1996 Mazda Protege LX review from North America

I am getting a Mazda protégé next Tuesday, and just wanted to say that I have test drove the car one time and have loved it ever since. Reading through some reviews I will look out for those break problems that everyone said it has. I am buying the car from a mechanic friend of mine and he has done a lot of work to the car so far. I did not hear any noise or rattles in the engine or the body of the vehicle. The car has 103k on it and he just rebuilt the engine. So as for the deal I’m getting I think it might be worth some of the problems mentioned in other reviews. The question I have is that so many of the people have brake problems and how often are they replaced? As for me I think I will take the chance on a foreign car this time. I have a Chevy Lumina that has 262k on it and it is a real work horse that does not require a lot of maintenance. I just hope that this is also a low maintenance car that will be reliable for some time.