considering a MS Protege

[jaymode]

I am in the search for a new car and am currently considering the Mazdaspeed Protege and an srt4. I am leaning towards the protege because of the looks, rims, and stereo.
I was just wondering if anyone has had any major problems with theirs yet? if so did the warranty cover it or did mazda pull that you drive bad crap?
Also, are their any minor annoyances or things left out that I should know about before buying one?

Does the 2003.5 model have any mechanical upgrade or are they all interior/exterior appearance upgrades?
I like the 2003 model more than the 2003.5

Thanks in advance.
J

 

[AGR]

Buy One! And; GRIN!!!

I Love My MAZDASPEED!!!(k)

Nearly 8,000 miles now. A few tiny issues. Would I buy again? You Betcha!! I will leave it to some of the other fine members to share their thoughts on this wonderful car.

 

[funnylittlman]

Hey Jaymode,

There really haven't been too many issues. One is an ecu/fuel mapping which Mazda will be shortly coming out w/ a recall for (no biggie). The car is great, and depending on your dealer and service shop is how much Shizzy they will give you.

The 2k3.5's have no difference from the 2k3's besides a new front air dam (w/o fog lights now) and the Mazdaspeed shifter and pedals (instead of Sparco) Other than that it's about the same.

Happy Hunting and good luck w/ your purchase...

 

[Micah]

Buy a 5-speed ES!

MSRP on MSP is $21,000 - and most people end up paying more than that. MSRP on the ES is $16,560 with a 5 speed. I picked up my ES w/Shifttronic Automatic for $15,300. Sticker on my car was $18,600
Spend the money you save on Eibach's Pro Kit ($250) or JIC Coilovers($440), and a real turbo setup($4000).

 

[TX Speed Demon]

Ahh, but the ES doesn't come with the rims, stereo, paint, exahust or limited slip diff. That's at least an extra $4-5G right there.

 

[jaymode]

Buy a 5-speed ES!

MSRP on MSP is $21,000 - and most people end up paying more than that. MSRP on the ES is $16,560 with a 5 speed. I picked up my ES w/Shifttronic Automatic for $15,300. Sticker on my car was $18,600
Spend the money you save on Eibach's Pro Kit ($250) or JIC Coilovers($440), and a real turbo setup($4000).

I think i can get one for msrp or less because there are a few dealers around me that have a few on the lot. Also i want to keep the warranty good for a little while.

The other thing that sucks is my local dealer in Charlottesville, VA isn't a mazdaspeed dealership. There are two dealers that are around 60 miles from me and have a few of them on the lot. One is Bill Britt Mazda in Fredricksburg, VA and the other is Capitol Mazda in Richmond, VA. Has anyone dealt with either of these dealers?

 

[Heathen23]

Ahh, but the ES doesn't come with the rims, stereo, paint, exahust or limited slip diff. That's at least an extra $4-5G right there

You have done your homework.... well done!

Welcome to the forum Jaymode!

The quirks or small things that might bug you about the car are no speed control or sunroof options.

The hesitation is issue is still yet to be resolved and I personally have my doubts if mazda will ever touch this issue but I am a skeptic.

The upside is the car (if black) is a nice little sleeper after some modifications. It handles like a go cart on roids, and has more than ample passenger/driver room. The list can go on but bottom line is it isn't a straight line racer out of the box like the SRT-4, it's a more complete package IMO but not a good strip racer.

 

[funnylittlman]

I think i can get one for msrp or less because there are a few dealers around me that have a few on the lot. Also i want to keep the warranty good for a little while.

The other thing that sucks is my local dealer in Charlottesville, VA isn't a mazdaspeed dealership. There are two dealers that are around 60 miles from me and have a few of them on the lot. One is Bill Britt Mazda in Fredricksburg, VA and the other is Capitol Mazda in Richmond, VA. Has anyone dealt with either of these dealers?

Jaymode,

If you're willing to come up to NOVA, I can hook you up w/ the guy who sold me mine at Brown's Fairfax Mazda.

They have 2 yellows, 1 Titanium, and 1 Black. They will be sold for sticker.

-fnny

 

[yashooa]

Hmmm

I got mine for 19k with nothing down not even TT&L.

 

[Micah]

"Ahh, but the ES doesn't come with the rims, stereo, paint, exahust or limited slip diff. That's at least an extra $4-5G right there"

Mazda's LSD can be purchased for $600, $450 if your dealership is an authorized Mazdaspeed Parts Dealer. The rims and tires - at the most would be about $1200. Mazda's paint - I'm not so sure of - though I have read alot of complaints. I have a small chip in my hood which I will have to take care of eventually. I know when I had my Jeep Sanded down and painted with 4 coats of #802 Black and Clearcoat it ran me $2600.

