If you could buy your car over again.... would you?

[matt7184]

Say what? To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure where the stem covers are..... so how do I know I'm getting the right ones?

And as for the shift knob, are there different ones? I'm assuming you are referring to the thing that I grab when I change gears, right?

Yep shift knob is thing on little stick in middle, the one that comes with the MSP says mazdaspeed on it and the valve stem covers (lil caps on wheels to cover thing where you put air in) should be silverish not normal black ones (my dealer didnt even put any on).

About the build quality, ITS A ******* MAZDA. I mean comon. What do some of you guys expect. You get what you pay for. I used to own a Lexus and never had any major problems with it except stupid things caused by me (note to self, tape off wires when you cut them). My cousin just bought a new GX and has only had problems with it. Any car can be bad and I think the problem here is people are expecting too much out of this car. It is an ECONOMY car that has been tuned. Like the SRT4 is still basically a neon, the MSP is still basically a protege. I personally from my experiences have not had a problem with my MSP nor have the P5 and P5 turbo owners I know of (not on boards but in real life) had any problems that I havent seen in any other car in the price range. I mean, do you think you can get filet mignon for the price of a burger from mcdonalds? No you cant and why are cars any different. There are some good values out there but if there are a few lil rattles here and there so what, you didnt dish out a shitload of money and bought a cheaper car. Yea I understand that you want your car to be perfect when you buy it, but at the same time, most of the problems ive seen on the forums are MINOR problems that ive seen in MANY cars cheap or expensive.

The WRXs ive had experience with have bad paint that loves to get chipped away easy and they have squeeks and rattles just like some of the people here complain about but I would hardly call the WRX a POS.

About the trade in and depreciation, yes, that is one big bad thing about the MSP. Apparently a lot of dealers cant sell the new ones so they dont want to take in more MSPs. But let's think about this one. If you get your MSP for ~$17.5 and you lose 25% in the first year you have a $13k car...So if you dont like the value of your car after a year TUFF, that's how cars are and Mazdas do not hold their values as well as some other cars. If you planned on or even thought about getting rid of the car that soon, then you shoulda looked up how much certain cars depreciate right when you take them off the lot and went with a different brand.

 

[shaolin]

How about this get a civic, it sure as hell is tuner friendly. Get an EK with a b18C or b16B swap and be just like everyone else. That's the idea behind this car...it's not on every street corner. I like the idea of standing out, and pulling decent gains with the "limited selection" of mods out for it. I like the idea of coming to this board as opposed to a civic board where everyone has all the colors of the rainbow and every body kit imaginable. This car is made for a different breed of tuner. Boostisgood I'm pretty sure that since you're a "car show judge" you're out for a different kind of tuning. Me, I like auto x, road racing, and rally. Of course this car aint meant for rally, but for what I like it for it's perfect. A few engine tweaks, and I'm sure I can pull 250 whp, and that's more than enough for the type of spirted driving I enjoy. So for you "car show" types out there, stay away from the MSP. For you quarter mile drivers, stay away from the MSP. Don't even go for an SRT-4. Go get a 67 Camaro SS. Now THAT's a quartermiler. For those of you who can't get enough of the twisting curves, and like to look decent while you do it, you've come to the right place. Haha for it's price range anyway, and for a FWD vehicle...

That's my $.02

 

[matt7184]

About depreciation:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/auto/20011226a.asp

 

[vodapas77]

Good points matt7184 especially about trade in value. The people who are now complaining about trade in value amaze me. Very few cars hold any trade in value in their first year or two of ownership. Most everyone I know who bought their car the same time I did is currently upside down on trade in value. Thus the reason gap insurance exists. It takes around three years for a car's value to equal what you owe on it. Especially when that vehicle is being replaced by an entirely new vehicle.

However, while things seem bleak for these car's value now. I'd bet that in five years an MSP or P5 will bring a good resale if it has been well maintained. The MSPs numbers are limited and the P5 is only a two year production run in the states. As attrition (car wrecks) thin their numbers and many get beat up by their owners a well kept MSP or P5 will become a rare commodity. Then those who were not in the position to buy a MSP when they were available will more than likely pay over book value for a very nice one. Just food for thought.

 

[shaolin]

Hey, look at it like this. Bluebook value on a classic 60's mustang is like what? 5 grand? But I've seen emmaculate ones sell for close to 10. Explain that? If you guys are worried about depreciation why are you buying new anyway? The money you lose in your first year is the price you pay to get a car that you will be the first if not only owner of. In my opinion, it's worth it, since I"ve owned used HONDUHS that took s**** on me.

 

[FASTRAT]

Without a doubt!!!!!!! only problem was a blown sub.

