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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 103
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 103 |
I bought my car in April of this year for $2900 (1.00 $Cdn = $0.02 US) What a deal! To pass the safety check I had to get the muffler, centre pipe, front coils and safety belts fixed. The coils didn't cost anything since they were under recall.
However, since then I have had to replace a bunch of other stuff. I guess I didn't have to replace the cup holders (Ford has upgraded the part to a single cup holder from a dual cupholder) nor the instrument bezel (it was clouded) but the other stuff was quite necessary. I hope it will end soon as my wife is ribbing me mercilessly for all the money I "saved" by replacing my 1990 Civic Si (which was perilously close to its last legs) with this 1996 Mercury Mystique GS.
All this said, this car handles better than any VW I've had (1988 and 1990 Jetta GTX 16V, 2 x 1991 Passat GL) and is very nice looking to boot. I upgraded the 185/70R14 all-season rim protectors that it came with to 205/60HR15 performance rubber. The paint glows, the interior is spotless and it runs like a charm.
Stuff Replaced:
Exhaust
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muffler
centre pipe
catalytic converter
Engine
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timing belt
idler pullies
tensioner pully and spring
water pump
Electrical
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bulb in CD head unit
bulb for instrument panel clock
2 x bulbs for high mount brake light
3 x bulbs for illuminated inside door handles
Miscellaneous
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cup holder
instrument bezel
rear driver's side belt buckle assembly
Suspension
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both front coils (under recall)
RR coil and strut
Total Cost: $2600!
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
'96 Mystique GS, ATX
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 291
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 291 |
Welcome to our world! These cars are high maintenance, high satisfaction vehicles. Kinda' like a demanding, super model girlfriend.
I've owned my 95 since new and I have stories to tell....
Redcoat Raceworks. Performance parts and custom fabricating for Contours, Mystiques and Cougars. Specializing in chassis and suspension parts. Custom end links, control arms, strut tower bars, engine torque braces, etc.
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 3,345
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 3,345 |
Originally posted by Bradness:
Welcome to our world! These cars are high maintenance, high satisfaction vehicles. Kinda' like a demanding, super model girlfriend.
Too true...although in some ways I would rather the supermodel girlfriend.  
1996 MM
Zetec, ATX
192000 kms...not dead, but I'm not fixing it
White people love Wayne Brady because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 465
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 465 |
If you want to get into do-it-yourself car maintenance and repair, there's no better vehicle than ours to start out on. Just think of the knowledge you'll pick up after owning a contique for a few years.
Old car: '98 SVT T-Red
K&N air filter; Ford Focus RS shift knob. Off to be auctioned off somewhere.
New car: 2003 Honda Accord DX Sedan, 5-speed.
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 802
Veteran CEG\'er
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Veteran CEG\'er
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 802 |
I love all 3 contours and even when theres a few quality control problems, I still end up with a great car.
New Pics of OUTKAST 1!Sept2006
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,195
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,195 |
Not to mention how plentiful & cheap the parts are...
1999 Sportage 4x4...don't go there, it was free
....______o_o
.../_l l__\____\
..|--l l__----[]\|/[]
.....................oo
=( )_)----( )_)--)_)
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,044
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,044 |
You've replaced a fair amount of the common wear items. If you can stay away from the dealer you can save a lot of $$. This site is a great reference for trouble shooting which will save money by making sure that only bad parts get replaced. (It seems like some shops are not up to date on these cars and will throw the wrong parts at a simple problem.) Stay tuned for wheel bearing noises, idling or rough running, we're here to help!! I tinker with my 'tour a lot, but it's actually very consistent and reliable.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 53
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 53 |
I've had my '95 since'95. At the 3 year mark, I bought the extended warranty, it cost about $1200 and to be honest, it gave me piece of mind, but I only came close to recovering that in repair costs (and of course that was dealership rates which are pricey). In reality, I could've not got the extended warranty and probably spent about $400-500 for stuff at a normal shop for the first 7 years of ownership. (I'm not counting tires and brakes...) just other stuff (sensors, gaskets etc). That's not bad in my books. The upside of the warranty was being able to push to get marginal stuff fixed with the idea of having a car in better shape when it comes off warranty.
Of course now it's off warranty, so I'm more inclined to do my own wrenching on the car. I paid the dealer to do plugs & wires last summer and vowed never again will it go to the dealer (barring recall).
Anyway, whether you do any wrenching yourself or not, you might think about investing in a manual so you can at least see what's involved when someone is quoting a price... also if you have a laptop, maybe an OBDII reader so you can read your own error codes (like the one they just did a group buy on here).
When I bought the car, they were suppossed to be Ford's "world car" and set new performance and durability (hence "duratec") benchmarks for relatively inexpensive mid sized cars.... I don't think they missed by too much. They never quite caught on the way I'd hoped/expected they would, but I test drove most other cars in the class at the time, and the contour did feel worlds better than most (to me).
Brent
95 SE MTX (only 104K km!)
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 103
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 103 |
Originally posted by Brent 95 SE:
I've had my '95 since'95. At the 3 year mark, I bought the extended warranty, it cost about $1200 and to be honest, it gave me piece of mind, but I only came close to recovering that in repair costs (and of course that was dealership rates which are pricey). In reality, I could've not got the extended warranty and probably spent about $400-500 for stuff at a normal shop for the first 7 years of ownership. (I'm not counting tires and brakes...) just other stuff (sensors, gaskets etc). That's not bad in my books. The upside of the warranty was being able to push to get marginal stuff fixed with the idea of having a car in better shape when it comes off warranty.
Of course now it's off warranty, so I'm more inclined to do my own wrenching on the car. I paid the dealer to do plugs & wires last summer and vowed never again will it go to the dealer (barring recall).
Anyway, whether you do any wrenching yourself or not, you might think about investing in a manual so you can at least see what's involved when someone is quoting a price... also if you have a laptop, maybe an OBDII reader so you can read your own error codes (like the one they just did a group buy on here).
When I bought the car, they were suppossed to be Ford's "world car" and set new performance and durability (hence "duratec") benchmarks for relatively inexpensive mid sized cars.... I don't think they missed by too much. They never quite caught on the way I'd hoped/expected they would, but I test drove most other cars in the class at the time, and the contour did feel worlds better than most (to me).
Brent
I've got a manual and am quite handy at technical work...just don't have the time. I even ordered a manual on CD off eBay on the recommendation of someone on this group and the guy hasn't paid me and is being investigated by eBay! :-(
Anyway, I was ranting in any case. I diagnosed 100% of the problems with my car so far and if it wasn't love at first, second *and* third sight with this car I would have cut my losses after the cat and timing belt. But love is blind....
Now about that slight "graunch" sound that's coming out of the right front when driving very slowly and in gear. I wonder if some coolant got on the wheel bearing? And the beat goes on.
/Eric
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
'96 Mystique GS, ATX
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,166
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,166 |
I know that Todras sells the manuals on CD. He lists them in the classifieds. Quote:
I have 1996-2000. These are the manuals the techs use at the dealerships for dianosis. Full diagrams, wiring schematics etc. These burned CD's are $8 shipped. I accept Paypal, M.O. and checks. Include year need. These don't cover 96-00. One for each year. I have shipped a couple hundred of these over the past several years and everyone on the forums loves them. These are $25 on ebay.
PM him for more details.
- Zack
WANTED: T-Red HEATED Side Mirrors
FOR SALE: 4 14" Alum Alloys and Nearly New Avid H4s Tires w/ Center Caps
2000 T-Red SVT
1995 LX V6 MTX (RIP)
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