Think Before You Buy A Probe
an unhappy auto owner
I purchased a 1994 Ford Probe GT. This is my story:
My Probe has 60,000 miles and has had the following problems:
[1] My compressor motor seized this summer, and although the motor
seized the belt connecting the motor continued to turn causing friction
and heat build up. When the car was parked over dried grass on the shoulder
of an expressway, the heat build-up from the friction of the belt caused my
car to start on fire.
Total Damage
$2,000.00
[2] O2 (Oxygeen sensors) quit at 50,000 miles
Total Damage
$ 360.00
[3] Pulley assembly failed at 55,000 miles.
Total Damage
$ 860.00
[4] Car speaker is sounding tinney and fuzzy at 30,000 miles
Total Damage
$Unknown
[5] Plug wires had to be replaced at 55,000 miles
Total Damage
$ 120.00
[6] Stereo/CD/Equalizer will not work lights up BAD at 60,000 miles
Total Damage
$Unknown
[7] Fan blower makes an irritating loud noise and needs fixing
Total Damage
$Unknown
Total Of All Repairs:
$3,340.00
Some of these repairs were completed at the dealership. But the majority
have been completed through a trusted local mechanic.
My previous car was a Mazda RX-7 and I drove it over 150,000 miles without
any significant problems. (Other than routine maintanence, I never had any
problems). Fortunately, the insurance company paid for the damage caused
by the fire ã FORD didn't even pay for the defective part that caused the fire
because the compressor motor was out of warranty.
Like many of you I purchased my Ford Probe because of favorable reviews,
and because I loved the styling of my red 1994 Ford Probe GT. What I didn't
know was that this model is poorly built and has had several problems that
will cause you to shell out some serious dough down the road. For the $20,000
I forked over for this lemon, I could have easily moved into a top of the
line Honda,
Toyota, Nissan, or entry level Acura.
If you are considering the purchase of a Probe...look very very closely,
you may not like what you see...
Nitro
I have a 94 GT also...... whenever I hit 85mph with the A/C on the engine
kills.....
Pain in the ass on the freeway or a divided highway when you are trying to
pass someone and the damn car dies!!!!!!!!! Took it to the dealer.... they
replaced the oxygen sensors...... didn't help at all!!!!
I'm going to trade it off on a 300ZX this summer I think.....
At least the Japanese know how to build quality sports cars!! :)
Eric C. Buxton
Mazda....
Eric
S Pfennig
Cure wrote:
>
> my Pulley assembly called it quits at about 35,000
>
> >
> > In article <autowner-ya0240800...@news.mindspring.com>,
> > auto...@probe.problems (an unhappy auto owner) wrote:
> >
> > [3] Pulley assembly failed at 55,000 miles.
> > Total Damage
> >
> > $ 860.00
> >
What's this Pulley assembly? I assume it is behind the timing belt
cover. How did you know it failed? Is this something a "handy-man" type
could fix or is it a pain in the butt and should be left to a mechanic?
My wife's GT just rolled 35,000 miles.
With these doom and gloom stories of GT's developing more major problems
as the miles add up, I was wondering if there are other GT's out there
who have NOT had these problems but do have more miles than 30,000 or
40,000.
Maybe it IS time to sell it and get that Mustang GT ?
Steve
J.Kamen
Thank you very much......we already read about how you over paid on
everything. Why not include your E-Mail address and stop wasting space
in this NG, fool :)~
JIMMY
Robert Beach wrote:
>
> Just remember folks, the mechanicals of the original Probes, except the 6
> banger, were straight from the Mazda 626/ MX-6 line... that was one
> reason I even considered buying my '89 GL (during the first model year) -
> the engine and drive train had been in production for years, and was
> fully "de-bugged"; so, all I can say is - watch 'em for a while and see
> what kind of track record develops...
