Bought the MSP while looking for something else?

[ping]

Story time:

Thread for people who were not looking for the MSP, but ended up buying one after, well, some experience that convinced you to buy one over whatever you thought you were lookiing for. I just read Shaolin's post, and it reminded me:

I was getting out of modifying old VW's (A1 and A2 GTI's, GLI's, and Cabrios) - needed to spend more time with the family and less, well, on my back under the VW's. Needed a commuter car with a kick, and went looking for:

- Minis (most fun ever, but way too small, needed to fit 3 kids + wife, or even a bicycle inside)
- Matrix and Vibe GT's: Awful terrible seats, notchy bad vague shifter (even compared to MSP and VW), and an engine you have to rev to way-too-high before the fun starts, but a great interior, great space, and decent handling... for a small van...
- Hondas (sorry - boring to me - and spendy)
- Protege5: Great car, came THAT close to buying one, until...

I had test driven the Matrix and P5, when the sales guy points at this inky-black mica, sinister looking MSP in fishnets and heels - which winks at me and says "Hello, sailor boy..." in a sultry tone... at least I heard it, my wife swears she heard nothing...

Oscar at Crystal Mazda, NJ says "Have you considered..." - and car-guy me was embarassed - I hadn't even! Too pricey, too specialized, too... hmmm... nice interior, ICE, decent warranty, better drive this WHOA BABY it's got stones, and sticks too! Wife says it looks good on me (or me in it, nice lady, my wife...) Oh - and how much?

mine.

Haven't looked back - this one's a keeper.

 

[shaolin]

Wow that's my life story. I've only read two of your posts and you have aching on my sides from laughter. Too bad you didn't like Honda. I like them, but I feel like Honda kinda cashed in on the whole import tuner craze in the late nineties, and now is kinda starting to get lazy on things. Oh well, I guess it was time to get off the Honda bandwagon anyway, maybe they'll wake up and make some better cars in the future. I still have my civic though, and it's never given me any problems...

 

[CarlM2]

Good thread.. this definitely happened to me. I would never have guessed I would've bought this youthful car in a million years. But, it has quickly become my favorite car in 18 years of driving! I still think the spoiler is over-the-top but, I've gotten somewhat used to it.

I've had Mazda's for the past 5 years; a 99 and 01 Miata. Liked them but, never perfectly 'fit' me. Plus, the power was too low. And, I didn't have the money to rectify it. Plus, I was pissed that a 27,k sports car had so little refinement. A Miata should cost less than 20,k in its current form. (sorry about that rant)

So, I went test driving cars that I thought were good for the money and had a bit more room. I test drove the Jetta, Golf (anniversary edition), Mazda 6, and a couple of others. Some time passed between these test drives and I decided it was time to make a decision. I went back to Mazda to test drive the 6s with a manual because it wasn't available the first time (just an auto)... but, I didn't get that far. A friend had recommended I look at the MSP and I'd dismissed it as way to young and cheap looking for me... I mean, it's a Protege with extra plastic and a very small turbo. Sounds tacky and not well-thought-out...

When I got to the dealer, I was talking to the salesman and just decided to re-affirm what my friend had told me by sitting in the MSP on the showroom floor. haha.. I thought.. look at that spoiler... wow, I thought... these seats sure are comfy... this car seems fairly solid... I wonder how it drives? The salesman offered a test drive and I said... sure, why not?

I gained a quick and healthy amount of respect for the MSP. They created a balanced package of performance for a very reasonable price. I drove one of the MSP's off the lot to show my wife and to my surprise, she really liked it. I bought it and still like it as much as the first test drive about 7000 miles ago.

 

[yashooa]

This is a repost but hey I love my MSP!

This is from last feb; two days after I bought the car...

