Should I buy?

[55Test]

Turns out my cr@ppy 88 Corolla wagon is even more cr@ppier than I first thought. After finding a hole in the spare tire well, plus holes in the rear fenders along with 3 bad struts I just don't feel much love for it. I happened to find a 93 Mazda Protege for sale for 500 bucks. It's a 4 door automatic with 260000 kms (162000 miles). It's got a power sunroof (it works) power mirrors and remote start. The owner has put in a brand new radiator, new gastank, new front exhaust pipe and a new caliper. I took it for a scoot down the road and I liked it, although the sunroof takes up a few inches of headroom. The car needs a front wheel bearing replaced, in that case it would probably be easier to replace the hub. The windshield has a crack in it so that should be replaced sometime as well. Here's a few pics.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/Protege/93MazdaProtege002.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/Protege/93MazdaProtege004.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/Protege/93MazdaProtege005.jpg

 

[lindermant]

so long as that's not a used prophylactic on the passenger floorboard in pic three, I'd take it (the car)!

 

[The_Jeff]

Hey, that

steering wheel looks different: No airbag?

If you added up all the $500 cars you bought in the last year you could probably have gotten a rust free 1998 for $2,000.

Although I agree that's not nearly as much fun.

Looks like the current owners bought another mazda in the background, so they probably thought it was a pretty nice car.

Check out the blistering paint on that door sill on the passenger side, where the a-pillar meets the rockers. Give that a good sharp poke with a screwdriver or something to make sure it's solid.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

I'd say it's a good deal for $500, but I'm wary of FWD automatics with hat many miles on the clock. If it were a 5-speed, I'd snatch it up in a second.

 

[Kestas]

The Maritime Provinces are where the auto industry collects field data on corrosion. That is the worst place on this continent for automotive corrosion. The climate during the winter is always around 32°F, and the roads seem to be perpetually coated with wet and slushy salt.

Also, keep in mind that japanese cars have a record of poor corrosion resistance when compared with US models. I'm not sure where their modern models stand, but this is definitely true for the older models.

Corrosion will always be a problem for cars in your neck of the woods. Whatever you buy, consider getting is professionally undercoated. The money spent up front on rustproofing will probably save you a lot of money later on for corrosion-related repairs.

 

[addyguy]

It looks like a good buy. My last car was a 1993 Mazda 323 1.6 litre 5-speed - not quite the same, but close. I drove it really, really hard for about 2.5 years, and put 80,000 km's on it, and hardly had any problems. This included me not doing an oil change for the better part of 30,000 km's at one point, and the car still ran great and passed emmissions. The Mazda 1.6/1.8 litre engines are tough motors.

As others have said, on a Japanese car this old, rust is the main issue to watch for, and this one looks like it doesn't have much. Also, the interior is pretty clean, so it looks like it was well looked after. For $500, I don't think you can go wrong! Buy it!

BTW, how is the sunfire you bought a little while ago doing?

 

[DriveHard]

anything with a remote start raises a flag with me. Who knows how many hours it has spent outside idling away as the owner started looooong before they ever made it out to drive it.

 

[OriginHacker21]

Remote start? Reminds me of my friend's parents who had that. Apparently his mom started the car - got involved in something inside and ran it out of gas after it idled for the whole day.

For $500? I'd buy it!

 

[obbop]

Ponder for a bit.

Pondering is fun and the mental exercise is good for yer' brain muscles.

Supposed to fend off senility, also.

After pondering....

toss a coin.

Then, after deciding....

ponder your decision.