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Comments
I think there are also metal shims that shriek a lot when you wear the pads enough that the edges of the shim rubs against the rotor, creating a very high-pitched annoying sound.
Fronts typically wear about twice as quickly as rear pads (unless there's something very wrong with your brakes).
While they're replacing your pads, you may as well see about checking runout on your rotors (how far from flat they are) and if they need resurfacing (big grooves, like an LP). It's better to resurface them on the car instead of removing them and refacing them down.
I've got about 27,000 miles on my original brake pads. I've got maybe 40% of the original thickness left, so I guess I'll need new front pads at around 40,000 miles.
Lots of city driving, stop-and-go, etc.
Front brakes: 65%
Rear brakes: 85%
So slow.
I carried a 6 72in long x 12in wide x 2in thick side panels for shelving, and a stack of 12x32in shelves. Of course, I was by myself, so I could flip the front passenger seat forward. The salesperson was surprised I could fit all the shelves into my Pro, especially when the Lexus next to mine couldn't handle even half what I got.
Okay, keeping it clean:
A friend of mine practices an ancient Japanese martial art, naginata. Involves whacking each other with long spears. (Her husband wisely took up the sport as well, after he married her).
I drove out east with her this summer to PA, cause she had a tournament and didn't want to fly. Her spear thing is eight feet long. No problem fitting it in the car...kind of on an angle, so it ended up on the passenger side. Reduced the leg room on that side a little, but not by too much.
Yikes, I can see why he took it up, if only for self-preservation.
I wonder how you explain something like that to an officer if you get pulled over?
No mention of a 626 or 6. I guess they're saving the 6 for a "2004 line-up" page.
OK, longest solid object...hehehe...how about the second longest:
A front door for the house. For some reason I picked a week that I was driving a Pro sedan to go buy a door. I was able to get it about 2/3 of the way in as the width of the pass through and the trunk opening limited it. A tie down or two and I was on my way home.
Will admit, both cars are nice lack of Protege ABS here in SA is a deal killer. Btw, I'm comparing a 2002 Civic EX with a 2002 Protege ES.
PS Civic also has $250 cash back which I did not factor into the cost...
Actually, to tell you the truth, I'd buy my child a Civic instead of a Pro - at least if we are talking about a teenage child here. The Civic gets better ratings in NHTSA and IIHS crash tests, will cost less to insure and fuel, and boring is good when it comes to teens and cars. I wouldn't want to encourage too much zoom-zooming, especially zoom-zooming with friends on board, which is what the Pro is good at relative to a Civic.
Sorry if that offends any of the Pro faithful. (No, not really. I'm just saying that to be nice.) ;-)
My son is leaning towards the Civic (for him, wife and granddaughter so safety is a major concern). Agree w/your pts re: insurance and gas costs...
Does anyone know what color matches it or comes very close in auto supply stores, where one can find all kinds of grey metallic sprays for Toyotas, Hondas, GM cars etc?
Also, rear bumper: somebody gave me a nice gash in a parking lot, and these bumpers are plastic and seem to reject touch up paint (which is why I want to try the spray can type). Any suggestions?
thanxxx / R. B. Du Boff, Haverford PA
Bruno
Near invoice with 0% financing? Yes. The financing is from Mazda's financing branch, whereas the deal I strike is with the dealer. I would deal with them separately. I took rebates instead of low interest financing with my near invoice price (bought a Pro in March), leading to a nice below invoice bottom line.
I struggled with the safety issue a bit. My car carries just me, so I bear any risk alone. If buying for a teenager, as in my hypothetical case (maybe I made too many assumptions with respect to your situation), or for carrying around wife and daughter as in your son's case, more is at stake.
We each have our own unique situations, though, and strike our own balance between all relevant factors. In other words, the above statements are not meant to imply anyone is unduly putting their spouse or children at risk by putting them in their Pro. I'm not saying it is an unsafe car in any way. OK?
Dinu
Here are my costs:
Pro ES auto, A/C, spoiler: $20.500
Taxes: $3.575
Interest@2.9%: $1.300
Other fees (dealer fees, rust proofing, etc)
Out the door: $24.500
A Civic would have costed me at least $2.000 more b/c of interest fees.
Thinking about it, the Elantra and Cavalier were more expensive than the PRO, since I wanted the best interior and features for the make I would buy...
Dinu
PS: ALL prices are CDN loonies
dinu - you did good to choose the Protege over the Elantra and Cavalier! My son has a Cav now and a Protege/Civic will be a major "upgrade"!...lol
jeffy - interesting! Here the insurance on a Protege is more than on a Civic, in addition to higher gas costs and initial buying cost. Civic a lot better deal overall for my son. BTW, the reason Hondas are stolen more often is because there are so many more on the road! A lot of people forget that! Would love to see a stat that shows thefts broken down by miles driven by a certain car....
You just shut the whole board down now. This is not a place for logical and rational thinking. If it was, would we be wasting hours and hours of "productive labour" typing away our car thoughts?
Just kidding! Keep the ideas coming.
