buying a high mileage protege?
 

I saw a 95 dx 5 spd yesterday for sale, cheap. It looks fairly good. It will need a windshield, drivers side window and a front passenger side marker along with a slight fender tweak where the marker was hit. It looks fairly well equiped, tach, cruise, stereo. The tires are about 2/3 worn, with no sign of uneven wear which leads me to believe that there are no suspension issues.

It has 187K on the clock. It also has a salvage title hanging in the window dated 10/04. On the title, the mileage is listed as 111K. I think this may have been a typo as the next couple of digits are 87. If someone looked at it quickly and thought there was a 1/10th place in the odometer, they would have listed it that way. The listed owner's birthdate, 1921, just might have something to do with it!

I realize that buying a car with this sort of mileage is a crap shoot, but, if I can pick it up extremely cheap and not have to put more than a few hundred into it, it could serve as a nice winter beater and give me something to drive when I have my pos SHO up on blocks!

What is the life expectancy for these engines? If it was a corolla, I'd have no problems taking a shot as they can go well over 200K. Is this the case with the mazda? I do not know if it is the 1.5 or 1.8. Does this matter much as far as longevity is concerned? I can drive the SHO when I need to go fast.

I have not yet talked to the owner. Any recommendations/warnings would be appreciated.

Also, how mechanic friendly are they? Are head rebuilds/clutches difficult or expensive?

thanks,

pete

I dunno about all that but I have a 98 Protege with 250K and it runs great for now. I've had it for a week so far and it is still running fine, which isn't long to see how it survives but if it does survive winter, it'll be great. Since it's a 98 those are obviously mostly highway miles though, you can't rack up that kind of mileage in the city in 7 years. Your car might be more city miles but I think (just opinion based) that it'll last you long enough.

i've owned a 92 Protege 1.8l for 10 yrs and finally laid it to rest with over 383,000 km (237,000 mi) on it Still ran, but needed other work to keep on road

now own a 98 Protege and have 297,000kms. ok so far.

cwebb

If its the DX model, it probably shouldn't have a tach or cruise etc...
Thats LX model stuff, unless you made a typo.
Is that 187,000 miles or KM?? The Z5 has some problems, you'd be wise to do, or have done, a compression test before you sign anything as the 1.5l is known for valvetrain issues.
http://web2.airmail.net/theman/prote...sb/2ndgen.html
This is a listing of some TSBs that you might take a look at as well, before making u your mind.

I've just bought a 1997 Touring edition with 250 000 km and it runs like a charm. It always depend on how the car was treated before !

bummer, US never got touring editions. does yours have the 1.5 or 1.8? mines an LX with the 1.5. runs like a champ. either engine, as you said as it depends on the previous owner's care, should be fine, esp. the 1.8.

From what I can tell with the ones that I see in the shop, they are very reliable. I've seen them with 100k on the odo and not having a single leak or driveability issue whatsoever. Common issues are a hesitation when starting to accelerate, and intake manifold gasket leaks, and the occasional valve cover gasket leak. But even these issues are not that common. I'd say start it up, drive it. Do a quick visual of the motor, hear how it sounds, check for oil/coolant leaks, etc etc. Try to find out if the timing belt was done recently, if not have it and the idler and tensioner replaced for reliability sake. If all goes well I'd say get it if it's cheap.