Mazda Protege Prices Paid and Buying Experience

lawman1967 · November 2003

I looked hard for a stripped DX with 5-speed and just couldn't find one in the Los Angeles area. My car (DX auto, AC, 6-disc CD and cargo net) was $14,700, which is $400 under invoice. After the $3500 incentives it was $11,200.

A DX 5-speed with AC and nothing else, had one been available, would at the same discount cost around $10,100. I would have bought it regardless of color at that price, but I'm still happy with the price I paid for the automatic.

sevenseas · November 2003

I reviewed my sales contract and realized I received a better deal than I thought on my Pro5 purchase. Here's the breakdown...

Silver Pro5 with:

cloth
automatic
moonroof/6 cd player
roof rack
rear bumper guard
cargo tray
perimeter shock sensor alarm (installed at no charge)
wheel locks
roof cargo box

Cash Price and accessories was:

$16,680-2,500 Mazda rebate= $14,180-$8080 Toyota rav4 trade in=$6100 + $1379.81 sales tax= $7479.81 + $45 doc. fee= $7524.81 + $160 lic. fees= $7684.81. Paid balance by check.

Instead of paying $15,096 it was actually $14,180 after the $2500 rebate. Good luck to those who will make a purchase soon.

westk1 · November 2003

Purchased a Silver Protege5 with following Options:
ABS & side Airbag
Roof rack

Dealer: Magnussens Fremont Mazda, Fremont CA

Price:
15,155 ($3000 dealer discount)
1,447 (State sales tax, Tire fee, DMV registration etc)
-2,500 Mazda Factory rebate

Total out the door price = $14,102

This was $5,500 off the dealers MSRP of 18,155.

I dealt with the internet fleet manager for the last few weeks and give her my terms. There are quite a number of Protege5s on the dealers' lots in the SF bay area so most will offer at least $5,000 off the price of any P5. The deal was perfect, no problems or tricks. Hope you have a good buying experience too.

braja · November 2003

Is the sales tax applied on the amount AFTER
the $2500 rebate or before? My dealer says
before. Is this right? (Does this depend
on the state? Mine is NJ)

Thanks.

lawman1967 · November 2003

You are still paying the sale price on the car, the rebate functions as a down payment.

westk1 · November 2003

braja,

When you agree to purchase the car, the $2500 is a direct payment to you from the factory. You then use it as part of your payment on the vehicle. So sales tax is figured on the higher price before the rebate comes in the picture.

zzhung · November 2003

West,

Congrats on your new P5. Did your purchase include any factory financing? We live near that dealership, and are planning to get one from there or other dealership in the bay area if the price is good.

Thanks

westk1 · November 2003

zzhung,

No financing. If you want to use the Mazda 0% financing, then you will not get the $2500 factory cash rebate. Only deal with the internet/fleet sales managers. Good luck.

zzhung · November 2003

Bought a silver P5 thru same lady as "westk1" in post #158.
silver P5
roof rack
bumper guard (installed, didn't really want it)
wheel locks (uninstalled, in plastic bag)
MSRP 17740
cash price $14754 + tax/lic/doc/tirefee - $2500 factory rebate

West,

We got a higher face-to-face quote until we mentioned your transaction. Was looking for
silver+abs+rack also. Final price was a bit more than yours after adjustment for
the abs which we don't have. Someone from the dealership had installed the front plate
frame slanted and off centered, but we didn't notice until final inspection. It's going
to have two extra screw holes on the front bumper underneath the plate after we re-align
the plate mounting, a bummer for us. Thanks for your posts.

blueguydotcom · November 2003

Bought a 2003 Pro ES manual with the moonroof/CD package tonight.

Sticker price of 17,090.
After discounts, rebates, grad cash = 11,390.

blueguydotcom · November 2003

I've joined the Mazda fold. For the past few months I've searched for a commuter car so as not to continue adding 600 miles a week to my other car.

This weekend I buckled down and tested all manner of cars from used to brand new. My goal was to get the most fun, reliability and comfort for my cash without exceeding 13-14k.

I fiddled with used CLs and Solaras but they were too sloppy handling for my tastes.

I stopped in at Ford and tried out a Focus. Not bad considering the amazing power of the 2.3L engine. But I worry that it won't hold up for the commute.

The Corolla made me feel like I was sitting in a hole. Civic had decent pull but was noisy at 80+ and felt light.

The Hyundai Elantra GLS/GT felt too lightly sprung and scary wiggly at highway speeds.

