Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Does Ford Want My Business?

I just had a plugged main cat replaced on my Mystique under warranty. It wan't easy.

I suspected a plugged main cat about a month ago and took it to the dealer for diagnosis. Sure enough, they concurred and agreed to replace it under warranty, but the part was not in stock. They called me about two weeks later when the part came in. I brought the car down only to find that they had ordered the wrong part. Another week and a half later and they had the right part, but because I had an exhaust that was modified from factory design they wanted some money to install it in the modified system. The service rep floated a figure of $300. I, of course, had a kitten right on the spot and claimed that my exhaust shop could do the whole job, including parts, for that much. I said that I thought that what they needed to do should cost no more than $150. What really ticked me off was that the car had been there three times and they noticed only on the third visit that my exhaust was not stock. I was told that he would get a firmer estimate.

Surprise, surprise. The bill came to $150.25. If I had not complained, I am sure that the bill would have been over $300 for some pipe flaring and a few welds!

To their credit, they let me have a loaner on the third visit.

Here is the essence of my current state of mind.

1) It's been an OK car, but in seven years I have had to take it in for various recalls and repairs about 15 times.

2) Does Ford care that anyone looking for an upscale V6 sports sedan with a stick must go to either Cadillac or one of the foreign makes?

3) I know that the Futura is coming in a year or so , but do I want to risk it? Ford has had trouble making a reliable new model. As a matter of fact, the 1998 Mystique with a V6 is on Consumer Reports list of used cars to avoid.

4) I'll be looking for a new car in a year or so. The Futura will have to look pretty darn good to prevent me from considering a CTS or G35.

Sorry for the whining diatribe, but I just had to vent. Thanks.

I've been very happy with my Mystique but I'll be the first to admit that if Ford wants to hold their own against the competition they've got some work to do. They could start by having their dealerships hire technicians who actually know what they are doing.
As for Consumer Reports.....I just don't know about them. I looked in one before I bought my Mystique and it said reliability was average and it was even like number four or five on a very long list of recommended vehicles, beating several popular import models. Then I saw another one that said the 98s were good but avoid all the other years. Then another one came out that said avoid 95-98. Would they make up their minds already! The moral of the story.....take Consumer Reports with a grain of salt. A good friend of mine has a 98 Sable which had an excellent reliability rating....and guess what? He's spent probably 3 or 4 times more on repairs than I've spent on the stique at least..... It's almost a given that CR will give any Honda/Toyota/Nissan sedan an excellent rating but when I talk to people who actually own one I'm getting a different story. One friend has a mid/late 90s Camry that we think came from hell's hell....two of my other friends sold their Honda Accords because they were having so much trouble....And don't even get me started on Saturns.....I almost bought one because CR gave then an excellent reliability rating. Good thing I didn't. The people I know who drive them are almost all having constant trouble.
Sometimes I wonder.....if somebody's bribing consumer reports. Inquiring Minds want to know!

I see your point about CR. From what I understand, they rely on their members filling out survey forms every year. This could account for the variation in rating from year to year. I guess you should always be skeptical of a self-selecting sample in a statistical study.

Here's another question. If I average two visits to the shop every year for a repair or recall does this mean the very most reliable cars visit once a year?. With CR it is very difficult to see where the reliabilty of your own car fits into their rating system. Is your experience average ? Better? Worse than their population of survey respondents? Who knows?

Don't get me wrong. I love my Mystique, but it was what I would call a mature design when I bought it in the spring of '97. It seems to have had many reliability issues. It's a pity, because it has many endearing characteristics as well.

I just checked the CR new car issue and what bums me out is that the Focus SVT makes the list of recommended new cars, but Ford has cancelled it!

Let's hope the Focus ST doesn't have any teething problems.

One of the reasons I bought my 98 SE V6 was that it was recommended by CR (look it up). What is a Futura? I don't understand why NA car makers cannot put a manual shift on a V6 engine. I don't have the cash for a BMW.

You are dead on man!

I've participated in Consumer's Reports auto surveys for at least 20 years. They ask you questions, in several categories, if you've had a problem which you would define as SERIOUS, based on cost or safety issues, with your car. My idea of a serious problem may be a lot different than someone elses. For example, my precats have been bad for the last 40,000 miles, and many people would consider this a 'serious' problem because of the cost of replacement. For me, I don't consider it 'serious', because I don't intend to fix them, since my car runs just fine the way it is.

They originally rated the Contour/Mystique very highly, at least in '99, and I based my decision to buy based largely on their report. They have since rated Contour/Mystique models, especially older ones, as unreliable and not recommended. This is because as the cars get older, the repair history is worse than the average car. Therefore, although it was a recommended model when new, as it ages, it becomes less attractive due to high repair costs.

Sometimes I think Consumer's Reports is strongly biased towards Japanese cars, but if you look at the fact that Toyota is the #1 selling car in the US, that many customers can't be wrong. One thing I would like to see CR do is do a total cost of ownership survey. Although Japanese cars need repairs less often than American brands, the repair costs are traditionally much more than for domestic cars. Over the long haul, which cars REALLY have the lowest cost of ownership??

Don't start ranting about Ford for your issues. It's the dealership. They independently owned and operated.