Mazda Protegé

fowler3

looks like I spoke too soon, dinu1. That ugly stuff is coming Thursday. Why do all the bad things' names start with a T: Thunderstorms, tornadoes, tsunamiis, icy Thursdays, etc?

fowler3

pat

Oh, pardon me.

I seem to have stumbled into the Weather Channel - someone told me this was where we talked about Proteges, but I see that the person was very much mistaken.

pat

A perfect place to talk about every thing under the sun - and snow, and rain, and ice and grocery stores - except Proteges: Protege Posse.

Imagine that! A discussion that is THE perfect place for this stream of consciousness sharing that really doesn't fit into a "Mazda Protege" discussion on the Sedans Board just sitting there waiting for all of you good folks to talk about anything at all that strikes your fancy!

Heh.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

protege_fan

That doesn't sound like Protege talk to me...

Oh...my Pro is black by the way...black mica with some nasty rock chips

gee35coupe

pat

you mean you are not going to tell me I'm no fun?

I'm so disappointed.

:-)

protege_fan

You're more fun than a barrel of monkeys in the trunk of a Protege.

gee35coupe

I've never said that. I'm a newbee. A newbee I tell ya. Drat it all.

maltb

better start looking for a new screen name. :-)

gee35coupe

six6six.....Or something like that. I'm getting a Mazda6 soon.

Oh wait a minute. Who???

pat

Horton hears a Who?

Is there any conversation to be had about a PROTEGE, because that would be ever so cool.

jeffy729

Once in awhile I actually take the time to discuss my Protege in a post and I get the feeling I'm talking to myself (judging from most reactions - or lack thereof).

fowler3

Hang onto the Protegé until you find out if you really like the 6 all that much. After test driving one and getting back in my Protegé it felt inadequate, but after reading a few posts on the 6 board lately, I feel real good about my Pro. It's great to test drive new cars and then go home in a nice car!

Pro owners keep the faith!

fowler3

meinrad

Hey Jim, I don't think anyone is losing the faith. I would guess most people (Paul excluded), move on from their Pro and look back with fond memories.

I love mine, but would love a bigger car and the 6 looks like a pretty good one. I'm staying off the lot so I don't really like it.

But even our Head Pro Cheerleader has stated he might go 6 for his next car and I'm sure he'll sing the Pro's praises for years to come!

There are really 2 classes of people in the Pro I think. One who just wants the best small car out there, and one who settled for a small car on there way to a bigger one and picked the best small car out there to get them through.

mdaffron

Whom might that be?

Meade
Future 6 Owner

mazdafun

Well, my wife still hasn't driven her P5 yet, but we're waiting until we get that Stongard stuff on while the paint's in pristine condition.

Ironically, while she's the proud owner of a silver P5 (dang, those leather seats are COLD in the winter), she's now driving my '89 323LX (which is bright red, a color she didn't want in a car).

Seems I can't find a detailer close enough (have to drive across town, which will incur several stone chips, given how our streets tend to crumble and turn into gravel roads), so we'll be trying to install the stuff ourselves. The smaller bits and the hood trim don't scare me. However, that front bumper piece does look tough. Eek. Good thing she's got silver paint...it'll hide the bubbles better.

Still, the P5 looks pretty sharp in our garage. It still is kind of surprising to see it instead of her black Saturn.

I replaced the head unit in my 99LX with a refurbished unit so I can play my CDs again (I'll take apart my old one and see if I can resurrect it). Those connectors in the rear are really hard to remove, and the installer put the ground clip connector on upside down, so I had to twist my wrist around to push the release lever while tugging on the connector. Ugh. I now have several scratches on the side trim on the center stack bezel. Good thing I'm driving my Pro 'til it falls apart.

boggse

My wife needs something to drive. With her new position, we will not be able to carpool most days. We either need to replace the Jeep Cherokee (does just fine in snow and ice, Meade) or the Protege. Financially, it makes more sense to replace the Protege. Especially since it is a 5-speed, and she therefore refuses to drive it. The Protege was supposed to be for her to begin with, so it isn't that big of a deal.

We are currently looking seriously (on paper at least) at the Honda Civic EX, Toyota Corolla S or LE, Subaru Impreza RS, PT Cruiser AND the current front runner, the Protege5. As soon as we sell the current vehicle, we shall start test driving. I'll let you know what we decide to buy.

vocus

I actually look back on my Protege and have fond memories actually. I actually liked the DX better than the ES, but I also had it longer (almost 2 years), so maybe that's why.

vocus

Sorry to hear you are selling the Protege. And you just got new tires and everything. Don't you have a Grand Prix as well? I thought I read that on here. I asked, because you didn't mention it in the previous post.

vocus

You have rock chips across the front of your car too? Check this out:

http://www.magnetbra.com

It's the thing I had on the front of my black Protege. (I bought it to hide a nasty scratch though.) I still have it actually, but I can't find the one trim piece to it now. I was thinking about cutting it down to fit the VW and using it again, you know recycling...

dinu01

To do an oil change, A/T fluid change, coolant flush, and replace the sparkplugs. The PRO is within 300kms of 48.000kms (30.000 miles), and considering how much I drove it, this has been 16.5 months of severe use,

I just called and they told me it will take about 2 hours to do this.

