At $3,600, Is This 2000 Mazda Protege A Good Deal, Plain And Easy?

So far as fundamental transportation goes, it does not get rather more frill-free than in the present day’s Good Value or No Cube Mazda. May its price ticket show equally parsimonious?

What would you slightly bang your head to dwell: Metallica or a Metallica tribute band? Yeah, I do know the tribute band will in all probability have a greater drummer, however the true deal remains to be more likely to be the extra memorable expertise. Ticket costs could be vastly completely different, too, with the tribute band being the way-cheaper choice. At $16,000, yesterday’s 1974 Ford Capri—itself a tribute to the legendary RS2600 of the Nineteen Seventies—was additionally a less expensive choice to purchasing the true deal. Even when you might discover one. Regardless of the differential, that value nonetheless did not sit properly with nearly all of you, nonetheless. Maybe the RS Capri simply is not sufficiently well-known right here within the U.S. Or possibly the mods made to the inside to accommodate the tribute’s five-speed put you off. Off it was, finally, with the end result being a 64% No Cube loss.

If yesterday’s Capri wasn’t all that well-known, it might, on the very least, be acknowledged as one thing particular. I imply, what number of vehicles have their hoods painted black? That many? Huh. In distinction, in the present day’s 2000 Mazda Protege DX is about as mundane as a automotive as you could possibly think about. Its widespread form and dimension—mirrored in any variety of competing Japanese and Korean vehicles—makes it really feel instantly generic. One would possibly go so far as to explain it as acquainted. That is fairly near what Mazda referred to as it over a number of generations, as exterior of the U.S., this small sedan, amongst different variations, was marketed because the Familia.

Right here within the States, the small Mazda glided by quite a few nameplates over the course of its thirty-some-year run. These included the rotary-engined R100, the GLC (Nice Little Automotive), and 323 badged fashions. The Protege was the final of the Familia line, changed within the early Aughts by the Mazda 3 hatch and sedan.

This gold over beige material Protege has quite a bit to supply, contemplating how little it really has to work with. It is a easy automotive with plastic covers for the metal wheels, handbook adjusters for the seats, and never even a tach within the sprint. It even has manual-crank home windows and locks that require all doorways to be checked earlier than leaving the automotive by itself.

There are some nods to civility, although. The stereo will get each AM and FM bands and has a CD participant for when these put on out their welcome. The automotive additionally has AirCon, which the vendor says blows appreciably chilly.

Even the styling is easy, though it is placing on airs with the gold paint. The wheel covers do look to be aftermarket, sourced from the Walmart auto aisle, however seem un-marred. On a automotive of this age, it is stunning to search out that the paint appears to be like to be in nice form, struggling just some scrapes on the entrance bumper to mare the general aesthetic. Apart from a daring little bit of trim atop the grille and a few DX badges, there is not any chrome on the automotive in any respect to detract from the parsimonious design ethic.

Behind that grille sits a 105-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder, which the vendor says is sweet for a laudable, if not stellar, 31 miles to the gallon. A typo within the advert claims the transmission to be a handbook six-speed, however 5 cogs is all these cheap-seat vehicles ever bought. The drivetrain has motivated the Mazda to a mere 89,191 miles, and in accordance with the advert, it continues to be in “good working situation.” No matter that assertion, the miles, and extra importantly, the age, imply that the automotive ought to be checked over for normal service gadgets like a brake fluid flush and timing belt change. The advert says nothing about previous providers however does word that the automotive is accident-free and suffers no rust anyplace.

It additionally claims the automotive comes with a Protege suitcase, no matter that may imply, plus a steering wheel lock since these are prime theft candidates owing to their rarity and other people always complicated them with their very own Corollas and Sentras.

The query, in fact, is whether or not this Protege’s $3,600 asking value makes it a steal. So far as its area of interest on the earth goes, this Mazda comes throughout as a wise and sure frugal automotive for anybody whose wants do not lengthen a lot past getting from level A to level B. It’s, nonetheless, an outdated automotive with few of the trendy security or comfort options (who cranks their very own home windows lately?) of extra fashionable vehicles.

That each one being mentioned, there is a sure appeal in a easy automotive, and lately, there are fewer and fewer round to supply that appeal. This clean-title Mazda has that in spades and will have loads extra miles in its future. May that realistically be well worth the $3,600 funding? Or is that this automotive’s easy nature merely its downfall?

You determine!

Good Value or No Cube:

Fb Market out of Palm Coast, Florida, or go right here if the advert disappears.

H/T to Eric Weigand for the hookup!

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