Afraid to buy a P5...

[sjn8888]

I was looking forward to purchasing a 2003 automatic Protege5, but the more I read this group, the more reluctant I am to buy it. If I understood correctly, the Protege5 (automatic) is:

1. too slow!

2. has a bad transmission (people having problems with it in their first 10k miles).

3. bad paint (easily chipped, scratched)

4. easily dinged and dented

5. bad sound from stock stereo

6. tires wear too quickly and there are few alternatives for stock rims.

7. tires are bad in rain, terrible in snow (snow tires are a necessity)

8. strange noises??

9. leans to one side??

Consumer reports gives Protege an excellent rating, but I think this sport-auto transmission is too new to rate (?)

Am I reading too much into this group's complaints?

I am not trying to put down this car...most of these comments come from people who seem to love their P5

 

[stdntDrvr]

i LOVE my p5...i wouldn't buy another car over it.

 

[Glhboy]

1. If you want speed your looking at the wrong car.
2. Not had any problems in the first 15,000 miles
3. No scratches or chips
4. No dents or dings and I don't park away from anyone
5. Stock stereo does suck in mine because I don't have the sub.
6. My tires still look new after 15,000 miles
7. Tires are good in rain on my car, not in snow yet.
8. No noises
9. Never heard of this one.

If you want speed and more get something else, but what else can you get for under $18,000 loaded, looks good and holds value respectably well.

I also traded in my Spec-V for this car.

 

[changedman]

bud, these are minor things, EVERY car will have stuff wrong. ill address some of the issues you say:
9. leans to one side- could be the road is crowned. i have my car pull to a side when that happens- its because i have high performance tires and road is major crowned- could also be TORQUE STEER.
8. strange noises- not anymore than any other car.
7. depends what tires you get. snow tires are recommended for those with tires that arent all season...
6. stock tires ALWAYS wear relatively fast. why would they put a tire that lasts forever on? costs more, less money for them if u take to dealer for new tires
5. every stock stereo sucks. some people say ours sucks because they are audio nuts and must have the best. it'll be ok for everday driving, not JAMMING
4. what car isnt easily dinged and dented? kick test coming up
3. bad paint- well if you arent going to wax and take care of your car, s*** happens.
2. mazdas weak point is tranny. now unless you are going turbo and nitrous there isnt much need to worry (warranty...)
1. you get what you pay for. its 100whp. if u really really want power get an MSP

 

[Captain KRM P5]

1. too slow!

How fast do you want to go? No, its not a Corvette. 0 - 60 you should expect between 9 and 10 seconds.

2. has a bad transmission (people having problems with it in their first 10k miles).

Jury is still out on that one. I've got pretty agressive driving habits and have no tranny problems just like some people who drive granny style have broke the trannies.

3. bad paint (easily chipped, scratched)

It is pretty thin

4. easily dinged and dented

no more than any other car out there

5. bad sound from stock stereo

what?! its definetely better than most stock stereos out there. like any car, if you want kick ass sound, aftermarket speakers are the way to go.

6. tires wear too quickly and there are few alternatives for stock rims.

all depends on your driving habits. I've been able to find six or seven versions of the tire myself.

7. tires are bad in rain, terrible in snow (snow tires are a necessity)

fine in the rain, so so in the snow. they are all season V-rated dunlops after all.

8. strange noises??

not in the protege5, mazdaspeed and mp3 owners however....

9. leans to one side??

first i have ever heard of that


for the money, you are not going to find a better car than the p5. i say that with the utmost confidence looking at the 15-20k competition.

 

[ELEmental59437]

every car has its problems.. and I think you are reading into those problems too much...

1. too slow!
then buy a fast car!!!!... dont buy the p5 for speed, you wont beat much more than a few civics anyways, buy it because it handles, and thats what makes driving it fun

2. has a bad transmission (people having problems with it in their first 10k miles).
Go easy on the transmission and it wont give you hardly any problems. Mine is manual and hasn't given me any problems after 14.500 miles, and many people have had their cars for longer without problems.


