My last car was an 01 Focus ZX3 which I was happy with except for the many recalls and the styling didn't have the same effect as when I bought it. Heard about the Mazda3 and thought I was cool because it shared platforms with the next gen Focus. Went into the dealership and they wanted too much $$$ for a 3, which steered me in the direction of my P5, one of only two new ones left. I was sold. It was everything I wanted and 7K less than a 3 so I would do it all over again if I had to. Now I realized how dumb I would of been if I would of bought another first/second year car based off of a Focus. Only time will tell if the 3 will be a true successor to the Proteges in terms of reliability.
What would you have gotten?
- Thread starter jonlong
- Start date
I kinda wanted AWD but I've made it through two winters now and have found that for my daily driving, AWD is not a necessity. So there is nothing else in the P5's class that I would have purchased. I also don't care for the Mazda3 very much so I am glad I bought my P5 when I did.
Protege ES sedan was my first choice. I actually only drove a yellow Protege5 at the lot because it was their manual test-driver, but bought the sedan cause the 5 was more expensive at the time, and the ES looked a bit better to me. 
I would have been happy with either, though.
My next choice (a distant next) would have been a Focus ZX-5.
I would have been happy with either, though.My next choice (a distant next) would have been a Focus ZX-5.
FLSilverP5
Member
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- 2002 Protege 5
I wanted the Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V. But it was too expensive and my dad said too small of a car. So i got the P5. But 2 hours after i bought the p5 i had an offer for an '01 GTI with 9k miles for cheaper then the p5. HMM woulda been nice, but too late now. Better of this way cuz i love my car. But the next car i get has to have power.
SuperWagon502
Member
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- 02 Mazda P5 / 03VW GTI 1.8t
I went through a fiasco with 5-Star mazda dealer in Macon. 3 times I tiold them i wanted a Black/Black SRT-4 MANUAL. 1st try they sent me a red AUTO? WTF!!?!?!?!? 2nd try they sent me a Yeloow SRT-4 MANual . I told them for the 3RD time, AGAIN GUYS..... black/black. <in and out> they told me THEN that it would be a $1200 delivery fee! So I walked away from that guy the the man next to him and said"Tell me about your Mazdas please" and boom. Saw the Pro5 sittin there. Told him in front of the other guy I wanted a white/black Protege5 Manual. He said got one right here for you.
William at 5-Star Mazda in Macon working for Dodge...YOU Got OWNED.
William at 5-Star Mazda in Macon working for Dodge...YOU Got OWNED.
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- '08 Jetta; '10 Wrangler Unlimited
with snow tires on the Protege 5's, they do great in the snow....the dunlops suck!!!!chuyler1 said:
1ofdfew323
Member
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- '03 P5 & '07 MS3
P5 wasn't my first choice. I wanted a WRX or RSX type S but didn't have the budget so I bought this since I like the wrx wagon the p5 looked like a mini of the wrx-wagon plus the interior is ******' great!
If I was to go back and buy my new p5 I would frickin get the black one instead of silver DAMN!!! why did I have to listen to my gurl!!! o well life goes on.......
If I was to go back and buy my new p5 I would frickin get the black one instead of silver DAMN!!! why did I have to listen to my gurl!!! o well life goes on.......
1ofdfew323
Member
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- '03 P5 & '07 MS3
I would've waited or went to a different dealership just to get that 14's sec. stock vehicle but then again its an american car so dont expect it to last more than 2 years but by then you should be able to have all the fun u want...So good thing you got a MAzda !SuperWagon502 said:
Yellowjacket
Member
I originally wanted the RSX type S but had to get 4 doors with the baby on the way. I then fell in love with the Mazdaspeed. Ended up with the P5 because it was the cheapest. If I could do it over again, I would have gotten a titanium speed.
But I was shopping for a WRX wagon or Legacy GT but a drop in income put them out of my range. Picked the P5 but got the sedan instead, since we already have a minivan for hauling stuff. Had also considered the Corolla S, and a bunch of used stuff from CarMax, but went with the zoom-zoom.
Heh. My car prior to this one was a '97 Legacy GT, black, 5-spd, leather.zverg said:
Forget finding any 2nd-gen Legs with low miles, though. My car had 143,000 on it...I do want to point out that it really shouldn't matter that those Subarus have "designs from 1993." Hell, the 300hp WRX STi is still just an updated Impreza... but it's quite a bit more car than the original '93 GC-series.
-Brian
02ESwBoost
Member
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- '02.5 ES - '03 Speed Conversion
Noxide said:
I agree, the Pro is fun and great on gas mpg but.....the WRX is a kick in the pants and is very reliable with alot of upgrade options.......
kolashaker
Member
I was originally considering either a GTI or a P5, but after test driving the P5 I was sold. Looking back now I wish I knew as much about the Mazdaspeed as I do now or I would have spent the extra ~$2K to get one...
No buyer's remorse though. I still love my P5 to death ....
(rockon)
No buyer's remorse though. I still love my P5 to death ....
(rockon)