So, I visited a dealership that was selling a 1990 Ford Probe LX automatic with the 3.0L V6 Vulcan, with 51...

It's my first solo car purchase desu. Yes, I was biased when I saw it. A 1st gen probe, my first car, with two miles on it is hard for me to resist.

On the other hand though, I really feel it is a good grab. The engine and transmission were solid, as expected of a low mileage car. The things I was worrying about were a rusty frame and suspension issues, typical of an old car having sat still for a long time. I found nothing of the sort.

There are a lot better cars for that amount of money. The vulcan is a shit engine. You can find pretty clean lincoln lsc's for that price or not a lot more.

>The vulcan is a shit engine.

I don't know about that claim. Maybe in terms of power, yeah they're shit, but I've only heard good claims about it concerning reliability. I should be able to get at least another 100,000 miles out of it with a good maintenance program.

The Vulcan is a slug, but it's a long-lived, durable slug.

It's my favorite Ford car engine.

But it's just a shitty old car.Not memorable or special in any way. If you want a good DD just get a civic for 3k.

>complains about a car being an old shitty car and nothing special
>recommends the most generic shitty old car possible

Veeky Forums

he said if he wants a good DD get a civic
If you want something more memorable then get anything else but a fucking poverty spic tier probe for 3 fucking thousand dollars

No no no no no no what in the hell are you thinking??!!! Jesus fuck

i had an escort with 220k plus miles and still save it incase something happens and i need a car.
but man 3k for this car is hard to justify if its not manual

>"good" DD
>this car isnt speshul snowflake enough

at least I know you dont care about cars

Everyone's just been saying it's a shitty car so far, yet been providing little evidence as to why. Yes, there are better cars out there for the money, but that doesn't actually make it bad. That tells me perhaps I can work a deal with the dealer to drop the price a little farther or at least match the back tires to save me some costs on repair.

You can get a 5.0 foxbody for less.

Horseshit

>I visited a dealership that was selling a 1990 Ford Probe LX
I can't say I go to dealerships often but, do they usually sell cars this old? I figure this would just sit on a lot and be a hard sell.

yes

a 5.0 Foxbody without the 5.0

Yeah. A piece of shit fox body with 3 times the miles.

I was genuinely surprised myself. I thought it was a private seller on carguru before I clicked the Google link. I'm assuming they had it because of how unused the thing was.

The listing had only been up for a week.

There are plenty of 5.0 fox bodies for under $3,000 but not with 50,000 miles

Fuck it op that cars aesthetic as fuck. Offer that nigga 2.5k fix what needs to be fixed polish it up nice and enjoy not being in the same civic/corolla as everybody else

Tire pan has a little rust. Nothing I can't buff off.

the low miles are almost meaningless. you're gonna have to replace a bunch of shit if you drive it regularly.

due to the age of the car you'll be looking to replace must rubber parts like bushings and hoses
age doesnt tend to adversely affect a car unless its been sitting for years

Stop. Get a different car.

You got a link with some more pictures?

>all that metal bubbling

thats not metal bubbling

its the sound deadening

get a sn-95 with a v8 or a 5.0 foxbody.

> Muffler
> $300
Try $80 max, Alex.

Unfortunately no. I took pictures with a camera and haven't offloaded them to my pc yet and I'm away.

The PART is going to be $80~. If i take it to a shop the labor will be fuckin high. I bought a shop manual and will read up on swapping mufflers before resorting to a mechanic though.

Why exactly? That is rust from the wheel over top the paint. I can literally wipe that off. It isn't warped or dented.

Mufflers are the easiest thing on earth famalam

user, get it if you like it. That's all there is to it. If you like it, get it.

I'm not sure about the price, but I'm assuming you've checked on KBB, etc, to make sure the cost is within reason for that vintage of a Probe.

The vulcan engine is pretty reliable from what I've heard, too.

Enjoy.

get an mx3, it's basically the same but drives a ton better

All that storage space

I had one of these.

