The second in the "horrible issues" series: '03 Mazda Protoge.

2Billion

2Billion

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Mileage is kind of high. Which is fine if he doesn't do much mileage himself... err... kilometerage.

inb4 Miata.
 
Mazda makes good cars.

From what I know about the protege it's a pretty decent car. I''d say it would be a fine buy.
 
My dad had a protege for all of a day, same color and everything. AFAIK the only thing I can think of as an issue is the sluggish automatic.

Has he considered a civic?
 
gaasc said:
My dad had a protege for all of a day, same color and everything. AFAIK the only thing I can think of as an issue is the sluggish automatic.

Has he considered a civic?
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Can't find a decent one in the area for under $7k. Can find one that's been molested more than a young child at Gary Glitter's house, but that's probably a bad idea.
 
Decent cars, but I would say check very closely for rust and signs of previous/future rust. There is a number of these cars where I live that came from outside BC and they always suprise me how rusty they are for a newer car (think 1980s Accord rusty).
 
I agree with Shawnw. I've driven a Protege as it was my instructor's car, I liked it. He got rid of it because it was rusting rather quickly, this seems to be a serious problem with the small Mazdas here. I've seen a lot of Proteges that have rust in the typical spots, the oldest Mazda3s don't seem to fare much better. If the owner didn't take care of it, the Proteges I've seen actually corrode far quicker than many of the rusty 80s Toyotas here.
 
GM_IV said:
I agree with Shawnw. I've driven a Protege as it was my instructor's car, I liked it. He got rid of it because it was rusting rather quickly, this seems to be a serious problem with the small Mazdas here. I've seen a lot of Proteges that have rust in the typical spots, the oldest Mazda3s don't seem to fare much better. If the owner didn't take care of it, the Proteges I've seen actually corrode far quicker than many of the rusty 80s Toyotas here.
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They sold a lot of those cars down here too, but they all seem to have disappeared. No idea what killed them all, but something did.
 
Pedrocas said:
How about one of these:

http://regina.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...dai-Elantra-Sedan-for-Sale-W0QQAdIdZ230297327

http://regina.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-2005-Pontiac-Pursuit-W0QQAdIdZ229993451

http://regina.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...PT-Cruiser-Touring-Edition-W0QQAdIdZ229611131
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No Pursuits, that's a given (see part 1 in the horrible issues series). PT seems kind of suspiciously cheap, and I'm pretty sure they don't age well.

How do Elantras hold up?

Also, Toyota Echos, any big problems there? Like this lovely number:
http://regina.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-2003-Toyota-W0QQAdIdZ229977857
Before you say "Well, it's kind of ugly and dreary" it would be replacing something a lot like this:
1fapp9599lw141095.jpg

Yes, this guy does need a different car quite urgently.
 
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Sadly the BJ (hehe) protege's did have issues with rust. The drivetrain will go for damn near ever and they are one of the best handling fwd econoboxes out there but they tend to rust away.
 
2Billion said:
No Pursuits, that's a given (see part 1 in the horrible issues series). PT seems kind of suspiciously cheap, and I'm pretty sure they don't age well.

How do Elantras hold up?

Also, Toyota Echos, any big problems there? Like this lovely number:
http://regina.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-2003-Toyota-W0QQAdIdZ229977857
Click to expand...
I've driven exactly a 2006 Elantra as my first Hyundai...its so far my least favourite Korean car I've driven. Noisy, rough and a very vague wheel. The stereo in these things is really awful, I know for certain those things break. Heard the common problems lie with the automatic transmission wanting to go into limp mode(only saw this on a 2008 Accent when new), rear calipers like to seize and there are some cooling problems. Like all Hyundais and Kias try to go for newer as they make the older ones like this one seem awful.

The Echo has issues with crosswinds, being tall but light means it doesn't like wind buffeting very much on highway drives. Its not very quick and its ok to drive, but its agile and one of the best cars for fuel economy. Early models had brake recalls. Other than this there doesn't seem to be a common issue here. The best news about a used Echo sedan though is the driver demographics is mostly old so they're usually in better shape.
 
Every time I've been near an elantra it's broken somehow, from full engine blowups to boot handles falling off in my hand. Not sure if it's me, but I don't trust them! :lol:
 
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