Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General The real story.

Never had a problem.

i think the msot problems tend to come out in the more temperate areas. I currently am having some serious rust issues right now. I did what i could since i have owned ot to keep rust away including metal patching body parts, but it just keeps rearing its ugly head. Most recent was my calipers parts are so badly rusted that trying to bleed the break lines the bleeder broke off and other parts have failed. I also had a brake line go because it was rusted badily.


If my car had come from and i lived in a area with no road salt/snow, i htink my car would be prefect. I know im going to get the people that say they drive their car year round in winter/salt and they have no problems and that im doing something wrong, but thats just my opinion.

The Contour is now over ten years old, with the newest models five years old. They are by no means an unreliable car. There are problem areas, like any car, and they are sensitive to maintainence, like any car. A well-maintained Contour should last for a very long time with no problems. Without preventative maintainence, bigger problems can come up.

Good points:

A great bargain - prices are very low
Great handling - there aren't many cars in it's class that are this good
Sporty - the V-6 5 speed models are not crazy fast, but certainly grin-inducing
Some other nice things: 3.0L swaps, CEG has all the weak spots hit, and there's a small aftermarket. You can buy a car with no engine, beef up the transaxle (incl. LSD), rebuild the suspension, put in a 3.0L, and have a darn fast 4-door sedan for $5k with zero miles on the engine/transaxle. A couple thousand more and some elbow grease and it can look and drive like new.

Bad points:

Working on them is a pain. The engine bay is very cramped. Simple things like LCA bushing replacement is a big deal.
If you buy a running car you take a gamble on how long it'll run. Between oil starvation and water pump failure, there are some low, but serious odds it's seen damage (V-6 only).

Some years' V6 waterpump. Power steering rack. Auto trans w/o an improved cooler/fluid upgrades/flushes. V6/manual stock differential. But that's about it.

I've had no problems with my 96 GL. Except for the leaking valve cover gasket that caused the CEL. But thats about it. I think there very good cars if they been maintained. I als belive the ones that haven't are a nightmere. Mines a perfect example of maintenance. All fluids and filters were clean when I purchased.

The only flaw I can think of is the earlier zetecs like mine have a semi-harsh vibration when the car is at idle at a red light. All the early zetecs did this.

I have 214,000 miles on mine, and it has given very little trouble. I would say that it is at least as reliable as a Toyota or Honda. But what do I know?

Any car that isn't maintained will have problems. Ours seem to have less than most. It certainly has had a lot less trouble than a Taurus of the same vintage.

Well, I stopped whacking around the Tour. It just has a lot on it. The previous owner must have been sitting on his head as he owned the thing because it was almost a piece of crap with only 37,000 miles on it. And thanks to Todras doing a carfax for me, I found out that I am it's second owner.

But, it has 46,000 miles, and it hasn't stranded me. It has come close to it (total electrical failure, and engine stalling while parked). But it has taken me home. So I do have to give it a complement. It can still sell pretty well (after I get all the repairs done).

The car, as odd as it may look, grew on me. The good ol' runt of the litter survived.

I don't really know why Ford stopped production of the Contour. Some said it was because of some exec's vendetta or some other, or about sales, but I don't know.

AND, compared to my cousin's Taurus which is also a 98, my car is a gem compared to that hunk-a-junk. She is selling that private party for only $500, maybe less. It is really looking like crap.

But, as a first car, yeah, I guess it's good.

I bought my car almost 4 years ago with 24k on it. It now has 73k and the only thing i've had to replace was a tie rod end and the usual maintenence (plugs, wires, air and cabin air filters). I've put a few mods on the car to improve the drivability and i see this car lasting me for a long time yet as my daily driver. I also autocrossed it last year a couple times.