3. bad paint (easily chipped, scratched)
I agree it seems to chip too easily, its not as frail as some people make it out to be, but a chip in the paint of a brand new car tends to piss people off

4. easily dinged and dented
no.. any car is easily dinged ot dented if you hit it with something or a fat kid runs into it, theres nothing special about the p5, all cars will ding up the same unless its a delorean (made out of stainless steel)...

5. bad sound from stock stereo
Add a subwoofer or get the 2003.5 with the standard sub in the back(havent heard it yet) and fill out the sound. The head unit is SURPRISINGLY good for a stock head unit, and the speakers can handle a lot and wont sound like s*** at high volume like some stock cars tend to. If you want sound go aftermarket, if you want a nice stock stereo the P5 has a nice one(especially 2003.5 with tweeters and sub)

6. tires wear too quickly and there are few alternatives for stock rims.
They are performance tires and grip the road really good IMO, but if you dont go hard on them they will last you a good while. You can get cheapo alternative tires or u can get top of the line tires.. The stock tires are expensive to replace because mazda actually put some nice tires on from the factory.

7. tires are bad in rain, terrible in snow (snow tires are a necessity)
Mine havent given me too much of a problem, although I know the traction *could* be better..

8. strange noises??
only strange noise I have is the seatbelt latch squeekes on bumps, but with the radio on I cant even hear it. I hear that newer p5's dont have this problem??

9. leans to one side??
I read that somewhere here too. supposivly the car is SUPPOSED to be heavier on the drivers side because of all the extra things on that side of the car, but its not like its 2 inches higher on one side or anything, I havent ever notice the car leaning.

 

[changedman]

everyone is just finishing up writing the same reasons (laugh)

 

[Joe PR5]

Not the fasteest stock car, but its $17,000 worth of HP.
Alot of Auto trannys have problems
Paint is like another car
Dings-Depends where you park
DOES NOT lean to one side. Someone took a crooked pic
Tires -depends how u drive and if u rotate?
Snow Rain- depends on how u drive, I drove all winter in VT with the stock tires, if you know how to drive in diffrent weather, its Great....
I Def think its worth the money, I was going to get a p5 or a subaru, but any Subaru new is gonna run you $10,000 more/>

 

[Padanky]

What are your Runner-ups in this price range?

Carolla
Focus
Neon
Hyundai
Cavalier / Sunfire
Echo?

Hell, they are all crap! Interior materials suck! Apearence suck! They all have less than 130Hp.

I love mine!

 

[andyfatsax]

You gotta weight out the pro's and con's of every car. For this car the pro's came out on top so I bought it.

 

[uclap5]

problems are reported more than lack of problems. theres what, maybe 20 people with problems out of 5000 members? and many members join specifically when they have a problem. so dont be dismayed, the problems arent as widespread as this board might make it seem.

 

[TUNGSTENGREYWIDOW]

I got an auto at 49000 miles no problems with anything. You just have to allow the car and the parts to break in. Mainly you have to take care of the car.

 

[mypfizzle]

i have a 2002 auto p5
1. too slow!
not too slow.. jsut not a speed demon
2. has a bad transmission (people having problems with it in their first 10k miles).
havent had any problems. everything has been fine.
3. bad paint (easily chipped, scratched)
its not that bad.. it gets chips.. but all paint gets chips
4. easily dinged and dented
if u look where your goin that doesnt happen -=)
5. bad sound from stock stereo
gives u a reason to upgrade
6. tires wear too quickly and there are few alternatives for stock rims.
i have 18s i found rims and tires so have alot of others on here
7. tires are bad in rain, terrible in snow (snow tires are a necessity)
buy a second set of steelies with snow tires so you dont mess up your rims.
8. strange noises??
only when u drop it.. and if you tighten an lube everything squeek goes buh bye
9. leans to one side??
only with a fat chick in the car. -=)

i love my p5.. an u would too -=)

 

[mctoone]

I think the car leaning thread was resolved....it was the camera that was leaning! I love my P5 and I compared it to both the corolla and Honda....It won hands down. As you can see from the above answers, GET THE P5!

