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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 130
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 130 |
I was just kinda just kidding about the stats thing, although I wasn't sure if it could actually affect rates or not. I'm not thinking about fixing up the car...they've actually already sent me a cheque for it. If anybody is interested, I can try to find out where the wreck is going... The car I'm looking at is actually located in Barrie. One thing I neglected to mention was a loud noise coming from the starter on startup. I figured it was just a really loud rattle or something that I could live with, but upon investigating more it looks like it might be this. That's a pretty big turn-off because if it needs a new flywheel...unless Ford will pay for the repair?
1998.5 SVT Contour - Black
H&R's
Optimized Y-pipe and TB
Open element intake w/heat shield
18x8 Mas Italy Axels (40 offset) w/225/40/18
2x Kicker 8" midbass "subs" in rear deck (infinite baffle setup)
A few more little things...(like bushings)
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 147
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 147 |
Originally posted by LegacySHO:
Should I get it checked out by a dealer before I buy, in addition to having it certified? (Although after having been a member of this board for a while I don't know if I'd trust the dealer's diagnosis for much anyways.)
I'm sorry to hear about your car. From your photos, it looks like you kept it in really good shape. We haven't been having much luck lately with accidents, but fortunately nobody's been hurt.
I would definitely get a car checked out by a trusted mechanic before you decide to buy it. I personally go as far as taking the car in for a safety inspection and e-test before completing the deal. An e-test is only around $30 and the safety inspection should cost an hour's labour (~$70). You'll need to get these things done anyways in order to register the car, and the additional benefit of doing an e-test is that it can warn you of some serious (and expensive) problems with the engine and emissions systems. The cost to do all of this represents only 1-1.5% of the cost of the car. To me this is a small price to pay for your peace of mind. In addition, if problems are discovered by the inspections, you can use them to your bargaining advantage.
If you decide to do this, make sure you take the car to a reputable garage. You don't want to take it to a "lenient" garage as that would defeat the purpose of doing these pre-purchase checks.
'98 GL V6/MTX (Plenty of mods... in my basement)
'88 ST165 (mild mods, stock 8psi)
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,807
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,807 |
99 CSVT Green/Tan
# 84 of 2760
Built on Wednesday, September 30, 1998
15.376 @ 92.00 MPH Stock
75,000Km
96 Contour GL
2.5L V6 ATX 170,000Km
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 44
New CEG\'er
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New CEG\'er
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 44 |
Wow that's really crazy glad to see that you are okay thou the contour is a great car really strong I am guessing sweet but sorry about the loss the car looked really nice 
98.5 SVT CONTOUR silver 17 inch millenium grey rim's and touring wing lowered and custom interior paint
intake and gage pods and exaust and so on and so on
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 313
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 313 |
Good to see that you are OK.. too bad the same can't be said for the car and the guard rail. I can't believe that it sheared the wood right off in the guard rail posts. You must have hit very hard. Judging by the damage, I would think they should be able to fix that - assuming all the structural components underneath are still intact. Could be worse.. reminds me of the SVTs that paid a visit to a local wreckers last spring in Windsor - one after a rendezvous with a telephone pole. Can you count all the Contours?   I am almost scared to drive my car now with one Mustang and a Contour down this week.
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 130
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 130 |
Originally posted by bozman:
Wow that's really crazy glad to see that you are okay thou the contour is a great car really strong I am guessing sweet but sorry about the loss the car looked really nice
Thanks, I tried to keep it in good condition. Too bad I had just replaced the front end links and passenger side mirror. 
Originally posted by SVTforme:
I can't believe that it sheared the wood right off in the guard rail posts. You must have hit very hard.
Actually, I examined the posts up close and they have a large hole drilled through them at the base (parallel to the guard rail). I think they're designed to break away right above the ground under a certain amount of force. I suppose they don't want people getting impaled on huge spikes of wood sticking up from the ground. To be honest I don't even remember feeling much of an impact...just a really loud, sickening crunching noise.
