Looking at a p5 tomorrow, need some help/pointers!

[peter.cort]

Hi guys, been looking around on these forums for a bit, and I finally got around to joining!

So I'm going up to look at an 03 p5 tomorrow and am looking for a few tips on things to look for (I'm completely 100% new to mazda's, and I'm looking for a standard wagon that's fun to work on looks sexy and isn't going to break the bank (to buy) and I've come across the p5).

Here's the listing
edited cause the link was wilding out

I have no reason to believe it's anything other than a classic New England car, which means rust. I've read that behind the rear wheel wells are a spot that's very prone to rusting as well as around the rear license plate bracket. Other than that, it looks like the p5 is a very reliable car, but are there any other pitfalls that I should be weary about when I'm looking at it/test driving it? I think I'm gonna plan on redoing exhaust (probably keep the stock header) and suspension so I'm not too worried about issues with them. But yeah, any pointers of things to look at would be awesome!

Thanks guys!

 

[Brian_K]

yep look for rust around the fenders/wheel wells. if the idle is jumpy then there's a very good chance it's the EGR valve (which takes 20 min to clean) you should be able to talk the price down a bit. check to make all the door locks work, since the actuators like to break on these cars. Inspect the stock intake hose for cracks. and if the car has 100k+miles there's a good chance the engine is going to burn some oil. there's probably other stuff i'm missing but i'm sure another member will chime in.

 

[jowens727]

looks good from what i can see on the website.. but i wouldnt pay that much.. even with the low milage its a bit high... but if the low milage is worth it to you and you can afford it... its a great car... i just got mine last week and left with it for $4750 out the door... but its got 110k on it

main things to look for are the ac switch... make sure the button is pressed in and see if it stay constant on all settings... mine didnt and i used it to get it cheaper... but its a pretty easy fix

youll love the 5 speed... feels like a lot more power than the auto's.. but it still isnt much

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

Rust on Rear Protege badge area
Rust Rear Fenders

These are two problem areas.

 

[tweety2300]

Make sure that when you turn the key to the on position before starting that the cel comes on. Also make sure the timing belt has been changed if it has more than 100k and if it hasn't and they won't replace it try to get them to atleast throw in the kit. And if they say it has been get it written on paper. I think everybody got everything else.

 

[bazooka joe]

Rust on Rear Protege badge area
Rust Rear Fenders

These are two problem areas.

yup, and the drivers door, bottom near the weep holes and also strut tower mounts, engine bay!

looks unmolested, nice shape for pics...not to much mechanically to worry about. with that mileage your prob looking at tires, brakes...normal stuff.

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

^^^ That's great because you will also see if any of the TSBs have been done... which could be an indicator on how often the car has been in the shop and/or how well it has been for reliability.

 

[peter.cort]

I was really attracted to the low mileage, I mean 61k on a nice looking car for under 10k is hard to come by in new england from a dealer. I scoped out the FS section and looked at the pricing (I know the dealer will want more) and I think I'd be happy if I paid 7 for it. Low mileage is a big thing, I'm looking to hold onto the car for a while, at least a couple years and potentially use it to move cross country, which with my 160k mile volvo s80 that thought scares me a bit...

@Tweety, if the CEL doesn't come on at that stage, what's the cause, and how worried should I be about it?

Also to everyone, the car only has 61k miles on it, so it should have come off a pretty big tune up around 50k, granted I'll find out how long ago that was done if it was at all.

Thanks for all the pointers! If you think of anymore throw them at me! Going up in a couple hours to look at it once I get out of class and I'll come back with my findings to get some more opinions!

 

[82735]

i got mine in PA with 33k for $7500 2 years ago just to give you an idea it was listed at $10,000 so I wouldn't hop at the first offer of 7grand. Best of luck though!

 

[tweety2300]

If the check engine light doesn't come on when its in the on position it means the light is unhooked or blown either way just hook a code reader up to it to make sure its not throwing a code

 

[peter.cort]

Good to know hatchkitten, In looking around on here it seemed like 6.5-7 would be a solid number for the car if it's in nice condition with the low milage. That being said, half the miles for similar list price where I'm sure the car has less rust, I'll definitely take that into account.

