I've got 170,000 on my Mystique, and other than the scheduled maintenance, intake manifold gaskets, front brake pads and rotors, etc, I haven't had any surprises with my car. But I follow the factory maintenance schedule religiously, and drive extremely conservatively.
But getting back to disposable.....YES, I have heard Ford technicians refer to Contours/Mystiques as "disposable cars" and legend has it they cheer every time one of them hits the junkyard. The Contours are forever associated with Jac Nasser, one of the most hated men ever to run Ford Motor Company. The Contour was overpriced by about $3000 for its market class, often times costing MORE than a similarily equipped Taurus. I have read that Ford actually lost money on every Contour they sold, but they "had" to keep them on the market to compete with Grand Am's and
Century's.
Every time I take my Mystique to the dealer for its monthly oil change, the service manager always asks me when I'm trading "that thing" in for a "good" car. I tell him when it hits 200,000 miles, we'll talk.
