Do yourself a favor, go onto YouTube, and find a video of a Probe GT like this one accelerating – preferably, one with a cold air intake or exhaust. The sound is absolutely wonderful and may cause you to drive to Vermont and buy this one listed for a mere $2,500. The Probe’s final fling resulted in a highly competent sports coupe fitted with a Mazda-built V6 engine – so it’s reliable to boot. Find this example here on craigslist with 100,000 miles on the clock. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Ed for the find.
In college, I knew a guy who was effectively a dope, dropping out after freshmen year due to his liberal use of illegal narcotics. However, he did have a Probe GT – a really, really nice Probe GT – and it drove me bonkers that this individual owned such a car. You see, he didn’t know what it was. He lucked into a low-mileage specimen sitting on a corner used car lot in Worcester, Mass., and simply bought it because it looked good. The thing was perfect, and I’m sure he wrecked it shortly after leaving the school.
Of course, with sporty cars like this, wanton abuse is a common threat to their well-being. Plus, with the Mazda mechanicals, it will accept unfair amounts of neglect, convincing cheap owners that there’s no pressing need to invest in a silly thing like maintenance. This Probe GT sports a handsome brown leather interior that remains in excellent condition, with nicely bolstered bucket seats. The Probe always struck me as a better-looking alternative to the Mazda MX-6 it was based on, which remains a somewhat forgettable car today.
The rear seat appears practically un-used, and the electric seats are said to work. The seller notes recent tires, a fresh oil change, and new alternator as recent maintenance items of note. With a rust-free body and great colors, I’m sure this Probe GT will find a new home, even if the current following for them is somewhat limited. But when you can’t find a GT-model that hasn’t been abused to within an inch of its life, cars like this will look like a bargain.
I always thought these were sharp, but I never thought they would be classics. Here we are. 23 years later and it has more styling character than half the used bars of soap out there. What a world.
If everything works, this is a steal of a price.
A good friend and co-worker had a GT in red, and I was surprised with how well it drove. Suspension was firm but not uncomfortably so, and the engine provided enough pep to keep things fun. It couldn’t keep up with my Contour SVT, but it was still a respectable coupe. Just don’t try the 4-cylinder model– it’s a dog, and doesn’t look as good, either.
Yeah, the SVT is an underrated car, but from experience, given equal drivers, the Probe GT (not the 4cyl) should leave the Contour behind on real twisties. Straight line the SVT has about 35 more hp, so the Probe is sad.
I bought a white 5spd 95 Probe GT I really liked it. They were unique looking and handled well, luckily mine didn’t come with that ugly rear spoiler. It didn’t have enough head room and eventually made my neck hurt, so I sold it. A co-worker bought it, he was still driving it as of 3 years ago.
Steve R
I always thought the MX6 was a very attractive coupe. It was the one I thought would be a classic.
I feel the same, Mr. TKD- the Mazda looks timeless still, a very clean design.
When these came out new the first one I saw came out of the car wash just ahead of my car. I looked it over while waiting for mine. The guys drying it off were impressed. It was a black cherry color with gray interior. Really looked sharp. If this one wasn’t half way across the country I would be a buyer.
This is a very affordable fun car to drive.
I hope somebody gets it and leaves it just as it is.
I doubt that will happen though.
All ways liked these, they almost badged this aa Mustang. Ford used to be able to make wise decisions, lately not so sure.
Why are all these good cars on the East coast. In my opinion, a Probe is about a 2 door Contour, which I still love. Had one that I put 200,000 miles on. Would love to have this car, just too far to go fetch it, I live in idaho.
Gladly trade you our cars(which aren’t that great) for your beautiful mountains and rivers!!! So jealous, love the west!!
The East has more people, so more cars. NW cars have a lot less rust, when you find them.
My opinion is the Probe was designed from the start for spirited driving, and even the well-tuned Contour SVT was designed for daily drudgery. That’s from having a Probe, and driving a friend’s Contour. I think you should make the trip!
On a different note, whereabouts in Idaho? I’m in Boise (and for non-Idahoans, a lot of Idaho isn’t sure if Boise is actually part of Idaho…)
I had a 95 I bought new Ford had issued a revised window sticker with a huge price drop and after that the dealer discounted to 15k. It was a change color GT with a nice funky interior. I personally don’t like the leather. Mine was a 5 speed. It is so hard to find one that was not abused! I would love to find one with low miles!!!
Hey Hunnie I will pick you up in my probe. Sounds wrong to me
This might be a nice looking East Coast car on the outside but it’s NORTHeast car, not SOUTHeast. While we can’t tell much about the body due to the urethane side cladding – one look at those rusted calipers warrant a full underbody inspection. Pity if it’s got worms, it does appear to me a well-kept example.
I always liked the style of the Probe but where I was from in western Canada they were quickly labelled as “girl cars” just like every yellow VW Beetle, and any guy driving one would soon be asked to turn in his man card for a bouquet of pansies. Don’t ask me why they got that reputation or why we cared so much but it really affected their price and sales. Maybe now, with my man card safely in my wallet, I can finally buy one :)
I knew a mechanic at the dealership, and he called them girl cars because man cars have v-8s, rear wheel drive, and are called Mustang.
That’s it. The Probes (FWD/little engine) were meant to replace the Mustang, and that went about as far as I can throw a sack of concrete.
