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Author Topic: Ranting on my rusty Protege5  (Read 1521 times)

Offline aaronk

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Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« on: March 28, 2011, 02:28:58 pm »
I love driving my Protege5, it's been a worthy companion on many a backroad and road trip since I bought it used 5 years ago. But since then I have had the unfortunate experience of watching the exterior erode in front of my eyes. At first there was a little bit of rust around the wheel wells - OK, that's not unheard of and apparently a common problem on this model of car, I can deal. Then thanks to a couple of bad run-ins with large rocks thrown up by gravel trucks there are some quarter-sized chunks of paint missing from my hood. OK, that really sucks but I can buff that out. Then my landlord bashes their SUV into my rear door, and the shoddy bodywork that looked good for about the first month is now literally peeling away to reveal bare metal.

It is a sad day today as I come to grips with what might happen to my companion. Do I spend the what looks to be like $3,000 to have my 8 year old car repainted, or do I spend that money and take care of a year's worth of payments on something new? I'm leaning towards the paint, but damn it hurts. Until I know for a fact that Mazda has gotten better with their quality of paint I'll be looking at other brands for my next car.

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Offline wing

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2011, 02:42:42 pm »
Not worth fixing.
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Offline 1TSX

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2011, 02:44:26 pm »
We owned a 2002 Protege 5 for about 2 years (replaced by the 330i last February). We had the hatch repainted, but the rust was starting to show on the wheel wheels, and the undercarriage. GREAT driving car, handled great, and it was very fun to drive, but the rust was a turn off, hence why we sold it.

I'd sell it, IMO.
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Offline 5 Wheel Drive

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2011, 02:47:10 pm »
Maybe this should be a "what should I buy next?" thread....

Happy shopping!  ;D
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Offline Careener

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2011, 02:50:20 pm »
I had zero rust on my 2001 Protege when I sold it at 7 yrs old. The Protege5 seems much worse off on average.
My Mazda 3 is rusting in the wheel wells and rear centre brake light. It's very disappointing.
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Offline tortoise

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2011, 02:53:47 pm »
I hear ya.  I'm at 215,000 km and the car is still running strong.  It drives as tight as it ever has and  I feel like the drivetrain has a lot of life left but the damned thing is rusting away.  It's frustrating enough that I'm thinking twice about another Mazda.

I'm going to be posting my own what to buy next thread in a few months.  Odds are I'll keep the P5 until it's nothing but a rolling chassis. 

I did get it Krowned for a few years but stopped about 4 years ago.  Probably should have kept that up, though I'm not sure it would have made a difference because I've heard of people who did Krown their cars and still getting rust.
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Offline carcrazy

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2011, 03:01:34 pm »
If you like the car and you know you would keep it for another 3 years if the paint would be good, paint it and keep it. If you want soemthing else anyway and you are ready to move on, sell it.

My Mazda3 had started to show rust again around the wheel well (fixed it once about 2 years ago) and it's going in for the last rust repair under warranty (Mazda had extended the rust warranty to 6 years). I'm thinking to keep it for another 2 years and then get something else. Other than that I love the car and everything else is in mint condition; plus, there are very, very few better compact cars I can get today and this is what makes it hard for me to get rid of it.

I'd buy another Mazda3, but 2010 and up models. The rust issue did not scare me off Mazda one bit.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2011, 03:06:26 pm by carcrazy »
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Online tpl

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #7 on: March 28, 2011, 03:02:07 pm »
Buy a car with a fully galvanized bodyshell for your next one.    Porsche, Audi, VW, MB ,BMW all have IIRC a 12 year anti corrosion warranty as they are galvanized.
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Offline carcrazy

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2011, 03:08:56 pm »
Quote from: tpl on March 28, 2011, 03:02:07 pm
Buy a car with a fully galvanized bodyshell for your next one.    Porsche, Audi, VW, MB ,BMW all have IIRC a 12 year anti corrosion warranty as they are galvanized.

That warranty is perforation right? I have 10 years on my Mazda3, but it does not cover surface rust, which is what we are talking about here.
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Offline aaronk

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #9 on: March 28, 2011, 04:35:54 pm »
Yeah, can't beat that VW (and others listed) corrosion warranty. I believe the Protege5 out of the factory came with 5 or 6 years perforation but it's just surface rust...everywhere. I tried talking to a dealer but they said there's nothing they can do. I think it's amplified by the fact that the car is white. When I bought it I specifically wanted white - with the 16" alloys, tinted windows and (specific to the '03) blacked out headlight bezels it looked sharp. Unfortunately the white is now amplifying the rust - maybe there's something to be said for brown cars (?)

We just bought the wife a newer vehicle so I'm stuck with a tight budget for a while. As another poster said (I think even with 215K Kms) the car was tight, same as mine. That's what's so hard! She's mechanically brilliant, 165K Kms and tight as a drum. I'm considering a Maaco $1500 jobbie just to get me by for another 2-3 years. Sure it won't be a factory finish but it won't be dripping brown bits...
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Offline airbalancer

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #10 on: March 28, 2011, 04:37:42 pm »
With BWM it has to be a hole, I tried to get to cover some rust ,
It was to bad so sad , hit the road  ::)
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Offline TopGun

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #11 on: March 28, 2011, 04:51:30 pm »
Quote from: aaronk on March 28, 2011, 04:35:54 pm
Yeah, can't beat that VW (and others listed) corrosion warranty. I believe the Protege5 out of the factory came with 5 or 6 years perforation but it's just surface rust...everywhere. I tried talking to a dealer but they said there's nothing they can do. I think it's amplified by the fact that the car is white. When I bought it I specifically wanted white - with the 16" alloys, tinted windows and (specific to the '03) blacked out headlight bezels it looked sharp. Unfortunately the white is now amplifying the rust - maybe there's something to be said for brown cars (?)

