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Welcome arin .

were are you located?

Southern Michigan..

Another quick question:
So, are the automatic 4 cylinder's pretty much out of the picture? I don't want to be driving a boat around.. I think I'll probably go the manual way.

Definitely go manual, better gas mileage, more power, and a lot more fun. I can't comment on reliability because I don't pay much attention to posts about problems with the ATX in the Contiques, but the MTX is decent enough, 3rd gear synchro issues I've heard, someone else will chime in with more I'm sure (maybe discuss the weak open diff. but it's not a big issue if you don't push it too much). What reasons are you looking at getting a Contique for? Do you want a reliable and cheap daily driver, or do you want to mod it later? Basically, I'm asking if power is a big concern for you, again I can't comment on the Zetec because I've never driven one, but the Duratec is a great engine and has enough power for those who just want a DD that can climb hills well, pass cars with ease on the highway, and get decent gas mileage to boot. Driving a manual can take a little getting used too, I drove my brothers V6 5-speed Contour about 2 years before I got mine, only drove it once and for about half an hour. The next time I drove a manual was on my way to work 10 minutes after my brother drove mine home from where I bought it 2 years later. I picked it up in the next few weeks, but at first it was kind of frustrating, just take your time, practice somewhere safe, a good idea is to have someone who knows how to drive a manual come with you, drive the car to a large empty parking lot, and then drive around it for a little bit until you feel comfortable enough, and take it out on the road. I was taught this way, and I taught 2 of my friends how to do it in my car, and they picked it up in no time at all! And welcome, I hope you decide to get a Contique and enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine! Don't give up the search for a manual V6 if you want it, my brother didn't find one for 4 months! Good luck!

I'd strongly recommend you get out and test drive a few to see how they feel to you.

The Zetec with auto is slighly boring yes, but it gets you around perfectly fine and has better gas mileage than the V6 (which may be a concern for you being a high-schooler and prices nowadays). Definitely prefer it with a five-speed if you want. My Contour was the V6 with ATX and it's no slouch though you could feel the transmission taking away some of the power with inappropriate shift times and such.

The auto's biggest detriment is its lack of reliability in this car. It wasn't a well designed model and many have had to be rebuilt/replaced between 70K and 100K miles. Additionally, if you enjoy driving at all it is fairly sleep inducing.

However, you're not going to find a Zetec with the options you're looking for (power locks and windows, leather, fold-down rear seats, tachometer was not *commonly* available on 98+ Zetecs with MTX since they were the cheapest line Contour available, and I don't think keyless entry came on any of them). To get fold-down rear seats on a 98+ you need to get an SE Sport (highest Contour model aside from an SVT) with cloth or leather -- any other trim with cloth seats won't have them. You can tell by the cloth pattern, if it's a zig-zag style like this then it won't have them.

Quite honestly with the features you're looking in a car, you're looking to buy a loaded 98+ SE Sport (pretty rare, especially to find one with MTX; and next to impossible to find a loaded 98+ Mystique with MTX) or an SVT. You may want to broaden your search to include SVTs; there are several in the $4K range nowadays.

As for driving stick, I personally forced myself to learn by buying a car with one and having Dad teach me. Nobody I knew at the time had a car with a five-speed except for my college roommate, and I don't think he would have been willing to potentially ruin the clutch with me learning on his $20K car

I don't plan on modding it at all, but who knows. I've mostly only been driving a Blazer if that says anything.. haha.. What's the 'average' mileage for the manual I4 & V6? Is one engine more reliable than the other? I'm mostly just looking for something that can keep me going the longest, right now atleast. The leather seats/most other options arent needed if they arent very common, but I think the folding backseats would be needed for me. Were they in the 95-98s? I mostly wanted the leather seats to maybe keep the value of the car up/keep cleaner. I don't know how I'm going to learn this stick, but I'll figure it out. My parents cant think of anyone they know with one, except the trucks at my dad's work, which would probably be a little different than a car.. haha. How long do you see on average the trans/engine/other vitals lasting? Is buying one at 100k miles a little high?

Thanks for the help.. Getting so many responses so fast..

EDIT: What about folding seats on the Mysts? Can someone give me some model names of 95-97 with the folding seats? Or is the SE sport only one with it throughout the lineup? Mostly want the folding seats for fishin' poles..

Is it crucial that you learn on someone elses car? You said your dad knows how to drive a manual, so ask him if when you find one, he could take a day the weekend after, or when, you bring the car home, to take you somewhere safe and teach you how to drive it. The Zetec and the Duratec are excellent engines, and with proper care, can, and do for some people on here, last over 200K. 100k shouldn't be a problem, but you have to think that a car that at the least is 6 years old, and has 100k, will more than likely need some maintenance, and some new parts. Also, take the car for a test drive and visually inspect it, look at the brakes, tire tread, visually inspect the engine, check the trunk for a mildew smell (leaking water), etc. Take a couple of them for a drive, and maybe you'll find just the one you want. Have you checked www.autotrader.com for any yet? That's how I found mine.

uh, I'm getting scared now.. I just checked a review website and it seems there's A LOT of lemons or this isnt a very quality car.. I've saw a lot of transmissions going out circa 60,000(don't know if it's auto or what) and I counted 20+ recalls on consumerguide... eh, I've saw a lot of good reviews on it by more official sources, I think I'll stay with it.. Anyone have some high mileages on their's without much work?