I am currently driving a 2002 Mazda Protege ES. I love my car but within the past year, I have spent a lot of money to keep it running. More than it's worth. I had the ignition coils changed; tires; battery; brakes and catalytic converter replaced. The repairs exceeded the value of the car. I am now old that my flywheel is damaged and at over 110,000mi I need to keep an eye on the clutch. I should mention that the car has been in two accidents-- rear-ended at 25mph by a teenager on the phone; and then it spun out on the highway-- propped up on the curb and the back end hit the concrete barrier. After both incidents the car was repaired and the frame straightened. I question how well though because the rear-wheels cannot be aligned properly.
I came across this 2004 Mazda 3s for sale. The car has never been involved in an accident; is a one owner and looks fairly clean-- both mechanically as well as cosmetically. The car as 80,000 mi on it but with a trade, the dealer only wants $4000. out of pocket from me. The car also comes with a warranty. I am currently having it checked out by a mechanic.
Question is...
Would you keep the Protege or get the Mazda 3? I honestly would feel safer in the Mazda 3 but after dumping all that money in the Protege I would hate to get rid of it. But like I said the flywheel is damaged and I don't know what else might be going wrong with it...
I came across this 2004 Mazda 3s for sale. The car has never been involved in an accident; is a one owner and looks fairly clean-- both mechanically as well as cosmetically. The car as 80,000 mi on it but with a trade, the dealer only wants $4000. out of pocket from me. The car also comes with a warranty. I am currently having it checked out by a mechanic.
Question is...
Would you keep the Protege or get the Mazda 3? I honestly would feel safer in the Mazda 3 but after dumping all that money in the Protege I would hate to get rid of it. But like I said the flywheel is damaged and I don't know what else might be going wrong with it...