Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General General Contour Q

I see this is mostly composed of racing Contours, but I'm looking into getting my first car(teenager) and have found a lot of '98 Contours in the $3k range with 50-100k miles on 'em. I found one I particularly like that has 50k on it with the V6 for $3k. Are these good prices/mileages? Am I going to be able to get some years out of em if taken care of without some major stuff? Most of the ones I'm finding are the 4 cylinder, but I guess I would be able to deal with it.. Is the 4 cylinder that bad?
Thanks

EDIT: I've also found a lot of the other model years, but am liking the looks of the 98's and up. Any major differences between the model years besides cosmetics?

the four cylinder is fine,but ONLY with the manual tranny....i wouldnt get either engine with a slushbox/crap-o-matic/autotragic tranny....get the lowest mileage manual you can find,you'll be happy for many years....and no,this site isnt about only racing....far from it

theres a model difference on the main site page...too many to list off of the top of my head...keep your eye open in the classifieds here,you can usaully find some good deals,and usually will have the good mods done already for you to enjoy

Is the auto trans that bad? I've never learned a stick and was looking at the autos, but it can't be that hard, I guess. I also saw an article on the main about things decontented from the '95s; any idea why all those were discontinued? They seem like pretty nice options..

they take alot of the fun out of the car,and make the zetec seem overly sluggish,the zetec with a mtx can be just as much fun as the duratec....they deconted b/c they went from car and drivers top ten list to rental fleet cars,no reason to have all that stuff for rental purposes

Well, I just did a search on autotrader and there's about 3 manuals within 200mi from me in my price range.. And I only have found one V6 auto(one with 52k). The manual's starting to looking appealing though, it cant be that hard to learn.. Though, I don't know anyone with a manual car to learn from.. Anyone have suggestions on learning manual without a car? I guess I could rent a car or something? My dad knows how to use manuals, but we dont have a manual.. I'd also like to ask a few other questions:
Do the backseats fold down/any other way to get into trunk?
What's with the armrest? Is there one with that big parking break in the way?
What model(s) is the leather in?

yeah theres a armrest,backseats fold down on some models,try finding a 98 se,usually it'll have the se side skirts,spoiler,v6...you could get leather in those..and the SVT came standard with leather

stick shift driving info:

http://www.10w40.com/individual/100186.asp

http://www.standardshift.com/

I just googled "how to drive a manual transmission" and tons of stuff came up. That 2nd site even has videos i think.

arin-

OR, you could broaden your search slightly and be looking for low mileage mercury mystiques as well!

same engine/trans choices, imho somewhat better interior layout and look/feel (pay attention to location of power window and lock controls, for example).

the auto is not so bad. i found a '98 ls mystique 2 summers ago with only 28,000 miles on it. creampuff and loaded. so they are out there- be patient and willing to travel for the right car.

good luck and welcome to the boards......lakeside

Any idea on models with the folding backseats?

I've been looking at the Mystique's, too. But, they're far and few between around me..

How long do you all think the Contours/Mystique's will last on average? Much life left in one with 100k miles?