Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General The real story.

A few problems with mine. That's why I got rid of it. link (see below pics) ...

Your car was in better condition than mine. AND YOU GOT RID OF IT BECAUSE OF IT'S PROBLEMS? I can't blame you. I'd do the same.

BUT, I'm not shaking a Contour. Mine was the runt of the litter.

99 LX 4 cylinder contour. I am the only owner and my car has 75,456 miles on it and I have not had any big problems. The biggest would be the A/C doesnt cool all that well. But all you have to do is refill it. The way I look at it is if you treat the car well and keep up with the maintenance the car should treat you well.

Well, today, I gassed her up, and she drives a little better. I did some minor work on it a few days ago, but it feels a little better. I will risk driving it for one whole hour on the freeway at 65 mph to get to school. Let's see how it'll do. I hope it will be a boring drive to school and back.

Looks like you got lots of answers to your questions...

I'll add to it: If you do your own work & like to tinker, these cars are well worth a look & can be quite reliable. They just require a bit more aggressive maintenance.

I currently own two Contiques, one V-6 and one I-4, both 1999 model year. I love them both. They have each had some minor issues from neglect, but with the resources on this site, I've been able to get them into top shape without much cost.

That makes THREE Contiques I've owned. The first one I bought was rear ended - HARD. The car that hit me was a Honda & was completely ripped up & had to be towed from the street. I drove my Contour home. I'll buy them for the safety factor if nothing else...

Thanks to all who took the time to reply. The vehicle that I'm looking at appears to be in great shape. The CarFax report showed the vehicle to be a fleet car and even showed the repair contract and the services that had been done on the car. Look's good to me. I hope it will be as good to me as my first 98 some years ago.
Thanks again for all your input.

-sp

87k miles on my 2000 SVT. The only things I've replaced are parts that I broke myself. Engine/transmission were from pure abuse. Broken shifter cables and motor mounts from, you guessed it, abuse! I replaced my suspension at 58k miles, but not because the stock suspension had issues. I just wanted to upgrade. Basically, I've had to do zero maintenance "repairs" to the car.

Mark

At the price, especially for pre-98s, these can practically be treated as disposable cars, but I also think that they're the best bargain going right now in the sub-$6000 range. I'd rather throw $5K into my '97SE to refresh the engine, gearbox, suspension, and brakes than put down a $5K deposit on something I'd still have to make payments on. My only fear is getting hit in an accident because the insurance payout would be paltry.

I bought a 1995 Mystique YA in Jan 2001. It had 50K miles.

It now has 211K miles and still runs great. I'm on my 3rd water pump, but other than that I've only had to put routine maintenance into it, same as any other car (tires, shocks/struts, etc). I plan to drive it 4-5 more years before I finally part ways with it.