Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting should I sell my csvt?

I assume you are afraid that fixing these problems will not be the end. I have 149k miles almost 150k miles on my 96 mystique which is the same as a contour. The only major problem it has had,that I know of, is the tranny at 146k miles and it was an auto now a manuel. Mine is not a duratec, but a zetec 4 cyl model. The tires are going to wear out on any car if you drive it that hard. Also have you changed the tranny fluid? That might help. But if you have been bittin by the new car bug then no matter how good your car is you want another one. My suggestion if you can afford a new car and want one then just do it and sell your car to someone who will enjoy it and the fact that you already paid the majority of the depreciation on it. Just remember you will likely be doing the same thing again in 4 to 5 years.

From your tire wear it is obvious you are a hard driver and based on that, your car will require more maintenance than a gentler driver. So be it, it's your money and your car. With the current age and mileage on your 2000 SVT you have already taken most of the depreciation, getting another car at this point will be costly. Equivalent new cars are running in the upper 20k's and low 30k's.

From what you have posted you have no big buck repairs at the moment just a bunch of routine, but not necessarily cheap maintenance. I'd recommend investing in the current maintenance effort and continue driving. I would postpone the decision of replacement until you are faced with a major repair such as a transmission or engine. Given your driving style I'd go for another 2 years and not worry about mileage.

Buying a newer car will (usually) reduce your maintenance requirements but at the expense of a much higher car loan payment or cash upfront. Maintaining a 4 -6 year old car is much less expensive than paying for a newer one. But how much maintenance hassle do you want to live with?

Eric

Would one of the moderators please move this to the General board,
so that Zetetic can get some more responses.


Zetetic driving your car hard will produce more problems. You stated your leaning in the direction to get rid of it so therefore I said you've made up your mind to sell.

Certain problems come about, but most of the severe breakdowns are more
from modding/hard driving then from normal use.
Quick short trips doesn't help either. Stop and go traffic will mean the brakes will need to be changed more often and fluids must be replaced sooner, especially the tranny fluid.

The big one - spun bearings is really for HARD drivers like yourself. If you put in 6lt of oil your chances of not spinning one is a little better, but the chance is still there.

If you drive your new car like you do the Contour, you may be faced
with the same position your in now. New cars have more electronics and more things to break.
You might be surprized how much more often your new car needs repairs,
but atleast you'll have a warranty. Only not for what you need to repair on the Contour now.

Severe future unknown breakdown can happen to any car, new or old.

OK let's look at this little list you've made:

Originally posted by Zetetic:

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I'm looking at:
- new brake pads
- new shocks?
- complete chassis lubrication (lots of squeaks, and I've had the ebrake cable taken care of)
- new set of tires is coming up kind of soon, I'm on my third set. I do *not* peel out, I just take corners as the csvt wants you to. fyi I ran through stock rubber KDWs in 12k, second identical set in 15k, now I'm on the awesome but expensive michelin pilot sport A/S's and am maybe 1/2 to 2/3s of the way through them.
- water pump?
- something for the problems I have shifting (hard to get into first, second, and reverse); maybe I just need the "cocktail"?
- baffled oil pan?

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Brake pads are simple and cheap to replace.
Shocks represent a weekend of work and about $250 for a full set of SVT struts. How would all four shocks be dead after 46,000 miles though? I got 80,000 out of mine and that's driving over crappy michigan roads every day.
Chassis lube - not sure about that one as my chassis dosen't "squeak", although the interior plastics and leather sure do!
Tires - KDW's are known to be high-grip low mileage tires, especially with agressive driving. It's typical.
Water pump - $70 for the metal blade impeller and maybe an hour to change out.
Shifting problems - I'd say likely the shift tower, moderately expensive and moderately difficult to repair.
Not sure about the baffled oil pan.

Unless there are other "serious" problems then this falls under the typical repair and maintenance category of stuff. Hardly worth dumping the car over IMO.

The rest of your post sounds like you verbalizing your worries and indecision over the car, except for this comment:

Originally posted by Zetetic:

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I drive my car HARD, and know there are consequences for this.

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That really sums it up right there. You sleep in the bed you made. The SVT Contour is a slightly high strung, slightly finicky performance car. NOT something you can just drive and forget about. It requires care and maintenance and isn't the most reliable.

The people who have over 150,000 miles are the ones who drive responsibly and maintain the car agressively. If you're not willing to do those things then maybe you should sell the car after all.

SVT's, hell contiques in general are not for the mechanically timid. These cars will make a backyard mechanic out of the average owner. Everything you stated that is wrong with your tour is small beans, one weekend and lots of beer would have all that work done.

I have to side with a lot of the others on here: Keep it. I went through the same dilemma when knowing that there were some *potential* problems that could arise with the car, and debating whether or not I would want to take that risk.

I decided to take it. I replaced the wear items that needed replacing (brake pads and rotors mainly, end links and bushings) as well as making the switch to Redline MTL (really helps the shifting -- read the transaxle board). When my struts started to leak (at roughly 140K kms), I had them replaced, and the car is excellent since then. I have a little rust forming, but that's it. I keep up with my maintenance, and I treat her well, so she treats me well. And I am not saint on a twisty mountain road either.

The biggest repair that I have faced was a blown steering rack. That ran me $800 Cdn. Still cheaper than 2 or 3 car payments.

Bottom line, what are you thinking about buying and how much will it cost you? The CSVT is the poor mans BMW. When it runs, it is great! But Ford has poor quality controls on the lower end cars like the Tour and Focus. I love my Tour and it is my daily beater, but I know it is inevitable that I'll start it one morning and the [censored] check engine light will pop on! But it is an inexpensive car

Ford Coutour SVT's suffer from automotive Bipolar Disorder.

Everyone gets frustrated with their contours. This is what you should do, sell your car to some kid who will actually appreciate it!