> --
> Respectfully,
> Robert "I love my old Probe but wouldn't buy a new one" Beach
> Norfolk, VA USA
> *************************THESE PARTICULAR VEHICLES ARE AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS ANAL PROBES. THE
HIGH TECH REDNECK
an unhappy auto owner
I purchased a 1994 Ford Probe GT. This is my story:
My Probe has 60,000 miles and has had the following problems:
[1] My compressor motor seized this summer, and although the motor
seized the belt connecting the motor continued to turn causing friction
and heat build up. When the car was parked over dried grass on the shoulder
of an expressway, the heat build-up from the friction of the belt caused my
car to start on fire.
Total Damage
$2,000.00
[2] O2 (Oxygeen sensors) quit at 50,000 miles
Total Damage
$ 360.00
[3] Pulley assembly failed at 55,000 miles.
Total Damage
$ 860.00
[4] Car speaker is sounding tinney and fuzzy at 30,000 miles
Robert Beach
jeffrey boettler
I have had similar problems with my probe:
1) My O2 Sensors gave out at 45,000
2) Spark plug wires went bad at 45,000. (I was on my honeymoon when this
happened. I took it to the Ford dealer in the town we were in and told
them it felt like a spark plug problem. They couldn't find out what the
problem was! When I got back home the Ford delaership in town fixed
everything quickly.)
3) Lights on Equalizer gave out at 25,000
4) Lift shocks for hatchback gave out at 25,000
TOTAL DAMAGE: $0.00
I don't know why there is all this complaining. I have yet to pay
for a penny of this. Don't you guys use your warrenties. The dealership in
town has been very good at finding and fixing the problems. They have even
replaced some plastic parts that I broke and so didn't I bother telling them
to replace it, but they did anyway.
My 1993 Probe has been my first new car. I have had A LOT more trouble with
any used car I have purchased.
- Jeff
In article <Cure-ya02368000...@snews.zippo.com>, Cu...@usenet.org (Cure) writes:
|>
|> 93 ProbeGT..
|>
|> My O2 Sensors gave out at about 30,000
|>
|> my Pulley assembly called it quits at about 35,000
|>
|> Electronic gadget inside distributor gave out at about 36,000 ....note that
|> the distributor is not serviceable....bottom line..replace entire unit.
|> Also of note here is that I was stuck out of town for 2 days while Ford had
|> to find a replacement to ship.
|>
|> My speakers have been sounding crappy since day one.
|>
|> Plug wires shorted out at about 40,000 (Hey, why are Ford's wires so $$$$?)
|> also of note here...dealership could not figure out that it was the plug
|> wires. It took a good ol' fashioned corner mechanic to do this one.
|>
|> Strike Three, Ford.
|>
|>
|>
|> In article <autowner-ya0240800...@news.mindspring.com>,
|> auto...@probe.problems (an unhappy auto owner) wrote:
|>
|> --
|>
Rich Campbell
jeffrey boettler (boet...@dracula4.raleigh.ibm.com) wrote:
: I have had similar problems with my probe:
: 1) My O2 Sensors gave out at 45,000
:
: 2) Spark plug wires went bad at 45,000. (I was on my honeymoon when this
: happened. I took it to the Ford dealer in the town we were in and told
: them it felt like a spark plug problem. They couldn't find out what the
: problem was! When I got back home the Ford delaership in town fixed
: everything quickly.)
:
: 3) Lights on Equalizer gave out at 25,000
:
: 4) Lift shocks for hatchback gave out at 25,000
:
: TOTAL DAMAGE: $0.00
:
: I don't know why there is all this complaining. I have yet to pay
: for a penny of this. Don't you guys use your warrenties. The dealership in
: town has been very good at finding and fixing the problems. They have even
: replaced some plastic parts that I broke and so didn't I bother telling them
: to replace it, but they did anyway.
The standard warranty on the Probe is 3 years/36,000 miles.
So if you had the O2 sensor and the spark plug wires replaced
at 45,000 miles under warranty then you bought the extended
warranty. So you paid just not the usual way.
