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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 41
New CEG\'er
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New CEG\'er
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 41 |
What a beauty!  Oh man would I love to own that sweetheart. 
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96 GL Sport
2.0L Zetec ATX
Custom Focus Intake
MSD Blaster DIS Coil
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,264
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 3,264 |
Quote:
Hmm. That's the first time I heard about the Contour not being big enough to have good resale value. It's considerably bigger than a Civic or a Corolla, and those cars have good resale value. I don't understand your reasoning here.
Contour is in the mid-size class along with (at the time) the Accord, Stratus, etc... Here's something to consider, the Focus is in the compact class. The Focus has more rear seat room and alot more front seat room. Sit in your Contour, then sit in a Stratus from the same era... hell sit in a Neon from that era, the Contour has a tight interior. People that were shopping for a family car (that is what the Contour is) were skipping the Contour because for the same price as a mildly loaded Contour, you could get a Taurus which had more room. You think someone looking for a family hauler cared about the Contour's awesome handling? NO, they wanted to put baby seats and kids in it.
As for your statement about the Contour recalls affecting its value, I don't agree with your premise at all. Do you really think Contours have a general reputation for being unreliable? If so, you'll have to share with us where you got that information.
Show me a Contour that isn't running a CEL and I'll show you how to hook the battery back up. It had how many recalls in it's model run? Even people that knew nothing about cars heard sbout them. It's not just Contours that have the reputation for being unreliable, it's pretty much all domestic cars. Hell I almost skipped buying my 96 V6 MTX because of the horrible list of problems I found just by opening a couple rags. I ended up with the car because I got it for 1/3 of it's original price after 3 years and it was fun to drive. My Contour was a POS though. The power steering pump went, the transmission had problems, and the secondaries on the duratec never opened consistently. I'm big into car audio, and have to say the way the interior is put together is pretty lame. I could see where all the rattles came from. To keep the Contour profitable, they had to decontent the car.
Now look at the Focus, it had just as many recalls. You're insane if you don't think that had an impact on that car. It hurt Ford big time because the steps needed to correct the problems were not cheap. The Focus sales dropped, and despite being touted as the best car in it's class, and making C/Ds top ten so many times, it still has crappy resale value just like the Contour did.
The resale on domestics is generally as low as it is because "you are buying someone elses problems"
Quote:
And anyway, do you really think the buying public would de-value Contours much just because of a few relatively easy fixes, especially ones done for free by a dealer under a recall?
Do you like having to take your car into the dealer? Maybe. Do you think some single mom with 3 kids and a job wants to juggle her schedule to make time to get this "free work" done? How about some guy driving down the highway in the winter and his plastic water pump goes. Whee! Do you like spending as much as a car costs and then have anything go wrong? I sure as hell don't.
Quote:
As for your comment about "a few people on an Internet forum", see my preceding post to Antonio.
Look at it this way. How many new users are looking for feedback before buying? Not too many. Most the people here already own Contours and found the site. I owned my 96 for over a year before I found the CEG. I wouldn't have stuck around except that the audio section of this Forum was, at the time, the best one I'd been to. Alot of these new members are trolls, alot are people who own the cars looking for info on how to fix them, etc...
I agree with everything Antonio said. In the grand scheme of things, CEG has no effect on the car's reputation. It's always going to be a Ford, and it's never going to be remembered as anything other than Tempo 2.
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,469
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,469 |
IMO the SVT Contour has a number of things going for it..
1) Its fairly rare, Euro designed, Roush tuned, SVT marketed
2) Its probably going to be the only 4-door SVT car ever made...as SVT supposedly goes upmarket..
3) Asthetically..its still a very handsome sedan...better than most newer designs (unless you actually like the WRX, Evo, Neon, Honda, 300C, GTO, etc look). Aging very well IMO...look at other sedans from the 98-00 years, mostly only the German cars are still holding up as well asthetically.
4) Winning Mondeo Touring car heritage
5) Still very enjoyable to drive...even compared to most modern stuff. Not "relatively" fast any more but very nice handling, brakes, great steering, great sounds, revs to 7K smooth as silk...its performance still compares well with BMW325i, IS300, A4, etc. and while much less refined, its as much fun to drive if not more so.
6) The terrific resource of CEG..from problems to mods to entertainment..
Some of you guys had lemons its clear, and I understand your different perspective but some of these cars are equally nice...typical Ford QC. Mine is nearly 5 years old and I have had the "dash fix", an O2 sensor (both warranty) and not a bit of trouble. Still love driving this thing, the MTX-75 is damn nice, smooth (I think it helps that I did early..starting at 750 miles..and often synthetic fluids), the engine feels stronger with age (mods don't hurt) & sounds better than any frickin' turbo I've heard, and the so called "cheap" leather looks new. I have test driven several potential buys in the last year..BMW, G35, Lexus, Audi but keep concluding that these cars are nicer but not really more fun to drive. They have are not yet tempted me toward a car payment. Have you noticed how many people here say they wish they still had SVT and have even in cases bought another years later?
Hey..(virtually) NO CAR is a good investment, some pretty expensive iron when new is pretty cheap these days. I personally think SVTs will tend to level off and depreciate much slower going foreward, but we'll see.
1999 Amazon Green SVT Contour (#554/2760)
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."
-Soren Kierkegaard (as posted by Jato)
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 1,467
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 1,467 |
Originally posted by caltour:
Originally posted by Antonio:
Lol. I am sorry but your post is comical.
What we say here will not lower or increase the value of a SVT Contour sitting down at your local Carmax. The general public ALREADY has there general perceptions on the car. You can blame Ford for that one, NOT comments from CEG.
I'm sorry, Antonio, but maybe putting so much money into mods (never a good financial investment, to put it mildly) and then selling it for DEALER TRADE IN VALUE (Yikes! The worst deal possible, usually) has made you a little bitter about your former car.
