Mazda Protege5

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Comments

  • exl5exl5 Member Posts: 8
    I've just bought black one today.
  • tocantocan Member Posts: 118
    I hadn't seen another P5 since I bought mine until last Saturday, when I saw a blue one. Today, I saw TWO of them, a black and a blue that was parked just around the corner from my home!

    Nomi
  • zcmanzcman Member Posts: 17
    I have 960 miles on my 5sp P5 now. My last tank of gas averaged 31.5 mpg of 70/30 % hi-way/city driving.
  • krotinekrotine Member Posts: 93
    What size tires do you have and what octane are you using.

    I'm averaging 28mpg (300 miles/tank) with 17" rims using 87 octane.

    Jason Krotine
  • krotinekrotine Member Posts: 93
    Is anyone having trouble running 17" tires on the car? I bought a red protege5 (off the showroom floor)with 17" kumho tires and it seems they're too wide for the bottom of the shock tower. I'm concerned on how much weight I can have in the car before the tires rub on the shock tower plate.

    Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    Thank you,

    Jason Krotine
  • zcmanzcman Member Posts: 17
    Stock 16" - rims and 195/50 tires
  • teoteo Member Posts: 2,508
    Any particular likes/dislikes about this vehicle???

    Thanks for your responses..
  • jstandeferjstandefer Member Posts: 805
    The Protege MP3 runs 17" Racing Hart wheels with 205/45ZR17 tires. What size tires are you running of your 17" wheels? I am running 205/50R15's on my '99 ES without any clearance issues. If your tires are wider than 205 or of a taller profile (higher than 45), you may experience clearance problems.

    Gas mileage can be seriously affected by tire and wheel size. The 17" wheels are heavier and require more torque to get them moving. This will decrease fuel mileage. Wider tires have a larger contact patch and require more power to keep them moving. These will decrease your fuel mileage.
  • curemecureme Member Posts: 18
    The only real dislike about the car is the sound system. The 6 disc in-dash and cassette player are fine, but the speakers (both sound and placement) create a fairly flat sound. Other than that, I (along with most others) only wish the car had some horses under the hood. It is really a great car and a blast to drive.
  • zcmanzcman Member Posts: 17
    My only real complaint is road noise from the tires. Nitpicks complaints - cupholders are poor, center console is not usuable as an armrest because it is too low and too far back, carpet/sound insulation is thin, etc.
  • jcandisjcandis Member Posts: 3
    I test drove the P5 today and I liked it but the salesman was less then willing to deal with me. I wanted a yellow, auto, w/moon roof. He had 3 silver ones (no moon roofs)on the lot with more silver ones and a red one coming in next week. I repeated several times what I wanted and asked if he could check to see if there were any in the area then he could just trade a silver for a yellow one. I said as a second choice I would take a blue one but with the same options.

    Well, I was told they haven't started to make the car in either color so wouldn't I like a silver one. I said no, I know there's a yellow one out there somewhere around here. At that point he told me to take a silver one for a while and show my husband the car. I said what about a moonroof and was told well, it would be hard to find one with a moon roof. Again, he tried to push a silver one on me by saying, we don't want you without a car so why don't you take a silver one for a while at that point I said no thanks my lease isn't up for a few more weeks I'm sure I'll find what I'm looking for and sure enough my husband found a yellow one in Lancaster with what I want. I don't understand why someone wouldn't put forth a little effort especially if you know you have a sale. I look forward to checking out the yellow one this weekend.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    Simple. The dealer say you were a woman and tried to push a car on you to make a sale. They do it to women and younger people all the time. The dealership tried to do it to me when I got my Protege ES (I am 23), but I told them I wanted exactly what I wanted and if they couldn't help me, I would take my business elsewhere.
  • westy5westy5 Member Posts: 24
    To all,

    I have been reading your posts for the past four (4) months and have asked a few questions in recent weeks. Thanks to all for your help and information.

    I purchase a Silver 5-speed on Tuesday. The dealer had to order it from somewhere else, so I had a strike against me when negotiating the price. Sounds like we've picked a winner. Details below for anyone who is interested:

    - $16,100
    - 0% for 36 months
    - 5-speed, Silver
    - Floor Mats
    - Cargo Net
    - Cargo Tray
    - Rear Bumper Guard

    Nothing special, but then again, I wasn't looking for a souped up version, just something simple to carry my gear and bikes in. I take delivery on Friday or Saturday.

    Has anyone purchased an extended warranty for the P5?? I am planning on holding onto the car for long time and I've contemplated purchasing an extended warranty.