On this car it's probably a good idea to buy the
extended warranty though.
--
Rich Campbell,
Responding by email, remove the '*' from the address.
This is intended to (hopefully) foil some of the
automated bulk junk e-mail programs.
Unsolicited commercial messages sent via email will be billed
$25/message plus $.01/character, incl. header lines. No exceptions.
Sending such mail constitutes agreement to these terms.
Daniel P. Murphy
I have a 1993 Ford Probe (It's not the GT, but it's not the base model.
It's the 4 cyl. with a lot of extras).
Anyway, after 102,500 miles of driving, both highway and city, I have had
to complete the following repairs other than regularly scheduled
maintenance:
(1) Change the brake pads at 75,000 miles.
Yup. That's it. I would highly recommend this car based upon my
experience.
Could be that our unhappy friend got a lemon, but neither my GT owning
friends nor I have had any significant problems.
Better luck next time.
Unknown
My 93 Probe GT has 44,500 on it.
I drive it hard, and I have no problems with it .
James Seabolt
an unhappy auto owner <auto...@probe.problems> wrote in article
<autowner-ya0240800...@news.mindspring.com>...
>
> I purchased a 1994 Ford Probe GT. This is my story:
>
> My Probe has 60,000 miles and has had the following problems:
>
<snip to save bandwidth>
Welcome to the FORD/Mazda hybrid club! I owned a 1991 Mercury Capri. It was
the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned!
After I bought it, the previous owner handed me a stack of service records.
Lets see:
bad rear spindels, bad A/C, arm rest broken, just to name a few.
In the 10 months I owned the car I had to reglue the side molding on it,
replace the power window regulator, and have the front main seal replaced
because it was slinging oil at 30,000 miles!
Funny thing that you said you owned a Mazda RX7 and thought it was a good
car. This Capri had a Mazda 323 engine in it. I had the Mazda dealership
to fix it because I didn't want those idiots at the Mercury place to touch
it.
The guy who fixed it said, all Mazdas need new front main seals at 30,000
miles.
This car has destroyed my opinions about FORD and Mazda products.
The only thing worse than the Capri is the dealership that sold it.
Tamas Hoznek
In article <5c8a28$7...@dsk92.itg.ti.com>, Rich Campbell says...
> The standard warranty on the Probe is 3 years/36,000 miles.
>So if you had the O2 sensor and the spark plug wires replaced
>at 45,000 miles under warranty then you bought the extended
>warranty. So you paid just not the usual way.
This is not true. O2 sensors, plug wires and distributor are all covered
up to 5 years or 50K miles (7 years/70K miles in California) under the
emissions warranty.
Craig LeMoyne
you are a moron....that makes absolutely no sense at all...
people post so much crap on these groups it is insane.
- cl
'90 PGT
130k miles and running strong
Nitro (des...@minn.net) wrote:
: I have a 94 GT also...... whenever I hit 85mph with the A/C on the engine
: kills.....
: Pain in the ass on the freeway or a divided highway when you are trying to
: pass someone and the damn car dies!!!!!!!!! Took it to the dealer.... they
: replaced the oxygen sensors...... didn't help at all!!!!
:
Matthew Moody
In article <32e6cc95...@news1.radix.net>, Jerry () writes:
>My 93 Probe GT has 44,500 on it.
>I drive it hard, and I have no problems with it .
>
>
You will.....Hope you have the extended warranty.
________________________________________________________
Matthew Moody
moo...@audtatious.win.net
Systems Admin. - Contractor
AIX, HP/UX, DG/UX
Romac International/PCS Group
*All opinions are my own and will never be admitted to as
an opinon of the company/companies I am employed by.
