Good night Scotty,
I just wanted to know if buying a 2002 automatic Mazda protege with the 1.5 DOHC engine is a good idea for next year. Most likely I'd purchase from a private seller and have a mechanic accompany me to inspect whichever one I'm interested in. Apart from the rusting issues that Mazda is known for, do you think this is a good model to purchase?
btw I'm from Trinidad in the Caribbean where there's no snow.
Back then Mazda quality wasn't very good. I would pass personally.
Thanks for the advice
I have a 2000 Protege 1.8L 5 speed. IMO the next best thing to a similar Corolla, and with Mazda's bad reputation from their next generation of cars you're likely to get one much cheaper too. I bought mine for $2K from a dealer 2 years ago with 106K miles, it now has 120K with only 2 minor repairs since last year (valve cover gasket, clutch master cylinder). No rust even with living it's whole life on the Texas coast. Mazda automatics are known to be weak, but paired with such a small engine and if it's had regular fluid changes or low miles it probably is fine. It has a timing belt, but that could help you get it cheaper if it hasn't been changed in 10 years, plus it's a non interference engine anyways.
