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OK, here's my situation. My 1990 protoge is dying and I'm looking to upgrade to a fun, reliable ride that isn't expensive to fix.

My first look was at 1994/5 Probes. The test-rides had me grinning for days, but after taking a few to my mechanic, I was told it was a great car, but to expect significant regular maintenance costs.

I know most you you out there are serious MX-3 enthusists. I need your honset opinions. I going back to school and won't have the income to afford expensive repairs. I'm looking at a 1993 or 1994 with about 150,000-200,000 kms. What sort of repairs did you run into? How much did they cost? Basically, what should I expect if I buy this car? Based on the maintenance costs, should I wait until I graduate?

Thanks!

Ryan

Well.. I have had my car for over a year now and the only thing that I have had done was the top pan gasket which was 15 dollars..

Then theres other stuff like brakes, oil changes and tires that you can avoid no matter what you drive.. If youre looking for the ultimate relyable car then I would say a 4 cyl mx-3.. try and get a 94 and up because the engine is more powerful. As is to my understanding the v6 mx3 has problems with burning oil because the valve seals give out after 100,000 km's. Everyone I know who owns one said that it burns oil like a bastard they have to keep filling it up when they get gas.
I would say get a 4 cyl man and keep maintaining it.. regular oil changes and general care. My car has 250,000 km's on it with the original engine and gearbox and it is still going strong and dosent burn a drop of oil.
I dont really know the prices on parts for it but I dont think they are too bad. I havent had to replace anything yet so I dont really know.. but they arent really anymore expensive than what parts usually cost for your average car.

the 93-98 probeGT's are based around the same drive train as the 91-98 MX-3 GS's so the repair costs will be simmilar.

R-man, Curt,

Thanks for the info!

Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

Hmmmmmm.

One suggestion, check the car out, make sure its been taken care of. Cuz its either beaten to death like crazy downshifts, doughnuts, burnouts, take offs, handbrake tricks and a bunch of other stuff which will just kill the car, or its been babied since the birthday.
My suggestion based on your budget is: dont buy a 6 Cyl under any circumstances, since most have well about 130-180K KMs and there are some stuff which can come up at this age, cam gears, water pump, power steering pump, and a bunch of other expensive stuff; and if you need to change the T-belt, its one of the expensive ones since its pretty hard to replace because of lack of workspace. its also pretty thristy when it comes to gas, full tank lasts you no more than 300-350 KMs. But on the upside it would be one of the funnest and powerful(130HP)cars to drive at the price and you get hell many options that you cant find on any other car at that price, such as power windows, power sunroof, power mirrors, and if you are lucky and find an SE version, you will have leather seats and seat heater.

but again, it all comes out to your taste and decision.

As for repair costs eeep. I havnt had any real serious problems. Minues the whole blowing up a tranny thing but that is avoidable if you dont race the crap out of it and get tons of wheel hop.

The v6 drive train is shared between the mx3 and the probe as is the i4 between the mx3 and the protege so expect the same problems you have had. Either way imo any of he car listed above are fairly reliable and as long as there not automatic they should not be problematic

I bought my mx-3 with the V6, even though I am now on motor number seven they are a great little car. I bought the car used with 68k on her and when it reached 180k the number 4 journal was non existant. I picked up another mtr. at a yard in London which last me 3 months and once again number 4 journal went. Anyway I finally got so p****d that by the time it wqas ready for motor number 7 I bought a brand new one from Japan Auto Parts in Toronto for 2300.00, dropped it in the hole in July and have not had a problem since. Other than the motors which is all related to operator technique the only thing I've had to replace is the clutch. If you take care of the car it will last you for a very long time and bring you a lot of fun.

my GS is about to hit 100,000 miles and it doesnt burn hardly any oil at all. i might have to add maybe a half quart of oil each change. my car was also owned by one person since it was new and never raced or got on it. i guess i was just lucky. i also have been running synthetic oil for the last 15 thousand miles...

my gs is sitting at 178,000 miles, needs a valve job but im swapping engines begining of january so no point of fixing the 1.8

Most if not all the maintenance issues are going to be the same between the probes/mx-6 and mx3 gs.
Your asking a tough question with a lot of variables. Remember this, any car you get with high miles wether it be an american or import will have maintenance issues. The question you need to answer is how well the car was maintained up to your purchase. Ask to see maintenance records. if they mysteriously dissappeared or were somehow misplaced then flags should go up in your head, hey they are probably hiding something.
As for the fun factor, stick with the v6's and keep that smile on your face.

I am the original owner of a 93 mx-3 GS. 136,000 miles and ten years later the car still runs and looks as good as the day we drove it of the lot.
I have taken very good care of it and it still puts a smile on my face whenever I drive it.

If your still looking at mx-3's then I can give you a list of things to look for in the maintenance book.
Andy P. 93 GS

i have a 92' GS... before i bought it for $950 it had the **** beat out of it. it was also wrecked at LEAST a couple of times.

i've fixed it up and haven't broken anything twice yet (knock on wood) so gradually it's becoming a better car. if you can find a GS that was taken care of i'd get it. problem is finding one like that lol. i don't care if it has 400,000 miles on it, as long as it was taken care of it'll treat you good as long as you do the same. and if you do want to beat the **** out of it be sure to upgrade first.

CV joints on my car are totally suck. I need to replace those jams, but I just keep spending money on audio and interior stuff. I'm a tard. Some dude told me he could do it for like $120 parts and labor. I have yet to look into it.

Originally posted by kuruption1983:
One suggestion, check the car out, make sure its been taken care of. Cuz its either beaten to death like crazy downshifts, doughnuts, burnouts, take offs, handbrake tricks and a bunch of other stuff which will just kill the car, or its been babied since the birthday.
My suggestion based on your budget is: dont buy a 6 Cyl under any circumstances, since most have well about 130-180K KMs and there are some stuff which can come up at this age, cam gears, water pump, power steering pump, and a bunch of other expensive stuff; and if you need to change the T-belt, its one of the expensive ones since its pretty hard to replace because of lack of workspace. its also pretty thristy when it comes to gas, full tank lasts you no more than 300-350 KMs. But on the upside it would be one of the funnest and powerful(130HP)cars to drive at the price and you get hell many options that you cant find on any other car at that price, such as power windows, power sunroof, power mirrors, and if you are lucky and find an SE version, you will have leather seats and seat heater.

but again, it all comes out to your taste and decision.

not all SE's came with seat warmers, only canadian, also they're available in raspberry metallic(mine) and some white ones I think I saw, also GS (mine) even has little "touch" buttons on both doors to take electrostatic shock off of you, when you come out of car.