Originally posted by Gerald:
I would definitely get a car checked out by a trusted mechanic before you decide to buy it. I personally go as far as taking the car in for a safety inspection and e-test before completing the deal.
I will definitely get the car certified/e-tested before buying. I'm still up in the air though on whether I should even pursue this car. Say I take it to a dealership and they say it's just the starter motor that needs to be replaced, or worse, it's just a "normal noise" (which I've been told before and ended up being a damaged part). Then I buy it from the guy and eventually it ends up being the flywheel/starter after all? I don't even know how I could eliminate that risk other than by telling them to inspect the flywheel, which I suspect is a big job in itself, and definitely not something I'd want to pay for up front.
1998.5 SVT Contour - Black
H&R's
Optimized Y-pipe and TB
Open element intake w/heat shield
18x8 Mas Italy Axels (40 offset) w/225/40/18
2x Kicker 8" midbass "subs" in rear deck (infinite baffle setup)
A few more little things...(like bushings)
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 147
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 147 |
Originally posted by LegacySHO:
I will definitely get the car certified/e-tested before buying. I'm still up in the air though on whether I should even pursue this car. Say I take it to a dealership and they say it's just the starter motor that needs to be replaced, or worse, it's just a "normal noise" (which I've been told before and ended up being a damaged part). Then I buy it from the guy and eventually it ends up being the flywheel/starter after all? I don't even know how I could eliminate that risk other than by telling them to inspect the flywheel, which I suspect is a big job in itself, and definitely not something I'd want to pay for up front.
Yeah, unless you can take it to someone who's familiar with this specific problem, it's probably not going to help much. However, you should adjust your offer accordingly - tell the seller of your concerns, that other owners have experienced similar noises which turned out to be starter/flywheel problems.
If you do get this car, set some money aside so that you are prepared in case it does become a problem. This is good practise when buying any used car, in fact. Problems often rear themselves in the first little while of ownership. This is the risk you take when buying a used car that's out of warranty.
Is this car to be your primary source of transportation? If so, have you considered getting an SE or GL/LX V6 instead? I don't know what your time frame is, but if there aren't any SVT's in good shape in your price range then it might be a good idea to look at non-SVT's as well. You can probably find one in good shape for under $5k. In addition, your insurance will probably be lower if you go this route, especially if you get a GL. My insurance company doesn't distinguish between Zetec and Duratec, only by trim level (GL/LX/SE/SVT). On the other hand, if you're not pressed for time, you can be patient and find a nice SVT. You had mentioned that you'd planned on getting a Mazda 6 or Legacy GT (both very nice cars, btw). Keep in mind that any money saved now and in future repairs means you'll be able to get that new car sooner.
Anyways, these are just some thoughts. I almost forgot, it's only been a couple of days since the accident. You must have so much on your mind still. Why not give yourself more time to relax and clear your mind before putting yourself through the stresses of buying a car? It'll be easier then, I guarantee it. 
'98 GL V6/MTX (Plenty of mods... in my basement)
'88 ST165 (mild mods, stock 8psi)
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 147
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 147 |
A few things I forgot to address... Quote:
-The car is a 98.5 with 192K kilometers and the original clutch. That in itself doesn't bother me, but I test drove it and the friction point for the clutch is right above the floor. Besides making it difficult to make quick shifts, what else could this mean? Could the solution be to just bleed the clutch? How much is it for a clutch job on an SVT?
I've driven one or two SE's where the clutch engaged noticeably closer to the ground than my own. Besides this, they drove fine. The clutch disengaged fully - I did not detect any dragging, so I don't think the one I drove needed to be bled. I just thought it was an assembly variance thing. With the car at rest, no brakes, and clutch to the floor, does it go into 1st easily or is there some grinding? Does the car jerk or move when you put it in gear?