No my mistake was putting money in to a car that ended up being a piece of sh!t. I was FORCED to trade the car in to due the engine blowing for a second time. Am I bitter about it? You damn right I am. I pratically babied the damn thing and what did I get? A month of hell and some guy over the internet telling me about my financial investments. 
Like I said before. It is not even about the Contour anymore. The community here is great and I have made alot of friends.
Last edited by Antonio; 05/05/04 10:22 PM.
Now I hate America? That is a new one to me.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 4,760
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 4,760 |
Originally posted by Antonio:
Originally posted by caltour:
Originally posted by Antonio:
Lol. I am sorry but your post is comical.
What we say here will not lower or increase the value of a SVT Contour sitting down at your local Carmax. The general public ALREADY has there general perceptions on the car. You can blame Ford for that one, NOT comments from CEG.
I'm sorry, Antonio, but maybe putting so much money into mods (never a good financial investment, to put it mildly) and then selling it for DEALER TRADE IN VALUE (Yikes! The worst deal possible, usually) has made you a little bitter about your former car.
No my mistake was putting money in to a car that ended up being a piece of sh!t. I was FORCED to trade the car in to due the engine blowing for a second time. Am I bitter about it? You damn right I am. I pratically babied the damn thing and what did I get? A month of hell and some guy over the internet telling me about my financial investments.
Like I said before. It is not even about the Contour anymore. The community here is great and I have made alot of friends.
Nicely put Antonio, And sorry to hear about all the sht that happen with the car. Was one of my top 3 favorite SVTs.
Team Evo
Staz: You know why they call it Skunkworks?
Everyone: Why?
Staz: Because everything that comes out of it stinks!!!
Steeda-I hate you stazi
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 661
Veteran CEG\'er
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Veteran CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 661 |
Originally posted by Dan Nixon:
IMO the SVT Contour has a number of things going for it..
1) Its fairly rare, Euro designed, Roush tuned, SVT marketed
2) Its probably going to be the only 4-door SVT car ever made...as SVT supposedly goes upmarket..
3) Asthetically..its still a very handsome sedan...better than most newer designs (unless you actually like the WRX, Evo, Neon, Honda, 300C, GTO, etc look). Aging very well IMO...look at other sedans from the 98-00 years, mostly only the German cars are still holding up as well asthetically.
4) Winning Mondeo Touring car heritage
5) Still very enjoyable to drive...even compared to most modern stuff. Not "relatively" fast any more but very nice handling, brakes, great steering, great sounds, revs to 7K smooth as silk...its performance still compares well with BMW325i, IS300, A4, etc. and while much less refined, its as much fun to drive if not more so.
6) The terrific resource of CEG..from problems to mods to entertainment..
Some of you guys had lemons its clear, and I understand your different perspective but some of these cars are equally nice...typical Ford QC. Mine is nearly 5 years old and I have had the "dash fix", an O2 sensor (both warranty) and not a bit of trouble. Still love driving this thing, the MTX-75 is damn nice, smooth (I think it helps that I did early..starting at 750 miles..and often synthetic fluids), the engine feels stronger with age (mods don't hurt) & sounds better than any frickin' turbo I've heard, and the so called "cheap" leather looks new. I have test driven several potential buys in the last year..BMW, G35, Lexus, Audi but keep concluding that these cars are nicer but not really more fun to drive. They have are not yet tempted me toward a car payment. Have you noticed how many people here say they wish they still had SVT and have even in cases bought another years later?
Hey..(virtually) NO CAR is a good investment, some pretty expensive iron when new is pretty cheap these days. I personally think SVTs will tend to level off and depreciate much slower going foreward, but we'll see.
Amen.
Mine's in the same era as yours. I've done 2 sets of O2 sensors (every 2 years it seems), and 2 squirrel cages in the blower fan, one accessory pulley bearing, and one transmission fluid flush plus the dash warp fix and that's it in 5 years.
She's a sweetie, esp with DMD. Makes the best noises of any car I've heard, except maybe those V8 Ferraris.
The goofiest sounding car is the current gen M3. Or any Subie flat 4 (non-turbo).
Kerry
99 SVT Contour Silver Frost, #365/2760, DMD
98 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro Tiptronic, 30V -- SOLD!
91 Isuzu Impulse XS Kammback, Handling By Lotus
Victoria, BC, Canada
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 807
Veteran CEG\'er
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Veteran CEG\'er
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 807 |
Just a couple of points I wanted to add:
1) The Contour is a midsized car with the interior space of a compact. That's bad. The Focus, while classified as a compact is cavernous compared to the Contour. Now, IMO small cars with lots of room on the inside look like ugly bubbles, but hey that's the tradeoff. The Contour is the worst of both worlds in this regard: In parking lots it's a land yacht, yet if you're 6'3" or taller your head's going to be pressed into the ceiling and your knees hitting the dashboard.
2) Indeed the Contour replaced the Tempo, but any variety of Contour is MILES ahead of the Tempo; that thing was an underpowered piece of s*** IMO. I also find the Contour good looking, and of course the SVTC delivers some of the best performance-to-dollars ratio of any sports sedan, ever.
The pros and cons are both very strong. I bought one, obviously, and what's more is that I never get bit by the new car bug while I'm driving. I am concerned about reliability issues, though, and as I approach the point of being rightside up on the car I'm thinking about trading down to something Japanese. Unfortunately if I set out to do that, I'll probably succumb to the temptation to trade up to something European and fast, or American and fast.
TJ's dad: "So, what'd you get? A Sentra, a Civic..."
TJ: "I got an A6 2.7 turbo 6-spd! Only a hundred thousand miles on it, Dad!" 
--T.J.
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