Mazda Protege5

subyaudidude

You can't have ABS w/out the moonroof. That's the big gripe. Thus, the price for ABS becomes $1500.

iamz

There are many cars sold that are much safer than our P5's (not saying the P5 is dangerous). Problem is, many of them cost more. You made a compromise on your saftey when you bought the P5 (It doesn't have a perfect 5 star crash rating). I'm not sure your argument is valid.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but life is all about compromise.

protege_fan

Dude...I have an LX sedan! I got ABS and didn't have to get any moonroof!

I know there are cars safer than the Protege (ie. the Civic). If I ONLY wanted safety, I would have bought a bumper car and stayed inside my yard.

I NEVER said that I wasn't willing to compromise. Hell, my LX doesn't have power windows, but I wasn't willing to pay for them anyway, so I don't have them.

Wait...I didn't compromise then....I got EVERYTHING I wanted when I bought the Pro LX. Funny how that happened...

subyaudidude

You wrote:

"You would sacrifice safety for money????? Maybe it's just me, but I don't care how much it costs to get fixed...if it adds safety, I'll take it."

I think iamz's point is that in choosing the Protege over, say, a Mercedes, you sacrificed some safety for money. Certainly, an MB is bigger, heavier, and probably safer than your Protege. But it's also a whole heckuva lot more expensive. In choosing the Protege over the MB, you sacrificed that safety to save a lot of money. Thus, the statement you wrote earlier isn't exactly true. Point being - nearly EVERYBODY sacrifices safety for cost. That's just how it is. You may have gotten "everything you wanted," but you still sacrificed. I got a P5 w/out ABS. Would ABS have been nice? Sure. Did I need/want it. Not for $1500. I (and others w/out ABS) got everything we wanted too.

iamz

"....if it adds safety, I'll take it. "

And you said, "Sorry for the rant and I'm not trying to flame you. Maybe I even misunderstood your post...but I just find it unbelieveable." in reference to the fact that kizeh didn't want to spend close to $1500 to get the ONE safety feature he wanted.

Sounds kind of uncompromising to me. (grin)

In any case, I'm glad to hear you ARE willing to let other people spend their money where they see fit (I'm joking here so take this lightly ).

Have a good one.

nexis

Wow!! I have read all 4505 posts in a week to catch up. I'm almost blind, but I'm caught up.

I am going to get a P5 hopefully by the end of the month. I was just wondering if we Canadians got the mid-year upgrades? I wasn't aware of them when I took my test drive, so I wasn't really looking.

Thanks

mustang87

"I wasn't aware of them..."

see, it pays to do your homework
audiaq? keep us updated on the 2003.

silver_bullet

Maybe it is different in Canada, but the P5s on my local dealer's lot that list the "Mid-cycle Refresh" on the sticker have: differently styled alloys, tweeters in the A-pillar sail panel, uncovered cupholders, redesigned shift knob (5-speed cars), and oval shaped side repeater/flasher lights. I think that's it, although I may have missed something else. I also saw the factory leather for the first time - nice! It is perforated leather (yay!), and looks very well fitted. A tempting $490.00 option for sure.

tincup47

It is 1500.00, but that is still not several thousand dollars. I wonder how many people pass the safety options up, then spend 1-2 thousand dollars on audio upgrades?

tinytory

Both my parents and I bought P5s this past weekend. Mine is blue with 5 spd, air and roof (ABS is standard in Canada), theirs is black with an auto, air and roof.

Stopped for lunch after picking them up, and noticed quite a few people checking out the 2 gleaming new vehicles parked side by side.

After months of looking forward to this purchase, I am so ridiculously happy right now. I love this car!

