2003 Mazdaspeed protege a good choice?

[coolred]

I am in the market for a new used car for myself. I currently drive a 1997 Nissan Maxima, but I will be giving that to my wife as we are getting rid of her 2005 Honda CRV. I want something not boring, reliable, with decent gas mileage and room for a car seat. I am looking to spend under 10,000.00. I figured the protege was out of my price range, but I found one for about 10,000. Mileage is high at 91040. How reliable were they, any major problems. Is it a good choice for a daily driver?

 

[Tyrant222]

I would not spend 10k on a msp with 91k miles.

You could look at a nissan sentra se-r spec v. Ford Focus SVT. maybe even a celica GT-S. Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart.

though the sentra is the only 4-door.

 

[kumanchu]

i've seen '02~'03 subaru wrx's go for around 12k with 50~60k miles. i'd take one over the protege; i think it'd be worth the extra 2k

 

[Sunrise089]

10k is too much IMHO, but the car is a great choice. Bonus tip to save $$$: the Mazdaspeed isn't all that quick - it's decent, but no power beast. It IS fun to drive and handles very well for a front-driver. The Protege MP3 has the same chassis, powertrain minus turbocharger, interior changes, and body kit. It gets better fuel economy and should be much cheaper - great economical fun-to-drive-a-slow-car-fast kinda ride.

 

[coolred]

Originally posted by: Sunrise089
10k is too much IMHO, but the car is a great choice. Bonus tip to save $$$: the Mazdaspeed isn't all that quick - it's decent, but no power beast. It IS fun to drive and handles very well for a front-driver. The Protege MP3 has the same chassis, powertrain minus turbocharger, interior changes, and body kit. It gets better fuel economy and should be much cheaper - great economical fun-to-drive-a-slow-car-fast kinda ride.

I heard the MP3 is hard to find though. I haven't seen any in my area.


I have also been looking at 2002 Nissan Altimas. I enjoy my maxima and it has been pretty problem free for me. I found a 2002 Altima 3.5SE for just under 12,000.00, but its got high miles to, close to 90,000. I think I can get a lower mileage 2.5S or SL for less then that, btu still looking. But that 3.5 is oh so tempting.

Not ruling out a compact-midsize SUV either, the cargo room is nice, not having to bend down to put the kid in his seat and 4WD is nice too.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: coolred

Originally posted by: Sunrise089
10k is too much IMHO, but the car is a great choice. Bonus tip to save $$$: the Mazdaspeed isn't all that quick - it's decent, but no power beast. It IS fun to drive and handles very well for a front-driver. The Protege MP3 has the same chassis, powertrain minus turbocharger, interior changes, and body kit. It gets better fuel economy and should be much cheaper - great economical fun-to-drive-a-slow-car-fast kinda ride.

I heard the MP3 is hard to find though. I haven't seen any in my area.


I have also been looking at 2002 Nissan Altimas. I enjoy my maxima and it has been pretty problem free for me. I found a 2002 Altima 3.5SE for just under 12,000.00, but its got high miles to, close to 90,000. I think I can get a lower mileage 2.5S or SL for less then that, btu still looking. But that 3.5 is oh so tempting.

i have a 05' 3.5SE... it has plenty of power but i was disappointed that it didn't give me the push-you-back-into-your-seat kind of torque. it sounds awesome when you really push it though.... turning radius is a bit wide- sometimes it's really hard to do a U-turn. fuel economy is around 17 in the city.

 

[coolred]

It has like 246ft-lbs of torque, I thought that was pretty good. Heck I think the '05 has even a couple more on top of that. But I also haven't test driven one yet, and youd rive yours every day, so you would know better then me. And torque is probably better for city driving as opposed to HP, right?