I walked into my KICK ASS Mazda Dealer Randy Hiley in Arlington Texas to buy a loaded 6S, 5 speed with a sport package.
However, when I arrived I was suddenly smitten by this odd little car that looked a lot an IS 300 with an attitude. I was curious so I had to inquire further. Well all it took was a single sit down in that beautiful little chunk of Black Sunshine and I was sold. The salesman just laughed and said to my Wife (who was standing outside of the car a few feet away), "How do like your new car?" The stereo flipped out and he handed my 9 yr old daughter (who was in the backseat) the remote control and she went all coo coo with delight. I thought it was gonna be a Ritalin moment.
She regained her sanity and we went for the inaugural drive. The salesman held on for dear life as we whooshed down some fresh, unstained concrete. The road ran between brand new rows of unoccupied industrial warehouses. No traffic, 2 miles long up a slight rise with some tasty s-bends.
That was it I HAD to buy this car. So the 6 became a MSP and as they say, The rest is history. Well two very great days of it anyhow. I live South of Fort Worth and it would ice (6 inches of it no less) the first work day ( 2 days) after I buy the car.
Sleep well my little Black Mica darling Daddy is waiting on that b**** Mother Nature so we can be together again
I feel I got a good deal. I have really good credit and I hardly ever buy something like this buy hey it's cool, it's limited, and it was 4 grand cheaper than a 6S.
Now if I could only afford to eat lunch to
I bought this car even though I couldn't use my Ford Partner discount. It's that damn good.

L8ter... Zoom Zoom is right


Did I mention? I LOVE MY MSP

 

[AutoBox]

yeh i had the same experience as u ping, i used to have a modded 240sx but after gettin tired of being under the car more then driving i though it was time for something new plus i had to drive thru the city to my new job everyday and that was pain ful in my 240sx....after lookin at the wrx, spec v, and civic si i decided to shoot for a msp becuase of the total package, looks power and handling, once i took the car for a test drive and busted a on-ramp to the highway at about 65mph i was sold...my 240sx could only produce 70mph on the same ramp before grip was fading (it has fully adjustable hks coilovers) the car is a total package i enjoy every day ......

 

[Bhamsan]

Same story, but with a MKIV Supra. Miles starts adding up and I didn't want to go through fixing it. I got a reasonable amount of cash for it from some guy all the way in Arizona, and was off to get my WRX. Well, the dealer was a dick, so I just left and happened to see this awesome looking protege. Got the right price and drove home happy.

 

[vodapas77]

I had test driven the Matrix and P5, when the sales guy points at this inky-black mica, sinister looking MSP in fishnets and heels - which winks at me and says "Hello, sailor boy..." in a sultry tone... at least I heard it, my wife swears she heard nothing...

Oscar at Crystal Mazda, NJ says "Have you considered..." - and car-guy me was embarassed - I hadn't even! Too pricey, too specialized, too... hmmm... nice interior, ICE, decent warranty, better drive this WHOA BABY it's got stones, and sticks too! Wife says it looks good on me (or me in it, nice lady, my wife...) Oh - and how much?

LMAO, I wish the guys who write for car magazines had your sense of humor. Very, very funny.

On topic, came back from a 10 month cruise (real sailor boy here) and was ready to get into my first new car since that horrid 95 Beretta z26 ordeal. Really not comfortable talking aboutit, but therapist says I am doing much better. Anyhow, looked at the Evo 8, tasty, but oh so pricey. Could have had car but no mods with it. Found a 98 Cobra with 13,000 miles garaged whole life, sheltered child you know, test drove, spoke to me... said "Spank me daddy" So ready, couldn't get financing oh the pain. Later found out stupid bank had run through as 98 Mustang (as in base) couldn't justify $17K loan for POS. No wonder. Too late, on whim went to Mazda dealer because of some articles read while defnding Jusice, Liberty and the Pursuit of all who threaten it or our Oil prices. Anyhow, asked dealer if he had any Speeds on the lot. He said, oh just one, but it's Orange as if that was a bad thing. Went into showroom, salivation began. Oh Punkin where have you been all my life (said with southern draw)? The reat is 7,000 miles of history.

 

[Glowmunkey]

Went in looking at a 2003 Mustang GT... would have been a decent car, but it cost more than the Mazda, and I didn't like it any better.

Also looked at:
VW GTi - felt way too soft and unresponsive
SVT Focus - could not even drive the car, the interior made me throw up
SRT4 - Dodge dealership tried to talk me out of it, none on the lot, selling many thousands over sticker, not sure when they could get one... suggested I call around to other dealerships

 

[Yellospeed]

I just wanted to see the orange color and laugh.... but I took it home....

 

[spoolboy]

I was originally looking at the mazda6. I took it for a test drive worked out a deal for it on a Saturday, but told the sales lady I had to think about it. Well I returned on Monday with my downpayment for it and the lady I dealt with wasn't there, so I figured I would come back the next day; however I ran into a friend who bought a protege 5 at a different dealership, and he told me to check out their price.

So I went for an hour drive, walked in the dealership and on the showroom floor was the Mazdaspeed. No one was there to help me right away so I spent 15 minutes examining the Speed, until someone helped me. I asked if it was sold he said no, I took it for a testdrive and bought her the next day.

