Looking to buy a 2nd gen MX-6, what do I need to know

9

93egt

Member
:
97 Probe GTS
Hey guys, about 8 months ago I traded my escort gt on a chevy s-10, and i now regret making that decision. I've missed my escort since the day I sold it. So i'm looking to get back into the mazda family once again. I've decided the 2nd generation MX-6/Probe is the right car for me, so now I want to find out what I should know before I buy one. It will definitely be a 5 speed, and preferably v6.

How many miles can one that's been well cared for go without starting to turn into a money pit? I don't want to buy one and have to replace the transmission 2 weeks later like happened with my escort.

Are there any real problem areas to look for?

What kind of aftermarket support is there? It's going to be mostly a daily driver so I don't want anything crazy like a turbo, but I want to do some bolt on stuff like an intake, exhaust system, and maybe a body kit and rims (rims and body kit will be left to debate, because I drive on some pretty uneven roads sometimes and don't want to tear it all up).

My budget for the car is probably going to be around $4,000 without the add-ons. Should I be able to get a good one for this price?

I greatly appreciate any suggestions and advice you guys can give me.
 
I've never heard of any severe problems with the MX6 based on high mileage. I'm not entirely familiar with the parts interchangability of the chassis, but I think the only weak link in the whole car might have been the distributer. Seems like I heard somewhere that they go out about every 60,000 miles or so. Since the MX6 shares some mechanicals with the Probe there are still a lot of aftermarket performance parts available.

There is a local guy around here that has a twin turbo V6 MX6. He rarely brings it out, but I haven't heard of him having any problems with the transmission.
 
Buy one! But be careful....

I feel in love with the MX-6 a long time ago and swore I would get one some day...well that day came this spring when I picked up a silver 93' LS V6 for a song. Since then I've learned a lot about these cars and what can be done with them. What a fun car! Go for the V6- the 164 HP KL10 (v6 ) is an understressed version of the Japanese KLZE ( 200 HP ) and is very well built. Forged crankshaft, connecting rods, sodium filled exhaust valves, tonnes of cooling and oil pasages. This baby is built to last and live at high RPM's. Even with spotty maintenance you should exspect 300,000 miles out of the engine and even more with proper care and synthetic oil ( always use 5w30 to keep HLA noise down at startup ).

Look for one with under 200 KM unless it is a single owner car that has been babied since new.

Things to look for when buying: front shocks and strut bearings go with time. Check for oil leaks on the engine- Valve covers are prone to leaks. Leaking exhuast valve seals- blue smoke at startup. When was the timing belt done?

The only weak spot I know of is the distributor ignition modual, which is more prone to faliures on 93-96 cars. 97's got a multi coil ignition.

Avoid ones with Auto trans- apart from being less fun ( and fast ) they are prone to failure if not maintained. Manual is robust and clutches wear well.

For me, after buying mine, most work on the car has been cosmetic
( except struts, AC ), and it has yet to dissapoint or leave me stranded. Bear in mind though that parts are more expensive than average on this car, so when something does go it will cost you more. The V6 can be a b**** to work on too because it is shoehorned into the car.

Lots of aftermarket support exists for the car, both V6's and I4's. Intake, exhuast, engine, suspension and body parts, HID. How much do you want to spend and how fast? I know people who have very streetable MX-6's with modified Japanese KLZE's puting out 260+ HP. Even more with turbos.

I've yet to do anything serious with mine and I don't plan any body mods ( I like mine a sleeper ). When I get around to it, I'll put on a cold air intake ( cheap! ) and a Borla exhuast ( free flowing and quiet ) and wider 16" wheels. The car is a bit under tired with the stock rims/tires so this is a good investment. The roads in my town are so bad, I'd be crazy to lower it much.

4,000 is a reasonable price for one- US $ or CAD? Either way you should be able to get one at that price, though for USD 4,000 would get you a creampuff car.

Good luck!
 
i have a 93 and except for some idling problems, it's still great and runs autocrosses at 176,000mi. definitely check the valve cover gaskets, because oil will start to leak and it'll start to smell and DONT get an ATX, i'm on my second one cuz the original one went out when i got an intake (it was a really weird problem) hopefully you can find one in mint condition, and good luck !
 
