Blackened

Hi everyone, this is my first post

My girlfreind and I have been car shopping for a long time now, she wanted a protege (shes had very good luck with her current 91 protege- 220k+!!!). Finally, today we came across an unbeatable deal. It's a black 2002 5spd, with sunroof, oem alarm, keyless entry, alloy wheels, oem cd player, cruise control, abs brakes, and power everything. We got it from a small used car dealer in providence rhode island. I was able to contact the original owner, he told me that he worked far from home, which explains why this car has so many miles (70k). He's 38 years old, so I can assume he drove responsibly, considering the car is in great shape and has a clear title. The dealer asked for only $5950!! And this includes a comprehensive 6 month warranty. There are also extended warranty plans we can pickup later (1yr for $180, 2yr for $300, 3yr for $450).

Of course, the car has a few little problems (non of which offset the great price)

1) the driver's side window has a hard time getting down (makes cruching sound), and an even harder time getting back up. in fact, you have to help it get all the way back up!

2) the inside trunk popper lever does not work. you have to open the trunk with the key.

3) going into 2nd and 3rd gear (mostly 2nd) is a little rough. the shifter tends to stick about half way into the gear- requiring a little extra force to get it all the way in. I spoke to a guy at a mazda dealer a while back (another mazda we test drove did the same thing) he said it was likely to be the synchros that were going. He also said that if the problem is bareable, that it may never get worse. Does it cost much to fix this? is it serious?

4) minor stuff- like a missing oem radio ****, the rear quarter panel has some superficial scrape marks where the car must have rubbed against another car, theres a tiny pea sized hole in the drivers seat upholstery. Flaky, pealing shift **** diagram.



do any of these problems sound typical of mazda proteges? are there any DIYs out there that may address them? Why is it that this 2002 has no side markers?

what do you guys think, did we get a deal or what? what was the msrp on this car?

thnx,

-fernando

Here's some eye candy for everyone (my car)



PS- I also posted this message on Club Protege (a site that seems very similar to this one in style and content!)

Dragonbreath

Protege's have a little switch on the side of the trunk latch (inside the trunk) that can be used to disable the remote release. That may be the problem there.