It's kinda wierd... if that sales lady wasn't sick that day, I would be driving a Mazda6. The Mazda6 is a nice car, but I love my Mazdaspeed protege

 

[Zray]

I first read about the MSP on Edmunds, thought "that's an interesting ride..." but when I saw the horsepower and the price I figured "why not go with an SRT4 instead?" About 2-3 weeks later I saw my first MSP in real life at an auto show... it was honey-sweet, yellow as a canary and daaaaamn nice on the eyes... when I saw the Kenwood sub in the trunk I figured this was some sort of show car, but the Mazda rep reassured me that the entire car was completely stock. Too damn cool...

After doing some research the numbers seemed to indicate the SRT4 was really the car I was looking for, but on my way to the Dodge dealership my buddy suggested we check out Mazda's inventory. I took a MT Mazda6 with the V6 for a test drive, super slick and very nice. Then we turned toward the MSP's, and the salesguy let us in one... these looked even nicer than the one at the show... hmm... niiiice... comfy... the sales guy handed me the key and we took off for a little scoot around the block. I was immediately impressed, the car felt so lively and quick, and I was grinning by the time we pulled back into the dealership. I've been grinning ever since (except for the 15 minutes of torture driving the SRT4, and the 45 minutes of hell having to deal with Dodge's sales staff )

 

[KyRaceFan]

I started out with a 95 geo, and instantly loved cars, even though mine was slow and unmodifiable.

The first car i REALLY wanted was a 1997-1999 honda prelude. Great lookin, smooth, cars. Not very fast, but fun to drive, and sweeet. I was close on several, but never bought one.
After a year or so, and the more i learned about turbos, i started liking Audi A4's. I drove a few, and really liked them. I remember reading about the MSP back in october of last year, and thinking hey thats a cool car, but i cant afford a new car.
Months passed and i got more into audis. Never bought one though.
Finally in about May, i decided, screw it, im getting a car. Found out i could get S plan on new mazdas through my job, and started looking at the MSP again. I had sorta laughed at them before, because i had heard a few bad things. But then i fell in love, and here i am.
I could only be happier in an s2000. But theres time for that later. Oh well maybe a supercharged s2000.

 

[vonroll]

I was thinking of a truck of all things. A Toyota Tundra. I guess living in Texas you need a truck sometime or another. But, (as Buzz Lightyear said) "Not Today!".

The thing is, I'd been out to the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca the year before last and visited the Mazda booth. They had the MSP there, in Orange and I got to visit with one of the Mazda engineers on the project. He went over the whole car with me and explained how adding just another pound or two of weight had all sorts of ramifications on the final product. The guys in the booth were Car Guys for sure. I told them how much I appreciated Mazda's way of placing handling and driving fun first and the guy smiled an all knowing smile. Too funny. I sat in the one at the tent... Hmmmm Way cool interior, and a nice overall package for sure. I guess I filled this all away because I didn't trade in the Miata and get the MSP for more than a year later. I miss the rear drive of the Miata but, like the extra 40 horses.

So.. no truck..no hauling stuff for the neighbors. I kinda like that.

 

[ping]

These stories are THE BEST! and one of my favorite quotes is in there too... "Not Today!" Yellospeed - that's great. And the Ritalin moment... I'll be chuckling and thinking of these stories while I drive... OK, ya caught me, I'll be thinking about DRIVING while I drive... and this when I'm not. Had a roach of a long work day today and this thread cheered me up bigtime. THANKS!

 

[M=SP^2]

My story is similar and slightly different, read about the MSP in a Popular Mechanics sport compact comparison. What's up with a Mazda beating out Mini Cooper S, RSX type-s celica gts and the mighty civic SI (blarf)? Something about great handling, a turbo and 450 watt stereo with tiny buttons....I gotta check this thing out. Once I saw the Titanium Grey I fell in love...only I loved the WRX a little bit more. Fast forward 2 months and the WRX is wrapped around a telephone poll. bad situation, but I make the best of it...wait for insurance to do what is does and jump all over the last Blue Mazdaspeed at the local lot. Things have a funny way of working themselves out, but I like the MSP better then the rex...much, much better overall package and apparently the all-wheel drive didn't have enough grip for me anyway So um....lessoned learned and now I'm a member of this kick ass board.

 

[oldzoomer]

All great stories above. Thanks all for sharing. Ya'll rock!

