So it turns out my coworker's Maxima had a transmission issue (it was the winter beater I was banking on for dirt cheap, oh well) and while I do like some of the GRM beater options, they're all way too far away. I found a local 98 Protege 5 speed with 130k miles on it. Anything I should be looking out for? Forum information seems old and scarce.
They rust like they are paid to.
Timing belt if no record.
Expect the sway bar bushings to rattle.
Drive it forever.
I've had three Proteges -- two 1999s and a 2003 Protege5. I think they are the generation after the one your friend is looking at. The Protege5 suffered from regular seized rear calipers, and bad rust. It also had a miserable motor -- more powerful on paper than the older 1.8s in the '99s, but it hated to rev.
They handle well, and are a nice size. Most are gone from around here.
In general it 's a Great Little Car.
Rust is #1 concern. Look at the critical points.
By modern standards it will be an incredibly basic and spartan car. The flip side is there is nothing "techno" to cause trouble.
Dusterbd13-michael said:They rust like they are paid to.
Timing belt if no record.
Expect the sway bar bushings to rattle.
Drive it forever.
It's a NJ/Northeast car. Hoping this one isn't a bad one!
Find a Pontiac Vibe. All the Toyota reliability with the GM depreciation.
In reply to Mazdax605 :
Unfortunately everyone around here "knows" they're a Toyota Matrix and prices them as such.
Look for a Saturn Ion. Though it may still be rusty underneath, the plastic body panels will keep it from looking dilapidated. In general it is just mechanically a Chevy Cobalt making it not great or amazing but highly adequate. Parts are cheap and every JY has a few in stock.
No one goes looking for an Ion making them slow sellers and slow seller means cheap seller. Even a slower seller if the Ion is a manual trans.
Though, avoid the 03-05 Ion Coupe if auto trans. In those years, in only the coupe, they put a CVT trans that is a reliability nightmare. 06-07 Coupes got the same 4 speed auto that the sedan got for all years.
For me, Ford Focuses 00-07 have been cheap to buy and cheap to run also.
John Welsh said:Look for a Saturn Ion. Though it may still be rusty underneath, the plastic body panels will keep it from looking dilapidated. In general it is just mechanically a Chevy Cobalt making it not great or amazing but highly adequate. Parts are cheap and every JY has a few in stock.
No one goes looking for an Ion making them slow sellers and slow seller means cheap seller. Even a slower seller if the Ion is a manual trans.
Though, avoid the 03-05 Ion Coupe if auto trans. In those years, in only the coupe, they put a CVT trans that is a reliability nightmare. 06-07 Coupes got the same 4 speed auto that the sedan got for all years.
For me, Ford Focuses 00-07 have been cheap to buy and cheap to run also.
Upon this suggestion, I looked and there are definitely some MEGA cheap Ions around here. Should I care about mileage? Anything in specific to look for?
John Welsh said:In general it 's a Great Little Car.
Rust is #1 concern. Look at the critical points.
By modern standards it will be an incredibly basic and spartan car. The flip side is there is nothing "techno" to cause trouble.
I see what You Did There. :)
To the OP:
I am more well versed in early-90s mazda, however I can tell you a bit about the engines it might have:
1.5 or 1.6 – The Z5/Z6 engines are are an evolution of the venerable B6 (i.e. NA6 miata engine). Very reliable, but not very powerful.
1.8 – This could either be the much-loved BP (I.e. NA8 miata engine) or the FP, a destroked version of the 2.0 FS.
2.0 – This is the FS engine, straight out of the base model MX6, 626, Probe from the 90s. Not terrible, but as noted above it doesn’t really like to rev, or survive under boost (see: mazdaspeed protégé).
Again, watch out for rust. I wanted a Protege5 hatchback for a daily at one point, but after months of searching I gave up trying to find one with intact rear fenders (I’m in CT).
therieldeal said:John Welsh said:In general it 's a Great Little Car.
Rust is #1 concern. Look at the critical points.
By modern standards it will be an incredibly basic and spartan car. The flip side is there is nothing "techno" to cause trouble.
I see what You Did There. :)
To the OP:
I am more well versed in early-90s mazda, however I can tell you a bit about the engines it might have:
1.5 or 1.6 – The Z5/Z6 engines are are an evolution of the venerable B6 (i.e. NA6 miata engine). Very reliable, but not very powerful.
1.8 – This could either be the much-loved BP (I.e. NA8 miata engine) or the FP, a destroked version of the 2.0 FS.
2.0 – This is the FS engine, straight out of the base model MX6, 626, Probe from the 90s. Not terrible, but as noted above it doesn’t really like to rev, or survive under boost (see: mazdaspeed protégé).
Again, watch out for rust. I wanted a Protege5 hatchback for a daily at one point, but after months of searching I gave up trying to find one with intact rear fenders (I’m in CT).
Looks like we're both in the rustbelt. Gonna take a look at this one anyway and offer the guy 1000 bucks and see how it goes.
John Welsh said:In general it 's a Great Little Car.
Rust is #1 concern. Look at the critical points.
By modern standards it will be an incredibly basic and spartan car. The flip side is there is nothing "techno" to cause trouble.
I see what you did there.
I love that era Protege. Cheap, handles well.
not fast or very fuel efficient, but it goes around corners in a fun way.
Problem areas have been mentioned. They tend not to have ABS, if that matters to you.
In reply to CyberEric :
The less electronics, the better. I love the concept of the car. Will be checking it out soon.
I'll also second the first gen focus. Way more fun than 100hp ought to be. Plus manual wagons exist. Also, consider a Mazda3 as an alternative to the protege. The first gen is almost as cheap and (usually) less rusty. That said, I've always had a soft spot for proteges. If I ever come across a non rusty (or, at least, less than usual) one in decent condition, I'd probably have a hard time saying no.
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