From: Harv@cup.portal.com (Harv R Laser)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Probe / Mercury Capri / Ford Capri - Which?
Date: Tue,  6 Oct 92 00:17:50 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
  <1992Oct4.232255.18081@koko.csustan.edu>
  <1992Oct5.090258.1@sdl.mdcbbs.com>
  <1992Oct5.173435.11091@koko.csustan.edu>

I owned a Ford Capri 2.8 V-6 until a few months ago. I bought the car
used when it had about 40,000 miles on it and when I got rid of it
it had about 110,000 miles on it. When I bought it, it was in excellent
shape, no body rot or rust, ran strong, all systems worked fine (the
car was air conditioned and had the sliding steel sunroof). It was
a 1977 model, the last year the Capri was imported into the US and
marketed thru Lincon-Mercury dealers here. The car had a 4-speed
trans, a piece-of-crap in-dash Sanyo cassette stereo that the previous
owner had installed, and the "fancy" stock wheels. The "Ghia" model.

Over the course of the years that I owned it, nearly every major 
system on the car failed in one way or another. The clutch had to
be rebuilt twice.  The synchros on the trans got sloppier and 
grindier.  It didn't leak a drop of oil at 40,000 miles but by
the time I sold it, it was leaking oil, leaking power steering
fluid, leaking coolant, and leaking brake fluid. Besides the major
systems, many minor mechanicals and trim pieces went to mars.
The return-to-center mechanism in the turn signal lever broke.
The windshield washer fluid squirter broke. I went thru three
batteries which had weird bolt-on cable terminators such that 
no one but a Ford dealer could supply them.  Every little plastic
hook that suspended the rear cargo vinyl cover broke. The driver's
seatback tilter lever broke. The brakes were a horror story, and
the master cylinder and all the slaves were replaced twice. 
The power steering either hissed or shuddered. The car became a
travelling version of what Tom Hanks suffered in the recent
film "The Money Pit."  Oddly enough I never had to have the engine
rebuilt, but I always expected to.
Parts became harder and harder to source. "It's out of the book"
were words spoken to me more and more often each time I visited
the local dealer to source original parts. Although I religiously
washed and waxed the original metallic green paint for a couple
of years, finally the paintjob turned to that lovely oxidized
crud so reminicent of sandpaper. 

I was so glad to be rid of the Capri the day I traded it in
(on a '90 Taurus wagon) that when I drove it to the dealer and
left it parked outside the showroom, I didn't even turn around
to give it a wistful glance goodbye. 

Now I don't think I abused the car at all.  I took care of it
and spent quite a bit of money maintaining it. I had a fair case
of that common disease known as "pride of ownership."  But it
didn't treat me well in return.  It asked for more and more of
my money to be spent on it. It demanded higher and higher grades
of gasoline or else it would ping at me in vengence. Even lovingly
washing and waxing and armoralling and it still faded away to crap.
So unless you can get yourself a second Capri to store in your
backyard and cannibalize for parts, I would, in the strongest
possible terms, advise anyone who is even remotely considering
buying one of these things, to avoid the temptation. 

Harv
Xref: sparky rec.autos:23178 rec.autos.driving:5820