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Opinions please?

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BadDoctorFrost

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
835
Location
Fargo, ND
So as much as I love my little Scooby, it just doesn't measure up to the old CDW. As much as I'd love to have an SVT, I just can't pay cash for one right now. Therefore, I have been looking for 95-96 SEs, or a 95-96 Mystique LS. I've only found two so far..a 95 SE and a 96 SE. They're both around $2500..is that a good price? It's been a while since I've looked at these seriously..

1FALP67L7TK210654%2D1.jpg

The '96 SE: 124K miles, cloth seats, no moonroof, Moonlight Blue (fave color) and, IMO, the best year

http://autos.keepitlocal.com/inventory/details.asp?vt=0&RID=2&CarID=686996
The '95 SE: 138K miles, leather, sunroof...but it's a 95 with the ugly chrome strips and I'm not a huge fan of the color. It looks like T-Red, but I thought the only reds available in 1995 were Electric Red and Midnight Red...

All opinions welcome.
 
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For some reason, the first link isn't working. It takes you to the carsoup main page.

As for the '95 SE, it looks to be pretty decent. It has less miles than my '00 SVT!!!! I'd say if it's mechanically sound, then why not?
 
Weird. The first link works fine, but I can't see the car in the second pic. Is the blue one a V6? If so, then most definitely the blue one! I love that color as well. Plus, the blue is a 96, so you've got OBDII. The 95 is OBDI. The prices seem a tad high to me, but that'sjust my opinion.

MOST IMPORTANTLY...check both cars to see if the engine harnesses are cracking. Without a doubt, if either or both of them have cracking harnesses, WALK AWAY! You're looking at another two grand or so to have it repaired.
 
Is there a Craigslist for North Dakota? Pre98 Contours are wicked cheap on boston.craigslist.org.
 
They're both SEs, so yes, they both have V6s. Personally, I'd never own a Zetec; I've driven some as loaner cars and there's just something about them that strikes me as off. I know all about the wiring harness issue as my last one was a '95, however I never had an issue with it in all the 143,846 miles it was driven. What would be a fair offer for these? I was thinking around $2200, but I dunno...
 
I'm pretty sure the '95 is a T-red. The '95 also happenes to be an automatic. If the '96 is a stick, that'd be the one to get.
 
The '95 is Electric Red. No T-red in '95.
Myself, I'd hold out for one with an mtx, and stick with the SE over an LS.
 
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As BadDoctorFrost said, check the wiring harnesses for cracks. If you don't know what that is about, look up and read the info on wiring harnesses and READ THE TSB!! it tells you exactly where to look and it says in part if you find even a slight crack it these areas ALL the wiring harnesses listed for that car / engine / options MUST be replaced. So if you see a crack, RUN, as the fix is usually more than the car is worth! Oy WHile your leavine Tell the dealer about the TSB and the problem so in the future he can't say he didn't know. Not that I'd expect them to do the right thing and fix it, or reveal it to a buyer, but you will know they know.

If you have the choise of a ATX or MTX go with the stick shift. With the ATX it is not if it is going to break, but when is it going to break. Other than that the prices are about what you can expect from a dealer which is about twice what they are worth.

I like the blue too.

my 2 cents
 
Definately go for the '96, if it's a manual that is. I love my old '96 SE. It's not as fast as my SVT, of course. But it is honestly just as satisfying to drive.:cool:
 
Alright, slight update. I went and looked at the blue one on Saturday. I couldn't drive it much since the transmission was having issues that day (it's having a new one installed this week) but there's one thing (besides the tranny) that concerns me. It appears as if it doesn't have ABS. I was thinking that, since I have a loaded up '95 that I can take parts from, would it be possible to take the ABS/TCS setup from mine and install it on the "new" one so I would have ABS and TC? I really like the car and it would be perfect if it only has ABS. Thanks again!
 
As far as I know, all '96 SE's came standard with ABS. Whether it stll works or not it still works is a different story.
 
Why do you want ABS? I hate it personally, always causes me to slide into intersections when it's snowing out because it activates (no matter how slow I'm going). Pumping the brake worked fine if I needed to come to a quick stop in my 98 SE.
 
Rouar said:
Why do you want ABS? I hate it personally, always causes me to slide into intersections when it's snowing out because it activates (no matter how slow I'm going). Pumping the brake worked fine if I needed to come to a quick stop in my 98 SE.
Click to expand...

No doubt I hate ABS too, it's just an excuse for people that can't drive. :laugh:
I like that blue 96 no chrome standard V6 plus I like blue. :D
 
I've been thinking of buying a MTX 95-97 SE for a winter car next year. The SVT is pretty clean underneath and I want to keep it that way.

$2500 seems like a lot to me, but if the 96 is getting a new transaxle, then it's probably worth it. I'll be looking to pay $1500-2000CDN for a SE around here. I'm hoping to get something similar for my 95LX V6 auto.
 
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