![]() ![]() ![]() This is the Protegé 5, a five-door hatchback version, which would appear to count as a wagon based on Jason’s new rules, so we’ll just go with that. I bought a Protegé new in 2002, and drove it all over the country I can vouch for its twisty-road and cloverleaf on-ramp prowess. ![]() And like the VW, the Protegé was praised for its handling, particluarly this third-generation, on Mazda’s BJ platform. The Protegé was separated from Mazda’s 323 hatchback in 1990, much the same as the Jetta came from VW’s Golf. Mazda’s Protegé follows the VW Jetta rulebook fairly closely: a small, light sedan with a nice tight chassis and a good torquey little engine. 2002 Mazda Protegé 5 – $795Įngine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter inline 4, 5 speed manual, FWD If that is indeed the issue, that gives you a decent little runabout that’s more fun to drive than a Corolla or Hyundai Accent for about $850. It looks like the door opens and closes all right, so who cares about a little sheetmetal damage?įor the sake of argument, I looked up the price and availability of the engine control computer: my old standby RockAuto has them in stock from a few different suppliers for around $350. It doesn’t take much for an insurance company to total out a cheap old car, but it’s not like you’re going to ever want to carry full coverage on a $500 car anyway. The seller notes that the title is branded, due to a little wrinkle in the left rear door sill/dogleg area, and it looks like the door has been replaced. The rest of the car looks pretty good: the interior is intact but a little grubby, and for the most part the exterior is fine. The engine is healthy otherwise, making good compression, so throwing a little time and money into the fuel system would seem to make sense. The seller believes it to be electronic in nature, either a failed computer or a grounding issue. And therein lies the problem with this particular Jetta: the fuel injection system is on the fritz. This 1990 model is equipped with VW’s Digifant engine control system, which combines electronic fuel injection with digital ignition control. This Jetta is a gasoline-powered model, with a single-overhead-cam engine displacing 1.8 liters. In the US, Volkswagen sold twice as many Jettas as Golfs American drivers never really embraced the hatchback the way European drivers did, at least until recently. A little bigger, a little fancier, this is the car that set the stage for the sales success of the third and fourth generation Jettas. ![]() VW’s Jetta sedan really came into its own in its second generation, introduced to the US in 1985. 1990 Volkswagen Jetta – $500Įngine/drivetrain: 1.8 liter inline 4, 5 speed manual, FWD If you can twirl a wrench with any degree of prowess, and have the parts, you can probably get either one of them going again in a weekend or two. Both of these cars are just plain ol’ fashioned broken, and recently so. Now, today, I won’t subject you to any General Motors foolishness, or cars that have been sitting for years, or any of that nonsense. I didn’t expect a pair of old GM compacts to be so polarizing, but there it is. Lots of write-in votes for “both” or “neither” as well. Let’s see how the voting went down:Īlmost an even split, which goes along with what I saw in the comments. Yesterday’s Cavaliers stirred up some opinions, that’s for sure. But neither of them is wrecked, or rusty, or is full of trash, or has a family of raccoons living in the trunk, so maybe – just maybe – they’re worth fixing up. Good morning! Today we’re continuing with our sub-$1000 week, and I’m sorry to say that neither of today’s cars runs. ![]()
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