2002 Mazda with 210,000 miles, longevity expectations?

General Discussion
21

@irlandes ; Mazda Proteges have a very long life span. Several of my wife’s friends have 10+ year old ones in prime condition. Changing oil regularly, timing belt, and flushing the cooling system every 50,000 miles is about all these cars need. Plugs last at least 60,000 miles.

If automatic, the fluid and filter need to be changed very 30,000 miles.

Years ago the German Auto Association (ADAC) once and for all settled which cars on German roads were the most reliable. They came up with 2 econoboxes; the Toyota Tercel and the Mazda 323, the earlier version of the Protege. This caused a national “angst” in Germany, since no German car came anywhere near those Japanese models…

I would just keep driving sensibly and “use” up the car. It has indeed the potential of 500,000 miles if the body holds up.

22

Well maintained cars can last a long time. Here are just two examples:

http://www.streetfire.net/video/1964-mercury-comet-caliente-540000-miles_712665.htm

If your son commutes through a bad part of town, he should get Rachel’s “accessory” kept under her driver’s seat.

Irv Gordon’s Volvo wins the top prize:

23

Twotone, I read about both of those amazing cars some time ago. It shows what a person of ambition and determination can do. When I bought my 2002 Sienna, the dealer had a clipping on his wall of a Corolla which went 800,000 miles without an engine overhaul. What I wanted to know was what was his maintenance program but that they did not tell us.

24

My son was a deputy sheriff before med school, and once he establishes residency, he will get a CCW permit.

25

Thanks, everyone for stating with good maintenance and some luck, he could be using that car a long time. It does run out well. The body is solid. The places he has lived were mostly south of the real snow zone, though the car came from Hertz rental in Chicago, when it had maybe 30,000 miles on it.

Of course, there is always the spectre of a wreck, but that should not be in the plan. Thanks.

26
. This is because they finally realized the traditional 36 hour shift not only did not educate, it was killing patients

NY implemented that over a decade ago. It’s about time the rest of the country did.

Back the original question…Maintenance is the key issue. And keeping up maintenance when you’re working 80 hours a week can be difficult.

27

He does not find it so. He loves to work, hates to have nothing to do, and maintenance does not take long if you have the habit. And, he is one of those people who view car maintenance as pure recreation. Perfect attitude for keeping a car up.

Plus if push came to shove, he’d have his wife take it some place. But, he doesn’t trust anyone to do it when he can do it himself.

His first attempt to find a residency was in fact in NYC, a surgical residency. They had the 80 hour rule, as you say, but they were bending it by sending them to NJ a few months a year, stubbornly believing the old school “what doesn’t kill you makes you strong” residency was the only way to go. He decided not to take it, and next year they got caught and shut down.

He told me last call around 11,000 miles ago he had something called BG put in his transmission, and power steering pump. Said he saw it on Cartalk, and the transmission is very smooth. I have no idea what BG is, except it seems to be a line of synthetic lubricants of some kind.

28

Probably that bg44k product
http://www.bgprod.com/products/fuelair.html

29

Do you mind telling us which city he will be in? If it’s not a place that you are familiar with, maybe one or more of us are. But a half hour ride is not bad, and I’m sure the hospital has a place to sleep if he gets short-shifted and wants to crash there.

I would just continue to drive the Mazda until it becomes a problem. He might have an eye out for a replacement, if only to know where to look if the Mazda becomes unreliable.

30

There’s no fundamental reason why this car won’t go to 500K or more. But it might not be the most economical plan. That’s the real issue.

Even with regular scheduled service-- oil changes, xmission oil changes, coolant changes, spark plugs & timing checks, and a soft foot on the pedal, etc – beyond the normal things that wear out – brake pads, clutch, timing belt, etc – there are dozens of other parts that are difficult (read expensive) to diagnose on used cars, parts that can easily fail as the car reaches 10 years and over 200K. The ECU, IAC, EGR, brake master cylinder, brake booster, starter motor, IAT sensor, TPS, coolant sensors, fuel pressure regulator, fuel injectors, water pump, vacuum hoses, fuel pump, fuel hoses, power steering pump, power steering hoses, AC compressor, belts, coolant hoses, plus many other items.

The expense to fix these things is not just the parts and labor. Even more important for a physician in training is the loss of the use of the vehicle for days or weeks while the repair is being diagnosed and the fix completed.

I don’t see a reason to do anything now. I drive a 20 year old Toyota with 200K+, and it is still going strong, that’s one point of reference. Have the routine maintanence as recommend by the manufacturer. But if you start having problems with multiple of the items above, or even if you have just one of the fail and the mechanic seems to have a tough time diagnosing the problem, it might be time to look for a newer car. Best of luck.

31

@irandes ; Secrets to long vehicle life are not really secrets! First of all, you need to drive a lot. The Volvo in question is on the go all the time. The lady with the Ford is meticulous about maintenance, but does not do anything miraculous. She just washes her car frequently.

A few years ago I rode in a Cadillac (rear drive) taxi which was privately owner (owner/driver). It had just turned 900,000 miles and was still going strong, although the interior trim was getting worn and the seats lacked support. The owner said he had repainted the car twice, and just did normal maintenance, and fixing things as needed.The car was nearing 10 years old, and at that date the owner would have to retire it as a taxi since local bylaws forbid anything over 10 years to be used as a taxi. He planned to use it as a family car afterwards.

