2003 Mazda Protege timing belt replacement cost?

C

carviewsonic

Joined
Aug 17, 2016
Messages
1,512
Location
Alberta
I'm looking at this car in a couple of hours for my daughter. It's in great shape and has low mileage (90k kms or 55k miles). I'm guessing the timing belt has never been changed, and due to the age it would be a priority maintenance item. I have no idea what a timing belt should cost to change now, it's been many years since I've had one changed. The local Mazda dealer quoted $1500 (CAN) including the water pump and tensioner. Does this sound in the ballpark?
I might still buy the car based on its' good condition, but negotiate on the price to help with the timing belt cost. Thanks in advance.

Photo from the ad..

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I believe that is very close to the going rate in the U.S. for a Japanese FWD 4 cylinder car. The Honda/Toyota/Nissan/Mazda dealers in my region charge between $1100 to $1500 U.S.dollars. for replacing the timing belt, idler & tensioner pulleys, water pump and tensioner assembly. An independent shop might be closer to $1100 (U.S.).
 
I changed the TB and WP on our '01 Protege back in 2012 at around 180,000 km.

The belt still looked perfect, and water pump also seemed fine.

Not a bad job at all, but I was very careful (it being my first DOHC timing belt) so it took me a long time.

Tensioner was just a spring, rather than hydraulic.

Here's my ancient write-up:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/2001-protege-timing-belt-change.285264/

I'm thinking four hours for a pro ($600?), perhaps $450 in parts (TB, WP, and two idler pulleys), perhaps $50 in shop supplies ... I'll guess $1100 plus taxes.

P. S. Loved the car - would love to have another one.
 
Number_35 said:
I changed the TB and WP on our '01 Protege back in 2012 at around 180,000 km.

The belt still looked perfect, and water pump also seemed fine.

Not a bad job at all, but I was very careful (it being my first DOHC timing belt) so it took me a long time.

Tensioner was just a spring, rather than hydraulic.

Here's my ancient write-up:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/2001-protege-timing-belt-change.285264/

I'm thinking four hours for a pro ($600?), perhaps $450 in parts (TB, WP, and two idler pulleys), perhaps $50 in shop supplies ... I'll guess $1100 plus taxes.

P. S. Loved the car - would love to have another one.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your answer, it's good to hear from a former owner. I've never owned a Mazda, but I think they're comparable to Honda for reliability. A Corolla might be more reliable, but they're priced pretty high, at least in this area. I'll let you know if we bought the Protoge.
 
atikovi said:
If that's more than the price of the car, I might risk just driving it as is. If it makes it a year, you got your monies worth and the rest is gravy.
Click to expand...
It's a significant portion of the asking price. Still, if the car is decent why kill it prematurely?
 
carviewsonic said:
It's a significant portion of the asking price. Still, if the car is decent why kill it prematurely?
Click to expand...

If the car is decent otherwise, I agree with you, use the timing belt maintenance as leverage for a discount. Maybe tell the seller it's a 1,500 dollar job, so meet you half way at $750 off? Then shop around for an independent in the 1,000 to 1,200 range.
 
carviewsonic said:
Thanks for your answer, it's good to hear from a former owner. I've never owned a Mazda, but I think they're comparable to Honda for reliability. A Corolla might be more reliable, but they're priced pretty high, at least in this area. I'll let you know if we bought the Protoge.
Click to expand...
We've had eight Mazdas in the family. The two MPVs are the only vehicles I've owned that broke 200K miles (323K km). Both of them were written off, rather than suffering a major mechanical failure.

Both GLCs were written off after being rear-ended. The Protege and the ancient 626 succumbed to the tinworm. The Mazda5 is still in the family and running well. We also owned a weird mid-engined Mazda van when living overseas for a year.

It's amazing to see a Protege in that condition. If you buy it, I recommend getting it oil-sprayed (Rust Check or Crown) annually.

Good luck with it if you buy it.
 
This one?

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$6500 for a 20 year old econobox is quite high. Don't let the low mileage lure you. It may be a rustbucket underneath. Plenty of newer models you can buy at a similar price.

