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White95Max

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You know those new 17" wheels I got for the Max?

4WheelsAIOWGx2.jpg




Well...I'm going to sell them. I'm not installing them, or even getting tires for them. I've decided that I'd rather get a different car. For several reasons...

1. ~160,000 miles



2. It has 2 dents that frustrate me every time I wash/detail it.

PSDamage2.jpg


DSDamage.jpg




3. Pearl white is hard to do touch up work on, and my car has lots of stone chips and a few cracks in the paint from the accidents.



4. I'd like to get a 4cyl, since I do a lot of commuting in the summer for my job. I get reimbursed $0.32 per mile driven, so I can make more profits by getting better gas mileage.



So I'm looking into Mazda Proteges. They look nice, and have a decent 4-banger in them. I'd prefer a blue or silver one, and I'll try to find a 5spd. Of course I'll throw a couple subtle mods on it to make it a bit better, like a chrome strut tower brace like I have now, and probably an intake to give it a little more power. I'll buy a different set of wheels for summer tires just like I did with the Max (although I haven't used the summer wheels) and put snow tires on the stock wheels.

Here's a blue Protege I found online.

1999BlueMicaProtege4K.jpg
 
Maybe if you put the rims on your car, you wouldn't notice all the body damage as much. :D Seriously, those Proteges are nice driving cars. Probably would have bought one if Ford didn't have the Focus.
 
After all the pics Ive seen of your car,I had no idea it had body damage:soscared: :soscared: :soscared: Must have been the zaino, I hear it does wonders:hide:

Have you looked into the Mazda 3's ?
 
Thats a huge downgrade IMO, but I understand your situation.

Have you been having problems with the car mechanically? If I owned a car with 160k miles and rarely had problems with it mechanically, aside from regular maintence, i would think its a keeper. Buying a used car these days is like playing the lottery, you never know whats going to happen.
 
oh wow, who knew your car had those dents?



well, a protege is a good car, but maybe you might want to look into the protege5? i think it's the sportier version of the protege, next to the mazdaspeed protege, and in a wagon form. i heard the handling is suppose to be pretty good too but can be on the harsh side. or yeah, maybe mazda3? nice handling car without being too harsh.



good luck. :)
 
Well I'm still in college so I don't have enough money to afford a Protege5 or Mazda 3.



My car has a couple problems that worry me. Those dents really have an impact on how much I like the car.
 
you'll save on gas :)



That's how I feel about my car. The dings/misaligned fender/etc. kind of...negate the detailing. But as long as it starts and drives well it isn't bothering me.



If I had your kind of mileage I would consider what you're doing, but with mine (109k) it's really more worth it to just drive it until you can afford something out of college. Plus I've driven Protege's and they are fun. More fun than the 3's, I think. :)



I'm sure you know well that having a dingless car in college is kind of impossible. :(
 
TW85 HHI said:
Other than the V6, why not find a replacement Maxima of the same generation?
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The smaller, more nimble Protege would be a fun car. It's 600 lbs lighter, and the gearbox feels a lot more precise than the one in the Maxima. So I think it would be a blast to drive. It only has 122 HP with the 1.8L, but it's lightweight. A car doesn't have to have tons of power to be fun. I'll get a strut tower brace and intake off of Ebay for less than $75 combined, and it will be even more fun. Then come the Miata 16" wheels, and stickier tires...then I'll be all set for some winding roads. :cool:



And I'll have lots of fun detailing my own car, that has NO DENTS! :)



And a big factor is the gas mileage. I'll be commuting a lot for my summer job (150 miles in a day is not uncommon), and I'll also be living about 100 miles from my parents when I transfer colleges this summer. So gas mileage is somewhat of a concern. On top of that, the Max takes premium, while the Protege does not. Plus the gas stations around here sell regular and mid-grade at the same price. Then premium is a 15-cent increase per gal. So I'll just put mid-grade gas in the Protege all the time, since it's the same price anyway.
 
Corey Bit Spank said:




I'm sure you know well that having a dingless car in college is kind of impossible. :(
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I make a point of finding an end spot in the parking lot every day. Otherwise, I park on a side street next to the campus. I've had my car for 2.5yrs now, and it only has one door ding...the one that came with the car.
 
White95Max said:
Plus the gas stations around here sell regular and mid-grade at the same price.
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How can that be? Why would they even bother selling the regular? Does anyone buy a lower octane gas for the same price? "They're the same price? Yeah, give me the lower octane...my radio's busted and I want to hear some pinging!"
 
White95Max said:
I make a point of finding an end spot in the parking lot every day. Otherwise, I park on a side street next to the campus. I've had my car for 2.5yrs now, and it only has one door ding...the one that came with the car.
Click to expand...



I try this too, and then they park over the line :(
 
Setec Astronomy said:
How can that be? Why would they even bother selling the regular? Does anyone buy a lower octane gas for the same price? "They're the same price? Yeah, give me the lower octane...my radio's busted and I want to hear some pinging!"
Click to expand...



Believe it or not, I have a friend that insists on buying regular gas for his Corolla. He said he heard that higher-octane gas is bad for an engine that is made to run on regular. He won't believe me that it would not hurt the car.

Also, my mom said she heard some guy on the radio say the same thing. Some "expert" was saying that it hurts your engine to run premium gas if it's made to run on regular.



So yes, plenty of people still buy the regular. :nixweiss
 
The Protege would be nice! I think it has a more "premium" look than it's competitors, especially with the wheels on the Blue example you pictured. Hope everything works out!
 
Carl you know first-hand how much of an eye sore those dents are.

Yes the Protege definitely has a more stylish look than the other economy cars. I really hope I can find a silver or blue one. It will be a few months yet though, before I'll have any decent amount of money saved up for it.
 
White95Max said:
Believe it or not, I have a friend that insists on buying regular gas for his Corolla. He said he heard that higher-octane gas is bad for an engine that is made to run on regular. He won't believe me that it would not hurt the car.

Also, my mom said she heard some guy on the radio say the same thing. Some "expert" was saying that it hurts your engine to run premium gas if it's made to run on regular.



So yes, plenty of people still buy the regular. :nixweiss
Click to expand...

Using premium when your car is not programmed for it will lower your gas mileage and sometimes kill some of your power from what I have read. I NEVER buy premium since I would not benefit from it in my car.
 
I would not bother buying premium (for an extra 15-20 cents/gal) with the Protege, but I would put Mid-grade in every time, since it's the same price as regular anyway.

My car is "designed for regular gas" according to the owner's manual, but the inside of the gas door says "premium fuel is recommended for maximum performance". Many Maxima owners have had problems with gas mileage and knock sensors from using regular gas.
 
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