General Comments:

My first one I owned for 2 years, and it was great, we never have any mechanical problems at all, but when we moved from Walla Walla to Tacoma, we found out that for some weird reason the trunk seal leaked, and it got very moldy on the inside. So I sold it and bought another one.

My second one I owned for 6 years! When I first got the car, it needed a clutch and the exhaust redone, but after that, nothing besides the general maintenance and tune up. I rear ended a older large truck, and needless to say he won. =( I was completely safe and walked away with a bruised shoulder, because the seat belt did what it was supposed too =(

My third one, some teenager owned before me, and ran it into the ground, blowing the engine up from NEVER changing the oil, so I got it and fixed it, and it still runs GREAT over a year later!

My fourth one, I bought for a commuter car going from Tacoma to Everett WA 5 days a week, and that way my husband and I could both get good gas mileage!!! It still runs GREAT, and has had 40,000 miles put on her in 6 months; we take a lot of road trips! Tacoma to Walla Walla all the time; it's approximately 300 miles one way!

One really great thing about these cars is that it adjusts perfect to people's height.. I'm 4'10" and my husband is 6' tall; it's comfortable for both of us!

Faults:

Rust problems. Everything in the rear needs replacing due to rust. Fuel lines and rear brake lines rusted through.

Rear handbrake was stuck, leading to a complete failure in rear brakes.

Dash lights have stopped working, needed a switch from the junk yard.

General Comments:

Great beginner car.

Rust was the only problem, since the car was parked for most of it's life. For a small car that is over 12 years old, it was very smooth and stable at high speeds (160km/h++), but the suspension was very soft in the corners.

Other than rust issues, the motor worked great and never had any problems. This car had been my grandmother's since it was new, and has never needed any major repairs. (even after being run with no oil on a trip through town...)

Even with the automatic and SOHC motor, this car has good acceleration when it comes to passing and so on... I have not had any problems when passing cars of the same vintage.

Faults:

This has been the most reliable car that I have ever purchased. However since 5/2006 Soon as I passed the car to my 16 year old the horn has started going off in the middle of the day, night and just whenever. Thanks for the comments I pulled the cord to the horn in the front, but it was very hard to reach. At least the neighbors could go back to bed.

Faults:

Kept everything up to date, maintained meticulously so nothing major really went out.

General Comments:

I love this car to death, it's got a very distinct personality and it handles pretty good for those years, incredibly reliable, not fast, but good in comparison with the other cars of that time. 0 to 60 comes in 11.5 sec (auto) so it's not much. Max. speed 115Mph. Interior comfort for the driver is not the best, but back seat is comfortable. I have 170K miles, and although it looks out dated, I'm gonna keep it until it dies.

Faults:

I had to replace belts, hoses and radiator at 114,000 miles. The clutch went out at 125,000 miles.

Trunk leaks somewhere and leaves a small puddle on the passenger side compartment where the jack is located. I've never been able to fix that or find where water comes in.

General Comments:

The car is VERY reliable has never left me stranded.

The cabin is noisy, The Hood rattles when the car is idle.

The interior is very convenient, everything is where it should be. Buttons and Radio and a/c and heater controls are right at your fingertips. Great leg and head room. I am 6'3 and fit very comfortabaly in the car.

The seats have held up amizingly no tears or seams coming apart. However The sun has faded the back seat head rest's.

Overall it's a very zippy, VERY dependable little base model car I'm VERY pleased with it and would recommend a Protege to anyone who needs something cheap on gas and insurance.