Been offered a mazda protege 99, good deal?

i've been looking for a cheap car. cheap but that will last me some years. My friend offered to sell me her mazda protege 1999. it is got 120,000. she could sell it for 2,000. it is got a new alternatoer but will soon need new struts.
I've generally had hondas or toyotas. are mazdas good cars? 120,000 sounds like lots ut my other cars lived well past that. could the mazda do the same.

They aren't exactly like Honda or Toyota but they aren't bad cars eighter. The price is good too. I'm sure it'll last you some years.

I'd jump on it personally.

yes, that could probobly be a decent cheap car to get, the only thing is that every 60000 miles you're supposed to change the timing belt, they're kinda a ache to do but its easier than putting in a new motor. a man down the street has a 99 with about 140000 and he loves it, hes done the timing belt twice, that thing runs well. I hope this helps.

Mazda makes good cars, owned 2. If it has been maintained there is no reason it'll not last for many more years.
Good Luck.

I have a 2002 Protege and some number of of my friends have had proteges. shortly the answer is no Mazda's at least at the compact car level aren't as good of a car as Hondas or Toyotas. I could be weary of buying a Mazda with 120K miles on it for any amount, if you intend on keeping it for longer than a year. They just do not have the same staying power as Hondas do. My car is still going and only at 60K, but it has had serious break problems, battery problems and problems with the electrical system. some number of of my friends have had transmission problems also. And my car has half the mileage of the one you're trying to purchase. If its all you may be able to pay for, it may last some years, but you'll most likely end up put a ton of money into it and wish you had just spent a bit more to get a better car.

I'd purchase a compact Honda with 120K miles on it. Not a protege.

Mazdas made in japan, kick azz, avoid the fake ford/mazdas.

As long as the service was done on a regular base, its a great deal. We have had a 99 protege in our shop with 264,000 miles on it. Still runs great.

I could purchase it. Its a great deal and a good car. I have friends who owned Mazda's. they're made in Japan, with the exemption of the Mazda 6. I also own an 06 Mazda three that I bought new but before I bought, I did lots of research on Mazda's and read lots of reviews on the Protege. Do a Google search on Protege reviews for yourself.