The Scion xB pulled like a champ up to 90. It teetered a bit unnervingly in corners but the build quality was top notch, the interior had gobs of space and the price was reasonable.

The Scion xA with a CAI, lowered. 16s and sporting a strut tower bar was easily the home-run handling champ of the cars I drove. Yeah it didn't sport much in power but given the 2300 lbs weight, that didn't matter. Unfortunately, those mods would tack on at least 1000-1500. The price would come in above 14k.

Finally I took a spin in a Pro LX. The engine had good pull, the interior felt nice and the handling was quite good. I moved on to the ES and found the 16s felt more surefooted to me. The interior fit just right (though the telescoping of the Mazda3 would be a bonus). The back window had some nasty gunk inside though...the salesguy said it would get cleaned off.

Ended up buying a 2003 Pro ES in the emerald mica (not a color I want but a search online showed 0 ES Pros in the San Diego area). It has the moonroof/6 disc option for a sticker of 17,090.

Including my impending $500 grad rebate I paid $11,390.

The buying experience was a nightmare as the dealership lied on several occasions. First I was told they allow buyers to put up to 50% on a credit card (hey, free points and 0% interest until may), but that turned out to be a lie. "This is such a good deal, you must pay cash or use a loan."

Okay, how about an option contract? Nope. Again, because I "had such a sweet deal" it was not allowed. Argh!

Fine, lets see what you can pull up with you-finance-guy-you. First shot was a jacked up 8.49% APR. I laughed and said sure as I'll nail another loan monday and nuke it. Oh and they want to leave the Stargard bogus security chip thing on the car for a mere $500. ROFL

Some haggling and suddenly the joker wants $400 for the toy. nope. $300? No, take it off. By the end, no toy stargard "security" system and the rate was 4.49% for 4 years. Still not a rate that makes me happy. Gonna talk to a place Monday. Doc fees were reasonable at $40 though.

So I go to leave after the arduous 1 hour ordeal with the finance twit and my salesperson tells me he can't get anyone to drive one of my cars back to my place AFTER we agreed upon that. Fine. He says I should come back tomorrow (Sunday).

I came by this morning and I noticed a few things: scratches and the car still wasn't cleaned right. The manager told me they'd try to buff out the scratches but he would not go near anything related to painting. Hey, just fix it. He also declared the car was detailed. Uh, as if. His response: "You got a great deal. If you dislike it, leave the car and we terminate the contract."

Finally they said they'd work to get the scatches out. Still really mad that the back window has smudges and that grease inside it. I'll call a real Mazda dealer tomorrow to discuss them cleaning it.

Also, they informed me that I'd have to guide the dealer employee home to drop off my car and then take him back as the 5 salesguys standing inside watching a Mexican soap opera couldn't bother because they were "busy". Apparently, gravity is reversed inside the dealer showroom and if too many salesmen leave, the floor would lift up.

One last smack...they didn't have my wireless key fobs. "We don't know where they are." "We'll get you some this week." What?

Love my Pro but Westcott Mazda in National City is a straight ghetto dealer with zero customer service skills. If Mazda calls to check my dealer experience I'm gonna go off like an H-bomb at the Bikini atoll. If Mazda doesn't call, I'll contact them!

cej22 · December 2003

westk1, was the college grad rebate included in your deal? You got an absurdly low price and I'd love to get the same.

westk1 · December 2003

Cej22,

My price DID NOT have the college grad rebate. Looking at the boards I think I got a very good deal, but I have seen quite a few others for similiar prices. Good luck.

lawman1967 · December 2003

I thought my deal of $11,200 for DX automatic with CD changer was amazing (straight invoice, half of the $500 dealer incentive, and both the $2500 customer cash and the $500 college grad rebate.

I would have paid the extra few hundred for an ES.

hdd · December 2003

I'm shopping around for a P5 (auto w/ ABS) in LA area and was wondering what the buying climate is like (now mid-December). I've read some GREAT deals here, but prices in LA may be spiked a bit.

