New Member, New Mazdaspeed

[House]

Hello to everyone.

Last Tuesday I purchased a new 2003 Black Mazdaspeed Protege. This is my first post, but I have been reading the forum for about a month as I researched the Mazdaspeed. I would have posted earlier, however all of my questions where answered by simply searching. Thanks for all the great information and entertaining posts!

Down to business.
1. I found the forum via Google search.

2. My production number is #101 (US) and I will add it to the thread.

I will do the rest of the newbee stuff as I have time.

So far, I love the car. It's great to be shifting for myself again. I am amazed at the room inside. At 6'7" I don't fit in just any car and I am more comfortable in the Mazdaspeed then in a WRX or my '97 Pontiac Grand Prix. I love the way it handles and am happy with the acceleration.

It came down to the Mazdaspeed or the WRX wagon. If the price where the same, I might have gone with the WRX. I did test drive them back to back within 30 minutes of each other and this is what I found.
Wins for the WRX: acceleration, AWD (Minnesota winters), wagon practicality, cruise control (I'm having one installed)
Wins for the Mazdaspeed: handling, exterior appearance, interior appearance, comfort (how well I fit), cost, general fun to drive, stereo system

I may not drive it much this Winter as I still have my '97 Grand Prix, but I will have a set of rims with all season tires by next October.

That's it for now.

House

 

[Leadfoot]

Welcome to the board....

 

[boostisgood]

Welcome, and congrats. I have just refound my love for my Mazdaspeed. (long story, Ill tell ya later).

Mazdaspeed, best bang for the buck, in most cases.

 

[Turbo Matty P]

Welcome....I'm going to make sure that your 6'7" ass is on my team when we have the big MazdaSports Basketball game. You don't have to be good. Just stand under the rim and catch all of my bricks!

Congrats on your purchase. The black is the best MSP! First things first, get the ECU flash from the dealer and have fun!!

 

[Panzozo]

Welcome to the forum. You will find all the information that you needed for you MSP here.

 

[TigrMsP]

Welcome. Glad you made the right choice.

 

[KyRaceFan]

dont get the flash, it doenst do anything you cant do with a timing gun, and some MSP's have bad hesitation, some dont. Get to know yours before you do anything you cant undo.

Anyways, welcome to the forum, enjoy the board, and more importantly enjoy your car.

 

[Tex]

Welcome (thumb)

 

[gcotton]

welcome to the board

 

[Matthew]

welcome to the board and congrats on being the first new owner to find the search button

 

[House]

Thanks for all the good wishes everyone. I'm sure I will get a great deal of information out of the forum. Hopefully I can contribute some as well.

Leadfoot, I lived in Phily back in '95 over by Betsy Ross's house and Christ Church. I love all that history and miss those cheese steaks.

Turbo Matty P, I'd be happy to be on your team, but know this. Many times have I been picked first for a bball game and many times has my team lost. Never mistake hight for skill.

boostisgood, I'd love to hear it. Maybe if I do some searching, I can find it here somewhere.

KyRaceFan, I will see how my car is running before I get anything done. I do seem to have the clunk, so that will be fix number 1.

Matthew, thanks for the congrats. If a new owner finding the search button is a little too strange, I could always through up a couple of posts like:
"Where's the cruise control?"
or
"Why is my MSP so bad in the snow?"

 

[yashooa]

Sup, House is in the HIIZOUSE!

 

[yashooa]

welcome to the board and congrats on being the first new owner to find the search button

Ah yes there's that sweet disposition.

 

[z00mer]

Welcome to the site House! And yes....I have to agree w/ you, Black Mica is the best color of all the MSPs. Enjoy the ride!

 

[Go Mifune]

6'7" ... hmm House is a good name for you indeed.

Welcome.

 

[yashooa]

6'7" ... hmm House is a good name for you indeed.

Welcome.

Yeah probally not a good idea to refer to him as "ShitHouse"

 

[murph1379]

Minneapolis!

So, how DOES your MSP handle in the snow? (I tested in rain, and seemed real good then, but dunno about snow...)

I'm planning on picking one up from Morries in the next week or two, how much did you end up paying? I'm hoping to get them to cut a deal on a sunroof & maintenance contract, we'll see...

Getting CC installed - how do you go about that? Mazda?

 

[House]

Hi Murph,

I tried my MSP in a little snow in front of my house. It was very scary. I will not be driving it in the snow until I get a second set of rims with all season tires on them. I only drove it home from the dealer because the roads where clear last week.

I got mine from Morries. They are out of 2003's, but still have about 17 2003.5's. The last 2003 in 150 miles is Black and is at Luther. If you check the www.mazdausa.com web site you can do a dealer inventory search and see what is available.

I ended up paying $16,400 + tax/title/license. I might have been able to do slightly better, but was happy with the price and the service. Remember that the 2003.5 is $500 more then the 2003.

Mazda offered to have CC installed by a shop for $400. I called around and found a place that will do it for $310. I will have them do it at some point but have not gotten around to it yet. If you want, I can get you the details, but they are at work.

If you want to PM me your phone number I would be happy to give you a call and tell you about my experiance dealing with Morries and Luther.