Thinking about buying this used 2002 Protege5. Opinions?

[Inside]

Hi guys, new to the forum -- hopefully I'll become a p5 owner pretty soon here

I'm thinking of buying this car:

CL post here

This is actually a small dealership - a bit sneaky of them to do a "by owner" sale, but that's how it goes, I guess.

It looks very nice on the inside, but there are a few problems that I've noticed -- I'm wondering if it's even worth it to call out a mechanic to have them look at it and then try to negotiate a lower price.

Interior problems that I've noticed: passanger side power window will open, but not close (requires driver to use his buttons).

On the exterior: a few scratches and blemishes. Also the paint is worn away in a few places like this. I'm guessing that a full repaint would be required to fix everything..

In the engine, the radiator hose some small cracks in it through out.

I can't tell if the engine is leaking, or if it's plain dirty for other reasons.

There's also some greasy spots on the other side. I've looked at 3 protege5s today and they all seem to have this pattern though.

The carfax looks good.


HOWEVER, I know that this vehicle has been for sale since May20th for $4999 at another dealership based on the VIN. I was about to go take a look at it at that dealership when they told me that it was sold. Weird!

 

[tweety2300]

Unless it has a warranty walk away

 

[CTt3P5]

Hello and welcome! Nice to see another potential classic red owner. Looks overall like a clean car and low mileage. Given the problems you noted I think it would be worth you having a mechanic look at it.

PS window - sounds like the actuator on the PS is gone. Common issue with the car and a rather easy fix.

Worn paint - My mirrors look the same as do spots of my rear and front bumpers and spoiler.

Rad hose - Another easy fix. Given the mileage you might want to consider doing a coolant flush anyway. At that time, it would be good to change both hoses, t-stat and the rad cap.

Engine leaking - Looks to me like the valve cover gasket is the culprit, again an easy fix. If you should take it for a test drive, see if you notice the smell of burnt oil coming from under the hood once it's over.

GL in your search!

 

[Inside]

No, there's no warranty. I've actually only seen one used car dealership here that offers warranties on their vehicles - maybe it's not a San Antonio thing? Anyway, as best as I can tell it's one guy and his friend who own a tiny 10-car lot. They admitted to me that they had just gotten it in (from that other dealer, no doubt) and that they don't do any sort of mechanical appraisal on their own relying instead on customers to do their own appraisal. I'm getting someone to come take a look with me to see what they think.

Anyway, about the price? What do you think -- $5500 seems like overkill. Edmunds.com says maybe $4300 for something in a "clean" (but not excellent) condition. $3500 for average.

 

[Brains]

that oil/smudges look like a leaky valve cover gasket- that's a simple and cheap fix. The gasket tends to leak around where it goes over the cam shafts as well- i put some sealant stuff in that area on mine when i noticed oil near the timing belt area.
Something to look for when buying/owning a protege that i felt relevant

That rad hose is actually the air intake tube- those get old and crack up all the time. Again, it's cheap and easy to replace if it becomes a problem. I've got a cracked up one on my car from a junkyard and it's holding up fine.

You need to find some problems so you can get those guys to come down on the price- that's a good lookin' p5 but to me $5,500 is the price for the perfect p5.
There's one somewhere in ohio that the guy wants like $7000 for... but it's the perfect p5. (same colour too)

Drive over some bumps and listen for clunks/noises coming from the suspension, and make sure the AC works on all fan speeds. At 84,000 miles the timing belt should be changed soon along with all the related timing belt stuff. Not too expensive, but more so and more involved than the other stuff.

I think it looks like a good car, price is a bit high but it looks like it's in good shape. We'll call it fair/average shape since i like the $3500 price from Edmunds

 

[hotcracker69]

if it test drives ok.... i would get it for the right price. as mention, all item seem to be easy fix. and very common for a car this age

 

[CTt3P5]

Doh...good call brains on the intake tube. It is a common issue and can be fixed by a replacement or simply upgrade to an sri or cai. ;-)

 

[Inside]

Thanks for the input guys! I had a mechanically inclined person look at it today and I pointed out a laundry list of issues with the car (mostly minor - dings, hail damage, etc, that lower the value but that I don't really care about) and talked the guy down to at least $4500 (I offered $4200). Having a real mechanic go take a look at it tomorrow. If there's nothing else that's wrong with it, I'm likely to buy it!