(In case anyone is interested, I'm 28 and my folks are both 57. The P5 has multi-generation appeal)

revka

for your new P5s! We look forward to hearing about your ownership experience.... ;-)

Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards

cbmorton

I was at my dealer on Saturday and looked at all the P5s on the lot, the newest of which were built in April. The only difference between those P5s and mine (built November '01) was the new uncovered cupholders. They may be saving the rest of the upgrades for the 2003 model year in Canada rather than introduce them mid-year the way they did in the US.

the_big_h

this just shows that a good car is a good car, that people of all ages can recognize and like, no matter how 'RACY' it may look to some people....

cbmorton

Funny that this subject came up. While I was out at lunch a couple of hours ago a 60ish guy in a Chrysler luxobarge (whitewalls, vinyl roof, etc.) stopped in the middle of the street to ask me how I liked my P5. I thought wow, now that's pretty broad appeal.

bilihor

Hello!
I'm a new P5 owner. 2002, silver, no ABS, no Roof, sport-auto, regular 16". Bought it this weekend for $17,850, no payments for 9 month, 3.4 APR after that! I can't believe it.

silver_bullet

Excuse me, but isn't that price just about MSRP? My local dealer will sell any P5 for 3% over invoice -- and that's before the cash back offer or special financing.

subyaudidude

That puts you at $17,885 MSRP. I don't know how you worked the no payments for nine months part, but we got our base P5 w/ floormats only for about $15,800 and 2.9% financing for 60 months.

Whatever the case, welcome to the club. I'm sure you'll enjoy your P5.

ashutoshsm

sharonf

Whatever the case....bilihor is happy....so y take the wind outta someone's sails??? It's not like they can go back and request a price adjustment ya know? It may be out the door price...it may not...but why turn a happy feeling into a sour one?
Welcome to the P5 family Bilihor...enjoy!

sharonf

Congrats! The fun begins I've had mine almost 2 mos. now and lovin it!

iamz

Congrats on your new P5s. Don't worry about what other folks have paid for their P5's. Price can vary quite a bit depending on demand for the P5 in different areas across the country.

revka

and congrats on your new Protege5! We look forward to your participation here. Happy motoring! ;-)

Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards

pciskowski

It was the heater outlet under the passenger seat!?! I currently have an empty water bottle jammed underneath it and it stopped it. Has anyone else had this and come up with a better solution?

Now to find the one right behind my left ear. I think it is the seat belt pulley. Anyone else had/found this one?

mazdafun

Or foam insulation. At least that has adhesive on one side.

Sporin

I paid only a tiny bit less then sticker for my P5 back on the first of Sept. They were a hot commodity then and I still think they are worth the price. I got the 4.9% financing, got out of 1 leased car early, and unloaded another peice of junk to make up the difference on the leased car. I was right around $17.5 out the door including taxes.

Don't let people here get you down on price. Unless the dealer ripped you out of a rebate, or charged you OVER sticker, you didn't make out that bad.

There are always people who will gloat about how little THEY paid... it's not worth getting upset about and I don't understand why people take thatt attitude. It's not likeyou can go back to your dealer and renegotiate becasue "Some guy on the internet paid less."

:-D

meinrad

I've always felt if you're happy with what you paid, then you paid the right price. But, it doesn't hurt to realize that others maybe paid less and learning from that the next time you go shopping. If not for people on here telling me what they paid, I'm sure I would have paid the MSRP the first dealer quoted me. Since I knew others weren't paying so much I knew to keep looking and ended up paying much less.

meinrad

I haven't heard of too many other people driving the same car as their parents. When I was 16 I got a CRX and my dad liked it so much he bought one a month later. We both drove them for 7 years before moving on.

The P5 does seem to appeal to alot of different ages though, which is pretty cool I guess.

