Benner Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Looking at getting a basic daily driver. Nothing fast, nothing phenomenal. Just a plain daily driver that's half way decent on gas mileage, reliable, and not gonna break the bank. Looking to spend around $6000 or less. What r ur thoughts on a early 2000's protege or Mazda 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 get a protege 5. we had one and I loved it. Its not fast by any means but is a fun car to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benner Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 get a protege 5. we had one and I loved it. Its not fast by any means but is a fun car to drive. What year and mileage could I expect for around 6k. Also auto or manual don't really matter that much to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bam Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Not sure you'll find a Mazda6 in that range that doesn't have 150k+ miles... But I 2nd the Protege5, I know a couple people that have them and they are fun to drive and have been maintenance free that I know of. I've got a cheap (sub $3k) 2000 ford contour that's reliable as all get out fs if interested...tons of maintenance done/receipts, etc...just figured i'd throw that out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benner Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Also how was reliability and parts cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benner Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Not sure you'll find a Mazda6 in that range that doesn't have 150k+ miles... But I 2nd the Protege5, I know a couple people that have them and they are fun to drive and have been maintenance free that I know of. I've got a cheap (sub $3k) 2000 ford contour that's reliable as all get out fs if interested...tons of maintenance done/receipts, etc...just figured i'd throw that out there. Not really sure if ill be able to do private sales or not. Need to get rid of the gtp. Most likely as trade in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy chan Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 for $6k for a protege5...it would vary from 80-100K miles and would vary on condition...kind of expensive for the high miles, but i love them you can get a regular protege sedan for way cheaper and with less miles! which is what i was looking for when i was looking for an old mazda (i've looked at a lot of p5's....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1808379175.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skruffy Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 I loved my P5, but it was starting to rust at 80k miles. It was only minor stuff in the rear fenderwells but it pissed me off enough I got rid of the car. $6k should buy a nice one. Worst gas mileage I ever got was 27, that tank had two autocrosses on it lolz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossle Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Confirm the timing belt service has been completed. This should be done around 105K IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benner Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1808379175.html Thought about them but not sure I want a focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yasser-Hanbali Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 mazda 6's seem to hold their value very well from what i have seen. they are great cars though, it all depends on what you want to spend you can find plenty of slow reliable great driving mazdas in your price range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy chan Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1808379175.html i'd totally rock that...i'd love a svt...and that's a 5 door! fun family car would be more fun than my versa hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiji ST Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Looking at getting a basic daily driver. Nothing fast, nothing phenomenal. Just a plain daily driver that's half way decent on gas mileage, reliable, and not gonna break the bank. Looking to spend around $6000 or less. What r ur thoughts on a early 2000's protege or Mazda 6 Get a 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy chan Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Get a 3. the sedans are getting cheaper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiji ST Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 the sedans are getting cheaper They're practically giving away hatches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchy chan Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 They're practically giving away hatches. no they're not...they are more expensive! there was a 2L sedan with low miles that i was really looking at and it was like 8K...but i didn't have my tax return yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Rex Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 I loved my p5. Get the manual if you are going to get one. They are slow cars and the auto just eats up any torque/hp you have with that thing. I had some rust issues that pissed me off so I got rid of mine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 My wife and I have beat the piss out of her Mazda6 ever since she bought it new in 03. Currently 130K miles and still kicking. I had to replace a hose for the PVC valve that you had to take off the intake manifold to replace. It was a pain, but doable. The biggest issue that i've had is that the rear brakes seem to destroy themselves pretty commonly on the 6s. Our 6 has some rust issues (big chips on the hood) and the rear fender well is rusting. I don't blame our fender on Mazda though as it looks like at some point during one of the winters a big chunk of snow/ice caught the fender lip and broke the paint and then the rust went from there. I'd say a preventative fender roll would take care of that. Our car is a 4cyl/auto and it regularly gets 23-ish MPG with mixed city/highway in her normal use and will do high 20s to low 30s on longer highway stints. I'd say that your biggest hitch is going to be that $6K will likely only buy you a higher mileage 6, but depending on how you want to use it that might not matter. We've been passively looking for a replacement for ours and we keep coming back to possibly just buying a newer version of the same car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGU Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 get a protege 5. we had one and I loved it. Its not fast by any means but is a fun car to drive. this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benner Posted July 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Thanks for the input so far guys. I'm not gonna jump on anything till I find the exact car I want and get loans sorted out. Really like the looks of the protege 5. But I'd definetely the manual. Also I'm guessing it's okay to run regular unleaded gas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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