 

[KentState]

I had a MSP before I traded it in for the GTO. Do not buy that car used. Many many many issues like LSD's that will crack in half, even with the stock HP, to clunking in the suspension, or many turbo issues. You have to remember that they took the standard Protege engine and bolted a turbo on. It wasn't built for that application so the car shares the same compression ratio as a non-turbo. The ECU was also a mess with many hesitation issues. I did really enjoy it while I had it, but I would never recommend a new at the time, let alone a used one 3-4 years later. Flat out, the car will have a lot of issues, especially since it was probably driven hard before you ever saw it. Feel free to message me if you have detailed questions. I was very active in the owners community.

 

[coolred]

Okay so the MSP is out then, too high miles and not reliable. Any other suggestions.

 

[Dudewithoutapet]

Originally posted by: coolred

Originally posted by: Sunrise089
10k is too much IMHO, but the car is a great choice. Bonus tip to save $$$: the Mazdaspeed isn't all that quick - it's decent, but no power beast. It IS fun to drive and handles very well for a front-driver. The Protege MP3 has the same chassis, powertrain minus turbocharger, interior changes, and body kit. It gets better fuel economy and should be much cheaper - great economical fun-to-drive-a-slow-car-fast kinda ride.

I heard the MP3 is hard to find though. I haven't seen any in my area.


I have also been looking at 2002 Nissan Altimas. I enjoy my maxima and it has been pretty problem free for me. I found a 2002 Altima 3.5SE for just under 12,000.00, but its got high miles to, close to 90,000. I think I can get a lower mileage 2.5S or SL for less then that, btu still looking. But that 3.5 is oh so tempting.

Not ruling out a compact-midsize SUV either, the cargo room is nice, not having to bend down to put the kid in his seat and 4WD is nice too.

Why'd you get rid of the CR-V?

 

[Arkaign]

Why not get a Maxima with the 5spd? They're wonderful cars, and plenty roomy, with decent fuel economy (when you're not lead-footing it)

 

[coolred]

Originally posted by: Dudewithoutapet

Originally posted by: coolred

Originally posted by: Sunrise089
10k is too much IMHO, but the car is a great choice. Bonus tip to save $$$: the Mazdaspeed isn't all that quick - it's decent, but no power beast. It IS fun to drive and handles very well for a front-driver. The Protege MP3 has the same chassis, powertrain minus turbocharger, interior changes, and body kit. It gets better fuel economy and should be much cheaper - great economical fun-to-drive-a-slow-car-fast kinda ride.

I heard the MP3 is hard to find though. I haven't seen any in my area.


I have also been looking at 2002 Nissan Altimas. I enjoy my maxima and it has been pretty problem free for me. I found a 2002 Altima 3.5SE for just under 12,000.00, but its got high miles to, close to 90,000. I think I can get a lower mileage 2.5S or SL for less then that, btu still looking. But that 3.5 is oh so tempting.

Not ruling out a compact-midsize SUV either, the cargo room is nice, not having to bend down to put the kid in his seat and 4WD is nice too.

Why'd you get rid of the CR-V?

We haven't gotten rid of the CR-V yet. We plan to get rid of it because my wife cannot afford the payments on it. I never got to drive it much, it was always her car. But it was nice when I did drive it. I don't think I can mange that car payment and the rent and the rest of my bills either, so it will probably be going soon. I may actually be considering selling my Max to my brother in law too. It's not a bad car, but it was lowered before I bought it. Wasn't a problem at the time, just had to be careful with it. But apparently at some point in time we got a dent in the oil pan, so none of the oil change places will touch it, and the freakin exhaust hits on just about everything that is not perfectly level with the road. It also rides a little harsh for me. I like it though and would consider getting another. But I also like change, something different would be nice.

One thing I don't like about it is that it takes premium fuel, and even then my gas mileage is not great. I accept it, and am not saying I need something with better mileage. Just saying its not great and gas is expensive, lol.

