Take it back to the selling dealer. It sounds like they didn't complete the Pre-Delivery Inspection which Mazda pays them to complete. You might even try calling that dealer to see if they want to come out and take care of it to save the poor marks you give them on the sales survey you will be getting.
I'm going to test drive the Si, but I'm really digging what a value the P5 is. I think I can get it with moonroof, ABS and side air bags for $17,000. That's between $1500 - $2000 less than the Si, plus I get two extra doors!
Money is tight right now for me because my wife recently had our first child. I don't know everything he's going to need, but I bet it costs money!
The P5 offers me the opportunity to drive a "sporty" vehicle and not feel like I'm being selfish. If I was, I'd get a WRX wagon!
Besides, I'm driving my '93 Si now (and have been for nine years). Another Si would be nice, but variety is the spice of life.
All that said, I HAVE TO drive the Si before I sign any legal documents. I'd be a fool not to!
I stopped by the Mazda dealership to check out the "Mid-Cycle Update" P5's. Side marker lights are soooooo cool!
The new speakers are tiny! They are maybe 2" in diameter and are located where the side rearview mirrors attach to the front doors. You know, the little black plastic traingle there. They seem to point directly into the cabin and are not angled at occupants. They have a shiny silver center and are covered with black mesh. They integrate attractively into the door.
Yeah, sounds like the P5 makes more sense. $2,000 cheaper even before you upgrade the Si's wheels to 16"s, that's nothing to sneeze at.
Hey congrats on the child. We're "talking" about having one, so even though it's probably 2+ yrs away I am already noticing things like babyseats - there's one on the market that matchs the P5s blue-grey interior fabric almost perfectly.
One moment I'm thinking "this things handles", the next moment "this thing handles a babyseat" Help, my head is spinning!
Sounds like they added seperate tweeters to the system. It should sound a lot better than the previous system. I want to go check out the updated Pro/P5, especially the Sport Automatic version. Does anyone here have the Sport Automatic? If so, how is it?
Jim, the P5 makes such a great baby car. I bought one soon after our kid was born (he's now a whopping 3 1/2 months!)and it has been the perfect fit. For me it was a great compromise between family car and fun car. Last night we took the baby off to the driving range, two golfbags and a stroller in the hatch. His rearfacing car seat still leaves me(6'-2") plenty of legroom in the front , in fact, I don't even move it back when the seat is not back there. Price was a huge consideration for us, and I just couldn't find anything that could match the available space with the fun to drive with the price. It's kind of weird though that I bought it for a family mobile but I've got teanagers telling me "cool car" when I'm at the gas station. I kept thinking, for a little more I could have this, or I could have that, but price won out and when I got the deal I wanted, it was time to buy. And while the 2 door sunfire had plenty of room, flipping the seat forward each time I need to get the car seat in and out was a real pain. I think 4 doors are essential for a kid. Not that it can't be done with a two door, but for me, it's just so much easier with 4.
Glad to hear that the P5 is such a nice baby hauler. We were in the market for a new vehicle soon after we found out "we" were pregnant (LOL-she did the work!) so we bit the bullet and bought a Honda Odyssey EX. It's a minivan, but it is such a great vehicle. She loves it and we can fit our baby boy, Grandma, dogs, strollers and possibly the kitchen sink into the thing. It's the ultimate family mobile!
Seeing that baby-hauling is covered, my wife is letting get whatever I want (within our price range) when I replace my Civic Si. I can get a 2-door, but as you said, who wants to climb back there even on rare occasions to mess with a baby seat! 4 doors are better, and 5 are best.
But I'm still test-driving the Si!!!
-jim
Really, I'm going to do it! (if I have the time...)
I missed that somewhere I guess, so oh well it's only my babbling anyway. Then you definitely have the baby hauling all spoken for. We would have probably bought a minivan also, but the price was just way more than we were willing to spend. If I were you I'd buy want I want regardless of doors. While it would be convienant to have 4 doors, if it's only on occasion that your car will do baby hauling, then it wouldn't be a big deal. We'll be replacing (hopefully) our existing civic hatchback with another 2 door car this summer, preferably a ragtop. My wife gets to choose the next car, so she'll be in your position.
It's a good position to be in, even if my "fun" car is your "baby-hauler!" LOL!
At any rate, things change in life and I expect to keep my next car for a long time. I figure practical decisions now won't be biting me in the rear four or five years down the road.
But I'm still gonna test drive the Civic Si!!
(even if it's door-challenged and costs too much!)
fertile eh? No kidding I've got one on the way. I bought that car last November and after we found out "we" were pregnant someone on here was going on and on about baby seats fit perfectly. I was very happy to have that guy talking about it because it verified my purchase even more. (GRIN)
I can't justify the price of a minivan. Especially considering that the Honda Odyssey EX is the one that I would want to buy. I think I'm going to get my wife either an Outback or a Legacy wagon. I havn't crunched the numbers to find out which one is a better value yet.