    Thanks again.
  • curemecureme Member Posts: 18
    jcandis (and anyone else who wants a Yellow),

    There is a Yellow one at Don Kott Mazda in Carson, CA. It's got automatic, a moon roof and polished wheels. They want $5000 over MSRP (which is ridiculous), but it's great to stop in and see the color. Maybe they'll start dealing soon. They have also got a bunch of red and silver ones, but even those have a $2000 markup.
    Good luck in Lancaster. Yellow really is the fastest color :)
  • iamziamz Member Posts: 542
    Sorry to here about your experience. I'm surprised this guy would outright lie to you about the production of yellow and blue P5s. Alot of the gals and guys out there selling cars for a living would never pull that kind of crap on a customer. You shouldn't have to travel very far to find a reputable dealership to work with.

    From my experience at the dealerships here in the twin ciies and going on line to other dealerships across the country, most dealers are stocking black, silver and red. I don't know why there are not alot of blue P5s out there, but with the yellow, my understanding is that production problems with the paint led to decreased initial shipments.

    Don't be surprised if the Yellow one your going to look at, is being sold above MSRP though.

    Good luck :)

    -Terry
  • tocantocan Member Posts: 118
    Don't let them tell you that they haven't made things yet. I have now seen 4 P5s on the road, 2 of them blue and 2 of them black. I have seen silver and red at the dealer. All have had moonroof I think. In fact, the only colour I haven't yet seen is the yellow.

    Just remember that the yellows ARE more limited than the other colours (not limited like the MP3 I don't think, but limited). They also seem to be in demand (although personally they don't do anything for me; to each his/her own).

    Nomi
  • kosikosi Member Posts: 9
    I bought the silver one because it my dealer had it equipped the way I wanted. They had the yellow equipped the way I wanted as well but as I said before: $2,000 over sticker price is too much. I would be glad to discuss an owners club with anyone who wants to. My e-mail address is tuantran1974@hotmail.com We can set up the first official Houston chapter of the Mazda Protege5 Owners Club. How do you like that?
  • iamziamz Member Posts: 542
    It was my salesperson. He told me my yellow P5 just came off the truck and they were taking plastic wrap off it as we spoke. He said they would do the dealer prep to the car and it would be ready for me to pick up on Friday.

    I told him I would come in Saturday.

    I feel just like a little kid waiting for x-mas morning. :)

    -Terry
  • tocantocan Member Posts: 118
    Congratulations! Have a great weekend driving your new car.

    Nomi
  • csuftitanscsuftitans Member Posts: 215
    jcandis, I saw a blue one in Alhambra if you want to look. BTW, if you don't mind paying $300 below MSRP, try bring a printout of Carsdirect.com price quote and show it to the sales person at the dealership. I've heard that more times than not, buyers were able to get the car at that price; I just hate negotiating with car salesman.

    While looking for our Protege5 (we got a black one now), I called many fleet managers in los angeles area and I found a couple that's really seems like a good guy. They will tell you the price over the phone and even the monthly payments if you know your FICA score. If anyone wants to know these people, email me "nazca8@mindspring.com".


    Our Pro5 will reach 2000 miles tomorrow. So far it's been a joy to drive and my wife still dominate the time driving the Pro5 rathan than our 2000 Millenia S. Got more attention on the road and in parking lot compared to our Millenia. Everything about the car is perfect; we are very happy with this car; I'm sure everyone else feels the same.

    Here's a link to see our two cars:


    http://photos.yahoo.com/indopirate


    zoom zoom.

  • exl5exl5 Member Posts: 8
    So far I have seen P5 in all available colours, but yellow only once. It was at a local dealership and I could not take a better look because someone was driving it off at that moment.
    Few days ago, when I finally decided to go for it,
    dealer told me that getting a yellow one is next to impossible, so I took a black one. I have VIN, and know I am waiting, I hope not for a long.
  • jcandisjcandis Member Posts: 3
    I knew the yellow might be hard to find, but to say they don't make it is ridiculous! I would have looked at a red one but I repeated several times I don't want a silver one, especially one without a moon roof. He didn't pay attention to that nor when I talked about the terms of how long I wanted to finance it. So, I'll take my business else where. I was very persistent and spoke in very clear terms but I must have been talking in a totally different language without even realizing it!!
  • heysharonheysharon Member Posts: 9
    Hadn't seen any P5s on the road here in Pgh, so I stopped by local dealer last week. Sales guy said the manufacturer was having problems with the yellow paint adhering which is why they have limited availability. Maybe he was just tring to deter me, who knows. My guess is that when they get the kinks worked out more will become available, if his claim is true.
  • krotinekrotine Member Posts: 93
    Which local dealer did you stop by?

