Faults:

I've had to get an entire new timing kit, serpentine belt, fuel injectors, exhaust, brakes and rotors (which is routine maintenance really), sunroof doesn't work, 2 alternators, fuel pump... and a few other things that weren't AS pricey. I.E. overheating issues.

General Comments:

I have the V6 GT, and I've spent more in repairs on the car than I paid for the car itself. It doesn't even have 150k miles on it, yet it's sitting in my driveway and I'm riding a bike 12 miles to work.

In the past 3 months, I've put 2000 dollars into repairs on this car. Now the transmission is blown and it needs a valve job (even though I HAVE maintained it), and I'm so fed up that I can't stand to put another dollar into it. I'm done.

This car is the biggest money pit! I bought it because I fell in love with its appearance, and now I know that I should have done some research, and I would have seen that so many other people are in the same boat with the Probe.

Faults:

Eh... I just bought it as of October 30, 2009. I would say the reliability of this car is somewhat easy to predict since the engine/transmission combo got lots of use in a number of different cars. I'm not really anticipating any serious problems.

The A/C does not work, which I find particularly annoying, but many cars from the mid 90's have A/C systems that gave up the ghost years ago.

General Comments:

When this car came out, all the "Sport Compact" magazines that are usually modifying Hondas and Nissans predicted a bright future for the Probe GT with the V6. As it turns out, this car never really had the shine in the market that the magazine writers anticipated. That also means that the needed aftermarket parts to put this car at 250 horsepower are not as widely known about as the modifications for the Integras or Miatas. If you're expecting "SHO-like" performance out of this car in stock form... Forget it.

The rev-happy V6 has the potential, but without the extra .5 liter, variable manifolds and electronic ignition of the Gen2 SHO, it won't get there without after market support.

As far as the stock ride, handling and brakes. They are pretty good for a mid-90's "performance" car from Ford, which usually does not put big enough brakes on their cars in an effort to save money, and seriously annoy its customers that know better.

The interior really isn't anything special. At this point, the only thing that can make it special is the previous owner. What I have noticed is the tendency for the seat to rip on the backrest where your left shoulder blade will rest as you drive. The cup holders are a worthless waste of time and space, particularly for me since I do not eat or drink in my cars. Even if I did, these cupholders would cause more spills than they could ever prevent.

The 2nd and final generation of the Probe GT is a pretty cool car that would have appeal for a teenager as a first car, or a 2nd car for someone that wanted one back when they were new. I fall into the 2nd category.