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Sick of the Contour?

Sick of the Contour?

  • Drive it off a cliff

    Votes: 10 11.5%

  • Sell it, its got to many problems

    Votes: 4 4.6%

  • Build it up to be a beast

    Votes: 39 44.8%

  • Keep on maintaining it tell i can afford something better.

    Votes: 34 39.1%
  • Total voters
    87
i love my car. when I bought the 98 regal with the 3.8 in it, it was nice and all but I missed my tour. Everyone said to keep the regal because it was a smoother/quiter ride but guess what car I still own. Sold the regal and kept the tour, and it was been very very reliable so far. Sure there are minor things wrong with it, ebrake doesn't work, leaking oil, sunroof and door seals are fairly shot because of having to get into it after freezing rain the other day, and it doesn't look nearly as puuuuurty as it used to after hitting the deer....but I love it.
 
I started thinking about it like this. My SE has squeaks, rattles, thrums, and is a little stiff-legged and so forth. But so do most older, really fun to drive cars. Would you want an old BMW 6-series that rode like a Buick? Would you want a Mustang where you couldn't hear the engine rumble? Most of my favorite cars in the world are older ones anyway, so when it comes down to it, my paid-for, blemished Contour is basically part of the class of cars that I'd want to buy anyway. Older sleepers that are great to drive but don't look like a hoon's wet dream. And parts for it aren't going to be murderously expensive like they'd be for an original Merc 500E or a BMW M6.
 
I drove a V-6 Escape this weekend and remembered just how much I miss the Duratec. :cry: Damn is that a good engine!

I'm glad that I won't need to use a million extensions to change the alternator on any of my new cars, and that I now have 4 cars and none are fwd, but there is a lot about the Contour I miss.
 
as for myself.....having a hint of power is always nice. i havent had a great experience with the supercharger yet, but it's right there. i should know how that feels by the weekend.....and that's not really the SVT's fault anyhow. i have had little things break, and small problems...but nothing big. i think i could do anything to the car that i want. i think i could make 500HP on one, and run a 12 or faster. but it'll never be the cobra i want. i really wanted to have one of every type of SVT (cobra, contour, focus, lightning) but it'll only happen when i get a garage that can accomodate them all. by the time i finish what i forsee the contour to be, it'll have as much money as a cobra invested in it. as it sits i love the car, it handles great, and keeps with some of the big boys.... but it'll never go wheels up (unless i do something crazy) and run a 10.... even if it ran a 10, it wouldnt be enough to produce any adrenaline. something about RWD just appealed to me so much more...and if it means i have to sell my CSVT to get a SVTcobra i might just do it. if i do, i've got a supercharger for sale :D
 
I've had no problems with mine and I love it. Bought at 50k with 67k currently on the clock. If I do have problems, well so what? I paid about half as much as I would have for any other foreign car in it's class/year/mileage etc... and mine is more fun to drive anyway :cool:
 
ChattavegasSE said:
What an ass poll. What part of 'enthusiast' don't you get? Seriously, if this was a 'I hate my beater' board, then yeah, good post. Otherwise, what an absurd question to ask to people who love their cars.
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Not everyone on this board likes the Contour as much as you would think. Some people just stick around because its the most fun board to be on and people actually know what they are talking about.

No one made you post in this thread.
 
TRicker said:
as for myself.....having a hint of power is always nice. i havent had a great experience with the supercharger yet, but it's right there. i should know how that feels by the weekend.....and that's not really the SVT's fault anyhow. i have had little things break, and small problems...but nothing big. i think i could do anything to the car that i want. i think i could make 500HP on one, and run a 12 or faster. but it'll never be the cobra i want. i really wanted to have one of every type of SVT (cobra, contour, focus, lightning) but it'll only happen when i get a garage that can accomodate them all. by the time i finish what i forsee the contour to be, it'll have as much money as a cobra invested in it. as it sits i love the car, it handles great, and keeps with some of the big boys.... but it'll never go wheels up (unless i do something crazy) and run a 10.... even if it ran a 10, it wouldnt be enough to produce any adrenaline. something about RWD just appealed to me so much more...and if it means i have to sell my CSVT to get a SVTcobra i might just do it. if i do, i've got a supercharger for sale :D
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You nailed it on the head. Pretty much my exact sentiments.

For a person who loves modding cars and loves fast cars as much as i do, the contour isnt the platform for me.
 
Well, considering that the 1st ones were made nearly 13 years ago [1994], and the last ones in 2000, one can't expect them to "run like new". The last Kansas City cars were done about 7 years ago.

When cars hit 9-10 years old, parts start to just go out with age. Even Asian car from the mid 90's are hitting the bone yards.
 
Y2KGreenSE said:
Well, considering that the 1st ones were made nearly 13 years ago [1994], and the last ones in 2000, one can't expect them to "run like new". The last Kansas City cars were done about 7 years ago.

