New wheels for The Pirate

[The Pirate]

As some of you know, I sold the Civic a few weeks back.  Roughly two weeks ago, I pulled the trigger on a new (to me) car.

Without further ado, here she is.












It's a 2001 Mazda Protege ES with 91K miles.  It's in very good shape, and runs great.  The previous owner has receipts from new struts, sway bar links, recent tires, recent brakes, etc.  It's quite a step up for me, as I'm now rocking power windows and locks, keyless entry, cruise control and a sunroof.  It's a great handling car, and a bit peppier than the Honda as well.  As some of you may remember, I seriously test drove a Protege some time ago, and made a thread about my consideration.  In the end, I didn't buy that one, but really, really liked the car.  So, I ended up finding another one.

On a recent trip to Albany, NY; the car returned 34 mpg with cruise set at 71 mph, and the A/C running.  As well, the A/C in this car is positively frigid.  All in all, I'm very happy with it.

[Payman]

Very nice! The Protege has always been a terrific car. You done good.

[Tave]

ooooo, I'd love a sunroof.

Nice looking car, I always liked that model Protege.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Mazda makes a fantastic car, in just about any form.

Its a nice economical little sedan, and the nice thing is it doesn't punish you for wanting such a thing. In fact in some ways it rewards you(light weight, good handling, etc).

good choice, nice color and the rims make the car look sporty compared to others with smaller steelies.

that is some nice gas mileage too.

big 

[SVT_Power]

Nice car! I was sort of looking at one as well

But you have to admit the soon-to-be-mine car > your car

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Nice car! I was sort of looking at one as well

But you have to admit the soon-to-be-mine car > your car

car in the driveway > hopes and wishes

sorry had to do it. 

[SVT_Power]

car in the driveway > hopes and wishes

sorry had to do it. 

Deposit is with the seller and the car should be in my driveway wednesday night, registered and driven with temporary plates by thursday morning 

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Deposit is with the seller and the car should be in my driveway wednesday night, registered and driven with temporary plates by thursday morning?

congrats, i never count a car as mine until the title is signed.

not trying to bring you down, but we all know how shit turns out.

[Eye of the Tiger]

The 'st33m gets 36mpg  but the a/c doesn't work. 

Very nice Pr0teg3. I'd like one with a terbow. 

[The Pirate]

Thanks guys.


I love the sunroof, it's the first car I've owned that has one, and it's positively brilliant.
Sixteen inch wheels as well, the car definitely has a firm ride, but it's well worth it as soon as you find some twisties.  I do rather like the color as well, though that wasn't a factor in the purchase.  Buying used certainly limits your options. 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Be sure to take that Protege out to an autocrosss sometime... they always do well in stock form.

[S204STi]

Congratsamacations!  Nice car.

[dazzleman]

Congratulations Adam.  The car's body appears to be in great shape, so if the mechanics are good, you've got a winner. 

Your car is the same color as mine, so that's another reason for me to like it. 

My previous car is the first car I ever had with a sunroof.  I love it.  It's great to be able to open the roof on those nice days.  You'll definitely enjoy that.

Best of luck with it, man.

[SVT_Power]

The 'st33m gets 36mpg  but the a/c doesn't work. 

You broke the A/C

[SVT_Power]

congrats, i never count a car as mine until the title is signed.

not trying to bring you down, but we all know how shit turns out.

this won't turn out like that    *knock on wood*

[Eye of the Tiger]

You broke the A/C

It was already broke, do I just decided to make it harder to fix. :P

[SVT_Power]

Thanks guys.


I love the sunroof, it's the first car I've owned that has one, and it's positively brilliant.
Sixteen inch wheels as well, the car definitely has a firm ride, but it's well worth it as soon as you find some twisties.  I do rather like the color as well, though that wasn't a factor in the purchase.  Buying used certainly limits your options. 

I'd rather have a black contour but silver ain't so bad   

I never really understood the appeal for sunroofs. We've actually never owned a car with it but we had a PT cruiser for a few days (someone lent it to us while they went away) and that had a sunroof. It's amazing for venting the car but not really useful for anything else 

[SVT_Power]

It was already broke, do I just decided to make it harder to fix. :P

same difference 

[Onslaught]

Great little car. I always felt that model of Protege was one of the best cars in that class back then. Fun and well built little cars. I must have fixed about 2000 of them and can dissemble you car in about an hour!

[SVT_Power]

I think what turned me away from the car was how small it is (or at least looks to me)

[Raghavan]

Nice car! Quite a step up from the Honda I see.
You won't want to leave that unlocked in parking lots.

[The Pirate]

Be sure to take that Protege out to an autocrosss sometime... they always do well in stock form.

That's the plan, it seems like it's ready for something like that.

Congratulations Adam.  The car's body appears to be in great shape, so if the mechanics are good, you've got a winner. 

Your car is the same color as mine, so that's another reason for me to like it. 

My previous car is the first car I ever had with a sunroof.  I love it.  It's great to be able to open the roof on those nice days.  You'll definitely enjoy that.

Best of luck with it, man.

I'd be lying if I said the sunroof wasn't a strong factor, though the rest of the package fit well with what I was looking for too.  The body is in great shape for the year.  I'm the 3rd owner, and it's only had two winters in NY state (it was originally from northern Florida), so the underside is in good shape too.  I do like the silver as well.  The car looks good in it, and it's fairly stealthy on the highway as well. 

[The Pirate]

Great little car. I always felt that model of Protege was one of the best cars in that class back then. Fun and well built little cars. I must have fixed about 2000 of them and can dissemble you car in about an hour!

Good to hear!  If I have any body questions, I'll be looking your way.  I hope whatever you fixed on that many of them was fairly minor. 

Nice car! Quite a step up from the Honda I see.
You won't want to leave that unlocked in parking lots.

It's a similar car to the Honda, just more goodies.  I do like it better on the whole, however some things on the Honda were a bit better.  I've got keyless entry now, I can lock and unlock at will! 

[Vinsanity]

that's a sharp little car. I agree with FBC, the rims are a very nice touch.

I don't think you mentioned it, but is it a manual trans? or automatic? (to which the guys will chide you to no end )

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Silver is easy to keep clean too.

[The Pirate]

that's a sharp little car. I agree with FBC, the rims are a very nice touch.

I don't think you mentioned it, but is it a manual trans? or automatic? (to which the guys will chide you to no end )

I can't believe I didn't mention the tranny, on a car forum no less. 


It is indeed a manual transmission.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

I can't believe I didn't mention the tranny, on a car forum no less.?


It is indeed a manual transmission.

I was going to ask, but i just assumed(prayed) it was a manual.

The automatic wouldn't have been that bad, but the manual rounds out the package nicely.

[Raghavan]

Yeah, and no interior pics either!

[Eye of the Tiger]

I can't believe I didn't mention the tranny, on a car forum no less.?


It is indeed a manual transmission.

I assumed this much, otherwise it would have been necessary for me to reach through my computor screen and slap you very, very hard. Twice.

[FlatBlackCaddy]