Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Contours/ Fords disposable?

its all a matter of luck....i've had my car since it had 42500 miles, it now has 122k, the only things it has ever needed, altenator,and two wheel bearings,and a new pcv hose..........thats it the only one that was a suprise was the recent wheel bearing failure,just seemed to happen out of the blue

A lady in my condo has a 1998 Zetec and it died today. HAd to have it towed here, then it started right up! She has had many problems, and it only has 50K miles.

Sure they are disposable. Not as disposable as a Hyundai. If you want a car that last forever get a Volvo. Their parts usually cost twice as much, right down to the spark plugs.

I always buy used cars for less than 2 grand. I don't have to spend alot on insurance, taxes and never have a car payment.They last 2-3 years so thats cool. Sure stuff breaks but I consider it a learning experince as I am not a gearhead but I do like spending the day in my driveway swearing at my car.

This thread is funny. Anyway, one of my tours has 187K on it and the previous owner and I have had not had any major problems. Just a water pump from what i hear. Still has original clutch/starter etc. My other tour has just over 90K and the only pronblems its ever given me were fuel pump related.

I am very anal on reg maintenance but am no mechanic. I keep up on the fluid changing intervals as well as the spark plugs/wires and fuel filters. I plan on keeping my cars for some time so for me it makes sense to invest in them.

Here are a couple commets/suggestions that I have for you. I dont know your financial state but for you the best idea I would think would be to lease your vehicles or atleast one of them. That way all repairs are covered, you get a new vehicle, payments are usually a lot lower than payments if you were to buy the vehicle and its reliable transportation for you family. Like you said you had money for the payments before but it goes to other things when its not there.Trust me if you make room for the payments and expect them to come regularily like they have you wont really notice the money going to them like you would when you are trying to put that money away for repairs.

Having a payment all the time is a lot more consistant than saving and trying to predict when your car is going to need expensive maintenance or repairs. You wouldnt likely have to deal with brakes,tires etc pretty much only oil changes and that seems to be what works for you.

Leases are good for the right vehicles, if you lease one that has a slower deprecieation rate say like a camrey or accord or oddessey the lease payments will be alot lower than if you lease a taurus or freestar as they are based on the value the car looses inthe time you have it to the time you turn it back in.

One thing to keep in mind is that cars are not an investment so to speak as they continuously deprecieate and hopeing to get something on trade in is usually unrealistic or a lot lower than you should get for it. You will almost always enf up putting more money into the car than the resale value is worth so try and not count on that money to be there when you initially buy the car.


My gf and I plan to get marrried in a couple of years. We have decided that we will lease one vehicle and that will be the one that is dedicated as a family vehicle and the other may or may not be leased depending on the situation.I like to tinker with the cars and do the maintenace myself so keeping an older car that i have kept up on makes sense to me.

Leasing is what my parents did so there was always a vehicle that was reliable and dependable for the kids and so my mother wouldnt be found stranded on the side of the highway with us.

If for some reason you cant lease or it doesnt make sense to, I would suggest putting away the same amount of moeny when you actually pay the vehicle off into a savings account. I would recommend having it automatically withdrawn for your account and put into the savings account so you dont notice the extra money. That way when sh!t goes down you have a back up or at least a healthy down payment for a newer vehcile.

Just some thoughts, hope they can help

I realize this thread is a few months old,but I came across it while searching for some stuff.

In 1997,my aunt and uncle went out and leased a 1998 Mystique GS Sport with a 4 cyl and automatic. It was a lemon from the first day they brought it home. The car spent more time in the shop than on the road,yet they still managed to rack up a ton of miles. The only reason they kept the car is because my aunt just loved the styline (plus it was black,so it looked even better). After the lease was up,they bought out the car for $5000. At about 155 000km,the original engine died and they had a new transmission and engine installed under warranty. Later they sold the car to their son who drove it for 2 years and racked up lots of miles on it. I bought the car last summer for $1000 with 211 000km on the body. overall,for it's age and milage,it was in good condition. I modified the looks and the stereo,but left the engine stock. I owned the car for 10 months and didn't have a single problem with it (only routine maintenance,new tires and new brakes) until 3 days before I sold it,when I needed a new thermostat and plug wires. When I sold it,I had 253 000km on it,and it was running well,but the body was starting to need work,and I was getting tired of the 4 cyl and automatic. I loved the car so much that I decided to go out and buy a Pre98 with a V6 and 5 speed because I always liked them.

So,I traded in my '98 Mystique,with 253k on the body,approx. 100k on the engine and drivetrain,newish tires,recently done brakes,and a bunch of aesthetic mods. The dealer gave me $1000 for it,and ended up selling the car for $650.
The Contour I traded it in on,was a '95 GL,V6 MTX. It had 260 000km on it,and they wanted $1200. The body was in good shaoe. No rust,no dents,but the fuel door was missing and the paint on the hood and bumper is chipping. However,I bought the car with the intention from day 1 to modify it. It was a 1 owner car,and I later found out,that somehow,everything lasted 260k because not a single item on the car was ever replaced.

Since I've owned the car since May 3rd,2005,and today is July 31,2005,I have replaced,in order:

For safety inspection:
-Both rear struts and springs. Both struts were shot and one spring was actually broken.
-Both rear rotors and pads.
-e-brake cable
-3rd brake light was inoperative and replaced
-lower balljoints replaced (ripped boots)

After safety came:
-Transmission. 3rd gear synchro was shot when I bought it. I bought a used tranny and had it put in. So far so good.
-Plug wires. Upgraded to Ford Racing 9mm.
-Upgraded piss poor headlights to Silverstars so I could actually see...but I still can't.
-Front brake pads
-Both front wheel bearings (one was shot)
-Both CV shafts (both went within 2 days)
-Rims & tires (my tires on the car were worn out,and I had crappy steel rims,so thanks to a CEG'er,I got a deal on some SVT rims with Potenzas on them)
-Water pump and belt

My car currently has 276 3xx KM on it as it sits in my driveway. I bought it with 260 800km on it. In almost 3 months I have put almost 16 000km on it,and I've spent over $4000. I'll never see my money back out of this car,but I bought it as a project car,and I love this car and it would take a lot for me to get rid of it.

This car really could have gone to the wreckers,and you know,had someone else bought it,it could have already been there with all the work I've needed to do on it. If I turned around to sell my car right now,I bet I wouldn't even see $1800 for it.

this wear out over time man. i have a 99 se zetec with 122k still runs like a champ original engine and ATX.