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I asked a friend of mine what should I check for he told he would do a compression check to make sure the engine block is good. Everything else can be easily replaced. The car looks like my old even in color as pictured below, trying not to get to excited about would make a great little toy.
Ive always like the Protege5', Do these cars have a timing chain or a belt? If it was a belt, ask when the last time it was changed. 200k on a factory clutch? Even if it were babyed its entire life, its gotta be near the end of its life span.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I actually know someone with the sedan version of the 2003 Protege with 130k, and they are trying to keep it running until their other car is paid off before trading it in. They have recently had to replace a lot of things, but nothing that cost a lot. With an automatic, the transmission going out is a big worry. In your case with a stick, I'd look closely at the condition of the clutch, that's an $800 replacement, but for a fun "spare" car I would go for it. If you will depend on it and have kids to drive around, I'd look for something with less miles.
I don't have any experience with that particular model, but I've driven high-mileage cars for years without fear. You just need to go into this "eyes wide open" with the understanding that at any given moment some major component (engine, clutch, etc.) may decide that enough is enough and stop working.
So you want to keep this in mind when negotiating the price. It needs to be low enough that you can justify either putting a considerable amount on money in it after a relatively short period of time if something breaks down or walking away with nothing more than scrap price in return if you don't want to deal with repairs.
protege5 wagon, 5 speed, does it have a sunroof? This model is a great buy! 4 wheel disk, 5 speed, twin cam engine, good mpg's, extra room,bucket seats, what more can you ask for? go for it!
this model is awesome and goes in the lines of vehicles that remain part of the family a long time. Getting 300k+ miles out of one is very doable. If it were awd, like the civic awd wagon, it would have been even more special.
Only real expense I can see for you is a muffler replacement every 2.5 years, and a full fluids change. this model shares parts with the kia spectre5 and mazda 323 and miata, not that you will need repairs very often.
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