Would you trade in the Spec........

[ktspecv]

I currently have an 02 Spec-V with about 26k on the odom. I still owe about $15k and was thinking about trading it in for the Mazdaspeed. First question..........is it worth the money I will lose to trade it in? And I may get nothing but biased answers being on a Mazdaspeed forum, but is the Mazdaspeed that much better of a car to trade in for?? Thanks for the input....just doing my homework. And here's a few pix of my ride.....

 

[dominoy2k1]

looks good....i would keep it....

 

[ktspecv]

Oh.......and should I not post images like this?? I see more people linking images instead of posting in the thread. I'm assuming that saves on the bandwidth. Feel free to edit mods....

 

[AGR]

Gorgeous car, my friend! A year ago, I was going to buy an SE-R Spec V. Having owned 3 Nissans, I certainly like the quality. I waited, and then the MAZDASPEED was introduced, and I haven't looked back.

There is a member here (turboge) who just traded an '02 Spec V, on a MAZDASPEED. He could give you better advice, I think.

Most of the MAZDASPEED owners here will tell you how much they enjoy their cars - I promise you!

my baby.......

 

[ktspecv]

Wow, nice ride AGR#7. A couple questions that maybe a search would find but I thought I would ask...

1. How is the paint on the Speed? I never owned a Mazda so not sure about the quality. Anything has to be better than the Spec paint........sucks.


2. Any probs with the tranny? Again, not familiar with Mazda's but does this share a tranny from a different Mazda or is this brand new for the SPeed?

3. Does the Mazdaspeed come stock with a BOV? If not, are there any aftermarket ones yet?


Thanks for the info!

 

[03MzdSpdSTP]

nice Spec V

 

[Heathen23]

With that kind of number still left on your principle I say don't do it. They are not different enough to justify the trade in loss.

Let me qualify my answer;

If you have plenty of $ and it is not a big concern then you really should test drive the speed and talk to turboge (considering he has owned both).

It is just my opinion that the financial hit you would take would be larger than it's worth . You might do better trying to sell your Spec-V to a private buyer while continuing to pay down your principle. You would get more for your spec and have time to make a more planned decision. The worst outcome in that situation is you can't sell your spec and you have paid it down a good bit. You could still trade in and get alot more for your $.

I can't get enough of my MSP. I traded in my previous vehicle to get it. It took some planning and research but it was a great decision in my situation. But the vehicle I traded was 1k short of paid off. Just make sure there is a good financial fit.

What type of APR's are on the two different loans? That could make a big difference!

 

[AGR]

Wow, nice ride AGR#7. A couple questions that maybe a search would find but I thought I would ask...

1. How is the paint on the Speed? I never owned a Mazda so not sure about the quality. Anything has to be better than the Spec paint........sucks.

2. Any probs with the tranny? Again, not familiar with Mazda's but does this share a tranny from a different Mazda or is this brand new for the SPeed?

3. Does the Mazdaspeed come stock with a BOV? If not, are there any aftermarket ones yet?


Thanks for the info!

Thanks for the kind words!

* The paint is nice on the MAZDASPEED. I'm not sure if it's really better or worse than any other manufacturer. The Black Mica; I really like. The Spicy Orange Mica is nice, too - just not my color.

* The tranny is the same as in the Protege ES 2.0 liter. The clutch is heavy duty in the MAZDASPEED, however. No problems with mine, and I'm right at 5,000 miles.

* Yes; they do have BOVs. Many are changing them over to higher performance models. Mine is still stock, and seems fine.

 

[Daemos]

Owning an 03 Spec V...I don't have much to say about the 02s.

But Personally I wouldn't own an 02, they have alot of problems compared to the 03s. The tranny, I dunno, It's like REALLY REALLY notchy, I thought the 03 was pretty bad (after test driving RSXs and Celicas) but the 02s are :s

Stock for Stock the MSP out does the Spec in performance. It's not a huge diffrence but it's there.

The Spec Would win for other things like higher crash tests (w/o side impact airbags) CC, sunroof, side impact airbags.

If you plan to mod...I would say it all depends on how much money you're willing to throw into the car. You can make any car handle like a go kart, and be as fast at the strips..it all comes down to the $$$.

Now without doing any major engine/tranny build ups (Ie reinforcing) the Spec will probally edge out in terms of power.

Handling...well concerding both already have good suspension setups already, I believe the protege's chassis is stiffer than the Specs, edge wise...handling...the protege would probally edge out the Spec.

Again both of these are quite marginal.

I personally say (I know this is now off topic) if you really wanna get rid of your spec, find a used 2000 Celica GTS. Hotkics just released their suspension kit for the car...on stock engine...and modified suspension it like went 75.2 mph down the slalom (which is now a record for a sport compact car, apparently) and pulled off 1.04 Gs down the skidpad. Testing was done by SCC. (expensive, but worth it) (the protege and the spec will probally need alot of suspension work, more than the celica needs to do that)

Oh yea, and 1/4 speeds, intake and exhaust on a GTS will drop you to like low 14s easily. (I don't think it's that easy on the protege or the spec)

And the car is a sexy sexy beast.

