Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Good bye All Mazda 6 time!

For a while, I was sinking on average about what a monthly car payment would cost into my '95 Contour every month and a half or so. Partly on performance, partly on maintenance/repair. And that's how I did and continue to put it...those are my car payments, since it was bought outright for a very reasonable price. On the other hand, I sold my wife's '96 (4 cyl) because the performance and quality weren't enough to justify the "payments" we'd be making on it, and we got a 4 cyl Mazda 6 that was nicer in every respect, even though it's costing us more. It's her primary car and we usually take it when we go places together, and I still enjoy my growly, rattly, BAT-equipped Contour for my own use. Best of both worlds.

BTW, even the automatic, 4-cyl 6 can skedaddle when you pop it into the manumatic gates and rev it like it's an S2000. It's hiding 160hp in that 2.3L and you just have to WANT them.

I'd be interested in knowing what repairs your five year old car has required in, say, the last 6 months, but if you'd rather not go into that, I understand.

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Ah, let me see here. LOTS of little things, if that's what you call it. The rear doors won't shut unless you slam yourself against them. I've tried everything to lube them. You can't open the drivers door unless you just about yank the handle off it. The dash was warped and two local dealers would not fix it even when the recall was still good (a long story). That's where Ford's customers service got VERY rude with me and hung up on me. So now my dash is warped up so high I can barely see out and my 5'2" girlfriend can't drive it at all. Anyway, the IMRC just went, and I just had the rear shoes replace for the third time in about six months. The struts in the rear are just about shot. The hood won't shut unless you slam in a dozen times. Now there's a "misfire" in cylinder #2. There's a hairline crack in the coolant reservoir tank which sets off the CEL every now and then (that's what the dealer claims, anyway). Now the tranny is shifting harder than usuall. I just had the tranny fluid changed. I've always had it changed on time. All this since summer. This car was NEVER beat, and only pushed hard going to emergency calls. There's more, but I can't think right now. It's A LOT of little things, and no, their not hard or expensive to replace, but I'm NOT putting it in the garage every month for nit picking little things, and paying $40/hr for labor. And I just don't have the time to do these things myself (or what I can do). I'm out of the country constantly, and when I'm not, I'm driving all over the country. I can't take the chance with a high mileage car. Especially in the middle of nowhere. I love the car, it's the best all around car I've driven or probably ever will drive, but life goes on and sometimes we have to make tough decisions in life.

I wish I owned a BMW M3

How long will it be before all of CEG has bought friggin Masda 6s???

Not me. Imports don't live long on the parking lot where I work.

Now there's a thought. But I think my Mystique still has a few good years left in her.

Right now I need to slip on the coveralls and crawl underneath and check out this CEL P0136 error code (bank 1, sensor 2, for anyone who was curious). I have MSDS headers and MIL eliminators so it might just be a wiring problem.

Sounds like Jac Nasser's legacy right there--they really did some cost cutting in the late 90s, I think, and it shows, what with all the problems the Focus had when it came out.

Ford service does indeed suck, their customer service line is useless (all they do is refer you back to the dealership where you had the problem--you won't speak to anyone with any authority or ability to solve the problem). I've noticed that they treat any contact information for Ford corporate other than the 800-392-FORD number as top-secret.

(The manual for my 1988 Mustang lists about 25 Ford regional offices to contact in case of any problems. A google search for the phone numbers listed turned up nothing, so I wonder if those offices are still around. As it's 10:25PM on a Saturday night, I'll wait to call the Washington region number).

On flatratetech.com they even go as far as suggesting you "bribe" the dealership mechanics for doing major warranty service because Ford doesn't pay them as much for warranty work.

All that said, my '96 Contour needs the 99m03 recall done and probably a new oil pressure sender (I think it's leaking from there) and it should be good for the next several years.

The fact that Ford service sucks doesn't really bother me (except for the 99m03 recall, which is the only reason I'm dealing with them right now). Once the warranty expires, I don't go back to them.

Joined the team Woo Woo! Mazda6club.com if you need a message board. I will say it does handle very well, but not as good as the tour did on Eibachs and Konis Enjoy man, oh yea, stick your color in your sig.