Also, I never really thought of myself as a car type of person. My first ride was an Ford Ranger, '86 or '89 don't remember. My second car was a '94 Jeep Wrangler. I liked them, but then I had to get rid of the Jeep and somehow got stuck with an Olds Cutlass Ciera. Not my favorite car, then I got the Max and was surprised that I liked driving a car as much as I did. But like I said, the SUV's offer many advantages over a car. So I am torn between the 2.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: coolred
It has like 246ft-lbs of torque, I thought that was pretty good. Heck I think the '05 has even a couple more on top of that. But I also haven't test driven one yet, and youd rive yours every day, so you would know better then me. And torque is probably better for city driving as opposed to HP, right?

well it pulls pretty good... i guess i can't get that torque-y feeling of an E46 M5... lol i guess thats what i get for comparing a $25k japanese to an $80k german lux super sedan.

i think the gas milage is killer though. i drove about 120 miles on highway today and my milage jumped to 19mpg. i guess you'd expect 17/20 mpg realistically.

i dunno... if i were to buy an altima again, i'd probably just spring for the 2.5S... i do love the 17-inch wheels on my SE though... but i guess you'd save quite a bit of gas.

 

[coolred]

Yeah the 17's do look hot. What about the ground clearance on the altima? Like I said, my Max was lowered before I got it. I think its stock 6.1" ground clearance. I would say mine is closer to 4 maybe 3" ground clearance. The altima stock is 4.1". Its one of the things I hate about my Max, how super careful you have to be when going over speed bumps and what not. Heck when it snows in the winter and the roads don't get plowed. You know ho you get the tire tracks with the big pile of snow in between then, my exhaust will beat and bang off that oiel of snow the whole way. Plus like I said, somehow the oilpan got dented. Not sure if I did this, or if my wife did. But either way I woudl prefer not to have to worry abotu it so much with my next car.

Also, I have been comparing the specs between my max and the 2 engines in the '02 altima. My max is a few pound slighter then the 2.5L altima, but gives up 15Hp and 24ft-lbs of torque. Now I need to qualify this before I say it. The fact that I have to worry about every little bump or pothole in the road may be affecting my driving experience in the Max. But I honestly don't find it that exhilarating of a car to drive. I am happy with it, but it doesn't blow me away. I am afraid it would be worse with the 2.5L altima. But again maybe if I didn't have to spend so much time worrying about the little bumps int he road, then maybe it would be better.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: coolred
Yeah the 17's do look hot. What about the ground clearance on the altima? Like I said, my Max was lowered before I got it. I think its stock 6.1" ground clearance. I would say mine is closer to 4 maybe 3" ground clearance. The altima stock is 4.1". Its one of the things I hate about my Max, how super careful you have to be when going over speed bumps and what not. Heck when it snows in the winter and the roads don't get plowed. You know ho you get the tire tracks with the big pile of snow in between then, my exhaust will beat and bang off that oiel of snow the whole way. Plus like I said, somehow the oilpan got dented. Not sure if I did this, or if my wife did. But either way I woudl prefer not to have to worry abotu it so much with my next car.

Also, I have been comparing the specs between my max and the 2 engines in the '02 altima. My max is a few pound slighter then the 2.5L altima, but gives up 15Hp and 24ft-lbs of torque. Now I need to qualify this before I say it. The fact that I have to worry about every little bump or pothole in the road may be affecting my driving experience in the Max. But I honestly don't find it that exhilarating of a car to drive. I am happy with it, but it doesn't blow me away. I am afraid it would be worse with the 2.5L altima. But again maybe if I didn't have to spend so much time worrying about the little bumps int he road, then maybe it would be better.

I live in NYC and I've ran over some really big potholes and pulled out of some steep gas station inclines, but never really had any problem.

Also note that the 02-04 altimas have pretty poor interior. My 05' has a re-designed interior so it's a little better... but I think your maxima probably has better interior than my car...

The 02-current altima has independent suspensions all around, so it's suppose to have a better ride than the pre-04 maxima.

 

[coolred]

By better interior do you mean quality of materials/plastics?