Alphanumeric, are you in Las Vegas? I was just down there racing on Dec 10, I saw pictures of you and was hoping to meet you, perhaps I'll see you next time I'm in town? Find me on MX6.com as Ryan :)

93egt, like ANY car if they haven't been maintained they will be prone to problems, that said if you find a good one it will treat you very well. I too autocross mine in STX at 170k+ miles, my sister owns one, and I have two others in the wings, as well as two PGT's and have owned numerous ones in the past. And you'll love the gain with some basic bolt ons :)

Ryan
 
Thanks guys, that's what I wanted to hear. I probably won't get too crazy with it. Probably a good sounding, but quiet exhaust, cold air intake, 16" or 17" wheels, and still thinking about a body kit. That'll probably depend on how much I spend on the car itself.

It'll definitely be a 5 speed, i'll never buy another automatic again. My s10 and old dodge van are both autos and I've lost my patience with them. My first 2 cars, mustang v6 and escort gt, both had 5 speeds and I had so much fun with them, especially that little escort.

I'm still trying to decide between the v6 and 4 cylinder. I've seen v6's with around 100,000 miles sell for $3,000, but right now there are 3 4-cylinders in the paper, all with around 140,000 miles, for right around $1,000.

Anybody know what the difference for insurance costs would be between the 4 and 6? I imagine it wouldn't be much different without full coverage, but I was still on my parent's insurance policy when I had my first 2 cars.

Again, thanks for everyone's input
 
I have a mazda 626 1995 and its great got 92,000 miles on it if wouldn't have been cause I crashed it It would of still been kicking.Went thru 2 AT & changed to a MT & never failed me.Did i say it was a 2.0 4cly,it's great put some headers MSD & intake & drove sweet i really miss it hopefully i can fix it if not i'll put the engine on a 1995 protege.

P.S. The probe, 626 & MX-6 have the same engine 2.0 4 or 2.5 V6 all parts iterchange even the chassis components 1993-1997
 
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I'm actually down in dover, right outside of york. We went out to hanover and ran the circuit all the time back in high school when we didn't have anything better to do.
 
I definitely found the one i've been looking for. 97 Probe GT (GTS package, could someone tell me what this is?), 5 speed, 77k miles, maroon with black leather, absolutely perfect condition, every option ford offered except the automatic transmission, and for $4,499. The car has been maintained very well from how it appears, within the last 2 years the repair receipts add up to over $4,000. Among the other things are new gaskets in the top end and a new clutch.

http://carsbydealers.net/cbd/bigcar.html?id=148464

Let me know what you think about it. I think it's a heck of a deal for such a hard-to-find car. Blue book retail value is about $5,800.
 
Are there any "must have" mods for this car? It's already got some kind of dual exit aftermarket muffler on it, otherwise it seems to be all stock.
 
Here it is. She needs washed but that's a lost cause until the weather stabilizes a little bit and all the salt washes off the road.

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Let me know what you think. And I really do appreciate the input everyone has given me so far.
 
i say go for either the borla or greddy cat back.. (and an intake of course).. best sounding exhausts IMO.. the borla sounds nicer, but its the same size piping as stock (if memory serves me correctly).. the greddy has bigger pipes for more performance, but it has a huge exhaust tip.. or, you could get a custom exhaust fabbed up.. personally im a fan of magnaflow.. but any muffler would sound nice on that car as long as the RPMs are kept high.. theres nothing like the sound of that kl03 revving up to 7k @ WOT.. (former 2g probe owner.. current 1g owner)
 
oh yea, get the RR-racing shifter bushings and motor mount inserts.. also, check probeaddiction.com for mods, as well as corksport.com and rr-racing.com those are the main parts suppliers for the probe/mx6.. dont waste your money on a body kit.. if you drop the car, you;ll be surprised at how nice it looks.. and also: body kits tend to lower peoples interest in the car (should you choose to sell it one day) because not everyone has the same taste in body kits.. just my 2 cents.. :-D enjoy your probe..
 
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