1991 Mazda Protege LX review from North America

Left CV boot tore and mechanism began to make noise so I replaced it. I rebuilt the slave master cylinder for $20 and an hour-and-a-half of my time because it was leaking. I also replaced the front brake pads and calipers 2 months ago when I noticed uneven wear. Otherwise, I could have left them on for another 10,000 miles and the brakes would have lasted 75,000 miles. I also replaced the exhaust system from behind the catalytic converter to the tail pipe. A combination of Minnesota weather and internal moisture doesn't let them last for more than 4 or 5 years. There also appears to be a problem with the design of the valve cover gasket on my Mazda. The bolts can only be tightened so much and valve cover gaskets go out about every year-and-a-half. This is not a big problem since gaskets at the dealership are only $15 and it takes me twenty minutes to change one. I started doing it myself since the dealership charged over $100, only guaranteed their job for 1-year, and they couldn't make their repair last any longer than when I did it myself.

This car has certainly been efficient and saved me considerable amounts of money and time. At 37 miles per gallon on the highway and just over 30 in the city it is cheap to drive. I don't think I could buy a cheaper car. However, it doesn't have much style or performance and is certainly a car for students or those who consider cars a means of transportation and nothing else.