The auto is a dealbreaker. At 51000 miles youll get some miles out of it. It's not a bad car for general transport but for that price forget it, that is a 1500 dollar car at best.

If you really gotta have it, save that money for a newer 2nd-gen GT, for dealership prices you can find a cherry 5 speed GT V6 93-97 model (get the 94) on Craigslist or from a private seller.

>V6 Probe
>it doesn't have the KL
Don't. The 2nd gen has the engine you want.

I understand it may not be as valuable as I'm paying for it. People have said that already, but what can I say to them after agreeing on a deal? I've already used the mismatched back tires, muffler, and dents as modes of getting it down from 3500, to 2900, what else can I say to get it lower?

I feel like 2500 would be as low as I could get it. How should I reopen negotiation? What can I use to get it lower?

Mx-6 is the probe
Mx-3 is the one with the high revving v6

its a little watered down
but base models die early
that's the padding holding water on the metal
but it looks to have done its job

be on the look out for any sign of water damage on fabric
leaking door or window seals may as well be called rust

>Automatic Probe

Expect transmission issues

It shifts beautifully for its age. From what I've read, as long as you don't abuse it in low gear, the auto transmission should last quite some time before needing repairs.

I contacted the seller asking renegotiating a new starting point of $2000. The guy gave me a contradictory statement basically saying, "buy at the agreed price or don't," and leading that with "I'll talk with someone else to see if we can talking price more."

Did I do good? My first time truly haggling for a car with a dealer.

Just posting some probes since I have no more pics of mine on hand.

OP where are you located

East coast DC. Why do you ask?

So cool

I bought my 5 speed 2008 Civic Lx with 165k miles for $3k.

you can do much better user

washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/5930941257.html

washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/5927534986.html

washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/cto/5885178933.html

baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/5917527020.html

None of those are probes, have 2.5 to 3 times the miles, or entirely not what I'm looking for in a purchase.

Although, the first miata is definitely worth a look given what he says is accurate.

it started out as fords aero efficiency testing platform
the end product only really have shadows of this

I know... I'd kill to drive retro 80s style sci-fi car I want some flat aluminum hubcaps and wheel covers.

shame most people are bored and buy a mustang every time the petrol price dips

>Miatas and Volvos

are you gay

To be fair, Ford marketed the thing terribly. They called it the "new mustang", when it looked nothing like one and had FWD.

Ford should have just spun the newaged future look to the max and kept the wheel covers and sleek design. Apparently they just gave the manufacturing job to Mazda though and that changed everything from the original designer's prototypes.

What a deliciously hideous interior.

the infamous Oxblood interior that no one likes

saw a red 89 GT with it and nearly vommed

walk

the only time that car would ever be worth that much was if it was a 5-speed as they are incredibly rare

That's a $2000 car at the most. It's a fucking Probe.

Do this op, see if they'll fix anything for that price. If not it sounds like you really like the car and from you're description it is in very good mechanical condition so I think you should get it, just fix it if it breaks or get rid of it when it does, the choice is up to you

even the mustang had to be dumbed down to a falcon with a body kit
its cost effective not to change too quickly when you already have a production line in place

I told the dealer id like to reopen negotiations at 2000, I'm willing to stop at 2500 max at this point, but hoping to stop somewhere around 2200.

I love my 91 GT. It's less of a pain in the ass to keep up the 1st gen non turbos because all the rubber lines that dry rot on the GT are hard to find. That said, it is a fast and good handling bastard for an early 90s coupe. The first gens definitely had a higher build quality than the second gens.

I read the same thing. If you wanted performance out of the box, find a 91' GT. if you want reliability and easily found parts, get a 1st gen Vulcan LX. I also read it is relatively easy and affordable to modify an LX to wiggle some extra performance out of the engine.

Once I get another newer car to replace it as daily driver, I'd like to undertake the task of replacing the hood, supercharging the Vulcan and switching the trans for a manual.

