ford as first car...

[Rekin]

Hello

After alot of research and opinions from others, I have decided not to get a skyline as a first car, this is because:

1) a decent one costs $14,000+

2) Trouble from Police

3) insurance too high

So my only decision is a nice local car to drive for 3+ years.

After browsing the market i stumbled upon a ford car called 'Probe'.

I found a yr1997 ford probe for $7,000AUD. Insurance for the car is $1000 a year for full comp.

My question is does anyone know about the ford probe? Are they a good car for a 1st car.

Also if you have any suggestions for a decent first car ranging $5000~ in price and is yr 1995+.

I have attached a couple of pics how the ford probe looks like.

Thanks for your help

- Patrick

[d0p3y]

Theyre a troublesome heap of shit. Dont touch one

[meshmesh]

Theyre a troublesome heap of shit. Dont touch one

??? Why?.... Aren't the probes based on the 92-98~MX6?? And they use the same engine's also. I've had friend wit both the MX6 & the probes, and for 7K that's awesome value... just sounds too cheap to me, so be wary maybe.

[Rekin]

Currently there is a theft repossessed yr1995 probe for $6800, hopefully in 2years time, when ill be 18years old, the yr1997 probes will hopefully be at that price. I have looked into purchasing a 1989 Japanese car, however by the time I will be onto my 2nd car the 1st car will be 20 years old. In my opinion a 20year old car could be costly to maintain and the resell value would have dropped significantly. Thats why a nice local ford car would be the most cost effective 1st car for me.

Anyone agree/disagree with my point?

Thanks

- Patrick

[JezR31]

would you buy an XR6?

[Parag0n]

If I sold the GT-R the car I would buy would be the XR6-T, the turbo on that thing is quite big and you can make pretty decent power by putting the boost up a bit, it runs on 4psi stock AFAIk hence the low power....

[sewid]

buy an 82 laser

[Angry]

stay away from the probe dude..... more trouble than what their really worth. i've seen way too many of them heading back to ford for overhauls ..

u could probably pick up a EL falcon for around that much now .. or if u look for ex company cars at the auctions that are unreserved ..u could walk away with a bargain.

keep your options open ..

[PHATR32]

get a tx3 turbo laser for $6000, a bit of boost and your usual mods and youll be seeing low 14s/high 13s.

steve

[predator]

dont get a probe.. they were Ford's attempt at capturing the sports market away from the japanese for a while. Don't think it particularly went too well and was soon discontinued.

laser.. erg.. just get an ex-fleet falcon or something.

[Angry]

discontinued = hard to find new genuine parts IF u need to replace anything ....

[AzzurrA]

what about a Mazda MX6 (1st Gen)

[Revhead]

There are other brands as well, anything sold locally in Australia should be OK. Holden, Mitubishi, Honda, Nissan, Toyota etc. I'd steer clear of brands like Hyundai, Kia et al, they are built to a price and feel like it. Have a look under one and you'll never quibble over spending a few grand extra for quality!!

If you can stretch your budget to around $15k, you can get some very nice machinery.

Audi

Mid 90's A4

Early Audi 90

BMW

Mid-late 90s 316i - if you can handle the car being hideously slow and the bargain basement model of the BMW range, they're OK

Early-mid 90s E36 320i - 2 litre six, still not much power but enough to get around, comfy and look and sound nice

Early 90s 5 or 7 series - Very plush, but normally high kms and I'd hate to think how much servicing and/or repairs would cost

Daewoo (or Kia, or Hyundai, or anything similar)

As mentioned above, STAY AWAY. They look like really good value on the surface, but I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole.

Eunos

Mazda's "prestige" brand.

30X - not bad, look OK, might still be percieved as a sports car by insurers

500, 800, 800M - Luxury, look nice, no idea about mechanicals

Ford

Fairlane, Fairmont, Falcon - I'm not really telling you anything new here. Beware ex-taxi's, fleet cars, govt cars. Not the best built cars on the planet but still fairly good value for money.

Capri - Stay away. Slow even in turbo form, don't handle that well, convertible leaks like a seive.

Holden/HSV

Early HSV's - Not too bad, but probably flogged, and insurance/rego would kill you.

Mazda

Early 90's MX5 - handle well, convertible, but very slow

MX6 turbo - go quite well, but most have been flogged

MX6 V6 - very similar to the Probe as they share many common parts. I know a couple of people who've bought them, and never had a problem. Smooooooth

Umm anyway that's all I can be bothered typing, there are plenty more but that should give you some ideas anyway

[PHATR32]

well, the eunos 30x, 500, 800, mx6, probe all have the same model "K" series engines.

30x is a 1.8 v6

500 is a 2.0 v6

800, mx6, probe is a 2.5 v6

probe shares the same mechanics as the mx6 and they arnt as bad as people say they are

stay away from the kia, hyudais,daiwoos etc. crap cars, crap build quialty.

steve

steve

[95GTST]

Rekin, my 2nd car was an MX6 (non-turbo), payed $14K for it and I never had any problems with it! Picked up insurance for $740 with rating 5 via GIO. They're a good car to learn in, as they've got a little bit of power and stick to road like glue (you can't go past 4WS) + pretty good on fuel too!

I've seen a few P-Platers driving around in them lately, they're a good build up car to getting a Skyline in my opinion.

[sammus]

rekin, don't buy a Probe, servicing and parts costs are very high, they were not poplular for that reason.

Our american friend who works in the motor industry was telling us that you can pick them up in the US for nothing because repair costs exceed the value of the car - he mentioned one with a broken gear box US$3,500 to fix > car value.

We checked out the cost of parts years ago, when a friend here in melbourne bought one, very high.

May i recommend, if you want a reliable first car, check out the "Dog and Lemon Guide" at the newsagents for $20. They are independent and give the rundown on the reliability of all models.

[PHATR32]

3500US for a probe box? man, someones been bullshitting to someone.....

steve

[sammus]

i can't remember the exact amount... but you get my point.

[PHATR32]

well if you reckon the probes are shit and expensive, then that must mean the mx6 are the same, cause they all have the same mechanics.

my mates had a prbe for years and he hasnt had problems at all.

steve

[Downforce]

well if you reckon the probes are shit and expensive, then that must mean the mx6 are the same, cause they all have the same mechanics.

my mates had a prbe for years and he hasnt had problems at all.

steve

Personally I think reliability depends heavily on how you drive and treat the car, regular maintenance is key to making your engine last. Some cars have more problems than others. One of my ex-girlfriends wanted a probe for her first car so I asked around and got the same info - stay away from them. they have piss weak transmission and gearboxes, if the auto shat's itself you will be a sorry individual to have to pay for a rebuild. meshmesh is correct it's basically a MX6 with a different body shell.

So anyway I steered her away from the idea and she bought a civic (lol) which in my opinion was the better car... even the older honda's are pretty reliable cars with good solid engines. Also if you're looking at Calibra's, dont bother as they have the same high maintenance costs and problems that go with it.

In the end if you see what you like, you dont have to listen to what others tell you, if it's what you really want then go for it. Just factor in some extra money for if(when) problems might happen and consider people's advice. You may not have any problems with the probe but as there's been several reported major issues with them, it's possible and something you should consider when choosing your car. Hope this helps, Good luck.