Anyone looked at the Honda Pilot yet? Sounds intriguing.
Why do you say it sounds like they didn't complete the inspection? Because the locks were not put on? or because of the things on the seat? Do any of your new P5's w/leather have these things on the rear seat? I really don't want to go all the way back to the selling dealer....yucky drive. I have an appt tomorrow afternoon w/the local dealer to put on the locks. I plan to ask them what the things on the back seat are. I'd also like them to check the tire pressure....I remember some people saying their tires were over-inflated from the factory. We'll see.....appreciate any info you have! Off to hockey now!
Mechanically challenged or not, you really must get a tire pressure gauge and learn to do that job yourself! It should be done often (every 2 or 3 months at least) and it's very easy to do, and you surely don't want to go back to a dealer for this.
"I originally said something less than nice here in response to ProX2's silly response. I'm retracting that and just going to leave it at that." by seminole_kev
All new cars have the ISOfix stickers on the rear seats regardless of the seating material. These are mandatory for the Manufacturers to put on and are not easy (read next to impossible)to remove. This is a mandate from the Dept. of Transportation.
Yeah, I have that June issue. So what else you want to know about it? Basically it says that our P5 has the best handling but lacking in power --which we all know by now
Does anyone know when Mazda will come out with accessories for the P5 luggage racks? I am interested in a canoe carrier. Or, does anyone have experience with a Yakima or Thule on this vehicle.
Finally, I notice my stock bars have a load limit noted--does that apply just to these stock luggage racks or is that the load capacity of the roof (so I couldn't carry more using a Thule rack, for instance).
my horn broke so i took it to my dealer. they said they ordered the part and it will be here in a couple of days. they had about 20 p5 on the lot but none of them were the updated version. while driving to school late sunday night to turn in final work, i was approaching one of those onramps that make a complete circle. a couple of cars behind me was a mustang. i was going 50 and when i hit the onramp all i had to do was apply a little brake pressure to drop the car to 40 so i can navigate the turn. while in the turn i continued to apply gas and did not brake once. anyways, as i exited the turn, the mustang was at least half a circle behind me. made me feel good that i was able to beat him. anyways if this doesn't make sense its because i've been up for 36 hours, studying. take care
Tincup...thanks for that info. I wasn't aware that these were standard. Guess I'll just learn to live with them.
Alternator...I confess I don't own a tire pressure gauge myself....but I do know how to check it...I just usually go to a gas station and use the ones there. But since I'm bringing the car in to the dealer tomorrow..I thought I might as well make them check it.
You have to take the magazine articles with a grain of salt. They are, after all trying to drum up business. Last month I read an Article /Comparison that had the Zx5 Focus the best and the P-5 last. I consider them equal. Car and Driver has the Focus on it's best ten list three years in a row, even with the recalls. The mags try to generate interest among all the brands so everyone will have a reason to purchase the mag. Bottom line, do your research, read many articles and a truer picture will emerge.
You have to take the magazine articles with a grain of salt. They are, after all trying to drum up business. Last month I read an Article /Comparison that had the Zx5 Focus the best and the P-5 last. I consider them equal. Car and Driver has the Focus on it's best ten list three years in a row, even with the recalls. The mags try to generate interest among all the brands so everyone will have a reason to purchase the mag. Bottom line, do your research, read many articles and a truer picture will emerge.
IMHO, it's worth to buy a good one. Those in the gas stations (with a metallic gauge sticking out) are not very accurate and who knows how they are calibrated. Please check your tire pressures every month!
sharonf: if you check the tire pressures yourself you will know whether or not the dealer did a proper pre-delivery prep, which gives you some insight on what kind of dealership they are. Ha!
Try to find one with replaceable batteries though.
Cars are usually shipped with tire pressure set really high (to prevent damage to the tires from sitting on those trailers?), which CAN lead to a blow-out if you drive in high temps for long stretches. They should've adjusted it to 32psi (or whatever it says on the label inside the driver door frame).
FYI, sometimes the service tech just arbitrarily inflates all the tires when the vehicle is on the rack and doesn't adjust them after the car is back on its tires. Maybe an oversight, maybe not.
Found this tidbit in the PT Cruiser long term test for April:
The comparison test included a Ford Focus ZX5, Mazda Protegé5, Subaru Impreza Outback Sport, Suzuki Aerio SX and a Toyota Matrix XR. It was interesting to pit our PT against similar vehicles. So often, observations about our long-term PT are made in isolation. Now we could compare the PT's strengths and weaknesses directly to other key players. While we haven't crunched the final numbers yet, we can tell you that the PT will likely place rather high......