And the look is nice...but the only problem comes is finding a used celica GTS 6-speed that HASN'T been ragged on.

But I really perfer new cars to used...you never know what's happened to a used car.

Personally if you're planning to mod, and performance is all where it's at for you, I'd stick with the spec, with the slew of JWT developed mods for the engine comming out...you can have like a 350whp Turbo car or a pretty powerful NA car easily.

IF you plan to stay stock (or really close to), and performance is more important to creature comforts, go with the MSP.

 

[I-Am-Chris]

1. And the look is nice...but the only problem comes is finding a used celica GTS 6-speed that HASN'T been ragged on.

2. IF you plan to stay stock (or really close to), and performance is more important to creature comforts, go with the MSP.

1. Yeah that would be great if they didnt drop out of the powerband when you shift into second

2. WTF r u talking about? I would say the creature comforts of the MSP r quiet nice. Badass interior, Full 450W kenwood mp3/cd player and system. Handles like a beast for stock, and after I boosted up its pretty damn quick (faster than a Rex (wrx))

 

[CruzinAltitude]

I am the very proud owner of a Pro5 so I cant speak about the MSP's proformance but let me say this, Your SpecV is beautiful and a great driving machine (I test drove one about a year back). If you still owe that much on the car and stand to loose quite a bit of money, hang on the kick ass car you have!

 

[1sty]

As long as your car has no mechanical problems that are driving you nuts I would hold off on getting a new car. If you have to list yours in the want adds to see what you can get for it. Dealers will try to rake you by atleast $4000.

The MSP has been known to idle problems both stock and with a simple intake added on. However there are members all over it to fix it. The paint is solid on the mazdas, the only know exception is the yellow ones. The manual trannys can be a problem but haven't been for must people. The transmission just lets you know when its not happy.

I personaly wouldn't look to seriously engine modify either car for power as their drivetrains aren't going to handle alot of power. Thats what the SRT/4 is for, kind of a chame there aren't any cars like the 240sx around anymore.

 

[Grimace]

1. Yeah that would be great if they didnt drop out of the powerband when you shift into second

The model year 2000 Celica GT-S had a 8400 RPM redline. Shifting at redline would keep it in the powerband.
For 2001 and onwards though, the redline was reduced to 7800 RPM (to try and counteract the number of blown engine warranty fixes from people mis-shifting the close-gated 6-spd.) In the 2001+, even shifting at redline will drop you out of the powerband.
IMHO, 2000 is the most desireable year.

 

[Limited Edition]

Hello,
Your Spec-V looks really clean and good! Nice clean mods and pictures. IMO, at this point with 26K on the odometer, you won't lose as much money if you were to sell later. If the MAZDASPEED didn't exisit i would probably have picked up the Spec-V myself. They are both great cars, but MSP imo looks better. So, that's entirely up to you. Both cars have slightly lower re sale value compared to Toyota's and Honda's. I'm sure you're already aware of that the car has. So that for you to decide! (thumb)

 

[perfworks]

i have always been a nissan fan
my first car was a 300z
but im partial to my mazda pro5 because...well... i dont know
its wierd the car does something to you
its great to drive and the looks and styling are great too. now i would imagine that the MSP would be even greater.
so if you got the money IMO i would do it. if not then dont worry your car isnt too shabby. nissan makes a great car and drivetrain.
plus you did a nice original job on yours
later

 

[Daemos]

The model year 2000 Celica GT-S had a 8400 RPM redline. Shifting at redline would keep it in the powerband.
For 2001 and onwards though, the redline was reduced to 7800 RPM (to try and counteract the number of blown engine warranty fixes from people mis-shifting the close-gated 6-spd.) In the 2001+, even shifting at redline will drop you out of the powerband.
IMHO, 2000 is the most desireable year.

the crappy ecu happened in 2002...so a 2000-2001 models would be desirable. (the ecu was a "glitch" according to toyota...hah)

Yea...the 6speed is REALLY close gated, really short throws, alot of Spec V owners when they first got the cars had "Celica-itis" which ment alot of baddd mishfiting.

And their lift, which is why they get so quick times stock. they easliy hit high 14s stock. And Just an Intake and Exhaust will drop them to times like 14.1. I don't think either the spec nor the MSP will drop that low with just an addition of an intake and exhaust ;

 

[choke on words]

Dude, keep that car. That thing looks sweet(2thumbs)

 

[turboge]

I traded in my 2002 Spec V for a Mazdaspeed. I hated that Spec V in so many ways, this car makes all those bad memories go away.

 

[AGR]

Braden: That's a nice Titanium MAZDASPEED in your Avatar...... hint,,,,,hint,,,,

 

[Slipstream]

I have to ask, why are you looking to dump the Spec? Aside from your apparent disappointment with the paint and transmission. It's one car I'm considering myself (mainly because of the hard-to-beat pricing you can find on them now), but I've heard mixed reviews on it.