 

[Leigh]

With no hesitation I'd buy my car again. I love driving it ^___^

Also I'm lucky enough to have a good dealer nearby(this may be a factor in how you cope with any of the usual troubles) & after the mess I went through with my last car crapping out on me the problems in the MSP don't seem all that bad (and are all pretty much covered under warranty).
The trunk hasn't tried to kill me once yet ^_^v

Also - I looked at the WRX. They're nice cars & as a WRC/SWRT fanatic I was very tempted. There were two things that swung my descion away from them though. First, cost isn't just a matter of buy price. Its also how much insurance is & how much gas will throw you. The MSP costly only about 10$ more a month to insure than my previous car & gets comparable gas mileage. Even with it taking premium fuel that's not too much more per month than what I was footing anyway.
The WRX gets really bad gas mileage (I commute for part of the year so this is a big expense consideration for me) thanks to its AWD & is supposed to be hell to insure.

The other thing that swayed me is handling. I'm sure if I was familiar with AWD I'd not have felt as awkward with it, but I've only driven RWD & FWD before & getting in the MSP which has the best handling in a FWD car that I've ever driven... it was kind of hard to say, maybe I'll get the hang of this in a few months when I can take an MSP and enjoy driving it at maximum now.

just my .02$

 

[4001]

No, everyone wasn't expecting this car to be the way it is. Where do you get that from? And, in case anyone is going to ask what do I mean by "the way it is", is the crap load of exactly the same problems that almost everyone is having. There seem to be a very few lucky ones that have had no problems, but overall it's crap. I've taken my car in three times, each with four or more problems each time. It's been the turbo, clunk, seats, coolant leak, etc. Not only the fact that they are selling them for crap now and the trade in is horrible. Depreciation on this 'limited' edition car is pathetic. VW's have always been known for poor quality as far as I have ever heard. Mazda on the other hand is not known for making crappy cars, which I believe the MSP is.

Pick a car and Ill find a laundry list of problems for it, anyone you choose

Edit: If you think the MSP sucks which you have clearly stated a few times then get rid of it and stop wasting our time with your bulls***

 

[seatbackfurther]

Pick a car and Ill find a laundry list of problems for it, anyone you choose

That wasn't the point I was making. I said Mazda usually does good. I don't care if it's a limited run or not. They put no attention in this car. They put problems into the car that could've been solved before hand. I mean, having the same problems as previous cars? Oh well. I'm just a big ******* whiner and this best car EvAR.

The car is a good car and has potential. I'm just disappointed at it at this moment. Hopefully it stays fixed.

 

[4001]

Well your critizing Mazda for making mistakes and then you buy the latest model tuned car Mazda came out with with the same known problems.....If I say anything else Im just gonna start a war

 

[II-Savy]

I think we are all missing the point here. Mazda made a car people would buy....and did it at a profit. They did not build a car that was made perfectly, with this and that and that taken into consideration.

I'll use a boxster example. The CAI for a boxster is a joke. All it really needs is a small restrictor taken out of the system. You think a company is going to market a small 5 dollar connector or a 300 or 400 dollar CAI you don't need?

 

[seatbackfurther]

Well I sure did buy it hoping it would have the same problems. I thought as I was buying the car "I sure hope they have the same problems."

 

[Stormtrooper77]

If I could buy my car over again, I wouldn't. I would've saved more for a house and ride it out with my old car. But I bought my MSP knowing all the issues with it, excluding the wonky alarm. All in all, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. It goes like stink when it's colder out and now I want more power. For an allround car, you'll be hard pressed to find something that will match up bang-for-the-buck wise. The Sentra SpecV is worthy of mention here.

 

[seatbackfurther]

Pick a car and Ill find a laundry list of problems for it, anyone you choose

Edit: If you think the MSP sucks which you have clearly stated a few times then get rid of it and stop wasting our time with your bulls***

Why is it bulls***? Not everyone who owns the car is going to be satisfied. I can complain about it. I have that right. Just like people can say how oh so great it is. I didn't say it's bulls*** because you love it. I guess you weren't reading the depreciation thing. You know you have to own it at least three years. Aside from that, if the car stays as it is now, it's fine. Guess you didn't read that part either. You're just too busy jumping on the people that want to complain. Guess you jumped on the thread where people listed over and over the problems they had, and you jumped in and called their complaints bulls***. Whatever dude.

 

[shaolin]

You my friend are a moron. Why do you buy a car without researching first, and then cry about it? Especially at a place like this, where your whimpers are met with hostility as this is a place where MSP owners meet to exchange USEFUL information.

 

[II-Savy]

Are you one of those people who tilt their seat back real far?

 

[shaolin]

I understand your frustrations, but you do realize that this is not the place to cry about the problems you should have researched before your purchase.

 

[4001]

My point still stands you got pissed at Mazda for not taking care of the problems and you bought the lastest edition of the car possible and b****. Its a little thing called Common Sense try putting it to use sometime it really works wonders.

 

[4001]

Are you one of those people who tilt their seat back real far?

HAHAHAHAHAHAH

 

[shaolin]

Hahaha you know the 3rd generation Protege has been in production since 1999 right? A slight update in 2001, and no changes since. And you think that your car is going to be problem free. Please.