I've been looking for a car for my commute for a while now (my 92 lesabre won't cut it in the winter), but my dad says that foreign cars are harder to work on, and it's hard to find parts for lower prices. So I'm just wondering if it's relatively easy to work on them since Mazda is owned by ford. The car I'm looking at specifically is the protege or protege5, since they're relatively inexpensive. Are they good cars? Thanks!
My friends got one and its been nothing but a great car. Hes only had to do very minor upkeep and had no trouble getting it repaired or purchasing upgrades at discount prices. Good luck
Ford doesn't own mazda, they only have a 3% stake in the company so no, parts won't be easy to get. The protege5 is a reliable car, though, If you can afford it and you like it,I say buy it.
I’ve worked in a couple different autoparts stores for over the last ten years. I also work on cars on the side. With that being said, Honda and Toyota are by far superior to most other makes. Asking me what is easier to work on? I would say Honda and Toyota. Keep in mind that you want a car to last, not to break at 90,000 miles and every 10,000 miles after that. All cars have their odd jobs it’s just that you’ll be doing these more on American cars. American cars also have transmission issues. They are made to break because the repair and parts industry wants to make profits. I can assure you they do. What I find interesting is that you're in Michigan. More cars get built in Detroit than most any state in America. American parts should be relatively easy to get out there compared to Asian vehicles, so your father may have a point. Nonetheless, I highly recommend a Honda or Toyota for reliability. The parts for these are not difficult to get. Mazda and Mitsubishi are generally expensive and harder to get parts, depending on the job you’re doing. Decide for yourself why you want the car. Do you really like it or do you want it to get you from a to b?
I was looking at the protege because I like it and heard good things about it, but if finding parts will be expensive I don't wanna bother. What are some decent american cars I should keep an eye out for? I like grand prixs and impalas. But this is really the first time I've had to look for a car >.> What about this? http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/3193465661.html I like chevy trackers, and this looks relatively clean.
Owned a Mazda once. Parts were WAY more expensive than Toyota parts. Mazda makes good cars, but they are not in the same league as Toyota as far as dependablitly and long life.
Most import transmissions are a pain in the ass to pull out,the engine compartment is cramped as hell as well.The suspension(where the cv axles are) is very tight. The only mazdas worth a damn are the RX-7s. Try and stick with rwd since they are usually the simplest to work on.
Ugh, I hate car talk on here. Mazda protege used the same b series 4 cylinder from about 86-03, cast iron block, aluminum head, 1.5l to 2.0l, so there are tons of those motors around which has far more to do with parts pricing then whether or not it's a US company. They are very decent cars that most any amateur mechanic should easily be able to maintain and repair with basic hand tools. If you are looking for a recommendation for a car, 90-00 honda accord 4cyl f22 are great cars as are the same years of toyota camry. An Impala or grand prix is about the worst choice you could make.
While I agree with you on the first part,The second part is a lil off(well yes the grand prix are pos's)the 91-96 impala lt1(If i bought one id definately swap an ls1 into it) can be a great car,especially if you find a well taken care of used vehicle. Like everything else,Cars need to be properly maintained to last a long time.
Yo OP, nothing wrong with a mazdawg I enjoyed my 626... Ford sold their majority stake in the company just before the recession.. instead of taking a government hand out like some others the FOMOCO simply made responsible business decisions including the selling of their majority interest in Mazda. Those mazda trucks were not to different than ford rangers for a long time.
Isn't a 5.0 (Ford) V8 swap on those pretty easy to do because of that? Not my kinda truck in stock form, but I'd be intrigued once you tempt me with the V8
I don't know about all of that?? It's a ford ranger, 90%. Lift the hood and everything in the engine bay is stamped ford. Would be about the same as droppin a 350 in a s10 I suppose? You prolly know more about that stuff, perhaps theres more room . Why though? Unless you want a track truck. When I was working at a dealership in 07 thought very hard about buying a 2001 mazda 4x4 that had been on the lot for 3 years..got to test drive that truck for a week, it did great in the sand...shoulda bought it with 6,000 miles for $11,000 down from a 23,000 msrp.
I'm still interested in the protege, but I found a 2004 saturn ion 3 coupe, how are those? All I know about saturn is that chevy used to own it and now it's gone.
My brother has a protege. Parts are kind of expensive. The thing with Mazda is their damn rotary engines. They have a whole bunch of shit in them that are just there for better fuel economy. It makes it really hard to work on those motors because there is so much shit packed under the hood you don't really need. Also, a Le Sabre would do circles around a Protege in the snow.
Me and a buddy got our hands on a wrecked 2006 Mazda in my Junior year of hs. We basically switched all the body panels for ones at a junkyard. The engine/ tranny/ suspenion we put all new upgraded parts in. A 331 v8, it was so hard to fit though, haha, a race tranny and then upgraded axle and suspension for tracking. As far as pulling the original, it was a pretty decent challenge. Took about 8 hours to pull all the panels, remove the cab. As far as the original parts, they seemed to be pretty easy to work on, and that was one of my first cars. Damn, I miss that thing lol I remember when we first got it, everyone was like "why the hell would you guys buy a Miata??" Then we swapped it and got mad props.