I'll be back to report the quality of service, if I took any cars for a test drive, and how cold it is outside. Yesterday with windchill it was pretty cold, but the PRO started at the first turn (well it's still a new car - I would expect it to be like this).

Dinu

protege_fan

I was going to take that magnetbra off your hands, but I still don't like the idea of one on my Pro.

Actually, I managed to get a real nice ding in the chrome piece (black on ES/P5's)that's at the front of my Pro.

Anybody know if this can be replaced easily?

protege_fan

How much are they charging you for all that? I'm guessing over $200 CDN.

mdaffron

You're in North Carolina. I have no doubt you know how to drive in a Mid-Atlantic ice storm. I was making fun of Northerners and their flawed confidence in "our" winter weather, and cited the kinds of vehicles they tend to drive in it that we find ditched on the side of the road down here in January. I was not attacking the Jeep's (or any other vehicle's) ability to handle icy weather -- just the people who drive them from up north to here.

We now return you to the Mazda Protege discussion, already in progress ...

Sorry to hear you're getting rid of the Protege, but I'm glad to see a P5 is tops on your list. My wife's is doing just fine at 12,000 miles (and I still haven't driven it!!!). Hey -- why don't you consider a Mazda6i (4-cylinder version) as long as you're considering a P5? It wouldn't be that much more expensive (still under $20K out the door) ...

Meade

mdaffron

That even though the Posse discussion is entitled, "PROTEGE Posse," we CANNOT discuss the Protege there? At all?

Er -- huh?

Meade

vocus

I know what you mean about people in SUVs who drive like their rear-ends are on fire, down the highway, in the snow. Then you get down a little farther, and they are sitting there in a ditch, backward, with their headlamps shining toward the sky. I have seen this happen more than once on 495 and 50. Those kinda people deserve what they find, for endangering other peoples' lives because they think they have superpowers in a 4WD truck.

I was just talking with my boss, and she said she wouldn't be in if the weather was bad either. She has a RWD Infiniti J30 (anyone remember those?), so she will definitely be staying home.

I don't know about the front piece, but I suppose it should be pretty cheap. Ask Todd about it, since he just had the hood incident. He might know a little more about it.

vocus

We need to start calling you "Mr. Technicality."

mdaffron

The period goes INSIDE the quotation mark.

Meade

boggse

At least, that is what my wife said.

BTW: I am originally from upstate NY, and no, I do not own any Pontiacs. I used to own a VW though...

vocus

That's right, you used to have the Jetta VR6. Sorry, I mixed you up with someone else on this forum.

newcar31

pro-fan:

The grill is $44 US dollars. From the looks of it, it should be an easy swap.

Well, my car is at the body shop today. I was kinda sad to drop it off. When I get it back, it better have the hood insulation, all original stickers (catalyst, A/C, etc.) and the weather stripping attached. I'm real picky.

Enterprise had a Buick Century, Silverado, Jeep Liberty, Geo Metro, and a Focus. I took the Focus. My Dad has a wagon for his company car, but haven't driven it that much. The rental has 14,000 miles, Auto, and the coffee grinder 2.0L. I wish it had the Zetec, it's much better. This car feels solid and is rattle free. Not bad for a rental with 14,000 miles. The ride is excellent. It feels like it would be a great road trip car. It seems that Ford Europe did their homework with this chassis. It doesn't handle like the Protege, but the ride is so nice. Firm, but still smooth. I don't know how they did it. With Ford and Mazda working together on the next Protege/Focus chassis, I'm confident that the new cars will blow away everything in the class in terms of chassis refinement and handling. People knock Ford all the time, but there is no denying Ford Europe's chassis expertise. The Mondeo and Focus are proof of this. Team them up with Mazda and things are bound to get interesting. Since the Focus in Europe is supposed to be much better than the recall machine Ford sells here, I think the next *Japanese* built Protege should be just fine. I can't wait.

vocus

Since you have to replace the whole grille anyway to fix the molding, would you think about upgrading to the ES grille?

vocus

I had a Focus rental not too long ago. In the compact class, it's actually the car I prefer. Better than the Neon, Metro, or Cavalier that Enterprise typically carries.

newcar31

No doubt it's the best compact BY FAR from the domestics.

vocus

Definitely. I sat in an 02 Cavalier the other day, and it was awful! No wonder they are giving $3000 rebates on these cars to get rid of them!

