new Mazda owner

[sed02010]

Hey everyone,
I just got myself a sweet deal- a 1999 Mazda Protege LX for $2000. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone can post links of the best places to get Mazda parts + accessories. This is my first car that isn't from the 80s, so I'm looking foward to all the options with a newer car! Thanks a lot guys,
-Scott

 

[chiefmg]

Welcome to the forum and the Mazda family. Since someone will say it I will preempt them...search! There is a lot of info here and probably most of the questions you have you will find are already answered.

As for parts, it depends upon what you are looking for, stock or aftermarket. Based on my own experience, for stock you can't go wrong with Online Mazda Parts (aka Montgomery Mazda). They have their own section here under the vendor's area. Jason is a great guy to deal with. As for aftermarket there are more than a few, I have had personal experience with Protege Garage, Street Unit and MAM. I can recommend the first two. Good luck with your project, just know that once you get started it is hard to stop! These cars may not be the fastest, but they have great balance and the handling will leave many cars in the dust (especially if you put some money into your suspension).

 

[02PROTEGE2.0]

pics are absolutely required.... =)

 

[sed02010]

^ True, I'll take some later on today. It's real nice, black, clean. I just need to replace some sheet metal because of dents and dings and I was going to compare prices of different places. Thanks for the help!
-Scott

 

[mickeyreategui]

welcome to the familia!!!

 

[NoVa 2.0]

Welcome, and there is tons of info here on pretty much anything you would be interested on doing to your car. (thumb)

 

[sed02010]

Well this is definitely the best car I've ever owned- by FAR. The only problem with it is the CEL stays on. My mother also has a Protege (2000) with the CEL on. I've heard this is a common Mazda Protege problem. What should be done to fix it/ how much does it cost to have the computer checked? My mother found that if she disconnected/reconnected the battery the light stays off for about a day (which is how she passed emissions).

 

[02PROTEGE2.0]

hmmmm.... take it to advanced auto parts/autozone/oriely's and give us ye code.... not normal as far as i know?

 

[wannabe]

(hi) and welcome to the forums.

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5496

thats the listed of Authorized Vendors for this board. Its a great place to get started when shopping for aftermarket parts.

as for the CEL, take it to Autozone to get the code pulled, and report back here. we'll help you out.

 

[sed02010]

I have yet to get the code, but I took some pictures of the car after I gave it a good cleaning & runthrough: