Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General looking at getting an SVT C

Is there anything I should look for? Certain years? Any major common defects in the vehicles? I'm in Kansas and am selling my 88 mustang GT. Trying to find out as much about this car as possible. Thanks, I appreciate any input you have!

search, but usually the car is an excellent little car. only thing that they really have a prob with is the water pump
i would replace it as soon as you get the car. it has a plastic impeller and this usually breaks after about 65k

The 1999-2000 CSVT's have slightly more HP and torque, as well as the nicer "Cobra" type wheels, and slightly bigger tires. I am a new CSVT owner but from what I have read, the transmissions are not super strong. Don't try to shift one like the T-5 in your 88 GT. I have owned a total of 8 Mustangs in my life, they seem almost unbreakable. I would never drive the CSVT as hard as I did my Mustangs.

So far, the Contour is a great daily driver. Plenty of power, engine is smooth as silk, shifts very easily, and gets great fuel economy (which is good because gas will soon be $2.50/gal).

I bought one because the last Mustang I had was a pain getting my 2 kids in and out of. I was not sure if I was going to like the CSVT after owning Mustangs for the past 15 years, but I love it!

Good luck!

Give me the vin...and I will run a carfax for you. Save some headaches later.

Yeah they are good cars. The only thing that's gone wrong with mine is.. THE ENGINE!! Bwahahahaha...

I am in the same boat as you. selling my GTP coupe to get a SVT contour. I hear they are quite reliable. my biggest thing, going form a modded GTP, i need something with at least a little balls, and still gets good MPG's. I was hoping to get a car that had no mod potential, cause mods are like drugs to me, but oh well, thats part of life.

i just got sick of 150 a month in gas for my car only. having to run premium and getting 20mpg gets old quick, and that was driving it "nice". oh, and i need a sedan for hauling kids every now and then, when i am not in the mood to be in the wifeys car.

I sure will miss the raw power of my GTP when its gone, but nothing really fun about it except for 0-100 bursts.

BTW, what you asking for the pony? just curious..i love fox bodies.

SVT suggests premium fuel also. Daily enthusiastic driving yields me around 20 mpg, about 26 hi way. As for the original post, I've owned my car since 5/99 and have loved every second of it! The car still turns heads, even though it's going on 5 years old. Pre 99's have had water pump issues, but I have yet to find someone with a 99+ to have an issue (Ford switched to a newer plastic for the impeller). Crappy adhessive on the dash of 99-00 can lead to dash warp (dash pulls up along defroster vent), so keep an eye out for that.

FWIW, I average about 25-26MPG with 75% highway driving. If I drive 100% highway, I get 29MPG. The car revs at about 3200RPM at 80MPH, so I can't expect much better.

What everyone else says is correct, the main weak points of the SVT are the water pump and the transaxle.

If you find one with more than 75K or so, chances are it's had the water pump replaced. Hopefully through preventive maintenance, but more typically after a failure (hopefully one where the driver didn't let the car overheat).

The typical transaxle issue is the spider gears blow after a hard launch. No way to tell if the car's been abused that way, but if it doesn't make any noise and feels smooth you have to take the leap of faith.

There are cold shifting issues as well, but these aren't a big problem and can be reduced using CEG's tricks.

Happy hunting.

thanks a lot guys, you've been a good help. I'm asking 4800 but i'd be surprised if i get that outta my fox, got all kinds of info for ya lol. dont even talk to me about 20mpg, i never see that, rarely on the highway even!