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Opinion Summary
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Act fast to get the best deal on a driver's car I've ever seen
by mkaresh | Nov 04 '03
Pros: Steering, handling, fun to drive, styling, workmanship, roominess (for a compact), visibility, headlamps, PRICE
Cons: Busy ride, noise, seats need more bolstering, moderately long shifter throws, power (for some)
Return to opinion
OVERALL RATING
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Former Protege5 owner (Reply to this comment)
by twesterh
Excellent review on an almost perfect car (at that price level).
I ended up writing my own review on your comment section so I erased it and will state the following:
I agree on most what you said and the only thing I would disagree with is the seats. I had the cloth and I liked them.
I had 30k miles of trouble free use. The tires are great but they wear fast. Save some money and buy them at tirerack.com and have your local Discount Tire mount them. If you want all-season tires you've got basically two choices in stock size: the Dunlops or Goodyear RSA.
If handling and MPG is more important than acceleration and you can handle the bouncy highway ride this car is for you!
Ultimately I sold it for a new SUV. I certainly miss the good mileage but don't miss the 4-banger and bouncy ride.
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May 13 '04
3:31 pm PDT
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Re: Well it's about time that you actually BOUGHT a car. How weak! (Reply to this comment)
by mkaresh,  in Cars & Motorsports
I like how it's always people who've only written one review who are the experts on what this site is about.
I have the means to buy nearly every car I've test driven--my wife has a very good income even if as a grad student I did not. If I'd fallen in love with any other car under, say, $35,000, I would have bought it. But I didn't.
For example, the Mazda dealer (where I eventually bought the P5) had me fill out a credit app before permitting me to test drive the RX-8. Once they saw my ability to pay they were eager to get me into the seat of that car.
I do not lie about my level of interest to sales people. Unless I am truly likely to buy the car, I simply ask to drive one. They have the option to request that I be ready to buy that day before offering a test drive. They rarely do.
Most auto companies encourage anyone and everyone to test drive their cars, if only to generate positive word of mouth. Clearly, with the readership I have here, if I like a car I communicate this to a significant number of people.
Finally, how is what I do an excuse for your malicious insults? Personally, I'd rather someone take up my time in a pleasant manner rather than have them insult me. But maybe that's just me.
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Apr 30 '04
7:26 pm PDT
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Re: Factory to dealer incentive still in effect?? (Reply to this comment)
by mkaresh, in Cars & Motorsports
Sorry, I didn't see this comment before today. These incentives vary by region. I'm not sure whether or not they are still in effect.
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Apr 30 '04
9:54 am PDT
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Factory to dealer incentive still in effect?? (Reply to this comment)
by hoop123
I am looking at the Protege5 and am curious if the factory to dealer incentives($500-$1000?) are still in effect? This is the hinging factor that will get me to buy. Any ideas? The dealer I spoke with said they weren't aware of this.
THanks!
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Mar 16 '04
10:44 pm PST
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Well it's about time that you actually BOUGHT a car. How weak! (Reply to this comment)
by jkling17
It's so laughable that all those dealers allowed you to continue test driving car after car after car for years. It should have been painfully obvious that you were a mere student, didn't really have much money, and were wasting their time.
It is also truly tragic that you obviously have no remorse whatsoever about wasting so much of other people's valuable time and resources. All those years, where you didn't intend to buy, and completely lacked the means to do so. It's clear that you won't care about this either (but you should know) - YOU are the reason that many car salespeople can be so difficult to deal with. They always have to wonder if a customer is just another worthless waste of time with no money.
Your many years spent "reviewing" cars is quite possibly the single most selfish exploration I've ever seen. And after all that, what do you have to show for it? Merely an economy sport wagon. (sound of one hand clapping). Well, gee that's pretty impressive I must say! (sarcasm). And after all that, I'd bet money that you STILL persist in test driving cars that you obviously can't afford, and do so every chance you get - that is so weak!
By the way - just so there's no misunderstanding - your reviews are NOT particularly helpful, and here's why...
This site is intended for people who OWN the cars to share their thoughts with others. You see, people who OWN the cars have hundreds or thousands of miles of EXPERIENCE with it. The latter provides them the right to provide their subjective but certainly well-informed views. It's astonishing that you spend perhaps 20-30 minutes driving a car, and then produce verbose diatribes of your so-called expertise and views. Truly the ONLY new car you have earned the right to do so with is your Protege5!
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Dec 15 '03
8:38 pm PST
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Re: nice review (Reply to this comment)
by mkaresh, in Cars & Motorsports
I shouldn't complain because I'm benefiting, but the marketing prof in me can't believe they're doing this to their past customers. Resale values are likely to suffer. I imagine this has happened to the owners of many domestic cars, but buyers of something as good as the Protege should be immune--the car shouldn't have to sell at deep discounts. You did not see BMW taking 25% off the old 5, right?
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Nov 25 '03
5:34 am PST
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nice review (Reply to this comment)
by markwise
I like reading reviews like this until they get to the part about how much they paid. Those of us who recognized the great aspects of this anti-SUV type car back in 2002, but paid near MSRP, are seriously depressed. Even at 0%, after over a year of payments, I still owe about what I can get a new one for today :-( C'est la vie - I guess I wouldn't have had the fun I've had over the past year otherwise
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Nov 24 '03
11:38 am PST
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Rebates, schmebates (Reply to this comment)
by lawman67
Actually I took advantage of most of the same rebates that you did. I had the factory to dealer incentive applied so my purchase price was below invoicce, then the $2500 customer cash and the $500 college.
What I didn't do was buy a top-of-the-line car like you did (thought about it though). My car is a Protege DX with automatic, air and 6 disc CD-changer. MSRP was $16,085, invoice was $14,700. My final price after $3500 in rebates and incentives was $11,200.
