Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Mazda Protege5
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I've been thinking about getting the cargo tray also so I'll check availability when I get the cruise fixed. Anything else I should ask about?
vf
If you're driving in cold weather, it's recommended that you keep your gas tank full most of the time to prevent moisture from building up in the tank.
http://www.carcarecouncil.org/0102gas.htm
Anyway, the last Civic that I had didn't even had a fuel light warning, so I'm already very glad that there's some "form" of warning with my P5 and don't mind if it's a light or icon
the best part of the trip however was when i got stopped in parking lot in raleigh by a lady asking how i liked my car. she was interested in buying one, loved the way it looked, and so i was able to just go off and tell her how much i loved my car and every detail that i loved about it and that she should go out right now and buy one :-)
btw, i'm turning 25 this month and wish i could keep this car in beautiful mint condition until i die.
pro5 for life!
boopoppa
I'm considering P5 (It's way in the lead), Subaru (Impreza) Outback Sport and the Toyota Matrix.
All insurance companies seem to charge about 10 percent more for the P5.
Oh, and another reason not to let the gas tank drain completely is that it's possible for sediment or trash in the bottom of the tank to get sucked into the fuel system. I'm sure this was a bigger problem on older cars...
This board and its members rock. Thanks everyone for all the info.
congrats wardie1, it is amazing how big the inside of the car feels. At 6'-2 and with a moonroof, I don't feel cramped inside at all.
fuel tank light is somehwhat unnecesary for me. I have always filled up at 1/4 tank, and I pay attention to it, I don't really need a light to tell me to do it. As for waiting till you have a gallon left to fill up? Thats fine, but don't get stuck anywhere. I was on the turnpike once a few years back and was getting low on gas. I passed up a station since the sign said 50 miles to the next one, I figured no problem. Well when I got to the next one it was closed for repair! Ugh, I'm about on empty! I pretty much coasted into the next station, but ever since then I never push it that far.
Insurance. It's weird. We talk about it all the time. When I was shopping the P5 was actually the cheapest to insure of my choices. The rates vary wildly around the country, ages, companies. It doesn't seem to follow any pattern.
For a tire size/speedometer error calculator go here:
http://www.paspeedo.com/calculator.htm
I think 15" wheels with higher profile tires would smoothen out the ride a little... but then you're trading it off with handling, which is something I absolutely love about the P5.
Anyone else hear about a turbo P5? I've seen nothing on this. Some say only the sedan will get the turbo (unfortunate as a P5 with better mileage and not quite the power could take some sales from the WRX)
Brian
You shouldn't have too much trouble getting a discount off MSRP. I talked to two dealers, one wouldn't move more than $100, so I used autobytel and that dealer went to $300 over invoice (if I remember correctly) without a haggle. Check Edmunds TMV and go at it.
Since the P5 and Pro sedan are so mechanically similar (shorter exhaust system perhaps?), it shouldn't be that difficult to retrofit the P5 a la Mazdaspeed. Maybe they haven't gotten a "hot" response when sending out their feelers. Well, they definitely got a strongly positive response from me.
If there are other suspension mods possible that would soften the ride I would be interested in that also. I like the way the car drives but if it were possible to make it ride softer I would probably look into making those mods even if it meant some sacrifice in the road holding dept.
As for softening the ride, I think a temporary fix would be to let some air out of the tires. The recommended pressure is 32PSI, so I would try to do 31 PSI. Any lower may significantly increase tire wear. And once you've done that, don't forget to do a check on tire wear once in a while.
