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While some may see that I have a thread about buying new, I happend to run across a used car the other day that really caught my eye. I've heard about the build but wasnt sure.
Through a used dealer there is potentially a mazda protege 2000 with ~31,000 original miles(for a soild price). Carfax says 1 owner and yearly safety inspections.
Main concerns:
Any known faults with this vehicle? Im pretty sure everyting about the protege I have heard has mostly been positive, but I'd like some more thoughts. I feel like ~30k is darn near new.....is this a steal or this too good to be true. I cannot find anything on it.
please help! If its a steal I am sure it will not be around or may be gone already
No, it's not a steal. It's a 12, going on 13 years old econo car. Age can deteriorate a car's condition just as much as miles can. Tires, brakes, CV boots, belts, and hoses will probably all need to be replaced. Since it's being sold by a dealer, not the original owner, you have no idea how the car was treated the last 12 years, if it was periodically started and run or just sitting parked with engine rotting on the old oil. After buying my last car which was a 10-year old granny mobile Camry with only 42k miles on it, and still had a bunch of repair issues crop up, I'd be very hesitant to do that again. I'd find something newer and with lower miles, but if you had to choose between older with lower miles or newer with higher miles, I'm beginning to think newer with higher miles is better.
What model? ES or LX? ES was the sport model while the LX was only slightly above base model. They are great handling cars. One potential problem is if the timing belt broke while the engine was running. My wife's 1996 Protege' was running fine until 2009 when a jeep ran a stop sign.
No, it's not a steal. It's a 12, going on 13 years old econo car. Age can deteriorate a car's condition just as much as miles can. Tires, brakes, CV boots, belts, and hoses will probably all need to be replaced. Since it's being sold by a dealer, not the original owner, you have no idea how the car was treated the last 12 years, if it was periodically started and run or just sitting parked with engine rotting on the old oil. After buying my last car which was a 10-year old granny mobile Camry with only 42k miles on it, and still had a bunch of repair issues crop up, I'd be very hesitant to do that again. I'd find something newer and with lower miles, but if you had to choose between older with lower miles or newer with higher miles, I'm beginning to think newer with higher miles is better.
you make a good point. I mean the car fax says on average about 3000 miles were put on it a year. Thats an oil change a year. It was inspected about on time every year, but I wonder how it faired with oil changes. The car is from long island near NYC so perhaps not much driving was needed, I dunno perhaps.... Upon reading I hear that the proteges rust prett easily in comparison to the others in its class. Overall you have given me something to think about and I am not considering it such a good deal to check out now
Quote:
Originally Posted by sailordave
What model? ES or LX? ES was the sport model while the LX was only slightly above base model. They are great handling cars. One potential problem is if the timing belt broke while the engine was running. My wife's 1996 Protege' was running fine until 2009 when a jeep ran a stop sign.
While some may see that I have a thread about buying new, I happend to run across a used car the other day that really caught my eye. I've heard about the build but wasnt sure.
Through a used dealer there is potentially a mazda protege 2000 with ~31,000 original miles(for a soild price). Carfax says 1 owner and yearly safety inspections.
Main concerns:
Any known faults with this vehicle? Im pretty sure everyting about the protege I have heard has mostly been positive, but I'd like some more thoughts. I feel like ~30k is darn near new.....is this a steal or this too good to be true. I cannot find anything on it.
please help! If its a steal I am sure it will not be around or may be gone already
KBB says a 2000 Mazda Protege' ES is a little more than $4,000. It's engine is 1.8L rated at 120hp. It's not fast 0-60, but it is a quick car in the corners.
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