Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
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PF
Now, just one question. Are those 500 Free Oil Change coupons you mailed me still valid?
Meade the Congratulatory Bull-S***ter
Meade
P.S. Is it me, or is this the only topic on Edmunds that has a "The Waltons" feel to it? I feel like I'm saying, "Goodnight, Johnboy!"
I will be working in this joint from time to time also: http://mpls.kensystem.com/wellsfargocenter/picture11.htm
Meade, the 500 free oil change coupons expire in December. Is that the free door prize you plan to give out at MAPP? Sorry for ruining your surprise......Really though, I might need to dig for some coupons before I leave that place.
The heat shield buzz was taken care of last year.
Yes. I do experience better pickup on colder days but more valve noise too.
Best temp I find for the ES is 70-80F.
Engine runs like silk.
Ride is also great....not harsh and stiff like when it is now...65F. Feels like the shocks are not working at all!!
ECU: Not sure what would happen here. I would not be shocked if it would adjust air/fuel just fine without any mods if we are talking about +20-30hp. After that I dont really know.
Warranty: Actually Vortech used to claim that their superchargers did not void the factory warranty unless you got one of their high boost racing ones. Not sure if that still holds true.
Cost: My crystal ball says $4000 installed. Most of kits take about 6 hours for a pro, 12 hours for semi-pro, and about 2 weeks if I were to attempt it. They dont sell too many of these kits so they charge a ton to get some development money back. My guess is $3000-3500 for the kit alone. It might be a relative wash when compared with doing an engine swap but I'm not sure.
Way off the deep end: What I really want is the 200hp Duratech 2.5L SVT V6 engine in my Protege ES. It would fit but I think that may cost a little more.....I really loved my Contour but it was a reliability nightmare. I just want the engine back not the rest of the car.
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-Larry
8849 RICHMOND HWY • Alexandria VA 22309
Sat, Oct 6 - Sun, Oct 7 (1 Night)
Occupancy Rate: USD $45.00*
Room Type: 2 DOUBLE BEDS/PLUS-PLUS COFFEE/LOCAL CALLS, /REMOTE CONTROL TV Policies
Rate Type: STANDARD RATE
Extras: Roll away bed** Crib**
This Rate is only good with TravelOcity.com.
-Larry
still working on perfecting the turbo that is on the car now. If there is anything else, let me know.
Thank you,
Rocky"
So, "eventually" a turbo will be available. The word "eventually" sound like enough time for me to start saving money
As far as turbo vs superchargers, turbo's are the way to go if you want the best efficiency and greatest potential for producing hp. Sport Compact Car Magazine has been printing a several part series on why (so, I won't go into minor details). Superchargers rob hp from the crank but, are nice for low end power. Turbo's, being more efficient, can really produce extreme hp numbers.
Maltb--I haven't even started yet, but I know I will be dealing with mortgages from around the country because Wells Fargo Mortgage is headquartered in Minneapolis. Is the mortgage in the name "Maltb"? I'll look for it.
a car and leaving the clutch pedal there, eh?
Now that's an idea! The dead peddle is a little to far left.
fowler3
Hey malt... didn't you say there was someone toying with the idea of fitting a rotary in the Protege? I know it will never happen (from the factory at least... but if I came across some extra money... hmmmm), but I can keep hoping. Perhaps with the Sport 20's AWD platform...
I wish that there was more aftermarket backing of the Pro just in case I decided to fix it up a little. I know that there is a Civic kit that will get you up to 182HP at the wheels. My fiance is dying to do that to his Civic. That would fix my only real complaint about the Pro, which is the power it makes. It's great for lots of traffic but it doesn't seem to have much fun above 4000 RPM..but maybe that will change as the engine gets a little more broken in.
Cheers!~ Dinu
I rcvd a letter and photo of how I apparently went on a red 0.1 secs after it turned red and travelled through the intersection for 1.0 sec. Pic of car entering intersection, crossing on red and a close-up of the license plate. I opted for French language court since they have few judges and it takes about 1 yr to be called. As for an excuse, "guy behind me was up my bumper and I couldn't stop since he was going to rear-end me". but I can't prove it since his car is not in the photo.