I looked at a Focus back in 2000 when they first came out, but decided against it because of the "wait a year" philosophy. Glad I did now. Also, the first Focii (sp?) had uncomfortable front seats, but the 02 rental I had a couple of weeks ago (it was a friend's) was fine for me, and I had driven about 70 miles in it.

the_big_h

get the Autoexec front grill! it looks awesome IMO :-)

protege_fan

Pics?

Oh..btw...it's not the front grill that's messed. It's just the strip of chrome/black that is just below the leading edge of the hood.

I'm not overly concerned about it, but if it's cheap, why not?

newcar31

I don't think you can buy just the strip. That's what's messed up on mine and they just ordered the whole grill. What's the auto exec grill look like?

dinu01

Tranny fluid replaced 62.10
Coolant flush 77.96
Oil and filter 26.95
Spark Plugs 52.64

Labour 162.00
Parts 57.65
Total before taxes 219.65
Taxes 32.95
TOTAL 252.60

They originally quaoted me $282, but I asked (nicely) the service manager to work something out for me since it's not just an oil change. I left it with her, and when it was done, she was able to lower it $30. Not bad!

Warranty news: Apparently there is a service bulletin that coves our cracked hubcaps. I got 4 new hubcaps free, installed. I was told: "It's under warranty".

Bulletin #: XX361XRX

Overall, I waited 2.5 hrs at the dealer, sat in a few cars, chatted-up with a salesman that let me test drive that 00 LX touring a few weeks back. He recognized me and came by to say HI! Positive attitude, which is good.

I also got 2 new front license plate covers, b/c the dealership name changed to Avante Mazda Toronto. The service guy told me he had to put them on, unless I didn't want to. It protects my personalized plate, so why not. I don't mind the dealer advertising on my car, as long as they give me the service I expect, which was great today (as always)!

I even washed the PRO - it was a ghostly shade of white. Looking good!

Dinu

protege_fan

What? Cracked hubs are covered?? Why for??? I must know!!!

dinu01

but as I walked into the service bay to see the progress on my car, I see a stack of hubcaps wrapped in plastic and Raymond (the mechanic) tells me they're going on my car.

I just looked and said :"Thanks!"

On the invoice it says:

"Inspect and report on wheel cap cracking
Cause: Cracked
XX361XRX RE AND REPLACE CRACKED BUT NOT DAMAGED HUBCAPS AS PER INSTRUCTIONS AND BULLETIN"

Go figure. Trust me, don't complain, and next time you need an oil change, go to Mazda and ask about this bulletin.

Dinu

the_big_h

here's someone's P5 with the Autoexec grill:

http://www.onlineshowoff.com/index.asp?section=profile&username=equinox

quite a looker I'd say, just ignore the stripes on the sides and the vinyl visor :-)

the_big_h

here's a thread that the same guy posted pics of his car:

http://forum.protegemp3.com/vbb222/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8453&highlight=autoexec+grill

protege_fan

I checked the NHTSA site for TSBs and there's nothing for hubcaps.

Cracked, but not damaged....hmm....

I know that a couple of mine look like crap right now. Too bad I don't goto the dealership for oil changes. Maybe I'll stop in to see about my squeaky suspension (squeaks over speed bumps)

Dinu, was your car an '01 or an '00? I forget.

meinrad

protege_fan

That Autoexec grill does look sweet!

Any idea on cost?

dinu01

01 ES w/15" Poortenzas, now Avid Touring.

protege_fan

Ah...reason I was asking was to see if they mentioned anything about the "cold engine rattle PCM fix" that I've heard about.

dinu01

that worked on my car told me to stay away from the 1.6 engine as it has some problems (did not give any more details as another tech was coming to the service bay next to where my car was).

I didn't ask about shifter vibration as my car is auto and does not experince this problem, but the 5 spd I drove sure did.

It was VERY cold in Toronto these last few days and the PRO sits outside and has not made any pinging noises, like it did before, so I didn't ask about that either.

I guess I can't help much...

Dinu

fritz1224

$32.95 tax on $57.65 worth of parts. Geez, Rumania sure has a high tax rate. Is the labor also taxed? I have done all the maintenance on my Pro and I don't have $75.00 total. That includes everything you had done plus replace the air filter. Oh, I don't have an auto so that expense doesn't affect me. Just a little mechanical know how could save you big bucks. And the pro really doesn't require that much upkeep. At least compared to my accord.