new to the group!

[2003proes]

hey what's up all? i would like to say hello. this is my first post. (hooray for me) i bought my 2003 protege es in mid august, and i'm so glad i did. not to mention how fun the car is to drive, but i traded in a '97 F-150 supercab 4x4 with the 5.4 l engine and oversize tires. i'm a recent graduate from the univ of south carolina, and being that i'm only 26 and in the retail industry, i don't make a whole lot of money, and was going insane when i had to go to the gas station. the truck had a 25 gallon tank and it would be gone in 300 miles. now, i fill up the tank and go for 400+ miles on less that it cost me to go 300 miles in the truck. guess i'm one of the only people that won't really complain about the gas prices right now. again, glad to be a protege owner. it's a fun car to drive and it's pretty quick. (it's a manual) it's fun on twisty roads and s-curves. some things could use some improvement, but it seems as though it's a solid car, and the best thing is i have a warranty for the first time in my life. anywho...i'm about to go post a question in the electronic forum about the radio...so, if inclined, read it and help me out. thanks
christian

 

[joka1]

welcome, i will be nice and ask you to use the search function to find all you desire!! i started with a stock es. have fun with the boards and dont mind some people because they will be idiots!!

 

[txmzdspd2gen]

welcome to the forum hope you find it informative and feeling assured that you are not alone..welcome

 

[Sarspanky123]

Hi, this is also my first post. i got my 2002 protege LX about 2weeks ago i love the car but it took me a little while to get used to. Its the first car that i have driven manual, still havent perfected it my driving yet. My last car was a Mercury Tracer, I lovedthat car to death lituraly. I blow a seal on the transmission but , this is the short virsion of the story, i thought i was leaking oil from the motor because the stuff leaking was black and i had just replaced the transmission oil a couple of weeks before and when i checked the motor oil level it was also low so i refilled the motor oil being the idiot i am not checking the transmission oil level tried to take it to the closest ford mercury dealer, which was like 10 miles away. So if you havent guessed it yet i didnt make it and in the end i melted pretty much everything around the transmission and the transmission. It would have cost me 4,000 just for the parts at least and the labor would have also have be hell. They had already taken like 6 hours just to get to the trans. They said the they had to brake a part off that had been fused to get to the trans. And like any dealership they tried and tried until the right part that they wanted to do the job with came, opposed to leaving it alone until the tool came, and if your wondering what the tool was it was a airhammer. SO with the news one the costs of repairs i said farwell to my baby. ... Got off track didn't i well any way i love the protege it's in a way .. well in pretty much all aspects a better car than the Tracer but the Tracer was my first car so it will always hold a special place in my heart but the protege is a great car. (rockon)