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340 miles....can't wait till its broken in.
http://www.forsalebyownerhomesaz.com/4010.shtml
Let me know what you think!
Regards,
Pete
Are the rebates of $750 still effective? And how about the 0% financing? Also, does your credit have to be something like "Tier A" to get it? Just curious...
Also, signed up for the EAA organization online to get my S-Plan pricing last night too. Still will save me at least $200 off the price of the car, a small price to pay for only $40.
I plan on looking at new homes with two car garages ONLY when we move. The good news is that my brother-in-law works for the city and has access to a heated garage for washing my car. I don't plan on letting it suffer too much!!!
Regards,
Pete
I didn't get a chance to actually drive the newest Protege yesterday but I did sit in one. My wife and I are replacing two cars w/in the next 2-3 years, so we're looking at a broad spectrum of sizes and types. Yesterday's shopping/driving list included car based sport utes (Tribute, Highlander, RAV4, Forrester) and sporty wagons (new, updated Passat, Outback, Audi A4 1.8 Quattro).
Even though the Protege doesn't fit in the same class as those others in terms of size and price, I am absolutely floored by how incredibly roomy it is and how it feels instantly comfortable the moment I sit behind the wheel (I'm 6'2", 220 w/ long legs). As impressive as the utilization of space is in the Tribute, RAV4, Highlander and Passat, none of those cars could match the instant comfort I found in the Protege. Comfort is as much about proportions and positioning as it is about space. It's interesting to notice how the Audi A4 does such a poor job w/ providing occupant space in comparison.
After a day of test-driving, the Passat was our top choice for what we actually drove...but oddly enough after all that driving, were convinced we'll end up buying the Protege 5 sport wagon when it comes out this spring. For about $17,000 loaded I think it's going to be an astounding value ($8000 less than what we'd pay for an optioned Passat). With a good set of snow & ice tires for the winter, it will go anywhere we'd dare to take the AWD vehicles we looked at.
Look forward to hearing other's observations as more people get to drive the new Proteges.
Good luck,
Steve
Actually, I am heading to Niagara Falls this weekend, so Rochester wouldn't be bad!
So, what are the popular Protege colors out there? I saw mostly the beige ones here, and white. I was afraid to go for one of the greens without being able to see it in person first. Some greens are sharp, but some can be nasty. They make two beige's and two greens, but not a single shade of blue.
The other thing you have working against you is that you want the premium pakage. A loaded ES starts to get up there in $$ making it harder for dealers to sell.
Dealers can find these cars but then they run into transportation costs and loosing one of their cars in the deal. Money always talks and the rest walks!
Regards,
Pete
http://www.mazdausa.com/mpv/interior/audio_top.asp
Does anyone know anything about air bags failing to deploy in Proteges? I was checking out cars.com and a number of owners have been commenting on their air bags not deploying at 40-50 mph collisions. I'm thinking of buying a Protege and this seems like a big turn-off (even though i love everything else about the protege).
Any comments would be very helpful, thanks!
Elice
Note: The side air bags use actual body mounted sensors.
Thanks, Skip
thanks for the response....what does invoice + parts mean.....not sure what you mean by parts.
Thanks, Skip
Thanks for the nice comments on my house. I am HOPING to find a similar sized house in Chicago for under 300k. That's nuts! I did get a very lucrative job offer there or I couldn't even think about going.
I too am thinking of trading in my 2000 for the '01 MP3 Protege.
Regards,
Pete
I went to University of Maryland today for the basketball game, and while on my way there, I saw at least 6-7 different '00 proteges either parked or running around on campus, all within a short time frame (like 10-15 minutes). College Park Mazda must be selling them to UM students like hot cakes!
Tires- the RE92's are not bad tires. Worst points are noise over rough pavement and short life. the Dunlops on the '01 es should be better. For those replacing tires on the '99-'00 es, take a look at the Kumho ECSTA and the Bridgestone RE730 if you don't need all-weather tires. [All-weather tires are not very useful in snow anyway.] the RE730 is not available in 195/55-15, but the 205/55-15 has almost the same dimensions as the 195 RE92.
Fuel mileage- the protege's numbers are not as good as civic and corolla, but real world results are not as different as the government estimates. Check out the mileage that Consumer Reports and Car and Driver comparison test results. I get about 28/city and 32-35/hiway with my '99 pro es.
Oil- changing your own is not too hard. I like castrol syntec 10-30, but I'm sure others are fine.
Welcome to all you new posters! Zoom!
ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM
On the positive side, my marriage is now enjoying a certain detente it didn't have prior to this accident. My wife and kids are having a field day with this!
but the deciding factor is your bank account and your back. get what you feel the best with.
BUT GET A PROTEGE!!!!!!
When I bought the DX back in 1999, I could not afford anything else. I was negative on a 1996 Chevy Cavalier I had, and it was a total heap. I got the Protege DX because it was the only car I could afford. Now I am paying for making a hasty decision.
With the Bonneville, it's nice to drive and has alot of power and all. It also uses a LOT of gas. I commute 60+ miles a day, and simply cannot afford to fuel the beast. Also, it's got 77,500 on it and it's 8 years old. Starting to wear out and things are squeaking and rattling (you know, typical GM) and it's time for it to go.
I am going to evaluate the 2000 ES I am driving very hard on the way home (30+ miles), and if I find one thing I do not like, I will not buy it.