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Mazda Protege Owners: Meet the Members

335 messages, Last post on Jan 25, 2009 at 9:59 AM
You are in the Mazda Protege Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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I'm Fawn, I'm 27 & have had quite a few cars and this is by far my fave. I've had: 95 Z-28 Cavalier-dealer sold me a shoddy car. 97 Honda Civic-had it 2 weeks then dealer decided it wanted me to have a... 98 Nissan Sentra SE-that thing rode like a tin can. 98 Dodge Avenger ES-I miss that poor car, hope it's happy in car heaven 01 VW Jetta 1.8T-it was great till the warranty ran out and the car literally fell apart and "drumroll please..." 02 Mazda Protege 5. Zoom Zoom I never thought I'd own a YELLOW car. Yet I do & love it. I can find it as soon as I walk out of any store. Which is helpful since I'm usually dragging my 3 demons with me. I can fit all the kids in the back, all in different stages of car seats. I do admit, I need a bigger car. I don't WANT a bigger car, but let's face it, I want 1 more kid, & that luggage rack is NOT a car seat holder. Ha ha! My kids love it, I'm the only yellow car at school. Hee Hee! I gain notoriety from it. I bought it used, loved it like it is new. It needs a paint job, it's faded, Guess it's the Fl sun. It has had a new tranny though. It's gears were stripped clean. Mazda's fault? Previous owner who was like 18? I baby the thing, doubt I could have done anything to stop it. Anywho..Anyone know if the MPV is any good? Hubby says it's too small, he wants a Caravan. He drives a 00 Grand Cherokee and won't admit he likes the P5, he just mumbles "yellow" alot. The tranny thing totally killed any love of the car. Meanwhile I drive it like I stole it & love it like a kid. |
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I think it's one of the few cars that can pull off that color well. I'd get it in yellow or red. Anyway, I like the MPV. I hate over-sized vehicles. They just don't handle well and are a pain in the parking lot. If I had 3-4 kids, I'd consider the MPV or the Mazda5 (based on Mazda3 chassis), which is kind of like a mini-minivan. Though it's smaller, the MPV's fuel consumption is about the same as larger minivans. So it's pretty much your call on size preference. I think the 3rd row is fine for kids and small adults (my wife is 5'2" and thought it was fine back there). One thing to watch for: automatic transmissions in '04 and '05 MPV models have had problems (new model from JATCO, which supplies ATs to multiple Japanese makes). I'd wait to see what the reliability data is on the '06 units, or find an older used one. I think the Mazda5 uses a different automatic transmission. |
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I was thinking about the whole transmission thing. I worked for a Dodge dealer in 99 & all I saw were Rams & Caravans from the mid 90's come in for them. I mean no car is perfect. Heck my Jetta came to me with less than 20 miles on it, right off the truck & I had alot of probs w/ it after 24,000. (Warranty runs out then..hmmm coincidence?) This next car needs to last 4 yrs or so & will probably be w/out payments. So chances are it will be an 04/05. Found out I can still get approx 7,000 for my P5, plus I'll have cash to pay off the rest. I can't imagine why Mazda would stop the P5's. I was literally the only yellow one around here. Then BAM! Within 6 months I saw a ton of them. I'm not so hot on the 06 5's. I wanted a 6 really really bad, found the P5 and grabbed it. Thought it had to be better than the big Buick hubby wanted Anyways, I guess I'll just have to wait, see what I like & can drive. Not to mention stuff in a mini van. |
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| I bought my Mazda new in 2000. I now have 75,000 miles on it with no problems. I love it. I want to know if anyone else has one and how it is doing for them. Zoom Zoom. Kay | |
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Calling all Pro fans and owners! PF Flyer Host Automotive News & Views, Wagons, & Hybrid Vehicles The Mazda Club Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule |
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I think the 3 hatch is pretty ugly from some angles, yet good-looking from others. I can see why the discontinued the Pro/P5 when they introduced the 3, but wish they both had a longer run. My wife and I both agree, as nice a car the 3 hatch is, the P5 is a much better looker, and drives very well (actually, I prefer the more intimate feel I get in my Pro to that in the 3, though I admit the 3 handles noticeably better). Actually, if they'd brought the P5 over when I got my Pro LX sedan, I'd have gotten the P5 instead (don't tell my Pro that!). I really appreciate the extra utility of the hatch, and the extra headroom in the rear seat. It's much easier to throw my bike into the back of my wife's P5 than to secure it to the roof rack on my Pro sedan (especially AFTER a long, hard bike ride). |
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Heya!! Just posting to say Hey to my fellow Mazda owners...my baby girl's name is black betty and she's an 03 Protege 5. Anywho, I'll be asking my fair share of questions as this is my 1st Mazda (have owned a few VW's and an Acura prior to this...) Have a great day! ~katee |
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