dont know if this is the right place to post, but i need advice about mazdas

[dubcoder]

Hi my name is Jason and I've recently started looking at Mazdas to purchase. I had a focus SVT but it was stolen and my insurance had lapsed during the theft due to non-payment... long story, but my insurance didnt send me a paper bill for some "go green" bull***t, and when my car came back the engine was blown, the interior was stripped and I was left with heartache.....moving on... I have a few questions about mazdas.

I'm trying to find a used Mazda for under 6000... which there are quite a few around the Chicagoland area, but with higher miles.

My question is, what is the most reliable dependable mazda?

Are mazdas generally reliable?

I would like to find a protege5, but I like the Mazda 3's and 6's too.


I would like to be able to find a manual one, and possibly modify later on. I hear the protege5's can slap the mazdaspeed turbo kit with only a swap of the ecu. that sounds great! However, I just want a nice car, possibly with sunroof or heated seats and a nice sound system. with reliability in mind. Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[WillD]

It sounds like your questions are more related to the Protege. You want me to move this over to the Protege section?

As far as Mazda reliability... I would say that they are generally reliable. I have only had the two cars that I currently have. The Miata has around 75k miles with only basic maintenance and the MS3 has 86k with only basic maintenance. For comparison my first car was a Ford Focus and I had tons of problems with that before I sold it at 80k miles.

 

[Gibbsinator]

From our experience, we bought a 2001 Mazda MPV new, and it is currently at 227k+ miles. The other problems we've had as been a bad O2 sensor we never replaced, a idle air control valve that studders(sounds like Chewbacca) a couple broken door handles, and regular maintenance. It's been a champ, and it even got t-boned and "totalled" but we dropped coverage on it..... it's still a champ. It was a high mileage vehicle and yeah, it looks like it. So, we bought a 2005 Mazda MPV now 125k miles and a 2009 Mazda 3 45k miles and a 2004 Mazda 3 75k miles cause we liked the Mazda 3 and it's mileage!

The Mazda 3 is the successor to the Protege, so it improved on a lot of spots. I'd recommend a 2006.5+ newer Mazda 3 though, I hear the early ones had rust issues, and ABS and side/curtain airbags were optional. Also the newer Mazda 3s have VVT, Variable Valve Timing. It's a small feature that gets you a little more mileage and slightly smoother engine. DEFINITELY get a MT, I don't care what those EPA estimates say, MT is KING. My '04 2.0 MT gets me between 33 and 35mpg. Our '09 2.0 MT gets my step dad about 35-37mpg. We don't have cruise, but the 2.0 MT could seriously peak at about 40/42 mpg if you were holding it steady at 55mph on a pretty flat trip. The guy we bought my car from said he held the accel steady for a trip and got 42mpg.

You said your price range is 6k, I'd caution you to be wary against wreck/salvaged cars, they're always cheaper and very tempting, but can sometimes lead to massive trouble. Just don't stumble upon em without knowing. For your price range I'd think a low mileage Protege would fit the best. I'd rather have low mileage and older than high mileage and newer. Insuring a slightly older car will be cheaper too, if you're 25 or married, don't worry about that though.

 

[dubcoder]

Yeah I'm 26 and single lol. I do like the looks of the mazda 3's however most of them, and the protege's have over 100k miles. I wasn't aware that the 3, was the sucessor to the protege. If i could find a pr5 i would hop on it, but i cant seem to find anything that's manual and low enough miles. I think i will lean towards 02+ mazda 3's or 6's...

I'm very comfortable working on cars, i can do just about anything.. besides clutch/engine swap.. have done manifold swaps, maintanance, suspension mods.. you name it.. just dont trust myself to do a clutch job alone haha.

 

[Gibbsinator]

The last year for protgs was 2003, first year for 3 was 2004. I think 6 began in 2003. Finite a MT will be hard, I think 90% of cars are AT. I think its worth it, unless a great AT comes accross

 

[Magus]

I had a 2002 Protege5 AT and I would say they are pretty reliable. The only problem I ran into was the engine tends to oil starve, get the AWR oil pan (it might need longer bolts that do not come with it. I ran the car for 205,000 miles. The struts seemed to go at 175,000 miles. I got gas mpg or around 29-35, but it needed power. Car handled GREAT! I would stay away from the MSP as they were not as reliable because of LSD not being welded and because the engine was not really designed for any play in mods without breaking the motor.

I think the MS3 is a more reliable package, but it appears to be restrained because of too much power and really designed more for blasting down the autobahn which is worthless in the 65-70 mph world in the US. It also drinks gas like a drunk sailor. The MZ3 I just picked up to replace my protege5 is a 2005 hatch manual, and I have to agree with getting the manual. Power is decent, brakes are great and mpg is probably the same or a little less than my protege5 unmodded. The VVT is only added on the 2.0 motor in the 3 for 2006+, but nothing to worry about in the hatch as they only came with the 2.3 and VVT. The 2.3 always has 20 ft/lbs of torque more than the 2.0 which helps a lot blasting out of corners and will take to N/A mods a little better than the 2.0. The Hp is a 20-10 hp jump depending on the 2.0 model you compare it to, but also remember that the 2.0 was usually on the stripped down model of the Mazda 3.

 

[Gibbsinator]

but also remember that the 2.0 was usually on the stripped down model of the Mazda 3.

Haha, yes. I am missing power locks, windows, mirrors, cruise control, and AC was actually an option on my car.

 

[mrsparks07]

My husband had a 94 Protege that ran like a champ despite his abuse of it. He is currently driving a 96 Mazda 626, which is getting close to 200k miles and has run like a champ for the past 5+ years. He soon will be trading that for a 08-09 Mazda3.

I owned a 2002 Mazda 626 for 5 years without any problems. I just traded it with 175k for an 08 Mazda3 hatch in Phantom Purple!

It should be noted that all of these cars had/have/will have MT.

 

[dubcoder]

any more opinions?

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