Anyone know if fac to dealer incentives are still around? I don't see any on Edmunds. I gotta imagine they're getting more desperate to ditch these cars. Should I even CONSIDER paying into 14Ks (before TTL)?

blueguydotcom · December 2003

Look to san diego and check their paper for friday/saturday/sunday. Odds are good you'll see deals mentioning 5-6k off msrp.

swtwilliam · December 2003

went to the place that offered me 4k on my trade in. 2003 es sport-at, abs/airbags,cd/moonroof pkg. sand metallic (nice, nice color). 14600 after rebates and we-gotta-get-these-off-the-lot discounts. edmunds tmv is 14359
did the deal at a local dealer, 5 miles from my house, including time to get to credit union and stuff...under 2 hours. freaking painless.
i think i may have paid about 300 more than i had to, but saved me taking the day off of work and driving 60+ miles to the twin cities,getting a sitter, etc.4 plus i really tire of the 'haggling' with the sales people. the best part, though, was seeing a salesman in the same dealership that offered me 3100 trade in value on my 98 protege lx, not 2 weeks ago. sorry pal, your loss.

blueguydotcom · December 2003

How much was your 98 pro brand new and what kind of miles, condition, accidents, rust has it seen? Just curious as I'd like to know if you saw 8-10-12-14k in depreciation over 6 years.

protege123 · December 2003

Hi,

Is this a good price?
I was offered $12,500 this week for a new 2003 Protege LX with automatic, moonroof/6-CD package, abs-side air bags package. That figure includes the $2500 rebate, but does not include any grad rebate/cash.
Since it's near the end of the year, can I get a lower price than $12,500?

Thanks for any advice...appreciate your help.

kyfdx · December 2003

What was the MSRP of the car? Nobody wants to go to the Mazda website and build it to find out. With that info, someone will be able to give you a good idea.

regards,
kyfdx

blueguydotcom · December 2003

A good deal at this point, without grad cash, should still be about 5k (or more) below msrp.

protege123 · December 2003

the msrp of the lx o3 w/ auto, airbag-abs, and moonroof/6cd packages is $17,945....

protege123

blueguydotcom · December 2003

12-13k range would be reasonable.

campersb · December 2003

I visited a dealer in Allentown, PA who had a base (No options) P5, white, M5 tranny. Price was MSRP 17415.00 - 915.00 disc = 16,500.00 - 2,500.00 = 14,000.00. I thought the 915.00 was a rather cheesey discount considering they had only 4 or 5 P5's left and a lot full of new M3's. I was figuring on about 13,000.00 but the dealer says "No way." 915.00 was as low as he could go. So we shook hands and I departed.
TMV after 2,500.00 customer cash is 13,041.00. Anyone with recent P5 buying experience in this neck of the woods?

wantapassatnow · December 2003

(I posted this on "Ask A Car Dealer" too.)

Since there's no Mazda3 Prices Paid board, I'm posting this here since the 3 replaces the Protege.

Today I was quoted a price for a 2004 Mazda 3i w/several packages. Invoice price is $16,567; MSRP is $17,940. Due to an alumni program I am in, the price for this car is set at $300 over invoice. However, this dealer said he had to also charge me a $102 dealer prep fee and a $150 "Los Angeles Assessment" fee. What are these charges, and are they bogus? He explained that the L.A. Assessment fee is charged to the dealer by the manufacturer and that it is not negotiable. He explained the dealer prep fee, but it sounded lame, so I forgot what he said.

BTW, on the invoice, the L.A. Assessment fee is only listed in the Invoice column. In the MSRP column, the L.A. Assessment fee is listed as $0.

Thanks for your help!

lawman1967 · December 2003

I just bought a Protege in LA and went straight from the invoice price on Edmunds, which perfectly matched the invoice the dealer had, added the discounts and incentives and then drove home in my new car. No hidden or mysterious charges, no bullsh*t.

wantapassatnow · December 2003

Thanks for your help ... am I allowed to ask what dealer you went to? I am dealing with Galpin. Thanks!

pat · December 2003

Please note the "rules" of the discussion posted at the top of this page. You may name the dealership, but you may not name salesfolks. Read the other instructions there as well.

Thanks.

lawman1967 · December 2003

is where I bought my car as well. Go through the internet department, they didn't give me any BS.

braja · December 2003

$12500 is a good deal for the config. you
describe.

I paid $12K for LX, 5 Spd, with just added
cassette deck (Nov 3rd week).

cej22 · December 2003

We were able to do even better than you did. Royal Mazda in SF advertised all of their P5s for $6750 in Sunday's paper. That included the college grad rebate, but it's been too long since graduation. My girlfriend picked up her loaded P5 tonight from Marina Mazda with them matching the discount of $6250 off MSRP, no trade-in. I still can't believe what a deal it was. I'm pretty sure they lost money on it. Even a salesman who bought his two months ago came over and lamented that he paid quite a bit more and it took him a lot more than 30 minutes to do it.