silver_bullet

I agree that the "right" price is the one both you and the seller can agree on and feel good about - there are too many factors (local supply and demand, personal credit history, trade in valuation, etc.) affecting pricing to compare what one person paid to that of another person. Having said that, I feel that one of the main reasons Edmunds exists is to educate buyers on the ins and outs of negotiating the purchase of a new or used car, and comparing notes with others in Town Hall is a great way to gain some leverage in the negotiation process. If you got the car you wanted at a price you can live with, you did good ;-)

subyaudidude

Actually, my parents drive the same car as I do. In November 2000 we got a Suby Outback Wagon. My wife was pregnant with our first child and we felt that a wagon would be good. That way we could transport both the dog and the daughter w/out the daughter getting licked in the face the whole ride. In early January, while we were out of town, we lent the car to my mother, who was making a trip through some potential snow storms. She felt her old (but trusty) Nissan NX1600 wouldn't be safe enough. About 2 months after she got back I helped her buy a new Suby Outback Ltd. Wagon. Then, this spring, my dad decided his old 93 VW Passat wasn't safe enough for him. Two weeks later, parked right next to the Outback Ltd. Wagon, was an Outback Ltd. Sedan.

bluong1

Just come back from a 10 days vacation in Columbia (what a nice country). During the time, I left my P5 at the parking of the airport. After flying back, I took a shuttle driven by a young lady. When dropping me last at the spot E28, she asked: "it's your car the little zoom-zoom? [I put a sticker in the back].", and continues: "what a great looking car! we stared at it during the whole week!" she said.

BTW, Mazda is very popular in Columbia, probably the most popular car maker there. The Protege/and P5 are both called "Allegro". The P5 is available with two engines: 1.3 and 1.6l, equipped with 14" wheels and disk break only in front. The color of the dash is green (my friend's father just bought an Allegro and a 626).

Bruno

mustang87

it seems this forum is growing by days. welcome everybody who bought a P5 as well as others who are here just to chat. I am seeing more and more refresh p5s. so 1 in the FAU parking lot today. he was parked way in the back just like me. which brings me to this. i doubt i will ever leave my car in a parking lot for such a long time. i hope you got a corner spot, otherwise people will just bang your car when they open their car's doors. whenever i park my car somewhere i make sure that i park it away from other cars and i always take up two spots Is anybody else this paranoid about their wagons?

sharonf

Funny you should mention that. I've had mine about 2mos now and am careful where I park. The first night I got it....stopped at grocery store...and made sure there were a couple empty spaces on each side of me....come out to find some cargo van was nose to nose with me!! Fortunately someone had been watching and told me they didn't hit. I went straight home after that. I regularly park far away to avoid any door dings.
The funny part is...a couple weekends ago I went to a home and garden show and had to park in a multi-level garage. It had small spaces and people were parked all crazy..over lines(unintentionally) etc...so I kept going up in levels...til I found one relatively empty....I took up two spots on an end of a row(thinking...it's all empty). Came back to find a parking warning on my winshield for taking up two spots! Not our fault....if people would just learn to park properly...and have a lil respect for each other's vehicles....we wouldn't have to do this!!

iamz

I generally leave at least 10 empty parking spots between me and any other car, and if I know the lot will eventually come close to filling up, I'll go all the way to the farthest outskirts.

I never take up 2 spots though because I'm afraid someone will intentionally key or ding my car just cause they know it would Pi$$ me off.

You KNOW those folks are out there.

pciskowski

I always try to park on an end so that at least one side will be protected. So far no dings after 3 months. Plus I'm getting more exercise by walking further. My wife thinks sometimes it would be faster if I just left the car at home and walked!

Sporin

I spent this weekend up in Stowe, VT for a wedding. I filled up right before I left my home in Windsor VT and spent the whole weekend with 4+ people and their luggage in the car. Up and back was mostly highway, but the rest was slow up-and-over the mountains, back and forth between the hotel, the Trapp Family Lodge, and my buddies house... multiple times. The AC was on for 100% of the time.

I STILL averaged 29mpg!

Anyone ever driven through Smuggler's Notch? That is a serious hoot. A good part of it is 1 lane, 1st gear, switchback twisties.

mazdafun

and I still park my sedan in empty parts of lots. Still, the payoff is no door dings (so far...knock on wood...if I can find any real wood around here) and more exercise. What a waste of time for able-bodied people to circle around and idle for several minutes to get a close space when they could just find the first open spot and walk in less time.

