of those vehicles. I would wait until something with less miles comes along and look another 100 miles out of my original search area.
 
I'm in NC so I think the KBB/Edmunds pricing should be pretty close. I agree, car #1 should be in the low-mid $4k range, while car #2 should be down in the mid $2k range. Cash wise, I need to come in at $4400, so car #1 would take some bargaining, while car #2 I could easily afford and pay for the unfortunate rear main seal job. I can't find anything within a 100 mile radius that has less than 100k on it. I'm looking at some Sentras too, but I'll need to make a decision in 2-3 weeks.
 
You should wait and look for better cars and prices, I just bought mine for 2700 with 140k miles..I wasn't looking for it but someone offered me it and I've always wanted one.
 
Yeah, something in the middle might be better. These cars are are going on 14 years old.
+1 on mr.giggles. #1 is about the timing belt and/or negotiation process.
#2 raises a couple red flags, but, I don't want to say anything. Don't know the whole story.
High mileage nonetheless, and that is a bit expensive as well. I would hate to see the motor blow after a short while.
Comes down to price.
 
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Here's the update:

A pre-purchase inspection revealed car #1 had some suspension issues (lower control arms, tie rods, all end links). I made an extremely low ball offer, knowing I'd have to put $$$ into the car for maintenance work plus the timing belt job. The dealer wouldn't budge.

Car #2 I decided to pass on. I'm just not comfortable with that high of miles.

I did however find another P5 with 110k and in better cosmetic condition, requiring much less repair work (rear brakes only). Asking price was $3800 and I got them down to $3500 because of the brake job! It's an auto, so not quite as fun to drive as a manual, but I think I got a good deal!

Thanks everyone for your helpful input.
 
mp5.jpg
 
What color is that? Doesn't look exactly like silver. Was it repainted?
 
It's silver. I'm certain it's been re-painted too, as there are overspray marks in a few spots (front, wheel well, muffler, roof rack) and the Mazda badge is missing off the hatch. I may remove the Protege5 badge as well to even it out! :)
 
They didn't do a good job of matching it up to Mazda's Sunlight Silver. But maybe they weren't trying to? In any case, the color looks good. Congrats....and here's to many safe, dependable, and happy miles to ya :)
 
p5nc said:
I'm in NC so I think the KBB/Edmunds pricing should be pretty close. I agree, car #1 should be in the low-mid $4k range, while car #2 should be down in the mid $2k range. Cash wise, I need to come in at $4400, so car #1 would take some bargaining, while car #2 I could easily afford and pay for the unfortunate rear main seal job. I can't find anything within a 100 mile radius that has less than 100k on it. I'm looking at some Sentras too, but I'll need to make a decision in 2-3 weeks.
Click to expand...

Wow I actually just looked at those same two cars within the last week. I ended up buying the first one from the dealer. They wouldn't budge below $5300 out the door which I think is still a few hundred too high (I found values of 4800-5200 between Nada, KBB, and Edmunds) but it's the exact color/interior combo I've always wanted (been looking at P5's on and off over the years) and I'm in a pinch and needed a car by this weekend.
 
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