Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches Northeast Need some sound advice

Hello my fellow fans of everything Tour.

Some of you guys might recognize the name, and wonder where in the bejeezus I've been hiding. Well getting married and looking for a real job kind of have a knack of killing any free time one used to have .

So here is my dilemma. I love my tour. a 99 SVT, tropic green. I remember the day I brought her home from the dealer, all gleaming, shining, and noisy (my dad swore that I had to take the car back because it just made too much noise, its a sport tuned stainless steel exhaust dad.) I was a proud papa, and still remember my first race, a 2000 stock Mustang GT, boy did I make that guy go home with his tail between his legs. The tour was always garage kept, always maintained, keeping mileage was always a big issue for me, I had an old bronco I beat around in. A few years after getting the tour, I was forced to sell one of my vehicles, did I keep the bronco, and sell the tour, or vice versa. Well, I kept the tour. The tour became a daily driver, my "everyday vehicle" and today she approaches the 60k mark (ouch). I hate to say this, but I'm at a point where the Contour is nothing more than "old reliable" to me. She is picking up chips, scratches, and bumps that everyday traffic will do. Hell the car even has hail damage on it from a hail storm two weeks ago. Unfortunately the car doesn't excite me anymore .

I can sell the car, and get myself a very nice Mazda 6 (because I work for Mazda), and keep the money from the car. I can go the other route and turn that baby into the badass street machine I intended to have her be when I first bought her and "invest" a ton of money. My problem is the fact that I see my tour as the everyday car, the daily grind, and I can't get past this.

Someone please help , please set me straight. Let me know what you would do if in my shoes, I need to make a decision soon so that I know whether to order my new Mazda 6 or not (of course V6 5spd would be in order, although I would just as quickly get an RX8, if the top brass at the company didn't put a hold on employees getting the car).

The tour will be needing some suspension maintenance (squeaky bushings that need replacement) and a tune up. Also, I am almost certain one of my rims is bent, so a nice new set wouldn't look to shabby. A nice coat of paint wouldn't be a bad idea. What about redoing the intake...etc..etc... You see what I mean.

Help
Confused NJSVT

i did just what you are thinking of doing about a month ago. picked up a lapis blue mazda6, loaded! sold the svt and have NO complaints though I got less than what I was hoping for it when I sold it... anyway, they're two total different cars though so make sure you test drive it to make sure that's what you want. the svt is more "sport" oriented than the 6. very different suspensions. i think the 6 is more on the luxury side of things than sport, though it handles great and has plenty of power! i give my vote to the 6! if you can find what you want, you can pick up an 03 for a steal right about now. mine was stickered at almost $28k and i got it for $22,800 which was $1500 below invoice, and I got bank financing of 3.4% to boot!

there are alot of cars i want but i honestly don't tihnk i could ever sell my car. i love it too much. I used to say i'd probably sell it if i could walk away clean...but i thought about it and i can't. I've never driven anything quite like this car before. I will have other cars i want but im always going to keep my svt.

I was in a similar siutation earlier this year when I started losing my "enthusiasm" for my SVT.

I picked up a 97 Explorer SLT as a daily driver and left the SVT for weekend cruising.

End result:
1. My enthusiasm has returned
2. I appreciate the SVT much more now
3. daily driver keeps the milage down

I test drove the Mazda 6 - nice car, but:
~ I didn't want to "start over" as far as mods go
~ I enjoy modding the same car w/ the many CEG friends I have made

I would consider picking up a daily driver/beater and starting to lightly mod the SVT - intake, Zaino, optimize the TB, knauberize, y-pipe, exhaust, etc.

I was once in your shoes.
Faced with trading in my SE Sport for a shiny new Mazda 6s.
My salesman actually talked me OUT of buying it !

Here was his arguement.

1st - Contour is paid off...
2nd - Mazda 6 is in its 1st year. Improvements will be made next year, making it possibly a better choice.
3rd - Contour is Paid Off...
4th - The V6 Duratec in the Mazda is the same engine as in the Contour. With Variable Valve timing on the first year, it is prone to problems as it gets older. Wait for the 2004 model.
5th - The Contour is PAID OFF...

I'm glad I didn't get it when I did.
I would have been paying a loan at 5.6% instead of the 0% they are offering now.

But now I'm looking for a REAL Performance car,
that is under $35,000.

2004 Pontiac GTO..... Zoom, Zoom, See ya later !!!

A few things... in your situation maybe you would want to keep the SVT. I'm prone to keeping a car until about 70k or 80k miles and then going on to the next one. I usually try to avoid the times when repairs will need to be made. My SVT was running solid, but you just never know. If things did start happening to it I really don't have the time to deal with it. I have a new job and it will be taking up a lot of my time. So something new was definitely the right choice for me. I do miss the SVT, I've never driven a car quite like it. As far as the engine goes, I know the 6 and the SVT both have duratecs but I don't even know how that makes them similar. The 6 has a 3.0 with S-VT. More tq and more hp. And the great thing that I'm starting to see, is that if I do decide to mod down the road there is excellent gains being had over simple mods. One guy claims a 30+ hp gain from intake and exhaust. Which is very possible, I know the exhaust is pretty darn restrictive on this car. Anyway, it's apples and oranges. I fell in love with the 6 the same way I did with the SVT. I guess I'm just getting to a point where I really wanted some more luxury mixed in with the sport.

Hey Dan,

First of all I'm glad to hear that you are loving your six. I work for Mazda's Northeast region (I saw you bought yours at Maxon, they are one of our dealers).

I'm feeling the way you described, I love the tour (like I mentioned though, she's scratched and scraped from daily driving and one to many high angle driveways) but I think I might want a little more luxury. What you are driving is what I want, and I can do a company lease where Mazda picks up the tab on insurance, maintenance, and I get a company gas card. Then there is the issue that I can sell the tour now, and make some cash, where if I wait and mod, I'll spend money and never make a dime of it back.

Why was it easier to get married than to decide on whether to sell the car?

Dave "NJSVT"

Congratulations dude.

Can't help you with the band, unless you wouldn't mind one that sings in portuguese.

If I decide to sell the mean green machine, any recommendations?

Congratulations again.

Dave NJSVT