Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Mileage

How long will the engine last on a 99 Contour SE? I have a chance to buy a nice one that has 120,000 miles on it. I heard Ford cars don't last that long. Can someone give me some ideas?

Welcome to CEG!

If the car has had regular maintenance (timely oil changes, etc.) done, and has not been unreasonably thrashed-upon, it should last a long time. I have over 130,000 miles on my '98 Contour, I just hit 240,000 miles on my '87 Escort today, and my '82 Escort (which has subframe damage from an accident, and hasn't been driven for a few years) has 372,000 miles on it. The only major maintenance repairs I have done were to the '82 Escort when, at around 250,000 miles, second gear went out in the transmission. I replaced it and the clutch at the same time. It was still the original clutch too, despite its starting out life as a rental car, and despite its delivering a whole lotta of pizzas with me! Otherwise, most of the repairs have just been alternators, water pumps, timing belts, and the occasional performance mods like headers, a hotter camshaft, throttle body mods, suspension upgrades, etc.

Additionally, my Contour and the '82 Escort have been to several performance driving schools at Portland International Raceway, and the '87 Escort has slid around its fair share of logging roads on the way to and from working SCCA pro-rally stages. So it's not like any of them have exactly had an easy life!

See if the owner has maintenance records, and get it checked out by a good mechanic to see if there are any hidden mechanical problems, or if it was in a severe accident or something. I've never had one run, but I think a CarFax report would tell you if it has ever been in an accident that was reported to the insurance company and/or police.

Also, be sure to check out the FAQ section where there is a list of common problems with the Contour, to see if any of them may apply to the car you're looking at.

I hope you get a good one!

Marty

The Zetec should last you a long time with no problems. The duratec will do you good, but it's worth babying them a little. They have 'some' issues with rod knock ... but not enough IMO to put me off buying three of the things

If you get the manual version, change your manual tranny fluid straight away. The manual trans aren't the best for taking a real pounding. I'd also recommend getting hold of BAT and ordering a metal impellor water pump. OEM pumps tend to blow around 60k miles (on duratecs) due to plastic impellor fragmenting and the BAT pump not only has metal impellor, but is cheaper (from my experience) than an OEM version. From my experience, in two vehicles over 3 years I've gone through 4 water pumps. Two broke, one leaked through the seal, and the other one was replaced before we bought the car under my instructions, and I was told it had a 'minor' leak when they did it.

Other than that, in my experience, these cars don't really need more maintenance than any other used vehicle. When comparing to my friends I have spent less in a three year period than they have on various GM's and other Fords, that's including mods (except exhaust).

Oh yes ... nearly forgot ... with the A/C the accumulator is wrapped in foam if it's older OEM ... rip this off immediately, it can rot.

... and GrooveNerd ... Escorts are indestructible so they don't count

What is the Zetec? I know it is a 99 Countour SE, but I think it is a 4 cyclinder? I don't know that much about cars!

Zetec: 2.0 I4
Duratec: 2.5 V6


Ray

Zetec is the 4. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend a Contour to that many people, but if you like sporty handling and don't care about acceleration, and the price is right, the 99 might be good. Give us all the details and we can help you decide.

How much do they want?
Is is auto or manual?
Do they have maint. records? If so, how was it treated?
What options? Sunroof, alloy wheels, etc.


Also:

What do you want it for? Cheap commuter, ricemobile mod car, etc.
What do you expect in a car? Sporty, luxurious, reliable?
How long do you want to keep it?
Do you plan on working on it yourself? (I guess not, from your posts)
If not, do you know who would work on it for you?

Hi, Here's the answer to your questions:

Zetec is the 4. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend a Contour to that many people, but if you like sporty handling(YES< I DO)and don't care about acceleration (NO < DON"T CARE), and the price is right (YES< $2,000), the 99 might be good. Give us all the details and we can help you decide.

How much do they want? $2,000
Is is auto or manual? AUTOMATIC
Do they have maint. records? (I DON'T THINK SO, I WILL FIND THAT OUT THIS THURSDAY)
If so, how was it treated? (LOOKS GREAT INSIDE AND OUT)
What options? ALLOW WHEELS, NO SUNROOF, BURGUNDY
sunroof, alloy wheels, etc.


Also:

What do you want it for? Cheap commuter, ricemobile mod car, etc. (I WANT IT AS A HIGHWAY CAR TO GO ON TRIPS LONG DISTANCE AND FOR SOME SHORT HOPS)
What do you expect in a car? Sporty, luxurious, reliable?
RELIABILITY IS THE KEY; I ALREADY HAVE AN OLD HONDA WITH 300,000 MILES THAT I METICULOUSLY CARE FOR!
How long do you want to keep it? FOR YEARS, EVEN IF IT MEANS GETTING A NEW ENGINE. I LIKE THE STYLE OF THE CAR, BUT I HAVE NEVER OWNED A FORD AND HAVE HEARD NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT THEM, LIKE THEY ARE CHEAP.
Do you plan on working on it yourself? (I guess not, from your posts) NO, I WILL HAVE TO GET A MECHANIC
If not, do you know who would work on it for you?
I DON'T KNOW ANY FORD MECHANICS, SO I WILL HAVE TO SHOP AROUND IN SKAGIT COUNTY, WASHINGTON STATE.


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Lighter is faster.

Okay, the Zetec isn't going to be the most reliable engine in the world. It's not a civic or corolla 4-banger. But it should last for a long time if you take care of it. Now here's the key: This is a great highway car, with sporty handling. Acceleration is, well, awful, but you say you don't care. It gets good to excellent gas mileage. Actually, it gets better mileage at higher speeds than most imports. Check out the Zetec maintenance forum for details on the engine.

Summary:

NOT as reliable as a Japanese car. However, if you treat it well, with frequent oil changes and other maint. items, and are willing to replace what breaks, it can go for a very long time.

You will get a much nicer riding car with the Contour. It will feel very stable at speed, and corner better too.

You'll need to do a few things, like add a transaxle cooler, for cheap insurance.

Now here's the kicker: how many miles are on it already?

It has 120,000 miles on it, and the owner before my friend said that some of the miles it was pulled by an RV, so it wasn't the actual mileage.

For $2000, that sounds pretty good. Drive around and see if you hear anything: creaks, groans, etc. The transaxle isn't the best. There are a few things that can go wrong, but if you put in a trany cooler when you get it (cheap), it should be reliable, if you're nice to it. They hold up decently well on easy-driven 4-cyl cars.

Since you want to keep it around for a long time, go drive it. See how you like it. Odds are, you'll love it, or hate it. It very different from your Honda. Get it on the highway, and use it like you plan to if you buy it. If you like it, pick it up! Then come back here and we'll tell you how to treat it, so that it'll treat you well for a long time. If you don't love it, then get another Honda. You really can't go wrong with them, as far as reliability.