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carviewsonic said:
due to the age it would be a priority maintenance item
Click to expand...
Maybe not. The belts are not directly exposed to the elements and can last an incredibly long time with low miles. I changed the OE belt on my 1986 Daytona back in 2011 with 44K original miles. Still looked perfect, sans any sort of cracking or glazing...35 years after the car was built.

If you can get some price leverage, that's great. I wouldn't fear imminent belt breakage. The water pump bearing and seal are more likely candidates for failure in my opinion (in which case you should replace the timing belt).

In any case, the Protege 2.0L is non-interference. I did a belt and water pump in a friend's Protege about 10 years ago. It's actually one of the easier FWD belts to change, with a surprising amount of room to maneuver. Good candidate for a first-time DIY project in a few years.

If it's a big concern you can pull the cam cover and inspect the belt's condition.
 
atikovi said:
This one?

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$6500 for a 20 year old econobox is quite high. Don't let the low mileage lure you. It may be a rustbucket underneath. Plenty of newer models you can buy at a similar price.

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Click to expand...
I'm guessing used car prices have started to moderate in the DC area. Not so here - C$6500 for a good low mileage car (providing it doesn't have hidden rust) would be a good deal. I suspect Alberta (the OP's province) sees similarly high prices.

As well. my 2001 Protege was a true econobox - 1.6 l engine, 5-speed manual, 14" steelies, no AC, crank windows, no PDL. Great car for us, but certainly not loaded. (As far as crazy prices go, I paid C$6900 for it back in 2005, with only 66K km on it.)

In contrast, the one the OP is considering is quite high-end - the big 2.0, auto, alloys, AC, etc.
 
You run the risk of the seller saying no to your lowball offer. Another buyer, not you, might come along and not care about the belt, seeing how there's a shortage of cars. Just be on the ball with your haggling, and, as said, look for rust underneath.

If you legitimately want it done, any hole-in-the-wall garage can do this job for about half of the dealer quote.
 
atikovi said:
This one?

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$6500 for a 20 year old econobox is quite high. Don't let the low mileage lure you. It may be a rustbucket underneath. Plenty of newer models you can buy at a similar price.

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Click to expand...
Yup, that the one. It runs and drives well, no warning lights on, everything works, it's clean and rust free underneath. Comes with a set of decent winters on steelies. These were on his previous 2001 Protege, they haven't been on this car yet. Receipts in the glove box for 5000 km service intervals going back a few years. It's in great shape, and my Daughter loves it, so we left a deposit.
 
Last edited:
The Mazda3 that came after it switched to a timing chain, so you don't have to worry about that :D

In Canada, you also got an Echo hatchback which wasn't sold in the US (in addition to the sedan and coupe that we did get).
Here is a 2004 hatch.

You could also get this nice Acura CSX

carviewsonic said:
Yup, that the one. It runs and drives well, no warning lights on, everything works, it's clean and rust free underneath. Comes with a set of decent winters on steelies. These were on his previous 2001 Protege, they haven't been on this car yet. Receipts in the glove box for 5000 km service intervals going back a few years. It's in great shape, and my Daughter loves it, so we left a deposit.
Click to expand...

$6500 is waaaaaaaaay overpriced for that IMO. You can get something 10 years newer like a Micra.
Here is one with a 4-speed automatic (NOT a CVT)
Here is one with a 5-speed manual
 
slacktide_bitog said:
The Mazda3 that came after it switched to a timing chain, so you don't have to worry about that :D

In Canada, you also got an Echo hatchback which wasn't sold in the US (in addition to the sedan and coupe that we did get).
Here is a 2004 hatch.

You could also get this nice Acura CSX



$6500 is waaaaaaaaay overpriced for that IMO. You can get something 10 years newer like a Micra.
Here is one with a 4-speed automatic (NOT a CVT)
Here is one with a 5-speed manual
Click to expand...
I like the good condition and relatively low mileage of the Protege. I looked at a few other cars earlier this week that were newer, but had higher mileage and didn't see anything I liked.
 
Not sure about the folks from the US who are commenting but in BC almost all of the Protégés of this age have 250k on them and are half rusted out.

For a car in good shape with nice options, well maintained, and a set of winters, this is a reasonable price to pay. I’m sure your daughter will enjoy it.
 
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