________________________________________________________
Gina Brownsword
Yes, there are other Ford Probe GT's out there that haven't had any of
these problems. My husband has a '93 Probe GT, that has over 90,000 KM
on it, and has had no significant problems with it. He regularly takes
it in to the Ford dealer for the required service check ups and only
fills up with supreme gas. This car is an absolute dream to drive and
you really can push the limits with it without it letting you down. I
really love this car, and would buy another.
Dylan Smith
jeffrey boettler wrote:
> 2) Spark plug wires went bad at 45,000. (I was on my honeymoon when this
> happened.
If you look in a home repair manual (Haynes etc) you'll find spark plug
HT leads are a regular 36,000 mile replacement item - so you did well -
you
got an extra 9,000 miles on borrowed time!
--
Email: dy...@vnet.IBM.COM
Dylan Smith 1810 Space Park Drive, Houston, TX 77573
Standard disclaimer applies.
Julian A F Bradbury
In article <autowner-ya0240800...@news.mindspring.com>,
an unhappy auto owner <auto...@probe.problems> writes
>
>I purchased a 1994 Ford Probe GT. This is my story:
>
>My Probe has 60,000 miles and has had the following problems:
Snip.
Hang on. Why wasn't some of this done under warranty; if just out
or warranty why didn't you scream at the dealer a little?
I'm 2yrs out of warranty in the UK, my rear calliper froze, brake
disc bright orange, known problem, screamed and partial refund. This
is Mazda UK but from bouncing up and down on Ford UK they state they
would have done the same and the part was redesigned 5th Jan 1995 and
can/is retrofitted to all models.
BTW, the A/Con on the Probe GTs isn't the same as the Mazda 626/MX6
units I *think*; the Ford units have connector seal problems which
someone fixed if I recall by a special kit. Ask in rec.autos.tech.
Many cars have this, most Porsches will not hold refrigerant past
a year or two. The Mazda Air/Conn units are 1400ukp/2100$US fitted
in the UK as they are the all aluminium system so can take later
refrigerants which are more environmentally friendly until we
expire and start producing methane etc into the air ... ;)
--
Julian AF Bradbury http://www.ergonite.demon.co.uk
New Airbag Safety FAQ Probe & Mazda MX6/626 FAQ
Snoopy 1
"James Seabolt " <sea...@tricon.net> wrote:
with all due respect, and no flaming, didnt you ask the previous owner
about the service history? did you get the receipts before or after
the sale, and if before, why did you buy it?
>an unhappy auto owner <auto...@probe.problems> wrote in article
><autowner-ya0240800...@news.mindspring.com>...
>>
>> I purchased a 1994 Ford Probe GT. This is my story:
>>
>> My Probe has 60,000 miles and has had the following problems:
>>
><snip to save bandwidth>
Kovalsky Family
Nitro wrote:
>
> I have a 94 GT also...... whenever I hit 85mph with the A/C on the engine
> kills.....
> Pain in the ass on the freeway or a divided highway when you are trying to
> pass someone and the damn car dies!!!!!!!!! Took it to the dealer.... they
> replaced the oxygen sensors...... didn't help at all!!!!
>
> I'm going to trade it off on a 300ZX this summer I think.....
> At least the Japanese know how to build quality sports cars!! :)
>
>
But you already have a Japanese sports car. The Probe is a Mazda MX6
with a Ford oval glued on it.
--
Mark The views expressed above are my own.
'30 Ford Model "A" Tudor
'94 Ford Club Wagon 7.3L Diesel with Hypermax Turbo
'97 Ford Taurus SHO ==>Leave the * off to mail to me!<==
Kovalsky Family
Cure wrote:
>
> In article <5c5oj5$l...@synthemesc.insync.net>, bux...@lexgen.com (Eric C.
> Buxton) wrote:
>
> > "Nitro" <des...@minn.net> wrote:
> > >I have a 94 GT also...... whenever I hit 85mph with the A/C on the engine
> > >kills.....
