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What should i do?

N

njk1

CEG'er
Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Messages
424
Location
Rochester NY
well heres the story... i bought a 95 contour with 125k from a friend of the family about three months ago for 250$ (amazing deal)... i was planning on just driving it for a little while then selling it, but now that ive been screwed by the mechanic (400$ for alternator) and now i just replaced the water pump, timing chain/belt (about another 400 including labor) i figured ill just keep the car now since id only be able to sell it for about 800$ and thats what i put in it the last month. So now comes to the point of what should i do to the car... Ill have an extra 1000$ by the end of the month so i was thinking this bodykit on ebay and this hood from andys auto sport... You guys think its worth it?

Thanks in advance
-Nick-
 
Welcome :) . Save the money for maintenance and repairs. At 12 years old, more will be coming. ;)

Edit. Not to scare you into walking, riding the bicycle or just depending on public transportation, but just to apprised you of the harsh realities of car ownership. Read this thread.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=5705
 
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Start checking things like wheel bearings, control arms, subframe brackets, struts, etc. Make sure they're all in good shape. If you start to notice some of those going bad, sell the car.
 
TourDeForce said:
Start checking things like wheel bearings, control arms, subframe brackets, struts, etc. Make sure they're all in good shape. If you start to notice some of those going bad, sell the car.
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What the.....??????? :nonono: :shrug:
 
I already made sure all that stuff was good and strong ( i learned my lesson from my last car) stuff just started falling apart...im pretty confident that the rest of the car is strong... i just want it to look better...
 
njk1 said:
I already made sure all that stuff was good and strong ( i learned my lesson from my last car) stuff just started falling apart...im pretty confident that the rest of the car is strong... .....
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Yes, but one curb hit and you need an alignment ($70) and how are the condition of the tires? A set of 4 with alignment and balancing, can easily run you $500. When was the last time the oil/oil filter was changed? $30, Tranny Fluid? $70, Coolant? $70, Brake fluid? $70, Spark plugs and wires? $200, Battery? $70, Brakes? $400, Fuel Filter? $70. Prices based on sending to a mechanic.

Edit. Do you have a Zetec 4 cylinder or a Duratec 6 cylinder?
 
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Ok time too add details i forgot, i changed the oil and filter when i got the car, due in about 200 more miles already bought oil and new filter, i also have the records from every oil change (person i bought from is manager at a delta sonic)obviously new coolant with the water pump, changed plugs and wires when i bought it, changed the brakes the day b4 alternator went...the tires arent in bad condition... I know people that work at tire shops, so i get allignments for basically nothing. i was thinking about changing tranny fluid dont know details on if its diff in a mtx.... thanks for the extra concern... maybe this will help a little more
 
Its a I4 maybe ill change the tranny fluid when i do the oil this weekend, also i know someone that just happens to have a few trannys for the zetec layin around (why i have no idea lol) just incase
 
njk1 said:
but now that ive been screwed by the mechanic (400$ for alternator)
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That price doesn't sound bad. I had my alternator replaced last month, and the bill was $515, not including the $70 for two days for a rental car, since the dealer didn't have any alternators in stock.

My Mystique was incredibly reliable for the first 200,000 miles, but in the last three months, it has become a money pit....so far, since October, I've spent over $3500 in maintenance.
 
Rims and Tires would be the only mod I would do. Adds alot and can be removed if you have to dump it.

-Andy
 
IRingTwyce said:
Don't forget the wiring harness crumbling. Check the Zetec Maintenance forums for info on rewiring. Do a search for 99m03.
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He's way out of warranty coverage on that anyway, so if it has to be fixed, it's going to be a problem...a big, expensive, messy problem.

The simple truth is, originally the car was a great deal, now with the money that's in it, not so great, and if you start throwing mods on it, it will turn into a money pit very quickly. I'll echo Andy with the rims & tires, but otherwise, $ave $ave $ave and if anything else major breaks, you might just consider that the end of your car's useful life.
 
Jeb Hoge said:
He's way out of warranty coverage on that anyway, so if it has to be fixed, it's going to be a problem...a big, expensive, messy problem.

The simple truth is, originally the car was a great deal, now with the money that's in it, not so great, and if you start throwing mods on it, it will turn into a money pit very quickly. I'll echo Andy with the rims & tires, but otherwise, $ave $ave $ave and if anything else major breaks, you might just consider that the end of your car's useful life.
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He's got a Zetec, and as long as he DOESN'T have ABS, the harness is less than $200. That and a weekend and he can fix it himself. If he has ABS, the cost just about doubles. My cost w/o ABS was $165, KerryKool's cost with ABS, IIRC, was somewhere on the order of $350 to $400. Where it gets ridiculously expensive is if it's a Duratec with ABS. Then you're looking at around $650 or more for the harness.
 
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IRingTwyce said:
He's got a Zetec, and as long as he DOESN'T have ABS, the harness is less than $200. That and a weekend and he can fix it himself. If he has ABS, the cost just about doubles. My cost w/o ABS was $165, KerryKool's cost with ABS, IIRC, was somewhere on the order of $350 to $400. Where it gets ridiculously expensive is if it's a Duratec with ABS. Then you're looking at around $650 or more for the harness.
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Yeah, but there are more than one harness. Or is that the cost for the kit?
 
That is the cost for the kit. My dealership actually wanted something like $190 or so for the harness. I told them what I could get them for via Bill ($150 + $15 shipping) and asked if they would price match. They did, and they arrived the next day. I was just impatient and didn't want to wait for them to ship from Nevada.
 
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If one gets 200K miles before the car starts to die, that is good service IMHO!

Also, a 12 year old car will not 'run like new', it has to be babied. Save the cash for 'emergency repairs', and get a good sound system.
 
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