You can look for this comparison test to appear in late May or early June. And a month after that, the PT's two-year lease is up. Hopefully, our car will finish out these remaining months without any problems.
I'm sure you're as excited as we were when we saw our first "lima bean photo" two Septembers ago. Hard to believe the little rascal will be a year old this month and is already pushing 30 pounds ...
Just when you thought you weren't getting enough nookie ....
Say "hello baby," "bye-bye sex!!!"
(Believe me, my friend, your wife won't have any energy from now until delivery day, and then NEITHER of you will have any energy after that. Not that that's a bad thing or anything ... there ain't NOTHING like bein' a daddy! Especially now that he's sayin' DA DA!!!)
Mine had 24 pounds when I first checked it (the day I picked it up), so you will definitely want to either check it yourself or have the dealer. Scratch that. Don't trust the dealer. Check it yourself.
Just read the C&D compario. I should listen to myself when I said to take it with a grain of salt. Not sure what they are thinking. But the overall impression of the P-5 is they like the clutch and handling and not much else. They state it is the loudest and buzyist of the engines, the least cargo capacity. They even admit, "the numbers add up to a weak case..."for #1. In the same issue they review the 150 HP Mazda 6 Hatchback, Wagon and Sedan.
OKay.....I give....you all guilted me into buying my very own tire pressure gauge! Sorry...not digital though....went to two stores and they were out of them. Anyways...checked the pressure and it was a little high...ranging from about 38 to 40. Got the wheel locks put on today as well. Got a phone call today...on my machine from someone at the dealer I bought from....follow-up...customer service call I guess..I'll call her tomorrow to discuss a couple of these things. I also am going to ask if there's anything they can/will do about a slight scratch in the leather. It's not something I can't live with...but since the car is brand new...I'd like it to be perfect !
Someone mentioned a few posts back that there was this guy ranting on about how great a baby seat fit. That would have been me, a few months before meinrad bought his P5.
Now that my baby is entering the toddler stage--walking is amazing, running is quite, uhhh, challenging--I stand by that. And yes, someone mentioned that there's a baby seat out there that almost exactly matches the P5 upholstery. That's the Century NextStep DX, which is what I have (when my mom saw it she said "wow, did you get that from Mazda?"). It's not an infant seat, though, but a forward-facing toddler/booster seat, which you can move up to once the little one gets up to 20lbs., at which time he/she will much appreciate being able to face the front anyway.
Comments
Money is tight right now for me because my wife recently had our first child. I don't know everything he's going to need, but I bet it costs money!
The P5 offers me the opportunity to drive a "sporty" vehicle and not feel like I'm being selfish. If I was, I'd get a WRX wagon!
Besides, I'm driving my '93 Si now (and have been for nine years). Another Si would be nice, but variety is the spice of life.
All that said, I HAVE TO drive the Si before I sign any legal documents. I'd be a fool not to!
-jim
The new speakers are tiny! They are maybe 2" in diameter and are located where the side rearview mirrors attach to the front doors. You know, the little black plastic traingle there. They seem to point directly into the cabin and are not angled at occupants. They have a shiny silver center and are covered with black mesh. They integrate attractively into the door.
Sorry no pics. Hope the description helps.
-jim
Hey congrats on the child. We're "talking" about having one, so even though it's probably 2+ yrs away I am already noticing things like babyseats - there's one on the market that matchs the P5s blue-grey interior fabric almost perfectly.
One moment I'm thinking "this things handles", the next moment "this thing handles a babyseat" Help, my head is spinning!
Say hi to the Si.
Tom
Bruno
Has anybody had any experience with the above site?
www.optauto.com
I am thinking of ordering the B&M Shift kit from them.
Thanks.
Price was a huge consideration for us, and I just couldn't find anything that could match the available space with the fun to drive with the price. It's kind of weird though that I bought it for a family mobile but I've got teanagers telling me "cool car" when I'm at the gas station. I kept thinking, for a little more I could have this, or I could have that, but price won out and when I got the deal I wanted, it was time to buy.
And while the 2 door sunfire had plenty of room, flipping the seat forward each time I need to get the car seat in and out was a real pain. I think 4 doors are essential for a kid. Not that it can't be done with a two door, but for me, it's just so much easier with 4.
Seeing that baby-hauling is covered, my wife is letting get whatever I want (within our price range) when I replace my Civic Si. I can get a 2-door, but as you said, who wants to climb back there even on rare occasions to mess with a baby seat! 4 doors are better, and 5 are best.
But I'm still test-driving the Si!!!
-jim
Really, I'm going to do it! (if I have the time...)
At any rate, things change in life and I expect to keep my next car for a long time. I figure practical decisions now won't be biting me in the rear four or five years down the road.
But I'm still gonna test drive the Civic Si!!
(even if it's door-challenged and costs too much!)
