Hello everyone -
OK, I had a Contour-free weekend so I'm less frustrated now. Here's a rundown:
The overheating was indeed caused by water pump failure. This in turn caused the thermostat to go. The car has 68k miles on it and popular wisdom on here says these go around 60k. So obviously change yours if you are anywhere close to this. This will be covered by my extended warranty for the $50 deductible.
I also had a CEL (go figure). That turns out to be two emissions things - the EGR and DPFE sensor - neither of which are covered.
As alluded to before, I had and am still having problems with the roadside assistance that is part of the extended warranty. Based on this and my experience with what the warranty doesn't cover I would not recommend it. It seems like many SVT owners plan on buying this as insurance against the various engine/transmission problems out there. Unfortunately I don't think it's the total cure it needs to be.
I looked at new cars over the weekend and I'm slightly heartbroken. I wish I could just keep the SE but I don't know if I want the headaches/worries ya know?
- Markus