$2k is absolute top dollar for that car. You dun goofed when you gave them the $100 deposit. Now they have you on the hook and won't be so willing to negotiate.

Yeah I figured that. Either way, I asked to renegotiate and they're considering it. I'd hate to have to replace the whole exhaust manifold and muffler out of pocket. The wheel assembly on all sides aren't looking the greatest as well, which won't be cheap. I'm willing to talk at 2,000 and move up from there. 2,500 is my limit at this point due to the repair costs involved.

The lowest of drags

...

If they won't budget show them this:
nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1991/Ford/Probe-LX/2-Door-Hatchback/Values

That's high retail for a turn-key car that requires no work.

Ha! The "future" according to 1986.

If they refuse to budge, I was definitely intending to bring up the average pricing as a final argument before throwing in the towel. I originally thought it to be in magnificent condition, and it is, but some refurbishment is still required and I think 2,200 is still definitely giving them a good deal.

Angle pic of the engine.

OP walk and get the superior 2nd gen

t.someone who owned a 91 LX auto and bought a 94 GT manual, slapped a bottle and bolt-ons and had a lot more fun dragging foxbodies down the road

I want a nice middle ground between reliability and performance. All my research has led to a 1st gen vulcan to fit that bill. I don't deny a GT would be more fun to drive, but not nearly as cheap to maintain or acquire, since GTs are fairly uncommon now. The second gen LX 3.0L does push 5 more horsepower stock, but I can easily achieve that and more with an engine tune, plus i think 1st gen looks much better imo.

I would definitely like to have a 2nd gen in the future though.

Nope. Got my '79 with 84,000km religiously serviced and the 5.0 for $500 Canadian pesos

It's the red one in pic related

this is Veeky Forums

we are all gay

>clean Fairmont wagon

Not the dude you replied to, but nice car.

thats not a ford thats a honda you imbicel

The dealer answered back today and agreed to 2500. Looks like I'm gonna be the owner of a new probe!

Could've done better, but who cares, you got a new car. Congrats, OP.

Three grand for that.

>saw one for sale back when I was getting my first car in 2000, wouldn't have even bought it then

Jesus Christ dude. That thing is maybe worth 500 bucks.

It's a good thing you're wrong.

that straight up looks like a red velvet cake on wheels

okay OP, I'm not gonna just splerg out at you to try to convince you that this is a bad a bad decision. I'm going to explain to you why it is

as others have mentioned, that car should not be worth $3500 based on the fact that it's the least rare, most inferior model, and it's automatic. now that that's out of the way, I want to remind you that there are added costs that will end up making the car more expensive, such as registration, which is usually $200-$400

for reference, I recently bought a manual transmission 2002 toyota celica GT (not a GT-S, I'm aware of that) with 58k miles, in almost flawless condition for $3600. after registration, an alignment, a tune-up and a minor repair, it came out to $4000 BUT I now have a perfectly functioning, rust free, 21st century car with low mileage and a large aftermarket, and it's nowhere near as forgettable as the legendary 3k civic

what I'm trying to get at, OP, is that this ford probe isn't worth it. $3500 is already way overpriced for it, and the added cost for all the little things I mentioned will add up to more than that. I understand that you want something economical, yet unique, but this just isn't it, and it doesn't have to be a plain 3k civic either. do more research, perhaps open yourself up to other cars besides ford probes, look away from stealerships and browse craigslist more often.

godspeed, OP

he already got it for $2500

and the car had sentimental value anyways

The model I'm buying is definitely not the most common (although the engine is), it isn't the most inferior by a longshot, and 3,500 was only the tag price. I pushed it down to 2,500.

But I understand your concern, and thank you for at least putting a little more effort into adding some detail. It holds sentimental value to me, and I chose the most reliable version available, a 1st gen lx with a v6.

Thanks man. Paint was faded when I got it but nothing a little polish and a wash couldn't fix! Crazy how well the old lady kept up with it