On a side note, I've heard that some dealers forgot to let air out of the tires before handing the keys to the owners, so the owners were running at 45-50PSI!!! I can't imagine how hard the ride would be!!! (FYI, they over-inflate the tires during shipping to prevent getting any flat spots)
ah, i didn't know that. but leaving in south florida that would be the last of my concerns
had a family bbq on sunday at a park on the beach. as i was walking away from the car, there was a couple walking towards me and my car. the women said "wow, look at that yellow car" (yes she was talking about my car as it was they only yellow car there). and the guy that was walking with her said "yap, thats a lexus". i never laughed so hard in my life but it made me fee so good. maybe i should have said "its better than a lexus"
and about 2 weeks ago at a local cruise spot, and older guy and his parents were walking by my car and the guy says "look at the matrix". haha. i almost slapped him.
was it on this forum that somebody asked if the 15k service is worth it? what do you guys think? i am conteplating the same thing but i figured that its not. i can check my wipers, lights, air filter, fluids and such my self. and lubricating door hinges, the dealer does that for me free when i get an oil change. btw, how often should a k&n filter be cleaned. i assume every oil change. how much oil should i use when re-oiling the filter?
i have to renew my insurance soon and GE told me 1900 for 1 year. i am 22 and in 5 years of driving have no tickets or accidents. i'll probably call them and tell them to knock off another 500 and then i will renew.
for comparison, my moms 2002 rav4 (bought 3 weeks ago) is only about 600 to insure for 1 year. she is 41 and has been driving for only 3 years or so with 1 (not at fault) accident. you see go figure what those insurance companies want. its time government stepped in.
btw, if you guys get tired of my long posts, please let me know. in my experience going from 32 to 31 will not make a difference in handling or ride comfort. i acttually would love to try out 45psi but thats not what mazda recommends so i am afraid it will actually cause poor "driveability"
By the way, Male 36 silver, and loving the ride!
You might actually wear it out by doing that every oil change! At the very least, its totally redundant and unnecessary.
btw, can someone please post a link to the zoom-zoom song again. thanks. i seem to delete the file from my pc by accident.
The song can be found in the files section of the mazdaprotege club on groups.yahoo.com
And yes, do remember to reapply the filter oil after you've washed it.
Its a Miata Special Edition page, but if you GO NEAR THE BOTTOM , it has a link for the "Zoom Zoom" song. For those who didnt know, the "Zoom Zoom" is actually taken from a real song. The song was taken from the soundtrack from "Only The Strong ".
You can buy that album from cdnow.
as for the post regarding insurance price. I go thru geico and pay 450 for six months. I will turn 25 on april 14th, clean driving record, $500 deductibles.
ciao,
boopoppa
PS: when's MAPP gonna be? i'd like to meet other enthusiasts.
krotine
I considered Toyoto Matrix and Pro5, and finally decide Pro5.
Classic Red with the following options:
Floor mats,
Auto transmission,
Moonroof
ABS
A dealer in Central New Jersey offered $320 over invoice ($ 17,990 ) for the car plus tax and document fee.
What do u think?
thanks!
Some dealers in larger areas are digging deeper now though. Edmund's TSV is $16,333 so I'd think anything around there is a "fair deal."
As depressing as it is to have to wait for what I think is a fantastic car, coming here and sharing in everyone's enthusiasm for their own P5s has definitely helped tide me over. Plus, I think it's a safe bet that when I do go to make the deal, I'll know at least twice as much about the car as any salesman.
I look forward to joining you all on the road soon!
A co-worker recently picked up a silver P5 with a/c and automatic for $22,000 including everything but taxes. That sounded decent, although I would substitute the sunroof for the automatic. Does that sound like a reasonable price to any Canadians on the board?
I asked about a mazdaspeed P5, and Mazda said...
"Thank you for contacting Mazda North American Operations. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to you.
You've inquired about the availability of a Mazda Protege5 turbo version. Unfortunately, Mazda has no plans on producing a Protege5 turbo version at this [time]."
Some here said as much. We can debate whether they would say yes even if planning the car, as that might hold people off from buying what is on the market (or in the pipeline). But given emphasis on the Mazda6 and RX8 (note you have to dig to find mazdaspeed as mazdausa.com), it doesn't sound like a P5 turbo is in the works. Too bad - more sales they could have had.
Some have said there was a debate at Mazda regarding whether to go forward with a mazdaspeed p5. I've seen no details about this.
We need an engine upgrade option rather than special edition cars. Anyone hear if Racing Beat has made more progress with muffler or other performance-related parts for the P5? Nothing new on their website.