My car is as basic as they come, with crank windows, manual locks, remote mirrors wiht little plastic joysticks and no cruise control The car doesn't even have a tachometer.
What it does have, however, is the exact same engine and suspension as the top--of-the-line ES and Pro5 (though with smaller 15" steel wheels and plastic covers), and about 300lbs less weight. Even with the slushbox (my wife refuses to learn stick and we have a very annoying tandem parking spot) the car feels fast and always has abundant power.
Actually, I drove a Pro5 with leather (and nothing else) and almost bought it. In the end, the thought of a brand-new, very fun-to-drive car for barely 11 grand was just too good to pass up.
No matter where in the Protege line you shot though, these rebates make what was already a stand-out performance car imitating a budget ride into outright theft. I love it.
Mkaresh, enjoy your P5, I know I'm having a ball with my new DX.
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Nov 22 '03
11:14 am PST
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wow (Reply to this comment)
by me47452
$13,300. . . you can't even get a crappy neon for that price. with leather, cd changer and other goodies too. that's pretty amazing.
i tried to talk my parents into getting the P5 as a delivery vehicle for their office supply business but its lack of towing capacity prevents it from hauling file cabinets and furniture. . . oh well. the P5 is still way cooler in my opinion than a PT Cruiser. probably more reliable to boot.
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Nov 12 '03
3:36 pm PST
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Miata (Reply to this comment)
by kenikov
Mkaresh, are you seriously considering a Mazda Miata?
You do realize that Miatas are extremely effeminate. The image of the whole car points to something that a young female would drive.
You sound like a guy who really loves his Mazdas.
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Nov 11 '03
12:04 pm PST
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Re: So what's the roadster going to be? (Reply to this comment)
by mkaresh, in Cars & Motorsports
The Elise will be well out of my price range. More likely a used Honda S2000, though the inability to disable the passenger side airbag in that car concerns me. That airbag can be disabled in a Miata, but I don't care for the low windshield header in that car.
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Nov 10 '03
7:48 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: Glad you saw the light! (Reply to this comment)
by mkaresh, in Cars & Motorsports
They're replacing it with a new model, the Mazda3, just like they replaced the 626 with the Mazda6.
I have no doubt the new car will be technically superior and considerably faster, as it comes with a 160-horsepower 2.3-liter. I do not know if it will be as fun to drive (it might have some of the fun refined out of it), it is not nearly as attractive to my eye, and will cost about $4000 more once incentives are taken into account. (The base, sticker price is the same, the option prices go up by a hundred or two each, and the rebate is currently $500.) To me the old car seemed a much better value, though the new one will likely be a good car for the price.
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Nov 09 '03
3:55 pm PST
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Re: Re: Glad you saw the light! (Reply to this comment)
by kenikov
The P5 has won quite a few awards from publications. Why would Mazda discontinue such a successful car?
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Nov 08 '03
9:51 pm PST
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Re: Glad you saw the light! (Reply to this comment)
by mkaresh, in Cars & Motorsports
I stopped into the dealer on Friday just to see if the P5 was something I might like. My Contour was getting old, and although most cars I was considering to replace it were about $30,000, I'd rather keep my money. And the P5 was by far the least expensive car I thought might work for me. I was figuring I could pick up a used fairly basic 2002 with mileage in the mid-teens for about $12,000.
I ended up buying a car because I could get a loaded new one for not much more than that, but not for long. It was a "do it now or lose it forever" kind of thing. So I jumped. The decision has seemed better with each passing day.
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Nov 05 '03
4:16 pm PST
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Glad you saw the light! (Reply to this comment)
by bleugoose
I've owned my Protege5 for two years now, and I am so pleased that a trusted reviewer like yourself would actually choose to buy one. What a bargain! It's scary because book value on my car, with nearly 35K miles, is not much less than what you paid.
I liked your review very much, it actually helped me to appreciate what I've got!
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Nov 05 '03
2:28 pm PST
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Re: Bravo. Too persuasive. (Reply to this comment)
by mkaresh, in Cars & Motorsports
If you are particular about colors and/or options, there aren't so many available. For example, I wanted leather, the moonroof/CD changer package, and the ABS/side airbags package, but nothing else. Many cars with these options are loaded up with hundreds of dollars of minor options like a compas mirror and alarm. And I didn't want silver or black, and was iffy on yellow. I used mazdausa.com to search all dealers within 150 miles, and found just a couple cars I would accept, and only one that I really wanted. And even that one had chrome wheels. Most of the remaining cars around here are silver for some reason. Blue, probably my top choice, is very rare with all three options--there was not one within 150 miles of me. Aside from the red car I bought there was a single yellow car with these options.
Moral of the story: to have a chance of getting close to the exact car you want, go to your dealer now. I just looked up my car's trade-in value at kbb.com. It's $43 less than what I paid. Amazing, especially since only mediocre products are sold at such fire sale prices.
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Nov 05 '03
10:40 am PST
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Bravo. Too persuasive. (Reply to this comment)
by asafono
You've outdone yourself. Now that you, having driven and reviewed these hundreds of cars, bought a P5, it makes me regret even more not getting it. There's still plenty of them available, and I drool every time I drive past the neighborhood Mazda dealer.
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Nov 05 '03
8:11 am PST
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Re: So you never found that S6 wagon? (Reply to this comment)
by mkaresh, in Cars & Motorsports
I never really looked for that S6 wagon. Something about a highly tuned 8-year-old Audi scares the bejesus out of me.
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Nov 04 '03
8:48 pm PST
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Great Review (Reply to this comment)
by slbenz
Mkaresh,
I've always enjoyed your very complete and thoughtful reviews on the various automobiles you have tested. Always great work.
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Nov 04 '03
7:08 pm PST
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