Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Somebody talk me out of this! HELP!

I've been kicking around the idea of driving an Impreza WRX for some time now, so today I finally did it. I drove a five speed sedan. It's impressive enough...seems about as fast as my SVT although the numbers indicate the WRX is faster. It's not the speed I'm so terribly concerned about though. Yes, it has to be at least in the same ball park as the SVT, but my main concern is reliability. My other car is 23 years old! The reliable car in the family has to have the four doors due to kids. I prefer the MTX too. Right now my SVT has 92,500 miles on it. Will it last? Best I can figure is maybe. I take care of this car every way I can...I read all of the posts here almost obsessively. I am a fairly decent mechanic, although I don't believe I should be working on a car this new other than routine maintenance. The usual problems have arisen...water pump at 69,500 (the day I bought it!) and new cats at 74,000. Now it needs rear brakes and probably a clutch soon. Who knows what else I'll find when I tear into it. I'm looking at this WRX with like 7 miles on it or whatever and wondering if I should trade the SVT in while I'm ahead. I could get the payments about the same and I think the insurance would be close to the same...haven't checked on that yet though. I would have the bumper to bumper warranty...and I wouldn't worry so much about things like plastic impellers, sagging bumpers or burnt underhood wiring. Don't get me wrong, I love my Contour as much as most of you. I love it when someone asks me what it is (Is that the new SHO?) or the look on people's faces when we pull up to the NEXT light. Geez, I even joined the SVTOA! I just have to make a decision, whether a new car would be better for me or just stick with what I've got. Sorry this post is so long, but I really need to hear some of your opinions here!

Mike

As sad as it may be, it would likely be WAY more practical to go with the WRX, rather than pouring a ton of cash into a car that simply wont last.

question your not still paying on your svt are you?? i hope not i would keep it or sell it yourself aint worth much on a trade in i worked for subaru all there vehicles are good service wise we hardly ever saw them except to change there oil

Oh yeah I'm still paying. I forgot to mention that. I owe a few thousand more than it's worth unfortunately. The miles are killing the value of the car...and I can't stop driving it! I'll be paying on the SVT for at least two more years, probably three. The problem with selling it is that I owe too much. I get offers all the time for what it's worth. I always shy away from selling to a person anyway unless there's cash in hand. About the Suburu, I know the drivetrain is proven. I've seen it abused in more ways than one and still hold up over time. I don't know much about the turbo that's in there, but knowing them it's designed pretty well. Someone told me it was made by Banks. Not sure but I understand it's a relatively low boost...which is good for longevity. At any rate I'm really torn about this whole thing. I'm definitely not running out to do the trade right away. I want to hear all of your comments first! Keep em coming guys.

thats not that many miles is it?

less then 200,000 km

my old sunbird had 220,000 on it and i beat it to hell and back, didnt burn oil, transmission let go before the motor...a v6 should last longer than a little gm made 4 cylinder

I hope i get more than 200,000 km out of my GL.. if not ill be paying for it after its died

theve had good turbos since the 80's at least if not longer but with any car its how you take care of it. sounds like your upsidedown in your svt so i cant advice you there except if you can afford it then do it but if you cant than just keep your svt atleast till its paid off. you sure have alot of miles on that car i have 2 contours my wifes 98 se just hit 50k and my 98 se is at 46k

Ah, the common misconception that you will save money by buying a new car...

I really think it is extremely unlikely that you will come out ahead finacially by spending $25,000 or whatever on another car. If you get say a 5 year loan you will be paying $5000 per year plus average of maybe about another $1000 per year in interest. If you keep the old car and spend even as much as $3000 per year repairing it you can save the other $15,000 toward your next car over that 5 year period.

"Take one low miles A1 condition Contour...place in large plastic bag....store for XXXXX years....worth it in the end!!!

It certainly wouldn't be financially sound to get the new car in the long term. In the short term the payments will probably be lower causing a little less financial burdon now. The insurance is also less on the WRX as I suspected. Even less burdon there. The biggest thing is the reliability though. It's such a tough choice for me. If I could only find a 2000 SVT with LOW miles...yeah right! I need that one out of Terry's plastic bag! Anyway, I appreciate all of the comments so far. Keep em coming! I still haven't decided. Thanks!

By the way, who does these Oasis reports on here? I'm assuming from what I've read that it's a repair history for the car. My VIN is 1FALP68GXWK124101 if someone would please run it for me. I'd consider keeping the SVT if I knew more about the repair history. I know that the original owner is an SVT nut like no other and had all of the work on this car down to the oil changes done at Ford of Kirkland where he worked. He traded this up for a 2001 Cobra. Thanks in advance!