> > >Pain in the ass on the freeway or a divided highway when you are trying to
> > >pass someone and the damn car dies!!!!!!!!! Took it to the dealer.... they
> > >replaced the oxygen sensors...... didn't help at all!!!!
> > >
> > >I'm going to trade it off on a 300ZX this summer I think.....
> > >At least the Japanese know how to build quality sports cars!! :)
> > >
> > Mazda....
> > Eric
>
> and enginered by Mazda, but the actual engine inside your Probe is built by
> Ford.
>
> --
That's true only if you have a 3.0L V6. All other Probe engines are
Mazda. The 2.5L V6 in the current Probes is a Mazda, and not at all
related to the 2.5L V6 that Ford puts in the Contour.
James Wood
I have an '89 Probe LX that I bought from a dealer at about 11k miles. I
am now at 130k miles. Most of my problems started happening after the
warranty expired at 60k miles. Before that there were some problems with
the power window on the driver's side. Those were covered by the warranty
but were never worked perfectly again. Here is a list of the problems I
have had.
-Automatic transmission died. Replaced for about $1,800 by Aamco. (I was
already upset with the dealer about the window.
-Alternator died
-Headlight motor died
-Windshield wiper died (later it would always go up when off)
-Lights on computer display and radio are now too dim to read. Digital
Instrument panel light is at wrong brightness when lights are turned on
now.
-Power window cable broke (I discovered here that parts are very hard to
get for Probe's at junkyards since I wanted to do this myself.) I ended up
replacing the cable myself. It took many hours but the parts were only a
couple of bucks from the hardware store.
-Replaced both CV boots because they were torn.
-Replaced cracked plastic radiator.
-Replaced muffler (recalled).
-Replaced leaky head gasket.
Well, that is all that I can think of now. Most of this stuff happened in
the first 100k miles. This car is still fun to drive but has cost me too
much in the way of support. It has convinced me that I would rather buy an
old car for a couple of grand and put some money into it than to spend $12k
and have to put another grand into it every year. I am having a lot of fun
with my '61 Cadillac now. I think that I will be staying away from Ford
for a while. Not sure what I will get to replace the Probe. I hope that
it will keep going for a few more years. Any estimates on engine life for
the 4 cylinder 2.2l 89 Probe?
Cheers,
Matthew Moody <moo...@audtatious.win.net> wrote in article
<4...@audtatious.win.net>...
>
> In article <5c7t6e$14...@rtpnews.raleigh.ibm.com>, jeffrey boettler
(boet...@dracula4.raleigh.ibm.com) writes:
> >I have had similar problems with my probe:
> >
> > 1) My O2 Sensors gave out at 45,000
> >
> > 2) Spark plug wires went bad at 45,000. (I was on my honeymoon when
this
> > happened. I took it to the Ford dealer in the town we were in and
told
> > them it felt like a spark plug problem. They couldn't find out what
the
> > problem was! When I got back home the Ford delaership in town fixed
> > everything quickly.)
> >
> > 3) Lights on Equalizer gave out at 25,000
> >
> > 4) Lift shocks for hatchback gave out at 25,000
> >
> >TOTAL DAMAGE: $0.00
> >
> >I don't know why there is all this complaining. I have yet to pay
> >for a penny of this. Don't you guys use your warrenties. The dealership
in
> >town has been very good at finding and fixing the problems. They have
even
> >replaced some plastic parts that I broke and so didn't I bother telling
them
> >to replace it, but they did anyway.
> >My 1993 Probe has been my first new car. I have had A LOT more trouble
with
> >any used car I have purchased.
> >
> >- Jeff
> >
> >
> If you have found a Ford dealer that is treating you properly, STAY
> WITH THEM. I was told by two dealers that the HO2 sensors were
> not covered under the extended warranty and were user replaceable
> parts. Neither was the rear caliper that had to be replaced
> which a lot of owners have had to problems with. Even the plug wire
> problems a lot have had were not covered. The only thing Ford
> replaced/fixed on my car was the shifter boot, fix the "water
> ingestion" problem, and replace the 5-spd tranny (at 86k). The
> tranny fix at least made the extended warranty worth it.
