Mazda Protege in Canada...worth it?

[JDuval]

Hey guys,
First post here so excuse me if this gets asked all the time.
I'm getting out of the Volkswagen scene since my jetta...well it's a rusty oil consumption machine now.
But I've heard that proteges rust like mad too.

I'm looking at proteges in the Ontario area and for around 2000 bucks I can find one that claims to be "rust free".
Even if I do find a rust free car, is it possible for me to keep it that way? Does everyone have the wheel well rust issue?

Any insight into this would be awesome guys. I can't really find any other cars I like in my price range--really want to be able to get into a protege...but I need a car that's gonna last me a few years.

 

[stivine6]

Hey guys,
First post here so excuse me if this gets asked all the time.
I'm getting out of the Volkswagen scene since my jetta...well it's a rusty oil consumption machine now.
But I've heard that proteges rust like mad too.

I'm looking at proteges in the Ontario area and for around 2000 bucks I can find one that claims to be "rust free".
Even if I do find a rust free car, is it possible for me to keep it that way? Does everyone have the wheel well rust issue?

Any insight into this would be awesome guys. I can't really find any other cars I like in my price range--really want to be able to get into a protege...but I need a car that's gonna last me a few years.

I was in the same situation as you, could only afford a few grand and i live in canada as well. It's hard to find a protege without rust but there are some out there. Most will have rust or minor rust like mine, what you could do once you get it is rustproof it and use some grease around the wheel well. That helps to slow it down big time other wise after winter, you're going to see some rust. For 2g you would be very lucky to find one without a spec of rust, if you dont mind a small amount of rust that would be more reasonable in your price range. Never know though so keep looking!

 

[firelizard]

At this point, I'm extremely skeptical when I see "Protege" and "rust-free" in the same ad. But it can happen. It's not impossible to keep it that way, either, just a bit more work than other cars.

It's really unfortunate, because these are very hardy cars, otherwise. Well, besides being prone to end-link issues, but there are easy DIY solutions for that too.