Is it possible to arrange for direct debit of a bank account for payment?
I've had bad experience with continuous reselling of a mortagage in the past. Resulted in "lost" checks, failure to update the account etc. It's easy to end up paying a lot more for a loan in uncredited payments and late penalties with some of these secondary loan servicers.
Anybody got some experience/knowledge of how the Mazda process works?
Lou
Generally, banks don't sell car loans, like they sell Mortgage loans.
If you are looking for a 2001 Protege don't delay, since the 02s have hit the dealers and the 0% isn't available for them.
I saved a bunch of greenbacks getting 0% for 48, free moonroof and alloys and only paid $300 over invoice.
Pete
Lou
I think I remember this from someone explaining this a few months back to someone who asked the same question.
For peace of mind (especially if your car is still in warranty) you may want to mention it to the dealership and have them look at it - even if its just for the record!
I wonder how hard it would be to change the front fascia to the P5/MP3 setup from the standard one. I was looking at an ES sedan and a P5 next to each other yesterday, and I don't think it can be done. Thoughts?
Meade
I think the front end from the MP3 could be swapped out for the ES one. It would probably be like $4-500, but it still does look pretty cool. So does the Racing Beat exhaust. I wanna check on it though.
To Larry and others who've been discussing waxes and polishes lately: turns out I ran out of Nu Finish and didn't realize it. Instead of going out and buying a new bottle, I decided to give the nearly full bottle of Meguiar's Gold Class another try.
Like before, it was much harder to remove than the Nu Finish. It doesn't seem to dry to as powdery a haze as the Nu Finish and you wind up having to buff the hell out of the car to get the swirl marks off. My arms were sore all night Saturday night. The workout was worth the work, though -- the shine is nice. I did the bumpers too, and after a 30-mile drive Saturday night, I could literally BLOW off the few bugs that had met untimely deaths at the front of the car. The shine does appear slightly deeper and the car looks more "Emeraldy" than with the Nu Finish, but I'm still not sold. The first time I used this stuff, it only lasted about a month. Nu Finish usually lasts four to five months for me.
I also tried a new product: Eagle One auto glass cleaner. Man, I'm sold. This stuff walks circles around Windex and leaves no hazing. I've never seen car windows so transparent. I also used Eagle One Tire Wet to darken my tires a little. (I usually don't put stuff on my tires, but I got this nifty little Eagle One car care kit from Goodyear the last time I had my tires rotated. It contains four "trial size" bottles and some coupons. I think I'm going to be getting a big bottle of the window cleaner. Man, I can't praise that stuff enough!)
My 17-month-old Protege is as spiffy as the day it rolled off the lot now. I just hope the weather holds out this week so I can show it off at MAPP II this weekend!
MAPP II = FIVE DAYS!!!
Meade
That's without the P5 headlights, BTW.
Meade
Oh, BTW, it hadn't been two hours since I finished the car Sunday afternoon when the sky darkened and a few unexpected clouds rolled over, sprinkling just enough rain to piss me off. There was no rain in the forecast, by the way! Oh -- and I just remembered that on Saturday, just as I had finished applying wax to the hood, a bird flew over and left a little deposit on the hood -- right on top of the fresh wax! I had to clean the poop off and re-wax.
Methinks I have been punished enough for my weekend atrocities!
Meade
I am disappointed that I couldn't make it to this years MAPP...but I will be at the next one.
Mine was delivered to me on 2/23/01 with a total of 2 (yes, only two) miles on it. As of today, it has 16,800. It's a 2001 ES auto. Premium Pkg. in black.
The only 2002 Protegés were DX and LX models.
They had a Red one.
fowler3
Now have 3590 miles on it.
fowler3
Mileage: 8
Now: 6500
----------------------
Jason
2002 Protege5
mileage: 12 kms
now: 968 kms
model: 5 spd black ES 2.0 w/ GT package
'duh'