Woot!

[Newf]

Gotta a call from the dealer today. Well, the manager called my house. They were closed today, but he had the trucker call him at home to tell him that the car was in town, and parked at the docks. Then he called me. I was like F#$%! Your kidding me. Too bad it's not mine. Another guy is first in line. But, I drove down to take a look. It was way out of sight for me to get a good look, and we got a s*** load of snow today so she was covered. The color is kinda what I thought it would look like on a dull dreary kinda day. But I still liked it. It was funny, I was driving past the docks, and of course there's a lot of cars, then all of a sudden was this orange glow and I was like.....gee, I guess that's it. At first the color was a shock...but I liked it.

Once she's at the dealer tomorrow I'm going up 1st thing before she's gone to the buyer so I can get a better look. I'm so excited I'm like a child waiting for xmas day ! I'm also going to talk to the manager about some numbers....sale price, trade in etc. I know I'm going to get screwed somehow. This damn car clunks so bad, their scared they can't sell it as well. I will have a fit if I get screwed or stuck with a clunking car I can't sell or trade because mazda can't fix it.

Anyways, wish me luck. I may have everything worked out tomorrow, or I may have a new Honda again

later

 

[White 6s]

wish u luck. i was feeling exactly like you when waiting for an msp. you had experience with a protoge already. while ur there check out a 6! u might like it heh. nothing wrong with a honda either.

 

[Newf]

no MAzda 6 's here until Feb

Probaby a good thing because I'd have to decide between the two then, and I don't know if I could decide which one after seeing a 6 in person AND a speed.

 

[Newf]

well, guess I wasn't thinking. But my dealer isn't open until Monday.

So, this is as close as I can get to it for now

It's at the docks....damn. I'm going to jump the damn fence soon!

 

[whatwhat411]

haha, thats rough man. But atleast yours is at the dealer, who knows when I'll get mine, let alone other people on this board. How muc are you selling your MP3 for?

 

[Newf]

Well, that's the thing. The one here isn't mine. Someone else is first in line. I just want to see the damn thing so I'll know for sure I'm waiting for something that I really want. More importantly, I want to see it so I know if selling the MP3 will be worth it.

21,500 CDN for the MP3 with 19,800 KMS. Winter steelies, studded tires with hubs all included. Or take over lease, 364 per month. I put near 6000.00 down on the car to get payments that low and I want 3000 in cash back. Keep in mind, car in NFLD was 26,000 before anything was added.

Funny thing though. Everyone here said that pictures don't capture the color quite right. Well, that's the 1st picture I took of it, and guess what....that's exactly the same color as I seen in person.

Can't wait to see in sunlight though.

 

[dpmmsp]

Newf ..... You gotta admit ..... even covered in snow ... it stands out doesn't it? Hope the next msp comes quick, that its yours, and that you make the right decision. If you have any doubt I'll be pleased to tell you what the right decision is!!

 

[Newf]

Well, I saw it today in better detail. The shop had it ready for the new owner.

First thing, outside of around the parking lot, I never really drove it. Obviously, I want to really drive it before saying yes I want the car or no I don't.

But, I have a few first impressions about the car that worry me.

1st thing: The stereo. Now, I'm sure I can set it up a little better myself then what the guys had it, and I never really had a chance to play with the stereo. But, it was REALLY quiet. I mean, my stereo on 15-20 is LOUD. This thing was nothing compared to mine. Even at 28! Now, Some other guy was flicking threw the settings a bit, and most looked ok, but unless the guy had mute on ( loudness was on ) the thing was unusually low powered compared to mine. Digi! is this the case? You'd think it would be more powerful. I'm going to get a better look at it tomorrow or thursday and double check those settings, but right off the bat, I was NOT impressed with the stereo, and actually welcomed getting back into mine. Someone that had an MP3, please give me your opinion on this?

Next: DAMN it's orange. Nice, different...but HOLY F$%#$ it's orange. ACtually, almost peach. So far, it's been really bad weather here lately, and I haven't seen it in the sun, but in the shop I could tell there were gold flakes in it, and it was nice. CAn't wait to see it in the sun. Paint matching this thing is going to be a bich. I was thinking about the autoexe front lip, but I honestly don't think anyone here would match it ok.

3rd: That shifter is REALLY small. Nothing more then Sparco top cover over the stick shaft. Almost too tiny. And, unlike what I've read, it was NOT any smoother shifting gears. Not even the 1st to 2nd shift.

4th: The car is REALLY quiet. Much more quiet then mine. I could hardly hear the exaust note.

5th: Save the best for last......The car on the ramp at one point, and sure enough, the rear suspension is EXACTLY the same. I said...noooooo, tell me it's not so. So, the parts rep got on the computer and tried to "fake" order the bushings for the rear, and guess what part number came up.....156D. The EXACT same bushing that's on the MP3 that DOES NOT work. Expect the clunk guys!

Next, this is more of a question....but what's the red light on the steering wheel column? It's a little red Led on top?