"Allegro" is a great name for the P5...all about brisk movement.

meinrad

I won't key your car or anything, but I will park right up next to you if you take up 2 spots in a crowded lot. I do it to Porsche's, BMW's and to anyone else who does it.

One way to avoid dings is to look for small 4 doors to park beside. Their doors are short and less likely to be able to hit your car. Those old huge [non-permissible content removed] 2 door's are the worst. Doors are long and heavy and people just fling them open.

Mostly I just try to park a few cars away from everyone else, but beyond that, I'm not willing to do much else.

silver_bullet

... but I'd avoid taking up two spaces just to protect against door dings. In the last few years, I've seen people purposely push shopping carts into cars that do this, and once I watched while a BIG guy walked up to a Benz that was parked diagonally across two spaces and kick the driver's side rearview mirror off the door... he left it dangling by its wires.

subyaudidude

need to get a clue. Those people, and people who aren't handicap but park in the handicap spots make me sooooo mad sometimes. Also, people who park so close to the line that the spot next to them is basically unusable (this usually happens w/ big SUVs).

I'll usually park the P5 a ways away to leave it out in the open. The toughest decision for me is whether or not to park it under a tree in the shade. Shade = cooler car, but tree = bird poop.

cbmorton

I've never seen anyone actually damage a car owned by someone who thinks they're important enough to use two spots when the rest of us only get one, but it is such a blatantly selfish thing to do that I can see how people would be tempted to take revenge. I usually try to park where I can have an empty buffer zone around my car, within reason, or failing that, at the end of a row. So far so good.

vocus

I have parked next to these people really close before. That is so rude to use two spots! No matter what kinda car you get, you are not important enough to use 2 spots. That's rude.

protege_fan

would you park close to them? What if they ding YOUR car? Wouldn't you just be happy then? I find it amazing that people would damage other people's property over something as insignificant as taking up 2 spots.

meinrad

damage? We said park real close to them to make them look really stupid for doing such a thing. Parking is at a premium at most places and someone who takes up 2 spaces with their precious little car is a bad human being.

And it's not insignificant. It's rude, and if everyone would make fun of them, and park right next to them, then maybe they wouldn't do it anymore. Do you ever wonder why there are so many inconsiderate people in the world? Because they can be, thats why. If more people spoke up against the rude and inconsiderate people of the world I feel there would be less of them.

protege_fan

Aren't you just being rude and inconsiderate parking next to them so close? What...2 wrongs make a right now?

I'm a big fan of the Golden Rule...sure buddy may be taking up 2 spaces...but that means I'm NOT going to park anywhere near him. I park out in the Boonies anytime I take my car out. Is somebody gonna park real close to me just to be a jerk? Probably...and I don't get it.

protege_fan

This is what I was talking about when I said damage,
"... but I'd avoid taking up two spaces just to protect against door dings. In the last few years, I've seen people purposely push shopping carts into cars that do this, and once I watched while a BIG guy walked up to a Benz that was parked diagonally across two spaces and kick the driver's side rearview mirror off the door... he left it dangling by its wires."

I never said YOU guys caused damage..I just said I didn't understand why people would.

mdaffron

But three rights make a left.

Meade

bluong1

mazdafun

If they take 2 spots way out in the far end of the lot, that's OK as they aren't denying anyone a space, really.

If they take up 2 spots in a crowded section, then that's rude, and I don't feel for them if their vehicle gets damaged.

Of course, parking spots are getting narrower, at a time when vehicles are getting bigger again. I don't think 2-spotters would do that if parking spots are actually wide enough to be useful. Just the developer/owner of the lot being overly greedy.

dsm6

That makes three lefts, which make a right. So that means 9 rights make 1 right, or 9 = 1. Thus, in this case nine rights make one right making one wrong. So, one right makes one wrong. If the process is reversible, one wrong makes one right.

I would caution the reader about concluding that two wrongs making a right. It seems like, from the proof above, two wrongs make two rights.

protege_fan

Which still means that 2 wrongs don't make a (one) right