Another long life car I rode in was a Toyota Corolla diesel taxi in Malaysia. This car had 1,400,000 kilometers (870,000 miles) on it. The engine ran well, while the interior was ratty and smelly, but othe wise everything worked well.

Most of us find that we reach the point where either the car will 1) cost more to keep running than it would cost to buy another vehicle or 2) corrosion takes its toll and the car becomes unsightly or unsafe.

In the past I have disposed of 3 cars that still ran well, but the body disintegrated; a 1957 Plymouth, a 1976 Ford Granada and a 1977 Dodge Colt.

If you live in a dry part of Mexico or Texas, meticulous care can make your Sienna reach that magic half million miles easily.

32

I have personal reasons for not telling exactly where he expects to live, but it is in the snow zone. A major oil development project is moving in the region, which is why the prices went way up and the availability of rentals way down.

He did find an old farm house 16 minutes from the hospital. They want $725/mo plus he will have to pay for satellite Internet, also in the winter $250/mo for fuel oil (quote from fuel oil distributor) and electricity. He gets use of 4 acres. 4 bedroom house, remodeled in recent years. There are rich people with country estates who don’t have it much better than this.

He had something like this in med school. He says the quiet is how he got through school.

They were worried about his wife finding a teacher’s job, but it came over me, with rents soaring as they did in No. Dakota, teachers will have to leave when their contracts are up, since many cannot afford high rents, just as happened in No. Dak.

The owner has had many try to rent it, but like many an old farmer is really fussy about who lives in his house, and a medical resident is much better from his viewpoint than young, testosterone laden oil workers.

My son certainly knows about older cars being beyond service. Before this one, he had the 1988 Nova we bought new, and ran it to 248,000 miles. The problem was he couldn’t get good parts. Every fifteen months, the carburetor would fail, and he’d beg the shops to rebuild them. They’d snarl, “You don’t rebuild them. You buy one that is already rebuilt. They are just as good as new, and they’re cheaper.” The Big Lie. So, every fifteen months, another $300 rebuilt piece of junk. The new one lasted a long time, way more than 15 months.

He had the motor rebuilt at 200,000 and the rebuilder put in a rebuilt water pump, which also lasted like a new one, sarcastically speaking, it went out at 48,000 miles, and he decided to stop fighting junky rebuilt parts.

He had had the transmission rebuilt at 200,000. So, he sold the car to a transmission shop so no one else would ever drive it.

33

@irlandes ; I have every confidence that his car will last a long time; he is more than capable of assessing what needs to be done and when.

34

Thanks, Docnick. My original question was would a Mazda Protege be expected to run out for a while, and it seems to be widely accepted, yes, which really takes worry of (his) mind.

35

Maybe if you asked the question,

Would anyone be suprised if a 200K+ mile Protege developed a bad,

water pump,
fuel pump,
strut,
bushings,
starter,
alternator,
muffler,
catalytic converter,
power steering pump,
brakes
etc.

He will be putting a lot miles on that old car in a region that sounds like the roads are going to be full of potholes and broken pavement. Sounds to me, he needs to set aside a few thousand dollars for potential repairs and a rental car.

36

I believe he is well aware that older cars typically cost a minimum of $1000 a year in repairs and maintenance. Actually, though the town with the hospital is itself ridden with potholes, that is the only place. The country highways are paved and in good condition, and he has good roads to the hospital itself. He has no intention of driving around on those horrid streets. This small town has lost 14% of its population since 2000, makes sense.

Oh, man, he has the place to live. $700/month, plus he pays fuel oil and electricity. Two stall garage. 4 acres of grassy land, his to use, but the landlord cuts and uses the grass once a year. He says it is for enough from town that there is no light in the sky at night, and so the stars are brilliant. At night, the only sound he hears is crickets. Absolutely lovely, and only 16 minutes to work. After I saw the photos, I told him there are rich people who don’t have such a good life!

The landlord’s son moved way out west not long ago, and told his dad to give the old lawn mower and window a/c to his renters. So, another issue rendered moot. The landlord and his wife are good people. They got there with the rental truck at 12:30 midnight and they were waiting for them, with fresh muffins, to let them move in.

When his wife gets her state teacher’s license, in a month or two, they are going to need another car. She wants to drive the Mazda, so he is planning to get an Expedition. He wants something they can drive across country, with one sleeping in the back, and one driving, around the clock, which is what they usually do, but hunched up in a car seat.

He says the used Expeditions aren’t horribly expensive, and most of his local use will be the 22 mile round trip to work every day.

I must wonder if he will not repent, though my old 2008 Consumer’s Guide says the motor and transmission actually hold up pretty good. The older ones (pre-2008) show drive train problems, but I would not expect that to go out on a steady trip at highway speeds.

But, with a car which has never failed him, including many cross country trips, in over 180,000 miles, NOT BAD repairs may seem horrid to him.

The problem is, for the three years of residency, income is somewhat limited, so he cannot buy a big car of the most reliable brands. And, of course, people do drive millions of miles on vehicles like the Expedition without constant breakdowns.

37

He did tell me the timing belt is due and he is nervous about finding someone to put in a new one. I told him to look at Mechanix Files on Car talk. Timing belt shouldn’t be hard for even a reasonably good mechanic.