Used 1997 Mazda Protege DX - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle... for sale in Los Osos, CA

This is your chance to own a coveted 1997 Mazda Protege with the uber-rare (1992-1997) Eternal Flame emblem. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? In case you don't want to bother reading the whole ad, here are the important points:

* Dependable and mechanically sound
* Fun to drive
* Cheap
* Registration good through November 2021; wow a $126 value!

Here are some selling points that should convince you that this is the car for you:
* Everything is manual. Manual transmission (5 speed), manual seats, manual mirrors, manual locks, manual hand-crank windows. No fancy doodads to break means everything still works, even after 23 years.
* It's got an aftermarket stereo with a CD player and USB port that will play whatever classy content you stream through your iPhone.
* Previous owner put on alloy Miata wheels. They look great and probably boost the MPG and make it accelerate faster. Zoom zoom.
* Advertised MPG is 30 city and 37 highway. Back when I kept track, I regularly got ~36 commuting from Los Osos to SLO.
* Never been in a serious accident (I got backed into in a parking lot a couple years ago—there's some superficial damage behind the trim on the driver side door, shown in the photos).
* No mechanical issues. None. Starts right up every time, shifts smooth, moves forwards and backwards, and steers left and right. Doesn't burn or leak oil.
* For a high-MPG commuter/around-town beater, this car is a blast to drive. It's light, corners well, and its little 1.5L revs up plenty quick. I would call this car sprightly. Car and Driver called it "a practical small sedan with the heart of a sports coupe." Wow. Just wow, you really need this car.

Some reasons this is not an expensive car:
* It has its share of dings and dents and that one above-mentioned spot behind the trim on the driver's door.
* Faded paint/peeling clear coat, as one would expect on a car of this age.
* This car used to live in San Francisco, so it has a collection of tiny dimples in its rear bumper from the license plate screws of close-parkers behind it. Aside from potentially reducing drag and increasing MPG, these dimples have no impact on performance.
* Some stains on the seats, but nothing sticky and no bad smells, this car hasn't been smoked in.

I've had this car since 2013 and have put around 32k miles on it. Tires are 26k miles/5 years old. It got a new water pump and timing belt in 2015, and a new clutch in 2017. Never been stranded, never had any problem passing smog. Oil changes every ~8k miles with Mobil 1 Full Synthetic High-Mileage, aka The Good Stuff.

Selling because we got something bigger to fit a carseat. Reasonable cash offers considered, please be competent with a manual or bring a friend who is. Wear a mask and I will too.