Hello Folks,

I think I want to buy a 2002 or 2003 Protege for my son to take to school.
Any tips or pitfalls I should know about?
One thing I find discouraging is that the tires are expensive compared to other small cars.
Does it have a timing belt or timing chain.

Many thanks, Alan

 

Tires are expensive? I guess it depends on where you go. I went to Midas and got nice Bridgestones for about 50 each. That was on a 2000 Protege LX with 14" wheels though. So... Not sure if it differs...

 

Welcome to the Forum.

Proteges have timing belts, not chains. I don't see why tires for Proteges should be any more expensive than those for comparable cars.

 

It has a timing belt, but not to worry, it's a non interference engine, so even if it broke it would just shut the car down, not cause engine damage. A 2002 Protege has 15" tires minimum, so he is correct, tires tend to be more expensive than other manufacturers. They tend to put smaller tires with larger profiles on there cars stock. The cars are great safety wise, and handle excellently with a GREAT reliability record. You would be wise to buy this for him as a starter car, as you can pretty much give it to him and not have to worry about it breaking down, or if god forbid it was in a wreck the car would protect him well. Hope this helps and welcome

 

He might be talking about the P5 which has some expensive *** 16s on them.

 

Alan, just don't replace the tires with the same factory tire. They are quite expensive for their relatively poor performance. You didn't mention the tire size or the area of the country (how bad is your winter?). A high or ultra-high performance all season tire is probably what you are looking for, such as the Toyo Proxes 4. Or something in that class of tires. Greatly increased grip and stopping performance for a younger driver. I would worry less about treadwear life for your son and increase the grip. That's assuming while in school he will be a fairly low mileage driver so they should last a long time. Just shop around online and local, at least 4 places. Tire price vary wildly even a shops around town. Use the customer review sections online to get a general idea about each tire.
www.tirerack.com
http://www.1010tires.com/Toyo_Proxes_4_tires.html

BTW, my son is only 13 but I fully expect my '03 LX to be his first car and also to last him all the way through college. It's a great, reliable car.

 

On the note of timing belts...my brother suggested to me that they should be changed every 100,000 km.Is this true? Because I am over that mileage range.

 

i believe they r rated much higher than 100 000km but mazda recomends change every 100 000km

 

Overall good value. Safe and reliable with decent gas mileage. I would recommend it for my son.

 

in my book they say to change it at 100k miles. I just turned 30k and it still drives like new. But then I take really good care of my cars.

 

The Protege is definatly a good choice for your son. You might want to look at the Protege5's and/or MP3's and MazdaSpeed models if he would rather have a sportier car with the same reliability.

 

I don't know if his kid is a first time driver, but if he is. There is no reason why his son needs a car with the power of a MP3 or MazdaSpeed. Stick with the regular Sedan or five door Protege5. Those kinds of cars(MP3 & MS) will just raise the risk of him getting in trouble or worse, in a bad accident.

 

Well hes probably givin up on this seeing that hes hasn't posted sence may!

 

just fyi, the mp3 is no faster than a standard protege...just turns better. the MSP is the only one quicker....and even then it's not THAT much quicker!

 

MP3 was rated at 140/142, 2001 ES was 130/135, so techincally....