-jim
I can't justify the price of a minivan. Especially considering that the Honda Odyssey EX is the one that I would want to buy. I think I'm going to get my wife either an Outback or a Legacy wagon. I havn't crunched the numbers to find out which one is a better value yet.
Anyone looked at the Honda Pilot yet? Sounds intriguing.
I really don't want to go all the way back to the selling dealer....yucky drive. I have an appt tomorrow afternoon w/the local dealer to put on the locks. I plan to ask them what the things on the back seat are. I'd also like them to check the tire pressure....I remember some people saying their tires were over-inflated from the factory.
We'll see.....appreciate any info you have! Off to hockey now!
by seminole_kev
Jeez, I was worried. :-)
-Larry
Finally, I notice my stock bars have a load limit noted--does that apply just to these stock luggage racks or is that the load capacity of the roof (so I couldn't carry more using a Thule rack, for instance).
Alternator...I confess I don't own a tire pressure gauge myself....but I do know how to check it...I just usually go to a gas station and use the ones there. But since I'm bringing the car in to the dealer tomorrow..I thought I might as well make them check it.
The mags try to generate interest among all the brands so everyone will have a reason to purchase the mag. Bottom line, do your research, read many articles and a truer picture will emerge.
Join other Protege enthusiasts in Edmunds.com Mazda Protege5 Wagons board
However, you present yourself as a "Know it All". Just my opinion.
-Larry
The mags try to generate interest among all the brands so everyone will have a reason to purchase the mag. Bottom line, do your research, read many articles and a truer picture will emerge.
What's wrong with me posting in the Pro 5 topic? A car I really like and nearly bought.
Bruno
Cars are usually shipped with tire pressure set really high (to prevent damage to the tires from sitting on those trailers?), which CAN lead to a blow-out if you drive in high temps for long stretches. They should've adjusted it to 32psi (or whatever it says on the label inside the driver door frame).
FYI, sometimes the service tech just arbitrarily inflates all the tires when the vehicle is on the rack and doesn't adjust them after the car is back on its tires. Maybe an oversight, maybe not.
The comparison test included a Ford Focus ZX5, Mazda Protegé5, Subaru Impreza Outback Sport, Suzuki Aerio SX and a Toyota Matrix XR. It was interesting to pit our PT against similar vehicles. So often, observations about our long-term PT are made in isolation. Now we could compare the PT's strengths and weaknesses directly to other key players. While we haven't crunched the final numbers yet, we can tell you that the PT will likely place rather high......
You can look for this comparison test to appear in late May or early June. And a month after that, the PT's two-year lease is up. Hopefully, our car will finish out these remaining months without any problems.
We P5'ers sure are breeding!
Needless to say, I am really excited!!! Due on Dec. 9th!
WooHoo!! :-)
I'm sure you're as excited as we were when we saw our first "lima bean photo" two Septembers ago. Hard to believe the little rascal will be a year old this month and is already pushing 30 pounds ...
Congratulations Daddy! Let the debt commence!!!
Meade
Congratulation!
Bruno
Say "hello baby," "bye-bye sex!!!"
(Believe me, my friend, your wife won't have any energy from now until delivery day, and then NEITHER of you will have any energy after that. Not that that's a bad thing or anything ... there ain't NOTHING like bein' a daddy! Especially now that he's sayin' DA DA!!!)
Meade
Rich
~m
Congrats on the little one, sporin!
-jim
I should listen to myself when I said to take it with a grain of salt. Not sure what they are thinking.
But the overall impression of the P-5 is they like the clutch and handling and not much else. They state it is the loudest and buzyist of the engines, the least cargo capacity.
They even admit, "the numbers add up to a weak case..."for #1.
In the same issue they review the 150 HP Mazda 6 Hatchback, Wagon and Sedan.
Anyways...checked the pressure and it was a little high...ranging from about 38 to 40.
Got the wheel locks put on today as well.
Got a phone call today...on my machine from someone at the dealer I bought from....follow-up...customer service call I guess..I'll call her tomorrow to discuss a couple of these things. I also am going to ask if there's anything they can/will do about a slight scratch in the leather. It's not something I can't live with...but since the car is brand new...I'd like it to be perfect
Someone mentioned a few posts back that there was this guy ranting on about how great a baby seat fit. That would have been me, a few months before meinrad bought his P5.
Now that my baby is entering the toddler stage--walking is amazing, running is quite, uhhh, challenging--I stand by that. And yes, someone mentioned that there's a baby seat out there that almost exactly matches the P5 upholstery. That's the Century NextStep DX, which is what I have (when my mom saw it she said "wow, did you get that from Mazda?"). It's not an infant seat, though, but a forward-facing toddler/booster seat, which you can move up to once the little one gets up to 20lbs., at which time he/she will much appreciate being able to face the front anyway.
God Bless,
Larry