Yep, I'm pushing over the price point I guess. I just like the idea of a sleeper, and I'm partial because I'll be paying off my ES for the next 5 years. However, I do know this. Once my turbo is on, I am looking forward to seeing how well my auto does compared to a stock MSP.

 

[jaymode]

Jaymode,

If you're willing to come up to NOVA, I can hook you up w/ the guy who sold me mine at Brown's Fairfax Mazda.

They have 2 yellows, 1 Titanium, and 1 Black. They will be sold for sticker.

-fnny

Yeah,
I will be going to Brown's Fairfax Mazda if neither of the two closer dealerships will sell at sticker. I have had good experience dealing with the brown dealerships. This past december we got a 2003 accord ex v6 sedan for like 23,900 +ttl when sticker was like 26,200.

Oh yeah I have another question will a regular mazda non mazdaspeed dealership do work on the car? Because the dealership here in town is not a mazdaspeed dealership and would prefer to not have to drive 60 miles for service, but then again I may have so much fun driving it that I wont mind driving 60 miles.

 

[MazdaspeedZOOM]

The rims and tires - at the most would be about $1200.

Just so you know, a single rim is around $320.00, thats for one rim no tire. Our tires cost around $150.00 each tire. I've called two different mazda dealers and these are the round about prices for them. So that's 1200 in rims plus 600 in tires, plus mounting and balancing, bascially 2 grand for our rims and tires a lone.

I'm sorry spend the money and get the MSP you'll be happier in the end.

 

[BremertonMSP]

I'm like Greg (and most others) I love my MazdaSpeed Protege! Way better then just and ES, besides what was mentioned before, we also get the nicer front end, tail lights, interior is different material, and standard ABS which lowered my insurance, as did the standard alarm.

But.... and this is a big But, the stumble problem has not been address yet, and the horsepower is a touch low for my liking. Handling is sweet, no doubt about it, and it's way better looking then the Polished Turd!

Honestly, if I where to do it over again, I would spend the extra $10K and get and EVO or a WRX STi. After seeing a bone stock STi do 13.4 @ 105mph in the quarter, and looking at the interior and exterior, I feel it is well worth the money. Both these two cars where purpose built all the way!

All that said, bang for buck, the MSP is the best car out there in its class. But I don't put it in the same class as the EVO or STi. I do like the SRT-4's seats better though, that is definitely a downer to the MSP.

 

[jaymode]

I was also wondering if the insurance if the insurance is going to be really expensive? How much are you guys paying?

 

[yashooa]

!!!!!

My wife's 2002 PR5 cost more to insure!
I don't know why but I told them 2003 MSP gave them VIN (which was just a few numbers off my wife's VIN) and VIOLA cheap insurance. Like a NA/A ES.
I'm old though with a good record and my house is on my policy to. My Wife's car is just a bit more but it was funny to see it had a couple of higher costs in the itemized list.

 

[AGR]

...less than $60.00 a month. (I'm 49)

 

[unwrittenLaw]

My insurance is pretty cheap w/ the MSP..I called them to make sure they had it as MSP and not a regular Protege and they did.

 

[HoustonP5]

Re: Hmmm

I got mine for 19k with nothing down not even TT&L.

That was $19K, out the door including TTL? Where did you buy it?

 

[YuYuRena]

2003.5 to a 2003 is like french vanilla to regular vanilla. It depends if you like the sparco interior or not. If you like the yellow stiching or not. Also, there are 2 more color coming out "soon" blue and silver, so if you like those color you might want to wait it out. I feel the clutch is stiffer on the 03.5 then 03, but it could due to my "weak" left leg. But besides that no mechanical differences. All the differences are what your eyes can see.

As for getting an ES. that's cool too it leaves you with the option of getting other stuff that MSP doesn't have or you don't like. And you can get sunroof and cruise control.

About the srt4 it's the typical american speedster. it's the detroit's pony car in the sports compact world. pure hp and loads of torque. This monster has more torque than a stock wrx, if it can get traction. Just like in formula 1. Last year ferrari didn't have the best chassis( Mclaren did) nor the biggest output engine(BMW did). But it killed the whole field. It's not about the car with the biggest hp #, but rather the pure and perfect matching of power and control that makes a car fast, a complete package = MSP.

 

[tddelsol]

ok heres what i got from posting the same thing a week ago (shorter version)the neon is well a big fast m&m its really fast but lacks the little things the speed has like a good lsd,4 power windows ,good looks,suspension mods out the wooha (sway bars strut bar good springs),and interior style.now you if your gonna drag race srt-4 all the way. but if you want a car that you can drive down a winding road with a s*** eating grin on your face msp.i just bought mine on saturday so i haven't even broke it in so i can have real fun with it.but i love it love love it.as for price dealer ship here gave it to me for 16900 but that was after getting into it with them after they promised me a certain payment. id say check out srt4furoms and talk to them for the high points on the dodge but plan to pay 2-3k above sticker fo "limited avaliblility".
ps i love my speed