Tell me what you know.
Tell me what you know.
Good chassis. Mediocre at best motor. Nice shifting transmission.
Motor SHOULD last for a long time if left 100% stock and babied, but i've seen quite a few in the yards that have managed to sling oil over every square inch of the engine bay, in areas i never even thought possible. Not sure what causes it.
Rust.
Believe this is the "BJ" Chassis, so it's got that going for it.
Yeah, these cars seem somewhat rust prone versus other cars of the same vintage. Rocker panels and sometimes rear wheel arches. Seems weird to me.
Rust prone for sure. I'm not sure about the "BJ" chassis code though. I thought that only applied to 99-00 before switching for 01+
Transmissions shift smoothly but (at least on the 99/00's) tend to have issues from the 100k mile mark.
I love my 99. It's by no means the fastest thing out there but it puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.
If you're looking at mazda proteges for any kind of performance purposes, I'd recommend getting an 01+ with a 5-bolt (some 01's still had 4-bolts). A LOT more options for that vintage.
Also check out Mazdas247.com
My son has a 2000 ES, so it's got the 1.8L, DOHC motor. It's got 200K on it and runs great, looks pretty good as well. I agree with Protege2886, the 01's with 5 lug wheels offer more performance options and I think they may have gone back to rear disk brakes then. P5's look good but seem to be little pricey. Hold out for a good one. FWIW, I had a 1990 that I owned for 11 years, bought it with 164K when I got it and 280K, on the original clutch, when I sold it. Possibly the best car I've ever owned.
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