When cars hit 9-10 years old, parts start to just go out with age. Even Asian car from the mid 90's are hitting the bone yards.
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This is the problem with people. They buy a used vehicle, and then complain when they have to fix something. You want trouble free? Buy a brand new car! Hell, even brand new cars have problems! I'd say that 9 times out of 10, it isn't the vehicle's fault. It's previous owners that didn't keep up on maintenance. There are a few of us original owners on here, and I think we're the ones that have had the fewest problems.

Mark
 
I can't pick any of those options. Keep on maintaining it until it becomes too expensive/unreliable would be my choice.

My experience with my Contour has been great, and I appreciate how great the car drives just about every day, even with ~178,000 miles on it, with original shocks/struts!
 
Goonz SVT said:
def. keep on maintaining it but damm that mod bug is a killer once it hits :blackeye:


If I could afford a new car, I wouldnt think twice selling mine
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I can afford a new car, but I'm keeping my Contiques. I'll drive them into the ground. They handle well, they're comfortable, and the Mk II is just damn sexy if you ask me.

They've been fairly reliable, never left me or my family stranded. They do have the little problems, but those are hold-over from previous owners that I'm sorting out one at a time.

They're tough, seen lotsa accident pix that looked HORRID, but the occupants walked away from them, and I was hit HARD one day in my first Contour - the other guys car was totally trashed & had to be scraped from the road, you couldn't even push it off the travel lane, I drove my car home.

They're cheap to buy up front. I have yet to pay more than $3k for a Contique & I get lotsa miles outa them.

You need another entry in the poll for 'Keep it till the wheels fall off'
 
I drive about 30,000 miles a year, and for me, economics dictate keeping my cars as long as possible, basically driving them until it isn't economically justifiable sinking any more money into them. So for me, its not a matter how much I "love" a car or not, its purely dollars and cents. I've got 217,000 miles on my Mystique right now, and I'm hoping to keep it until at least 250,000 miles. I bought it new, and the first 210,000 miles were very maintenance free - just the ususal scheduled maintenance. In the last three months, I've sunk $3500 into both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, but hopefully, that money will enable me to get another 50,000 miles out of the car. Some people criticized me for putting over three times the money into the car than I could sell it for, but the alternative is spending $25,000 minimum for a new car. I have a lot of things in my life wanting their share of my finite bank account, so getting very bit of life out of my vehicle is important to me.
 
Y2KSVT said:
.... There are a few of us original owners on here, and I think we're the ones that have had the fewest problems.

Mark
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Amen. :)


Edit. I also echo Beachboy's sentiments. Spend $2,500 to $3,000 per year or $6,500 to $7,000 per year for the next 5 years (for a new $25K car). The choice is easy.
 
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Me and the SVT are a love hate relationship right now. Sure I have a few problems with it, but that'll be sorted out in time. I've put so much money into this car, it would be kind of dumb to sell it. So I'm keeping it... and I have money put away in the bank for some boost.

Also, i'm selling my camaro and buying a supercharged riv for my DD. Should be good, wo0t.
 
I have gone thru 3 tours. one 96 GL and 2 CSVT's the first two were totalled out and the 3 I decided to buy because it was cheaper for me to swap my 3L and other parts into than it was to pay for a new car, or even a new to me car.

But to be honest, I love the car! I get looks from people who are car buffs and they like it. And it has saved my life when the other car was toast. I figure I will drive it to the ground, save money for a second car, and fix the tour until I can't get parts for it any longer.

I truly only wish for a new car when it comes to needing AWD for snow trips and I can't justify spending the money on a new car for just for a few times a year
 
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My CSVT

My CSVT

I would keep mine but just the other day swerved out of control from avoidinng a deer and spun out into a ditch. But I just got done putting a new trans and enginge in it totaling over $5,000 and now have no use for it and probably wont get more than a thousand for it. It most likely would have gone another 2 years with mionr problems but now have to get a new car. I LOVED IT AND WILL STILL LOVE IT. I wouldnt buy another though just because of all the problems i did have with it. So if anyone in the michigan area needs parts i got lots of them but all will have to be from the front of the car because the back of the caar is pushed into the backseat.
 
rcksvtcontour said:
I would keep mine but just the other day swerved out of control from avoidinng a deer and spun out into a ditch. But I just got done putting a new trans and enginge in it totaling over $5,000 and now have no use for it and probably wont get more than a thousand for it. It most likely would have gone another 2 years with mionr problems but now have to get a new car. I LOVED IT AND WILL STILL LOVE IT. I wouldnt buy another though just because of all the problems i did have with it. So if anyone in the michigan area needs parts i got lots of them but all will have to be from the front of the car because the back of the caar is pushed into the backseat.
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Holy crap that sucks. I almost hit a deer Friday night, there were cars oncoming and a deer ran out into the road, changed it's mind, then went back. Luckily me & the other guy stopped in time and didn't swerve out of our lanes.
 
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