Originally posted by TourDeForce:
IMHO, the used Contour is a good choice if you do your own repair & maintenance. Lots of fun to drive, but you have to be very pro-active & aggressive with maintenance. If you're looking for a car you can drive hard & just keep to the basic gas & oil, this is not it. Buy a Honda or a Hyundai.
Originally posted by Bicycle commuter  :
I would be a little leery of a used SVT if you have no idea of the history. Was it taken care of? Or did some kid think he was a street racer? I guess there might be no way of knowing. If you are getting it from someone you know and have some idea of the history, and like doing your own work, then the Contour is a GREAT driving car. I've also heard the complaints from mechanics about the engine bay of the V6's and SVT's. One said "that engine does not belong in that car".
I second both of those...
Take my 98 SVT for example. Lots of mods the original owner did, but were done half assed. Like the 24mm rear sway bar isn't attached to the subframe anymore. It didn't "rip out" like others have said, there just isn't any mounts at all! No bolts, brakets, anything!
Another is the aftermarket cooling fan. A blade broke off for some reason right after I got it, replaced that and now it's falling off! Damn plastic thru-bolts!
And it's got quite a few small things wrong with it, like the IAC valve is acting up, CEL has been on since day #2 of me owning it with no apparent reason.
Hopefully I can get that stuff fixed here when I take a whole day and put on some stuff I got from Bill J.
But I should stop complaining, it's only stranded me twice due to transmission issues, but both were caused by faulty repair work. Guess that's what happens when the previous owner beat on it  I went straight to the best with the tranny rebuild (Terry Haines... search for him in "Transaxle"), so I have a little security now!
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