I know everything about the cars on the market. My office walls at work are plastered with car pictures and I read about cars constantly. I can recite tons of info about cars. But this doesn't mean I wanted a new car. I hate spending money on depreciating assets.

I have (at least until I give it away Tuesday PM) a 91 Protege that is a blast to drive. BUT, it needs a little work, say about 4 car payments worth, to pass inspection in January and fix some other stuff. And the credit union kept sending me spam about 3.69% financing. So, I thought maybe I'll kinda look around even though my boss said that due to economic conditions he doesn't recommend buying a car.

On my short list were the Corvette (my wife wants me to get one but I didn't want the last model year of the C5), 350Z (gee, just how cheap can they make the interior), G35/G35C (ooh, how pretentious), STi (please arrest me now), Evo ($38k for a compact car and you won't let me test drive it?), RX8 (hey Mazda, just how little hp does it have?), Miata (I didn't think I was that tall), Acura TL (didn't buy it 3 years ago and the new one is barely better).

No, the MSP wasn't on the list to start with. But while looking at the RX8 I noticed that the MSP was $16.5k. Out comes the spreadsheet and $ facts from Edmunds and Consumer Reports. Holy crap, that's like $500 below wholesale. Hmmm, I could buy the MSP and not feel like I was breaking the bank. Hmmmm, another fun commuter car that would also be good in the hill country.....

So 9/29 I walk into the dealership to take a test drive. Damn, it drives better than my Protege. Blue, must get blue. But wait, that yellow looks killer in the sunshine. Looking at it makes me laugh. I left.

Came back 9/30. The salesman found me a yellow one that hadn't been touched since rolling off the truck. It was locked away on a back lot so I could only peer over the fence. Did the deal that night (the salesperson agreed to add tint to the deal). Came back 10/1 and picked it up.

I now have ~1600 miles (low due to crappy weather). It absolutely amuses the hell out of me every time I look at it. And my cornering speeds are up ~5-7 mph on my normal roads into work.

Now I am daydreaming of mods and nightdreaming of curvy roads.

And the weather forcast for the rest of the week calls for dry pavement, cool temps, and sunshine. I think I feel a cold coming on....

 

[nrcooled]

yeh i had the same experience as u ping, i used to have a modded 240sx but after gettin tired of being under the car more then driving i though it was time for something new plus i had to drive thru the city to my new job everyday and that was pain ful in my 240sx....after lookin at the wrx, spec v, and civic si i decided to shoot for a msp becuase of the total package, looks power and handling, once i took the car for a test drive and busted a on-ramp to the highway at about 65mph i was sold...my 240sx could only produce 70mph on the same ramp before grip was fading (it has fully adjustable hks coilovers) the car is a total package i enjoy every day ......

How could you get rid of the 240? You have to have them both
FYI- Coilovers need to be cornerweighted with the proper alignment to truely be effective. Most of the guys that I know that have coils just understeer like mad when cornering.

I was shopping for a new ride and drove the SVT Focus, Spec-V, WRX, and MSP. I fell in love with the MSP immediately! The all around package was too good to be true and for 17,400 I couldn't pass it up.

Handles like stink and has gobs of tourque (needs a lot more top end though)

 

[boostaddict]

My previous car was a Suzuki Swift GT which I loved driving and modifying (intake, exhaust, chip, MSD, 4:38 gears, bushings, shocks Momo seat, wheels/tires etc.) for 10 years but it was finally starting to wear out. Never driven another car that gives so much feel and fun as that thing. It felt way faster than it really was.

I started looking at cars when I saw the RX-8 in magazines (always wanted a RX-7 and that is a swwet looking car) then it was the SRT-4 (can't beat those numbers for the price) but after months of the both dealers telling me it would be coming "next month" I got tired of waiting. So I started looking at other options: RSX Type S (hit my head because of the damn sunroof), Civic Si (hit my head because of the sunroof), GTI 1.8T (nice but doesn't really get into being driven hard and then there's the reliability question), SE-R V spec (nice motor but the rest of the car??), Mini Cooper S (inside is too goofy and it's pricey), Mercedes C230 Coupe (Very nice, very slow), but then I decide to visit Mazda again to see if the RX-8 was in and hey they have the Mazdaspeed in something other than Orange (I actually like it now but before I wouldn't even consider the car because of the colour). Hey that Titanium is pretty sharp looking. And like everyone else it was just a couple of quick U-turns and blast down the highway to convince me I'd found my car.