We just bought the wife a newer vehicle so I'm stuck with a tight budget for a while. As another poster said (I think even with 215K Kms) the car was tight, same as mine. That's what's so hard! She's mechanically brilliant, 165K Kms and tight as a drum. I'm considering a Maaco $1500 jobbie just to get me by for another 2-3 years. Sure it won't be a factory finish but it won't be dripping brown bits...

They are great handling cars.  My P5 is at 265K now and I've got the rust showing through as well.

I'd encourage you to go take a couple of cars out for a test drive as you might just stick with the car you have.  If you drive a Mazda3, for example, my guess is that you'll be very disappointed.

You can justify the paint job by adding up all the repairs an equivalent BMW would have cost you over the same time period!   ;D
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Offline Thinking Out Loud

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #12 on: March 28, 2011, 05:04:48 pm »
We have a 2006 MPV GT and after following several forums, checked the underside of the doors and the rust had JUST started to take hold...got it all repaired and repainted, followed by RustCheck application on the entire van.  I'd also started with RustCheck once we bought it new, but figured cars TODAY really didn't need it anymore and stopped.  :P

I've looked at 2000-2005 MPVs and see where they started to rust and am personally very agressive in applying additional RustCheck in those areas as well.

Van's been perfect otherwise....
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Offline Turbo Bob

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #13 on: March 28, 2011, 05:17:34 pm »
Does anyone have an example of a car that has been krowned every year and still rusted? Is it possible?
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Offline articsteve

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #14 on: March 28, 2011, 06:03:00 pm »
I'm considering a Maaco $1500 jobbie just to get me by for another 2-3 years. Sure it won't be a factory finish but it won't be dripping brown bits...  
 
Don't do it.  Accept it.  :)

Sand the unit down enough to take the shine off, go buy a few litres of Tremclad flat black anti rust paint for metal and brush it on.  Or if your particular  :), tape off the windows and lights and rent a sprayer.
 
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Offline Careener

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #15 on: March 28, 2011, 06:22:33 pm »
^^
Or some of that por15 or rust bullet.
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Offline rrocket

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #16 on: March 28, 2011, 06:26:39 pm »
Quote from: Turbo Bob on March 28, 2011, 05:17:34 pm
Does anyone have an example of a car that has been krowned every year and still rusted? Is it possible?

Our Accord has been Krowned ever year.  And just the smallest amount of rust on the very front edge/tip of the hood.

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Offline Flinter

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #17 on: March 28, 2011, 08:17:03 pm »
Quote from: aaronk on March 28, 2011, 02:28:58 pm
.
.
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Do I spend the what looks to be like $3,000 to have my 8 year old car repainted, or do I spend that money and take care of a year's worth of payments on something new? I'm leaning towards the paint, but damn it hurts. Until I know for a fact that Mazda has gotten better with their quality of paint I'll be looking at other brands for my next car.
Quote from: aaronk on March 28, 2011, 04:35:54 pm
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.
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She's mechanically brilliant, 165K Kms and tight as a drum. I'm considering a Maaco $1500 jobbie just to get me by for another 2-3 years. Sure it won't be a factory finish but it won't be dripping brown bits...

I test drove a Protege5 in the last year of production and then tested a Mazda3 a year later. I can't argue with someone stating the Mazda3 is a better overall car.  However, I understand why many people have such a connection to the Protege5. IMHO It's a lot more fun to drive.

We went through a similar decision process with our old 89 Civic SI Hatch. The first time the rust plague stuck we went for the cheap and dirty  $1000 paint job and it lasted about a year before the rust bubbles and frustration started again. Later when the rust was reaching an advanced stage we went for the $3000 "restoration" paint job (replaced fenders, cut out all rusted sheet metal around wheels, doors, rocker panels and welded new metal in place). Several years later the car was still completely rust free.

On an 8 year old car it is never rational to spend big money on a paint job. That said, sometimes we are not so rational about cars we like. ;) If you are going to do it, spend enough money and do it properly. Otherwise just do the Tremclad special and save your money for a new ride.
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Offline overtakeyouintheleftlane

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #18 on: March 29, 2011, 06:47:41 am »
Sell it, get a new/newer car and Krown it every year.


Mazda has had rust problems lately, however as you stated " a couple of bad run-ins with large rocks thrown up by gravel trucks there are some quarter-sized chunks of paint missing from my hood. OK, that really sucks but I can buff that out. Then my landlord bashes their SUV into my rear door, and the shoddy bodywork that looked good for about the first month is now literally peeling away to reveal bare metal.". There was already wear and tear (road hazards) that happened and collision damage. Not 100% fair to blame the car, however they are known for rusting too early.

Get another car, you'll feel better.


« Last Edit: March 29, 2011, 06:49:58 am by overtakeyouintheleftlane »
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CatsEye68

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Re: Ranting on my rusty Protege5
« Reply #19 on: March 29, 2011, 06:59:22 am »
Perhaps the OP should re-title this thread to "The "Mazda" Is Starting To Show"...
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