And now the good news.....yeah right. The word is, all mazda speeds will be delivered, at least in Canada within the next 45 days. This is actually good news as my car hasn't sold. At least the dealer has offered to hold the speed until mine is sold. But, I need to see the car in better detail.

 

[JasonH]

You mean quiet. Quite is a quite different word .

The stereo has more power on paper (and it's still made by Kenwood,) so it should be at least as loud as, if not louder than, the MP3 stereo.

The turbo muffles the exhaust. I really want to hear one without any muffler. That will be the real test. If it's not too loud, I'd like to remove the muffler permanently.

The light on the steering column is the alarm indicator. I think it comes with the perimeter alarm, but it might be on all the Proteges with the alarm. A 2003 ES I drove recently had it, but I can't remember if it had the upgraded alarm or not.

 

[Newf]

Oh, and one more thing, the 15" steelies DO FIT! The guys couldn't even get this thing off the boat without towing it. Useless in snow. She had to be pulled to the dealer. HA!

So, the new owner, who works at mazda, put the steelies on right away.

 

[digi168]

Hey Newf, I hope yours shows up soon....

 

[nattyboy513]

i am glad that it is gut rainy and bad here in ohio, i would hate to get my msp and not be able to drive it right away...

 

[Newf]

Digi, do you find that you have to turn the stereo WAYYYY up in the speed compared to the MP3? I usually listen to mine on about 15-18. The Speed, I had to turn it up on like 25??? :wtf:

 

[tekkie]

so newf you dont think it will make it up Longs Hill with the stock tires? haha... I had some nice adventures on that hill with metrobus, scary

 

[Newf]

tekkie, where did you get that picture of the speed on the corner of the race track? Got a larger version of it?

And i'm not in St. johns, although I've been on longs hill a few times. I couldn't make it up my driveway with the stocks on in winter....yet alone longs hill....ha ha.

 

[Limited Edition]

Man, i hate seeing MSP covered in snow like that....
dpmmsp can tell you guys that, i hate getting my car in snow or rain!! it's soo despressing seeing our cars like that.
Yeah, i know it's a car and all, but don't wet the MSP!.


I really like how the under car is soo clean! I wish i could keep it that way. Is there anyway, that i can keep the 'red' on the rear sway bar to be that red over the years????
It looks soo sweet..

Guys, what kind of exhuast cleaner do you use to keep the exhuast shiny?

 

[Newf]

Well, I got to finally drive it today, and take a better look at it. Some of my concerns are gone. The Turbo is WILD. Hit 3000 rpms and whooosh! Can't hear it for s*** but you can feel it for sure. Addictive. Breaking this car in "nicely" is going to be very hard. I changed gears 4000 rpm everytime. Unlike some people I can't bring myself to kill a nice car so soon.

The stereo sounded better then it did the other day. Still not quite as impressed with it as I was hoping. But, after screwing with some settings I managed to get it set up better. I still think the sub in the MP3 has a much deeper sound/feel to it. Maybe I'll sell my car without the sub

The head unit: It's smaller then the MP3. Less Buttons which doesn't mean easier to use. The screen is really no different then the Z828, if anything it too is smaller. I Found the silver finish on it, when looking close at it is almost cheap looking but I'm being very picky. Overall a nice unit, but the Z828 does have a higher quality to it.

The Turbo is awesome

One thing I found interesting. The scuff plates on this one were brushed Aluminum or steel with BLACK Mazdaspeed letters. Nothing like Digi's pics I seen. Never had a camera to take pics...damn

The shifter is very small, but nothing to get used to . The clutch doesn't really feel any different then the MP3, and is still somewhat stiffer then the ES/P5. The peddles are bigger, and feel bigger in the MSP vs the MP3. My MP3 is pretty much the same for changing gears as the MSP. The notchy feeling from 1st to 2nd wasn't much better if at all. I never did find mine that bad anyways unless she's really cold.

Seats.....just the same as all Protege's, but prettier.

Turbo was AWESOME!

Handling I couldn't compare really as the car had 15" studs on it.

The Color I'm still uncertain of. Still Waiting for the damn sun to come back to town!

Did I mention the Turbo was cool!

Brakes were indeed better, but might be mostly because they are new, and mine aren't. ABS never kicked in to bad on snow, but I never really nailed them as the owner was in the car with me....nice guy.

I think I did hear the start of the "clunk" in his car, but it might be something else in the trunk, maybe the amp or something moving around. Never really pursued this much as I was enjoying the Turbo too much.

.....s***, I gotta go..

 

[Grimace]

Oh, and one more thing, the 15" steelies DO FIT! The guys couldn't even get this thing off the boat without towing it. Useless in snow. She had to be pulled to the dealer. HA!

So, the new owner, who works at mazda, put the steelies on right away.

Did you happen to notice how much clearance there was between the brake caliper and the wheel? If not, is it too much trouble to check next time you go back to the dealer?

 

[Newf]

I meant to that today actually, but got side tracked playing with the stereo

Oh, and did I mention the turbo is really cool

I'll check next time I see it