 

[bazooka joe]

a lot of fun for the price! not a perfect car, but i love the way it handles and the styling/look of the car. for the most part i knew what i was getting into when i bought the car, and i'm not disdappointed! by the way, no transmisson probelms and i've got 42K miles.

 

[1sty]

1. too slow!
Sure is but IMO so is my turbo MP3, just drive it and decide yourself.

2. has a bad transmission (people having problems with it in their first 10k miles).
The auto seems iffy, but thats the dealers problem. Get a standard to be safe and faster.

3. bad paint (easily chipped, scratched)
:bs: look at any compact car board and you will see the same complaint, atleast there aren't runs ike on the civic and sentra

4. easily dinged and dented
Sure if you hit it with something. Its metal, no better or worse then any other.

5. bad sound from stock stereo
And this is news? All stock stereos suck, THATS RIGHT I SAID ALL!(mad)

6. tires wear too quickly and there are few alternatives for stock rims.
THere are a ton of rims and the tires are fine, actualy they are very good for stock tires.

7. tires are bad in rain, terrible in snow (snow tires are a necessity)
Good in rain, definitly not a snow tire. Thats just tire technology though. It can either handle well in summer or winter, or be average in both.

8. strange noises??
Welcome to inexpensive cars, they all have noises.

9. leans to one side??
I have no idea what the hell he was talking about with this.


"Consumer reports gives Protege an excellent rating, but I think this sport-auto transmission is too new to rate (?)"
Aviod that tranny


"Am I reading too much into this group's complaints?"
Yes, we are a bunch of whinny pussys!

"I am not trying to put down this car...most of these comments come from people who seem to love their P5"
Heres what they missed!
1. Sulfur smell while driving for about 15 minutes if you aren't venting the car in some way.
2. There is a anoying hesitation in the power band
3. At idle the car has the tendancy to shutter a bit for a brief second. Its not rythmic in any way but happends alot. Its easily felt.

 

[o.g.sk8er]

I beat the s*** out of my car and so far so good! No problems yet.

 

[PeaB0dy]

Well, I just bought one!! (still waiting to pick it up!)

after doing a lot of research, this car came out ontop, beating out the civic..

Try them out, and auto on any compact car is a waist anyways..

Which car are you comparing it to?

It beats any american car, hands down..

Toyota Corolla, small, and if you get 5 speed, hope you have small feet...

Here is an article from car and driver on the protege vs others..

Read it carefully..

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=2505&page_number=1

and another one...

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=2338&page_number=1

 

[jjac28]

it's a great car, handles really well, no problems with it at all and this is my 2nd protege. it's got excellent torque and this makes it very peppy to drive.
the car looks great ,it's got this sporty fun look, the interior is very sporty too and not cheap looking like gm cars or other compacts.

i think some people like to whine a lot.
some bafoons wonder why the car doesnt go 0-60 in 5 sec...duh....if you want to go fast in a straight line go buy a mustang .
the protege has just a 2l engine. it's peppy,economical and very reliable.
again, the car wasnt designed for such acceleration.

i'm sure the cavalier ,saturn, nissan etc. owners are much worse off.
the protege has excellent reliability and will never leave you stranded on the side of the road.

to all the whiners out there...stop complaining!
it's a great car so enjoy it!

 

[sundevilMP5]

pretty much what everybody else said...

performance tires degrade a lot faster then others...although it's not a fully blown performance tire it's better then what you get on most econo boxes...

stereo has very good mid-high sounds...all it's lacking is a little more kick in the lows...for a stock unit

obviously it's not a speed machine but it definitely feels faster then it really is...