Eric C. Buxton
>: > I'm going to trade it off on a 300ZX this summer I think.....
>: > At least the Japanese know how to build quality sports cars!! :)
>: >
>:
>: But you already have a Japanese sports car. The Probe is a Mazda MX6
>: with a Ford oval glued on it.
>
>as domestic vehicles due to parts content. And they most definitely are
>made in the USA in Flat Rock, Michigan.
Yes, built in Flat Rock, but built by Mazda, according to Car and Driver,
so I guess your definition of "Japanese" means built in Japan, as opposed to
built by a Japanese company....
Eric
Julian A F Bradbury
da...@poboxes.com writes
>I bought a used '89 Probe in 1991 when it had about 30k on it. Spoke
>to the owner before I bought it and he told me he had no problems with
>the car. Just too small for a growing family.
>
>Yesterday the milage read 209,312 when I got home from work. Other
>than tires, oil changes, bulbs, and wipers to date I have done the
>following:
>Everything still works, paint is good, no rust and still getting
>33mpg. I plan on at least another 100,000.
That 2.2 engine Probe/MX6 is noted as outlifting it's owners :)
In theory the 2.5s have the capability to go as far, just as long
as you take care of the niggly bits and the new-maintenance items.
Automatic gearboxes excluded, they're not a long-term bet :(
Rich Campbell
Kovalsky Family (*mkov...@prodigy.net*) wrote:
: Nitro wrote:
: >
: > I have a 94 GT also...... whenever I hit 85mph with the A/C on the engine
: > kills.....
: > Pain in the ass on the freeway or a divided highway when you are trying to
: > pass someone and the damn car dies!!!!!!!!! Took it to the dealer.... they
: > replaced the oxygen sensors...... didn't help at all!!!!
: > At least the Japanese know how to build quality sports cars!! :)
: >
: >
:
: But you already have a Japanese sports car. The Probe is a Mazda MX6
: with a Ford oval glued on it.
I believe that the Ford Probe and Mazda MX-6/626 are classified
as domestic vehicles due to parts content. And they most definitely are
made in the USA in Flat Rock, Michigan.
--
Rich Campbell
Dylan Smith (dy...@vnet.ibm.com) wrote:
: jeffrey boettler wrote:
:
: > 2) Spark plug wires went bad at 45,000. (I was on my honeymoon when this
: > happened.
:
: If you look in a home repair manual (Haynes etc) you'll find spark plug
: HT leads are a regular 36,000 mile replacement item - so you did well -
: you
: got an extra 9,000 miles on borrowed time!
Gee, that's nice. I've driven nearly 300,000 miles in my life and
owned 9 different cars and I've never had to replace spark plug
wires (nor has it been recommended to me by any mechanic) on any
car but the new generation Probe GT! Mine were replaced under
warranty at around 30,000 miles BTW.
Dylan Smith
Eric C. Buxton wrote:
> Yes, built in Flat Rock, but built by Mazda, according to Car and Driver,
> so I guess your definition of "Japanese" means built in Japan, as opposed to
> built by a Japanese company....
> Eric
Oh no...no this Japanese cars aren't American thread that popped up
in some other groups again!
Mazda are actually partially owned by Ford (I think it may even be a
>50% share of Mazda that is owned by Ford - anyone know for certain?)
Julian A F Bradbury
Kovalsky Family <*mkov...@prodigy.net*> writes
>That's true only if you have a 3.0L V6. All other Probe engines are
>Mazda. The 2.5L V6 in the current Probes is a Mazda, and not at all
>related to the 2.5L V6 that Ford puts in the Contour.
If the contour is the Mondeo, then it's the same 2.5V6 engine.
