Goodbye, Contour ... [56k]

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

My last photo shoot with this car. Shame it was about 16 degrees out and way too cold to give it a bath. The car ran great when I sold it today, which made it all the harder to give up.

My usual school hosting is down for the holidays .. apologies if AOL FTP space goes down for bandwidth use.

Too icy to go down the hill to the boat ramp, so I stopped at the road instead:

Greystone cloth interior, excellent condition...

A bit of 1998 dash warp:

We recorded mileage as 77,777 on the bill of sale

.. got a kick doing that

My only exterior aesthetic mod: Apple sticker with my Clifford alarm antenna (the alarm went with the car, shame

)

This LED came with the car when we bought it in 2001, supposed Ford dealer-installed alarm that was removed. I wanted to keep this piece to install in an SVT later, but didn't have the time to hunt junkyards for a replacement.

Cord and switch for radar detector (snakes up the A-pillar)

Final resting spot when I left it at Harbro used cars in Oxford/Webster, MA

... she will most certainly be missed.

I am a shining example of someone who regularly gets hosed by the Ford stealership.

Below are a few (but not nearly all) of the repairs or maintenance the Contour has required under my and my parents' ownership:

8/22/05 - 9/02/05: 75K miles: diagnosis/x2, new WP, thermostat, radiator, O2 sensor (p1151), front brake pads/rotors, coolant flush: $1328.54

5/19/05: windshield (d'oh for no comprehensive insurance

): $245.00

3/18/05 - 3/25/05: 68K miles: diagnosis, lower control arms, inner tie rods, lower ball joints, front and rear sway bar links/bushings, alignment: $1606.43

10/18/04: 64K miles: front pads, rear shoes, rear cylinders: $358.87 (leaky cylinders forced me to bring a Subaru to the Fall '04 meet

)

10/15/04: 64K miles: tires/x4, alignment: $418.47

2/3/04: 54K miles: upper/lower intake gaskets/manifold, power steering pump and belt, tranny flush: $884.81

1/14/03: 40K miles: diagnosis, O2 sensors: $335.30

3/22/02: 33K miles: both front rotors cracked (God forbid I make an emergency stop

... covered by warranty), new pads: $103.91

3/19/02: 33K miles: failed MA state inspection; tie rod ends, alignment: $222.87

7/19/01: 27K miles: muffler broke at cats, rear sway bar links and bushings: covered by warranty

3/27/01: 24K miles: new shifter (was loose), fuel pump, ignition and all locks, rear plate plastic housing: covered by warranty

On the bright side, your speedo has a full house (77788)

So what car are you picking up? If you dont mind me asking how much did you get for you contour??? The car looks in really good shape.

Originally posted by jtour:
So what car are you picking up? If you dont mind me asking how much did you get for you contour??? The car looks in really good shape.

Got $1500 for the Contour - exactly what I told the salesman I was asking, which probably means I could have gotten more .. but at that point I was just ready to sell it! See this link for more info on my new Maxima listed in the sig and some pics (which are temporarily down as my school likes to turn off hosting over the holidays, probably to replace equipment). I plan to post an actual photo shoot once the car is registered in my name come Monday.

Well, good move. that maxima is probably a better car, with more you can do to it. The contour sounded like a bucket...

Originally posted by 98 SE:
I am a shining example of someone who regularly gets hosed by the Ford stealership. Below are a few (but not nearly all) of the repairs or maintenance the Contour has required under my and my parents' ownership:

DANG! That's $5,504.20!!!

and apparently the list wasn't even complete.

Truth be told, while that number seems high as a single bolus, it might not be too unreasonable given 4 years of ownership (<$1,400 per year)... I have to go through my own Quicken records, but how much do y'all here spend a year servicing your Contique?

Hmm, I thought I saw a few contours with a bar going across that lower grill but I chalked it up to going crazy. Never knew what it actually was. Anyway I'm sure that maxima is gonna be a fun time with all that "not breaking" it has over the contour

Originally posted by 98 SE:

Originally posted by jtour:
So what car are you picking up? If you dont mind me asking how much did you get for you contour??? The car looks in really good shape.

Got $1500 for the Contour - exactly what I told the salesman I was asking, which probably means I could have gotten more .. but at that point I was just ready to sell it! See this link for more info on my new Maxima listed in the sig and some pics (which are temporarily down as my school likes to turn off hosting over the holidays, probably to replace equipment). I plan to post an actual photo shoot once the car is registered in my name come Monday.

Its alright price. Like stated above it sounded like your Tour was just a money pit. Good luck with the new ride.

You had a nice Tour there. The dealer probably will profut on the resale...It looks like normal wear and tear to me. The prices were high though.

The suspension problems seem to go along with my impression of Worcester Mass roads (Very Bumpy!!) I went through there in a "smooth riding" 03 Avalon, and it wasn't smooth. My cousin from there wore out 3 transmissions in his supercharged Grand Prix, and always wore out the struts. He got a turbodiesel Silverado with an Allison truck transmission, mayb that will last!

Originally posted by FavoriteMystaque:
You had a nice Tour there. The dealer probably will profut on the resale...It looks like normal wear and tear to me. The prices were high though. The suspension problems seem to go along with my impression of Worcester Mass roads (Very Bumpy!!) I went through there in a "smooth riding" 03 Avalon, and it wasn't smooth. My cousin from there wore out 3 transmissions in his supercharged Grand Prix, and always wore out the struts. He got a turbodiesel Silverado with an Allison truck transmission, mayb that will last!

It isn't so much the Worcester roads as it is the west Millbury, south Auburn, and west Sutton paved cowpaths (one of which my house is located on). There are freshwater streams that flow directly across the roads and create massive frost heaves or potholes in the winter. Ironically enough, the worst one of all, a 1/4 mile section at the end of my street that turns into 3+ inches of solid ice each winter (resulting in foot-deep potholes), was revamped and repaved just as I bought the new car.

FrenchblueC2, Cobra, and Goonz got a taste for what my roads are like when driving to the Fall Meet - they are quite like that dirt path the GPS guided us through as a shortcut.

does your car get a balloon to ?

I guess my impression of the roads was right

, enjoy the new Maxima! I'm sure you will stay on here "trolling"

Originally posted by 98 SE:

Originally posted by jtour:
So what car are you picking up? If you dont mind me asking how much did you get for you contour??? The car looks in really good shape.

Got $1500 for the Contour - exactly what I told the salesman I was asking, which probably means I could have gotten more .. but at that point I was just ready to sell it! See this link for more info on my new Maxima listed in the sig and some pics (which are temporarily down as my school likes to turn off hosting over the holidays, probably to replace equipment). I plan to post an actual photo shoot once the car is registered in my name come Monday.

Wow, you probably could have gotten twice that if you were patient!!

No time to be patient. I needed to sell the Contour in order to have the funds to register the Maxima on the road

... consequently I wanted the money as soon as possible.

Additionally, being a college senior, I'm a bit too busy to be trying to sell a car through classifieds or whatnot. I did advertise through my sig for about a week and a half, being that I hoped it would go to a CEGer. I did get two people who seemed semi-interested, but they were both from Michigan which would have complicated things since I did want to sell the car quickly.

Tomorrow I have a lot of running around to do before classes begin ... insurance company, bank, RMV, and finally campus police to use the parking lots. It's too bad the insurance company was closed on Friday; I could have gotten this all done then (everything else depends on that...).