Quote:
-The secondaries are stuck either open or closed. When I drove it there wasn't much zip (nothing like my SVT), and no change in acceleration at ~3750 RPM where the secondaries should be opening. It apparently hasn't been driven much for the past 4 months or so. The most likely scenario is that it's just seized up, but worst-case scenario if the servo motor that opens and closes the secondaries is shot, how much would it cost to replace that assembly? And is that even the worst-case scenario? Could there be a bigger problem?
A new IMRC is around $400? You can probably find one for less at the wreckers. If the cats are clogged, this should show up in the e-test results.
Quote:
-Some missing paint/rust on the trunk lid, hood, and rear wheel wells. It appears to be surface rust, but the paint is completely missing in spots..could be from stone chips? A friend is telling me that even if I get this patched up, I'll probably have to spend like $300-$500 to refinish it every year it because it's like a cancer and will come back every year. Is that true?
How big are the rust spots? I had a stone chip at the base of the roof where it meets the windshield. I ignored it for a couple of years and it slowly spread to the point where the paint bubbled. I finally got around to fixing it recently. I did the repair myself - we'll see if it comes back in a year. Even if I have to partially redo it every year, as long as it doesn't rust through I'll be happy. The goal is to keep this car until it's at least 10yrs old.
I have stone chips on the hood that are to the metal but have not rusted. Cars today are more resistant to corrosion. When my Celebrity was the same age as my Contour (7.5yrs old) the rocker panels had already rusted through. Prior to it getting that bad I had sanded the rust and painted it, but it always came back in a matter of months. Though back then we didn't have "rust converter" products (or at least I didn't know about them). Anyways, that rust was really ugly. I hope I never see anything like that again.
'98 GL V6/MTX (Plenty of mods... in my basement)
'88 ST165 (mild mods, stock 8psi)
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 130
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 130 |
Hey Gerald, thanks a bunch for all the info. I think though, that I've decided not to get a car for the time being. My Dad just did a lease takeover from leasebusters so we have two cars in the family right now between me, my mom and my dad, and since I'm currently working from home I don't really NEED a car. The only reason I'd want one is because I loved driving the SVT, but since I don't really need it for transportation I think I should probably save the money right now. If anyone is interested, the car I was considering has these wheels (4x108 bolt pattern) with almost new tires, as well as a set of E1 SVT wheels with virtually brand new snows on them. He was asking $6,500, but was ready to take $5000, and when I last spoke with him was getting very desperate because he wants to get back to Europe. So if anyone who's more mechanically inclined in than I am wants to make him an offer, this car might be a good fixer-upper. I figure you could probably sell the 18's and rubber for $1000, bringing the cost down to around $4000 or so. The car's located in Newmarket. PM me for his contact info. As for my car, maybe I should've bought the wreck and parted it out, as the salvage value was only $1200. But then again, I don't know where I would've stored it in Cornwall or how I would've gotten it back to Toronto, and I'm really not good enough with cars to have actually taken the parts out myself. Anyways, a number of people have inquired by PM and I've replied, but for anyone else interested the wreck ended up at Headline Auto Parts in Cornwall. The number there is 613-938-3527.
1998.5 SVT Contour - Black
H&R's
Optimized Y-pipe and TB
Open element intake w/heat shield
18x8 Mas Italy Axels (40 offset) w/225/40/18
2x Kicker 8" midbass "subs" in rear deck (infinite baffle setup)
A few more little things...(like bushings)
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 130
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 130 |
Forgot to mention: the car also had Eibachs in it. So if the shop doesn't realize they're aftermarket you might be able to pick them up for a steal.
1998.5 SVT Contour - Black
H&R's
Optimized Y-pipe and TB
Open element intake w/heat shield
18x8 Mas Italy Axels (40 offset) w/225/40/18
2x Kicker 8" midbass "subs" in rear deck (infinite baffle setup)
A few more little things...(like bushings)
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