2003.5 Silver P5
Leather
ABS and side air bag package
Moonroof and 6 CD package
roof rack

protege123 · December 2003

Hi,

I've now got the price of a 03 lx down to $11,900. Is this a good deal? I was the one who posted an earlier message saying I had been offered $12,500...after waiting a few days, the dealer called back and reduced the price.
The lx is an automatic has the abs/air bag and moonroof/6-cd package.
Tax is $873 and doc fees are $160. They're also charging me something called govt. fees at $15.
So the total out the door price is $12, 956.
Should i go for it?

Thanks for any advice...appreciate your time.

lawman1967 · December 2003

The ABS package is worth about $500 and the LX costs a $1000 premium over the DX, which makes me rather jealous as your are getting LX trim for only $200 more than I paid for DX trim.

Regardless of equipment, this is a terrific car and I'm sure you will enjoy it. For 12 grand, nothing else comes close.

moparbad · December 2003

At $12,500 it was a great price. At $11,900 I'll buy it if you do not. Do they have more? Invoice is about $16,600 and minus the $2500 rebate is still $14,100. Even with manufacturer to dealer cash that the price you were quoted is the lowest I've ever heard of. I called the dealer I worked with and they said that was an impossible price and money is being lost.

blueguydotcom · December 2003

I picked up an ES 5 speed with moon, 6 CD changer for $11, 390. Sticker was $17,090.

pkomma · December 2003

Dealer in atlanta area offered 12.2 for auto/casette/fog lights. Seems pretty fair, just not sure about protege yet.

protege123 · December 2003

thanks for the advice...the $11,900 price doesn't include the $500 college rebate. do you know who qualifies for that? i graduated 7 years ago, but i'm taking 1 college class now. would that make me qualify? also, do i handle the grad rebate after i buy the protege? or should i get it now, assuming i qualify.

thanks for any help...i think i'm going to get the lx today...

protege123

blueguydotcom · December 2003

The dealer is supposed to handle the mazda rebate - they send in the info and you get a check.

The following comes from http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=- offersGraduate

Get $500 Customer Cash¹ when you purchase a new and unused 2003 or 2004 Mazda vehicle².

When you buy any new and unused 2003 or 2004 Mazda you can get $500 Customer Cash¹ ²! Isn't it time you found out what upward mobility is really about? Need more information? Call 1-800-639-1000

Take new retail delivery from dealer stock by 1/5/2004 (for 2004 MAZDA3, take new retail delivery from dealer stock by 3/1/2004).

¹ $500 College Graduate cash back available on purchase or lease of any new and unused 2003 or 2004 Mazda vehicles (Offer excludes Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles).

² $500 College graduate cash back on 2004 MAZDA3 cannot be combined with Owner Loyalty cash offer. Offer expires 3/1/2004.

Limit one per customer. Qualified customers must be within six months of graduation (except Juniors and Seniors, see note below*) or have graduated within the last two years from one of the following: accredited junior or community college with an associates degree, an accredited college or university with a bachelors degree, an accredited nursing school with a bachelors in nursing degree, an accredited graduate school with a masters degree, doctorate degree or are currently enrolled in graduate school. Mazda reserves the right to discontinue this promotion for any reason at any time. *For students enrolled in a 4-year accredited college or university, Junior and Seniors can be within 2 years of graduation to qualify for this program.

gimmedog · December 2003

Got a loaded AT P5 today for $6000 under MSRP (incl grad rebate). Can't believe how much it was discounted. I had been looking at Totota Matrix, but for the price of a very austere matrix, I got a lot of perks: leather, ABS/side air bags, moonroof/6CD, cruise control, power doors/windows, etc. The main trade off for me was the cargo space--smaller than matrix and several (don't know how reliable) comments I've read that the P5 will depreciate quickly. If you want one, hurry--inventory is very low, and the mazda site's numbers are lagging behind actual sales.

andrewk · December 2003

"P5 will depreciate quickly" ?? I have been considering a P5 very seriously with the discounts out there. I found a dealer who offered me $5100 off list; this all being done over the internet. This brings a base unit down about 12. Looking on-line, used ones seem to be going for a couple grand more than that with a good 20k miles on them! I would think that the P5s hold their value.

andrewk · December 2003

Do you think Mazda will issue another, similar round of incentives when this round expires? Do you think these $5000 disounts will continue? One dealer, wanting to make a sale by today, told me yesterday that at some point in time the manufacturers actually penalize dealers with old stock. I assume he meant that the incentives would dry up. What do you think?

bobinwi1 · January 2004

I can tell you that I bought a heavily rebated Nissan Sentra 6 yrs ago (they were discontinuing the SER 4 door). Resale value on used ones dropped pretty dramatically. But once all the new stock was sold & some time passed, resale values recovered. So, in my experience, when there is a one time rebate (not like some cars that are on continual rebate), there is a temporary drop in resale but the values rise to more normal levels over time. Hope this helps.

cccompson · January 2004

Starting New Year's Day I sent out emails to 6 Ohio Mazda stores seeking quotes on a 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege. At the time, Mazda's website showed that about 20 such units were still available in the state.