    Also, if you see a red protege5 driving on the pgh roads... that'll probably be me.
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    Krotine, which dealer in Pittsburgh did you deal with? We're going to buy in about a month, and stopped by Billco, they seemed ok. A friend bought a vw from them and had a good experience.
    And I haven't seen you in your red car just yet, if fact haven't seen one on the road around here at all yet.
  • heysharonheysharon Member Posts: 9
    Stopped by Don Allen. Had silver (automatic) and red (standard) in showroom. Sales guy seemed ok. BF had bought there previously. Seemed very accommodating (sales department, not BF) He had no problems that I know of-of course no longer seeing that guy!

    Sharon
  • krotinekrotine Member Posts: 93
    I dealt with Jeff Pepper & Al White at Don Allen. Jeff is the sales manager, so there was no side-stepping? of which car I wanted. Of course, I did buy the car right off the showroom floor.

    Where is "around here"?
  • krotinekrotine Member Posts: 93
    Well, as of June 23rd, the red car is no longer on the showroom floor. Having fun driving it.

    Which part of town are you located in?
  • boopoppaboopoppa Member Posts: 48
    Hey it;s good to hear some news on the Pittsburgh front. I have two silver pro5's on the road, one being driven by my sales rep. I put an order in for a blue 5spd with moonroof and was told that it would be on the july boat. They couldn't give me a VIN number yet, and the approx date of arrival was August.

    Anybody know how legit that sounds? Are they delaying things until the special financing is over?

    I saw a blue one in the window of Don Allen, but I'm not sure if it's the one that I want. If it was, I would assume my dealer would have contacted me.

    sorry for being long winded! I'm new here :-)

    ciao bisous
  • jstandeferjstandefer Member Posts: 805
    The VIN on factory orders has been discussed in detail earlier in the board, so I will keep this short. The VIN is not assigned until the vehicle is actually built in order to keep the VIN's in order. Once the vehicle has been physically built, your dealer will get the VIN.
  • boopoppaboopoppa Member Posts: 48
    so if the dealer said the car was ordered for the july boat and should be here first week of august am I incorrect to think that the car's been built already and should have a VIN?
  • jstandeferjstandefer Member Posts: 805
    I think the dealership will have the VIN soon. There's still 23 days left in July. Believe me, as soon as the car is built, the dealership will receive a confirmation, invoice, and the VIN.
  • lindaelisabethlindaelisabeth Member Posts: 1
    A local dealer (golden Horseshoe area of Ontario) told me that the P5 was offered in red, blue, silver and black. I asked about the yellow and he said that it is a limited edition and it comes fully loaded (6 ad-changer etc) and that there are no breaks on the price. He also said that they were getting 3 in September and all of them were already sold.
  • phoenixmp5phoenixmp5 Member Posts: 60
    Dealers are so full of it! The Yellow P5 can be ordered any way one would like and is in no way fully loaded. Before I bought my red P5, I saw two yellow BASE models at two different dealers here in the Phoenix area. I didn't buy either one, because I wanted a more equipped model.

    Dealers are just trying to create their own yellow P5 frenzy, so they can gouge the public.
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    "around here" is Zelienople/Harmony north of Pittsburgh, but I have yet to see one on the road any where in the North Hills.
    I've never been to Don Allen but I'll probably do some shopping when buying time comes so I'll stop by there too.
    And when I do see the red one, I'll just run ya off the road.......Lol.
  • lolmanlolman Member Posts: 10
    Does anyone know if the special financing (1.9% up to 36 mo and 4.9% up to 60 mo) that ends today is being extended or if there is going to be some other special financing from mazda on the prottege5???
  • deliveryguydeliveryguy Member Posts: 11
    3 out of the 4 dealers on the north side of Atalnta here have a yellow P5, but they must be asking a premium for them as they have all had them for awhile, ie 1-2 weeks! Still looking for a blue 5-speed, 98% automatics here in Atlanta! I did find a black 5-speed base model, no options!
    Internet person is saying $200 under invoice!, but I'm not sure I believe him. Black seems like it would be a little hot here in the South. The one dealer had 3 red, 2 black, 1 silver, but all automatic trans. So, how much? Oh we can get you a blue one, a 5-speed, sure! How much? Sure we can get what you want. How much...........
  • deliveryguydeliveryguy Member Posts: 11
    I would say the P5 is a station wagon as I measured the cargo area of my wrecked 87 323 "station wagon" and the distance behind the seat is the same, about 60", the width was about the same, with the height about 1-2 inches taller in the P5, but it is chopped off somewhat at the back.
    I checked the back seat as someone had mentioned above and found that:
    1. the seats fold down, flat? well not as flat as in my 87 323 wagon.
    2. seat bottom lifts up at the front and then pivots forward into the rear foot well. the seat folds down flat, well almost flat(remove the head rests)
    3. lift the yellow tab clip and slide the hooks out and remove the seat bottom. the seat folds down flat, well almost flat
    most salepersons are unaware of 2 and 3. the seat sort of lays flat, but not as flat as it did in my 87 323. On the other hand I did find the rear seat accomidations to be rather roomy and pleastant.