Mike Ellison
Eric C. Buxton wrote:
>
> >: > I'm going to trade it off on a 300ZX this summer I think.....
> >: > At least the Japanese know how to build quality sports cars!! :)
> >: >
> >: >
> >:
> >: But you already have a Japanese sports car. The Probe is a Mazda MX6
> >: with a Ford oval glued on it.
> >
> > I believe that the Ford Probe and Mazda MX-6/626 are classified
> >as domestic vehicles due to parts content. And they most definitely are
> >made in the USA in Flat Rock, Michigan.
> so I guess your definition of "Japanese" means built in Japan, as opposed to
> built by a Japanese company....
> Eric
Don't forget they are also built by United Auto Workers union members. Some
see this as a +, others a -, but it definitely makes it more "American" than
some.
Matthew J. Norris
Brad (BigP...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: I live 30 minutes away from a shop that has specialized in Probes for
: the last 5 years or so. I'm helping the owner with his website when we
: both have time. He has an 800 number and plans on selling new and used
: Probe parts nationally once everything is set up properly. Everything
: should be ready within a couple months at most.
Perhaps you could post the URL for this website, or pass along
the 800 number when he gets it set up?
--
Matt
Nitro
Eric C. Buxton <bux...@lexgen.com> wrote in article
<5cjdtr$4...@synthemesc.insync.net>...
> >: > I'm going to trade it off on a 300ZX this summer I think.....
> >: > At least the Japanese know how to build quality sports cars!! :)
> >: >
> >: >
> >:
> >: But you already have a Japanese sports car. The Probe is a Mazda MX6
> >: with a Ford oval glued on it.
> >
> > I believe that the Ford Probe and Mazda MX-6/626 are classified
> >as domestic vehicles due to parts content. And they most definitely are
> >made in the USA in Flat Rock, Michigan.
> Yes, built in Flat Rock, but built by Mazda, according to Car and Driver,
> so I guess your definition of "Japanese" means built in Japan, as opposed
to
> built by a Japanese company....
> Eric
>
300ZX were built in Japan... Never in America.... I used to sell them a few
years ago!!! I am sad that 96 was the final year for a great machine like
the 300ZX
Tom Klok
In article <32EE2F...@vnet.ibm.com>,
Dylan Smith <dy...@vnet.ibm.com> wrote:
> Mazda are actually partially owned by Ford (I think it may even be a
> >50% share of Mazda that is owned by Ford - anyone know for certain?)
Ford owned 25% of Mazda. They recently injected more cash, increasing
ownership to 33% and making one of their own Mazda's CEO. The CEO and
other execs still report to the board, of which Ford is only a third,
so Ford isn't in total control. Not yet, anyway.
Tom
'95 MX-3 GS V6 (the Probe GT's little sister)
--
Tom Klok Tom....@iSTAR.ca
Network Administration iSTAR internet inc.
Opinions expressed are personal; I do not speak for my employers.
David Thomas
James Wood wrote:
>
> I have an '89 Probe LX that I bought from a dealer at about 11k miles. I
> am now at 130k miles. Most of my problems started happening after the
> warranty expired at 60k miles. Before that there were some problems with
> the power window on the driver's side. Those were covered by the warranty
I too have an 89 LX (5spd) that I bought used with 40K (kms) (well
maintained by 1st owners). Up until 90K I still had the original
battery and brakes. At 125K now, the only service the car has seen
(fluid changes, etc. excluded) is brakes (pads, shoes, and a grind),
rear wheel cylinders, and a set of new tires. As for complaints, only
that the heads on my tape deck have become misaligned and the windows
are noisy on the highway in strong crosswinds. Considering I get 45 mpg
on the highway and have had virtually no repairs, I would say my cost
per kilometer is very reasonable.
For the record, I usually shift at 4500+ while driving normally and feel
corners are meant to be cornered. I will knock on wood as I post this
though.
