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Might be buying a 96 SE... need advice

S

sk8token

CEG'er
Joined
Mar 19, 2002
Messages
83
Location
Tucson, Arizona
I'm in California right now for work and I've found what I think is a pretty mint 96 SE Contour. It's a one owner car, has 68K miles on it, TRed, 5spd, Leather, ABS... etc.

I might buy this thing so I would like to be as prepared as possible. What are some good things to watch out for in general and during test drive, etc. I know the Duratecs have the plastic impeller water pumps, so I'm going to ask about that.

I am already pretty familiar with pre-98's but not the Duratec since I have a Zetec.

I guess what worries me most is the wiring harness, whether its been replaced or not, and if not, what kind of shape it's in. On a Saturday do you think I'd be able to take the Vin to a Ford dealer and have them run an Oasis report on it?

It's a private party seller. I'm specifically going to ask them what recall work has been done to it, and if they don't know of anything I'm going to produce the 53 page Wiring harness recall notice. They are older people, so I will have to be careful not to come across like I'm insulting them. Then I would probably tell them my predicament.. I want the car, don't want the pending corroding wiring harnesses. Hopefully I can determine pretty quickly if the fix has been done or not.

I wonder if the car would still be within the 10 year warranty range since it's a 96? Probably a long shot. Mileage is well under the 100K, but that damn 10 year restriction.

Anyway, would appreciate any advice on harnesses or what to look out for on V-6 contours in general. I really hope it works out!
 
although it was still an issue... The 96 wasnt as bad for that problem as the 95's were. Although I believe you may be covered for that problem because IIRC Ford extended that warrenty.
 
Extended warrenty was 150k or 10 years IIRC, so getting it fixed for free would be out of the questions.

As for the wiring harness, I have two 96's and I have no sign of wiring harness problems. Like Alias said, The only ones i've seen that went bad are 95's.
 
Im pretty sure the recall only goes up until 100,000 miles or 10 years, so don't sweat it... I think you HAD to buy your harnesses. Good luck on the project!

By the way, where can I find out how much harnesses are for the 2.5? I tried to find them on Team Ford but with no luck.
 
The kit number for a '96, V6, MTX with MECA II, w/ ABS is
F6RZ-14K289-S6MC

The kit number for a '96, V6, MTX with MECA III, w/ ABS is
F6RZ-14K289-S6MD

I don't know what the MECA II/III is, so you'll want to check with a dealer before ordering. Also, I didn't find either part number on the Team Ford site either. So check with your dealer. I was able to talk mine down to pretty close to what Bill was charging, so don't be afraid to dicker with them.

From looking at the recall print-out (which the dealer printed out, not knowing it was 54 pages long!) the V6 harness is much more involved than the I4 harness I'm doing. The labor allowances listed in the recall show 6.9 hours for the 6 versus 1.9 hours for the 4. Personally, I think they were smoking crack when they generated those numbers, as I have over 8 hours in mine (I have had to cut and solder 3 connectors, as 3 new connectors were completely different than what was on my car). Just be prepared to have your car out of commission for a few days should you decide to attempt this.

If the car does indeed need the wiring, you should get a HUGE discount on it. Dealer cost to do the wiring is somewhere around a grand or more for the V6, so take this into account when purchasing. You should be able to do it yourself for a few hundred though. The I4 harness cost me right at $165 after tax. So combining that with my $200 purchase price of the car, and I'm looking at less than $400 for a car I could turn around and sell for $1000-$1500.

Good luck!!
 
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sk8token said:
...96 SE Contour. It's a one owner car, has 68K miles on it, TRed, 5spd, Leather, ABS... etc.

...... I know the Duratecs have the plastic impeller water pumps, so I'm going to ask about that.
.........I guess what worries me most is the wiring harness, whether its been replaced or not, and if not, what kind of shape it's in. On a Saturday do you think I'd be able to take the Vin to a Ford dealer and have them run an Oasis report on it?

It's a private party seller. I'm specifically going to ask them what recall work has been done to it, and if they don't know of anything I'm going to produce the 53 page Wiring harness recall notice. They are older people, so I will have to be careful not to come across like I'm insulting them. Then I would probably tell them my predicament.. I want the car, don't want the pending corroding wiring harnesses. Hopefully I can determine pretty quickly if the fix has been done or not.

I wonder if the car would still be within the 10 year warranty range since it's a 96? Probably a long shot. Mileage is well under the 100K, but that damn 10 year restriction.
.......!
Click to expand...

Unless the original date of sale is less than 10 years, you are past the extended warranty for the wiring harness issue. Unfortunately, the cracked or "corroding" harness usually occurs first under the UIM (main harness) and under the Power Distribution Box next to the battery. Trying to check it during a 10 minute test drive would be tough. Not sure if it would be in the OASIS system if it is past the 10 year mark or if it has been done or if it is not covered.

As for the water pump, if you are not sure, just change it.
 
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Fell through

Fell through

Well, I knew it was too good to be true. This old lady tells me last night that the earliest she can show the car to me is 2 PM today. I even asked her "OK, so nobody is going to see it before me right?" I am all set to be there at 1:30-1:45, and so I call her before coming over, and she tells me the car is sold. Godf$ckingdamnityoustupid*****!!!

Turns out her husband left it home instead of taking it with him to work afterall, so it was there all morning for someone to come and look/agree to buy, and steal it right out from under me. I hate dealing with people, and this sours me even more... god damnit... it was one of those deal of the century type cars. The car probably went to someone that would enjoy it, appreciate it, and take care of it about 1/100th of what I would.

I wish there was some way I could buy a car without having to deal with stupid F*cking people. Worst part of it is that she put me on an uneven playing field...how do I stand a chance at picking up the car if you let other people come and see it before me.... but what does she care, the car sold, right? F*CKKKKK!!!!!
 
Too bad, but you never know, you might have ended up with a money pit if the harness warranty was expired. Keep an eye out for '97 SEs.
 
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