    Was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the engine as it is laid out exactly as my 87 1.6 was, except for the fact it is a 16 valve, doulble overhead cam! I noted the twin coils on top of the sparkplugs and the lack of a distributor!? My 87 323 1.6 engine had over 250,000 miles before I wrecked it. Very reliable!
  • redshiftredshift Member Posts: 5
    Hi Pro5 Fans,

    I just got home (Central Ohio) from buying our Red Protege 5 with 5 speed manual, ABS, and Moon roof pretty much right off the truck. I had a blast driving it home. We bought it using the S-plan through my wife's job and also got the 4.9% Mazda financing. What a deal!

    Thanks to everyone on this message board for the info on this fun little car and the financing deals that were available. It made the buying process "easy as parcheesi". Now for the fun part...driving it. Zoom, zoom, zoom indeed.
  • protegextwoprotegextwo Member Posts: 1,265
    Sounds like you got an awesome automobile for an awesome price! Keep us informed on your ownership exiperence.

    -Larry
  • butler11butler11 Member Posts: 12
    My Yellow one is to be here this week or next for sure. Just want to know if the holes on the front plate are factory done or dealer done,I don't want mine drilled at all. Why did they not offer the roof rack and chrome wheels for Canada. There all made on the same line ????
  • butler11butler11 Member Posts: 12
    Let me know what date please .Just so I know where mine could be in the shipment. I was told it was in BC on July02 .Thanks I've got my VIN #
  • sunbyrnesunbyrne Member Posts: 210
    I've been looking at P5's for a while and finally got a chance to drive one. Actually, two, at two different dealers, one 5-speed and one automatic. My wife has a 99 Protege LX and it's similar, though nicely a little quicker and handling is tighter in the P5. Very nice to drive, really liked the 5-speed. I definitely want one, but both dealers said no deals, strictly MSRP, but one might be able to get me good financing, which would help. Still, it feels wrong to pay MSRP... Any thoughts?
  • melonhead1melonhead1 Member Posts: 7
    there must be someone out there in the U.S. who wants to unload the roof rack that came standard on their P5. Anyone want to sell?
  • phoenixmp5phoenixmp5 Member Posts: 60
    The front plate bracket is installed by the dealer. I found mine in a plastic bag in the hatch section. Front plates are not standard here, so dealers don't install them. If you don't want yours drilled, you may have to start over emphasizing that fact right now.
  • phoenixmp5phoenixmp5 Member Posts: 60
    Just in-case anyone was wondering about the highway mileage on the P5, I just drove from Phoenix to San Dingo and got 31 MPG.

    I used 89 Octane gas (87 pings when temperatures get over 105) and drove the distance with the cruse set between 70 and 75.

    During the hottest portion of the drive, the temperatures was 116, so the air was on the entire trip.

    My car has an automatic and 2K on the odometer.

    Has anyone done better than this?

    Ryan
  • phasorphasor Member Posts: 12
    My standard, blue P5 with air and moon finally showed up today after 5 1/2 weeks. It was in the contract to deliver within 2 weeks, but I really wanted/needed this car so I decided to wait. So I suggest tacking on 3 1/2 weeks to whatever the dealer tells you!
    I'm going to demand a concession for waiting so long.

    Is there anything I should ask for/be carefull of when picking it up?

    Looking foward to some zoom. :)
  • iamziamz Member Posts: 542
    I picked up my P5 on Saturday and my salesperson informed me that they are currently only accepting MSRP for all colors except Yellow which is $995 over MSRP.

    If you can wait, prices will come down. But, interest rates may go back up, which could really wipe out any savings from buying below MSRP.

    It's your call, but whatever you do, having driven my own P5 over the last few days, I would be more than willing to pay MSRP.

    -Terry
  • butler11butler11 Member Posts: 12
    Where do you live And when did your car come in.I just want to know because then I can get an idea when mine might be in?I live in London,Ont.Thanks
  • phasorphasor Member Posts: 12
    Sorry, should have mentioned I'm in Vancouver.

    Ordered my car May 29. Was told that they found one with the options I wanted on a boat, it would be here in 2 weeks. Next excuse was that the longshoremen were taking their time, final excuse was that there was no dealer pickups. It finally got here July 10.

    I paid MSRP but I got a good deal on my trade-in, it's worth about $500 but got $1800 off sticker for it. I've heard most dealers here are selling strictly MSRP, the rest are charging extra. IF you can get one.

    Good luck!
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