Mostly I saw the car and liked the car's looks, how easy it is to work on (haven't done anything myself on my volvo, not worth it lol) and the community behind it, both in the p5 and mazdas in general. I went to a VW show when I was visiting my bro in oregon and really dug the community behind it and want something like that. I'm not nursing a semi every time someone says mazda p5, but it fits everything I'm looking for in a car (minus AWD but an impreza wrx is a tad out of my price range) and it's close so I'm gonna go take a look at it, but I'm definitely going in with an open mind towards the whole thing.

Also the car has been up on craigslist and on their site since at least mid August and has seen 2 price reductions and relistings so I think I could probably snap it up at a nice price.

But going up to look at it now, thanks so much for all the help guys!!!!

 

[CTt3P5]

Everybody else has covered all the basics but I'll add that I bought min in Jan of 2006 for $8900 with 64K miles....just another number you can have in mind for comparison. Good luck!

 

[tweety2300]

i wouldnt say that everything is easy to work on with these cars especially if your not the size of a 12 yr old. plus its 10 years old so somethings will be going bad and breaking regardless of miles

 

[peter.cort]

So it had body work done and was repainted. That's why it looked so clean in the pics, cause it was! There was a lot of rust bubbling around the headlight brackets on the inside of the engine bay, pretty much around every screw/mount in the engine bay was bubbling with satanic rust. My dad and I decided it was either a 12 year new england winter car, or a 1 month new orleans car. Pretty much from looking in the engine bay we knew that it wasn't going to be all that great for more than a year or so, and there wasn't any kind of service record to go along with it, or any paperwork for that matter.

On the bright side I test drove it and it's certainly a fun car, the size is really nice and it's pretty spacious. Not the most comfortable car (more comfy than my brothers impreza wrx though..) and it looks amazing. So I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled for more of them, and hopefully pick one up!!!

Thanks again guys for all your help!

 

[tweety2300]

you may want to travel further down south for one if you dont want rust. a road trip for a car may or may not be worth it to you but whats a day or 2 travel for a car that youll have for a few years?

 

[bazooka joe]

ya, a nice "below the mason dixon line" car...any of the p5's around here that were driven for the last 10 yrs are going to be rusty for sure

 

[peter.cort]

Yeah I'm accepting a certain amount of rust on the bottom from all the winter sand and salt on the roads, but there was rust everywhere. The header heatshield had a baseball sized rust farm that was pretty deep, the engine cover was all sorts of corroded, and there was a spot on the passenger side wheel well in the engine bay side that was about eaten through by rust. Also it was repainted (poorly I may add) due to what my dad and I assume was some body work done due to rust or an accident, and the drivers side side skirt was replaced poorly, the last 2 connectors were snapped off and it was just kinda hanging.

I found another one that's an '02 with 89k miles on it, silver though (not dogging the sunlight silver metallic gang, just not my steez) so hopefully it's in a little better condition! It's listed for $6k so we'll see how it goes!


Also I'd love to go on a p5 hunting road trip, but the logistics just aren't really feasible right now with my in school and my dad being my financial backer in this endeavor, he's not too keen about going on a road trip to look at cars.

 

[MP5 Kyle]

hey! whatchu said bout ma silver rust bucket? nah jk.. gl with the p5 hunt, if you take the time and patience you will deff find the one your looking for, luckily for me i paid 4400 for an '03 with 91k on it(148k kilometers). Yeah I live in Canada

Also, your lucky because if you find the right one with a little trip you coudl have one with no rust, up here its all overpriced and they all have rust SOMEWHERE!(which kinda sucks, but makes for a fun project )

Anyways, GOOD LUCK!

-Kyle.

 

[bazooka joe]

i love m p5, but i would have to say the the rust and paint or lack there of, are real problem areas for mazda...i've seen so many rust buckets, fade and chiped paint to last me a life time...i've seen 20 yr old hondas and toyotas with less rust.

 

[peter.cort]

Yeah luckily I'm not in any rush to get a car, so I can really hold out for a good one to come my way. We all know if I jumped on the first decent one I saw a real clean florida car would crop up.

man your lucky you're in north carolina, a good ol' new hampshire car would shock you with the amount of rust you'll find. Maybe not shock, but it's amazing how much rust can exist in these cars. Honda's don't rust because they're made of plastic and bricks