Dinu
Also, the Accords are really going for good prices now. A new model is coming out for 2003, so the 2002s are being wheeled out at pretty good prices. You might be able to get your son into an Accord (vs. Civic or Protege) for about the same money, if a little more.
And the Sonata is a nice car as well. I don't know how well the car holds up in a crash, but they are larger than the Civic and Protege are.
Check out these sites for crash data:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov
http://www.iihs.org (offset crash tests here)
http://www.handera.com/solutions/biz_technician.asp
Obviously. I just recommended a Civic, but drive a Protege. Everyone has there own criteria, and balances each factor accordingly. Advice was sought, and given based upon known factors (which didn't include any knowledge of personal preferences). The rest, as always, is left as an exercise for the reader.
Exclusive reading is dangereous. My first car I bough in the States was a 1997 Civic EX, based uniquelly on what I read (CR, ...) Hate it! Shall never do a same mistake again.
Bruno
In other words, I didn't mean "reader" quite so literally.
Actually, the comment was allusion to school text books more than anything else. :-)
You can vary from mfr spec when conditions allow. For instance, when operating in a really cold place (say Canada in the dead of winter, eh?), you would probably use something with a 5 or even 0. If you have an older car with more wear and larger gaps between engine parts, and the temperature allows, you'd probably go to a 20Wsomething for the extra viscosity so oil doesn't blow by the seals. For high-temp operation (long trips, racing etc.), then use a 40 (or even 50) v. 30 (top value).
Oh well, 10W30 or 10W40 should be fine. They're not that different. So go with what works.
vocus - good pts. That's why I'm considering helping out, if needed, to get them into a tad bigger car like an Accord. Sonata, we're not sure of; they look nice, have a great warranty and I think safety-wise they are above ave (but it's still a Hyundai!...lol)
protogenic - valid pts on the Sonata (see above)
bluong1 - if you don't mind my asking, what don't you like about your Civic EX?
dsm6 - you're "spot on" on the test drives back to back - that's what I told my son: try the Civic and then the Accord and see the differences.
My wife just bought a new Mazda protege 5. We liked the car we test drove at the dealer. It was a 5-speed P5 with 16-inch allow wheels. The thing is, she wanted ABS and because of that we ended up buying another one. I wasn't here when my wife closed the deal but when I came back and drove this last car I found out the shifts were not as smooth as in the first car.; they are also a little harder and ging from 2nd to 3rd in the neutral, there is like an abnormal click (product of friction) that I have seen only happening in old gear boxes. It also makes a really loud noise when going in reverse... My wife noticed all of this of course but the dealer told her it was the ABS.
Have any of u guys experienced any of these things? Does ABS have to do with anything at all?
I want to call the dealer but I need some advice.
Thanks a lot in advance,
Axel
What a lie. Try to return the car if it's not too late.
Bruno
The build quality is not as good as in the Mazda. The latter feels much more solid.
I prefer Mazda engine with greater torque than the high rev a la honda.
I'm not that tall, but there is more head room on the Mazda than the Honda.
Few good things about the Civic though: the mileage is definitively better than the Mazda (may be 2mpg) and the rear leg room is good (Mazda is not bad either). Honda also has a good gear box, though it's a tad too tall for my taste.
In the big picture, it's kind of boring car, no character whatsoever. Having said that, I know a tone of people swear only by the Civic. So let's your kid test drive the car.
Bruno
PS: I test drove the new Civic EX when shopping for cars in 2001. IMHO The biggest improvement is ... the flat floor in the back. But this is achieved by compromising further the rear suspension design. Beside that, nothing has drastically changed.
I just talked with the dealer and I received the usual 'make an appointment'... I am so pissed right now... so much for reliability. My S4 which is supposed to be unreliable never had any problems in the 25,000 miles I have driven it. This car has only 200 miles and the nightmare has already begun.
I do like how Mazda cars drive. It's such a pity Ford is screwing up their image.
Axel
Hey, you drive an S4 and the wife is stuck with a Protege? Gee, I like the Pro and all, but it sure ain't no S4. ;-)
Dinu
What's going on Mazda?
Dinu
Just blame it on my Friday brain.
--Dale
Mentioning car safety and the relation to size, my first Protege was a '99. I was hit by a red light runner in a '99 Camry (outweighed my car by about 600 pounds) We were both going about 25 before braking and impact was on one of the front corner's of each car. Her Camry had much more visible damage than my Protege and I learned from her insurance company cost almost twice as much to repair. I was really impressed with my "tough little car". Then again, every accident is unique! It just seemed kind of interesting to me that the smaller car fared better.
Have a great weekend everyone!
My car was totaled (it was 3 weeks and 1500 miles old) but I walked away without a scratch. The engine was pushed back several inches, the electricals in front of and surrounding the engine were messed up, it pushed the passenger side fender into the passenger door (but both doors still opened), and underneath the car the exhaust pipe was bent. I was a little sore for a few days but that's about it. I can see why the Civic gets 5 stars now. And that just goes to show that a small car can be safe as long as it's built right.