(In addition, I was rear ended by a Ford Bronco in an accident which
took out his grill, broke all his lights, and pushed his bumper back at
least two inches. This didn't even scratch my paint and gave me a great
deal of satisfaction.)
David
Michael Haley (mhaley at scope dot com)
Brad wrote:
> He's considering scanning in his entire 30 page parts listings straight
> out of his order catalog to use instead of tables.
What a lazy, bogus idea. If this person wants to serve customers best,
keeping them from waiting while a picture/scan loads by instead loading
a much smaller table is a better idea.
K.C. Schafer
Dylan Smith wrote:
>
> Eric C. Buxton wrote:
>
> > Yes, built in Flat Rock, but built by Mazda, according to Car and Driver,
> > so I guess your definition of "Japanese" means built in Japan, as opposed to
> > built by a Japanese company....
> > Eric
>
> in some other groups again!
> >50% share of Mazda that is owned by Ford - anyone know for certain?)
>
> Email: dy...@vnet.IBM.COM
> Dylan Smith 1810 Space Park Drive, Houston, TX 77573
> Standard disclaimer applies.
not think they have ever publicly announced how much.
K.C. Schafer
cracked badly. all i had to do was pop my one taillight lens back out.
only 1 or 2 scatches i rubbed out.. i was happy i avoided loosing the
car for a few days to the auto shop!
Ken Copeland
Dave Rosenbloom wrote:
>
> My '93 has 72k miles. It has needed spark plugs, wires and oxygen
> sensors. (Many cars will not tell you when the oxygen sensors quit, but
> they all last to around 60k miles). I consider these things to be
> routine maintenance and don't think that complaints are justified. The
> car is fast and handles real nice. I'd probably buy another. Some people
> just love to bitch. Sometimes they shoot beans!
>
> Dave Rosenbloom
> http://www.dancetronics.com
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
I fully agree with dave - the car is superb in every respect and I would
definitely buy another one, even though they cost double in this country
what you pay in the USA!
Ken Copeland
Johannesburg......South Africa
Rich Campbell
da...@poboxes.com wrote:
: On Fri, 24 Jan 1997 02:50:41 GMT, moo...@audtatious.win.net (Matthew
: Moody) wrote:
:
: >>My 93 Probe GT has 44,500 on it.
: >>I drive it hard, and I have no problems with it .
: >>
: >>
: >
: >You will.....Hope you have the extended warranty.
: I've been following this thread for several days now and have to get
: mine in.
:
: I bought a used '89 Probe in 1991 when it had about 30k on it. Spoke
: to the owner before I bought it and he told me he had no problems with
: the car. Just too small for a growing family.
: [list of problems snipped]
The worthless Probes that we're talking about
are the new generation. The old Probes, of which I had
an '89 GT were pretty good and reliable cars. I wish I'd
kept it. It could toast the new one in straight line
acceleration, although it couldn't hope to keep up to the
new one in handling. I don't have the curvy roads to
play on these days and the turbo'ed '89 GT was excellent
in a straight line. Plus it just had little in the way
of problems.
Felipe I Torrejon
Ken Copeland (ke...@sprintlink.co.za) wrote:
: Ken Copeland
: Johannesburg......South Africa
--
Same here! I have the "troublesome" *heheh* GT, even, and I love it.
Sure it has had a few trips back to the dealer for warranty repairs, but
so what- that's what the warranty is for! Given the enormous complexity
of any modern vehicle, it's a wonder that there are any that have no
problems. I don't know what it is that people are bitching about so
much. The powertrain on this car has a 7/70 warranty, which is longer
than a lot of original owners keep their cars. The way I see it, the
majority of these people that are "warning" us about how terrible the
Probe is: 1) do not know what proper mainanence invlovles, 2) may
actually have gotten the occasional lemon, 3) just love to bitch! They
aren't all (not even a significant portion) as bad as these people are
trying to get everyone to believe. Really, some people...
--Felipe...
Probing and loving it!
