Hello, I’m 22 and I’m looking at an 03 mazdaspeed protege with 165k miles to upgrade from my 99 celica gt as a commuter to drive 6-70 miles a day to work. I know its high miles but I just love the car and I believe mazdas are very reliable. I’ve already had a look at it but not a drive, the interior and exterior is in 8/10 shape, and no rust (im from California)
My question is, when I go for the test drive this monday, what should I look for? Especially big ticket items that could be in the four figure range to fix? Especially things thay would leave stranded with a strike on my attendance, which id very important at my job. What would be something that would be a red flag or dealbreaker for you? Some additional info: he said it burns a bit of oil, its got a cold air intake, he has had the tranny rebuilt within the last 2 years, he is only selling it because he is older and wants to go back to driving a standard. He’s always used valvoline restore & protect in it, however, theres little info about the previous owner before him. And second question. Its listed for $5,000 but im thinking of offering 3,800 and standing firm on 4,000. Should I go lower due to the high miles? Or is $3,800 a reasonable offer to stand my ground on, and why? I’m just hoping im not opening a can or worms buying this car, and of course before a final sale I’ll be having my dads mechanic do an inspection. Thanks in advance, ill put some pics.
My question is, when I go for the test drive this monday, what should I look for? Especially big ticket items that could be in the four figure range to fix? Especially things thay would leave stranded with a strike on my attendance, which id very important at my job. What would be something that would be a red flag or dealbreaker for you? Some additional info: he said it burns a bit of oil, its got a cold air intake, he has had the tranny rebuilt within the last 2 years, he is only selling it because he is older and wants to go back to driving a standard. He’s always used valvoline restore & protect in it, however, theres little info about the previous owner before him. And second question. Its listed for $5,000 but im thinking of offering 3,800 and standing firm on 4,000. Should I go lower due to the high miles? Or is $3,800 a reasonable offer to stand my ground on, and why? I’m just hoping im not opening a can or worms buying this car, and of course before a final sale I’ll be having my dads mechanic do an inspection. Thanks in advance, ill put some pics.