I think the 6 cyl. was a Ford engine and the 4 Mazda. I bought my wife a new one in ’91. It turned out to be a turd. Lots of problems for a new car that I gave excellent care too.
I liked the Probe, and more so the Mazda MX6. I really prefer the first generation style in the Probe, more of a styling risk and I think it was the better looking of the two generations…in a GT, the originals are extremely rare.
Bought my wife a brand new one in ‘97, one of the last 50 built. Dealer had to do a national search to find the combo we wanted, GT, 5spd, Lazer Red, tan cloth, and painted (not chrome) wheels. Was a fantastic reliable car, fun to drive, that served us well for 150k miles. Gave it to my father and he kept it for 7-8 years before finally selling it.
Parts are a bit harder to get now, but would not mind having on again.
I’m probably the only person in the world to pay half a million dollars for a Probe like this. Told my oldest son if he got to his 18th birthday with no tickets (in a ’91 Escort LX), I’d buy him his dream car (within reason). He totaled the Escort, but the police said it was the other driver’s fault. A co-worker had a red Probe GT, 125,000 miles, so we bought it for $2,500. Wouldn’t start in the rain, so $420 for a Misubishi built distributor, $2,000 for new custom wheels and tires, $800 for a rock’n stereo, and $300 for a cut and buff. His friends didn’t like it so he trashed it, eventually totaled it, too. I told him he wasn’t driving again until we rebuilt the car. His mother said that was too harsh, the arguments got so heated, she asked for a divorce. Took half my pension, half my savings, half equity in the house, up to half a million dollars by now. Ask me if I like Probes.
Thats why we are fascinated with woman and automobiles. They can be rewarding frustrating and dangerous. Cars are the same way, at least they can be turned off.
Scotty, I partially understand. I’ve had a 95 since 98. Currently the engine is out, but that’s on me. It will run again. My wife asks when. Real Soon Now I say.
As far as the differences between the Probe and the MX-6, they are brother and sister twins. One has more curves and a softer suspension. And it makes their personalities completely different.
Both the 4 and the 6 are Mazda engines, and both have a few similar weaknesses…starting at about 150k. The distributor uses a coil in unit design that eventually dies from heat. The head gasket is an innovative design that also eventually fails from heat. The automatic gets touchy fast from heat. Do you see a pattern?
But that 6 is sweet.
Justjoe. According to Wikipedia the V6 engine in the Probe was the Ford Vulcan engine that also was used in Taurus, Ranger, Tempo and Aerosrar.
The vulcan engine was in the first gen Probe. The 2nd gen (’93-’97) had a KLDE 2.5L V6, which was a Mazda engine.
I had a ’93. The smallest car I ever had with as much horsepower. The weekend after i got it, I took it to Eastern Washington from Seattle to visit a friend. I went over US2 which for the most part is a lovely two-laner. It was such a dream on the twisties. There is a long straight stretch west of Leavenworth where I wanted to see what it would do. It quickly got up to 120mph and the gas pedal was not even on the floor. Very stable and didn’t even seem to be working hard. Then i saw a suspicious looking light colored sedan off in the distance, so I lifted off the throttle and coasted reducing my speed. As I passed the Washington State Patrol car (they are white), he pulled over to turn around. I didn’t even give him a chance to chance me and immediately pulled over. Asked me how fast i was going. I told him that I had just bought the car and with no cruise control I really had no idea. He said he clocked my at 85 but gave me a ticket for 74. Good thing as 20 over is the threshold for reckless driving in Washington state which carries a much higher penalty. I didn’t complain since I had been going 120 just minutes earlier.
I bought the car with 35,000 miles in early 1996 (lease return) and drove it until it had 130,000+ miles. The first thing I ever had trouble with was the distributor. Car just quit in the middle of the street with no warning. Turns out the coil failed. $$. Then the head gasket failed. Leaking oil all over the place and lost compression in one cylinder. The major cost was replacing the one in the rear bank. (transverse v6). $$$. Then the auto trans wouldn’t shift well from 2nd to 3rd and wouldn’t engage into overdrive. $$$$. I went ahead with the repairs, but was worried about what might be next so I sold it and bought a brand new 2003 Subaru Legacy wagon and drove it for 200,000 miles.
I loved that Probe and wish I had it back. It was red and the only option it had was the automatic. I added a spoiler, sunroof and tinted windows.
Love this car and the surprisingly positive article written about Probes. So often, you see disparaging things written about them, and I absolutely do not agree with most of it.
I have had three Probes (’94 SE, ’94 GT, ’97 GTS) and all three had a lot to offer, but of course the GT’s were my favorite. Great fun to drive, fantastic engine note, great handling, and of course they look amazing (even today). Reliability was an area that I would have loved to have been better. The VRIS system in the GT V6 is complex and constantly caused the CEL to be on. Interior used very brittle plastics, low-quality leather, and were awful to work on.
With that being said, I would buy this car without hesitation, if I had the money sitting around.
Someone please buy this car and leave it as is, no mods! These are becoming so rare.
Back in the nineties, I spent 8 hours hunched over in the back of a Probe, under the glass, for eight hours while three of us drove to Mammoth Mountain in Central California to go skiing. I still think for a modern toaster on wheels its one of the better ones. Be a great first car for a son or daughter.