All of the contacted dealers responded and quoted initial prices ranging from a high of $18,263.00 (Byers in Columbus) to a low of $16,847.00 (Brown in Toledo). There are no options available on the Mazdaspeed so this almost $1400 spread was quite surprising.

I had not originally intended to play dealers off against each other but, as things developed, it worked out that way. My target price was $16,447.00 ($19,447.00 less $2500.00 rebate less $500.00 factory to dealer cash).

Yesterday I bought a silver unit from Brown Mazda in Toledo for $16,074.00 (plus $100.00 "document fee"). It was a new vehicle with 15 miles on it.
I would highly recommend this store to anyone in the market as they were highly professional and extremely courteous.

Interestingly, their price was NOT the best quote I got. As I was on my way to Toledo from my home in Columbus, I got a call from Wagner Mazda in Fostoria (a small city NW Ohio) offering to sell a yellow one (not my preferred color) for $15,900.00. At that time, I had not ever seen (in person or by photo) a silver Mazdaspeed. Upon arriving in Toledo the silver color seemed much better suited to the car (and me, lol) than the yellow.

If the best price for a Mazdaspeed had been around $17,000.00, I believe I would have ended up with a Protege5. While I never got any quotes on a P5, the prices documented on this board (and local advertising here) made clear I could buy one equipped as wanted for $13,000.00 to
$13,500.00). Either vehicle is a tremendous value.

andrewk · January 2004

Per the dealer that I am working with in Ohio, he said the new incentives are the same as the recently expired ones (2500 rebate, 1000 dealer assistance.) and they will be good until March. By then, I would imagine the P5 inventory could be down enough that they won't have to issue anymore incentives.

andrewk · January 2004

I finalized the deal on my P5 today, which was $5100 off list. Not the greatest deal, but suits me fine. I got the options, or lack of, that I wanted; abs and side airbags only. It took a lot of work and effort to swing this. As an added bonus, the dealer throws in a 7 year 100k mile engine/drive train warranty on top of the Mazda's warranty. What a great deal on a great car!

jjj321 · February 2004

Bought a new emerald mica ProtegeES automatic with moon roof and 6 CD changer. Paid US$14150 out the door including dest., taxes (6%) and new tag. List was US$18355 inluding dest. fee, but before any other charges. Going to pick it up Monday.
Offered US$13000 OTD for a silver automatic Pro5 no options, at another dealer and they did not even counter offer.
Maybe could have gotten a better deal, but the experience was painless and enjoyable (had been in contact with dealer for over a month).
Not many Pros left in South Florida and incentives expire next Monday 03/01/2004.

occupant1 · March 2004

There are several cars at a local Mazda dealer, leftover 02-03 models. The one I'm interested in is a DX sedan, automatic, black mica, AC, CD, with 20 miles. Sticker is $15,850. Supposed to be a $2000 rebate according to dealer. Edmunds no longer has pricing for a 2003 Protege listed, and used cars comes up to $13,112 certified used, $12,562 retail, and $10,800 private party.

Where do I find 2003 model list/invoice pricing and where should I start on this car, considering it is last year's model?

jjj321 · March 2004

Customer cash = US$2500
Factory to dealer = US$1000 or more
A good price at this point would be US$5000 to US$6500 off list.
Check past posts !!!
Go to MazdaUSA website.
Good Luck

njhokie · April 2004

Hello all,
I'm new to the board, just found it. Seems like a great resource. I'm in the process of looking for a car to replace my bimmer I just sold and the PR5 is on the top of the list. I found a great car, red, auto, 15k miles, asking $12,900 for it. Book value is around $12k for it.

Can you guys give me any advice on negotiating for it? Has anyone recently purchased a pre-owned protege? What kind of deals did you get?

Thanks!

lonestar · April 2004

Just got a local dealer offer of $12K on a new DX model with AC, auto trans, and spoiler. From reading the posts on this board, this doesn't look like a really good deal. I'd prefer an LX with moonroof, but I think this may be the only new model left in the St. Louis area. Thoughts?

Mazda Protege Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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