Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Contours/ Fords disposable?

So are Contours disposable? Mine 1998 just hit 100K miles and it seems to be dieing. I have replaced a hub and bearing (and need a 2nd), O2 sensors, speed sensors, clutch and not I am about to go pay for new Timing chain guides and tensioners.

We have owned it since we bought it new with 12 miles. We change the oil regularly, and try to do routine upkeep. To be fair it did give us many years with little trouble.

It just seems that the past 20K miles or so, everything has been going wrong with it. I feel like I am slowly replacing everything but the body.

Is that the reason that most of the enthusiasts (like people on this site) are so knowledgable and experienced with their cars? They have had to be to keep them running?

uhhh, Pretty much any car will begin to need parts replaced at 100k miles.

If you actually think about how much 100k miles is it can put it into perspective. Things wear down over time and have to be replaced.

nothing lasts forever.

Shoot no. I have a 98.5 with over 140k on the clock and yeah, we've had to replace a FEW things, but very few. It really depends on how well you take care of it. At 100K though, things are going to start going bad for once, it's not a reason to get rid of the car though. Fix things and move on, they'll last as long as you let them.

Meancontour, how hard to you drive it? Do you spin the tires often? Rev it to the redline often?

Most cars, (and Fords in particular) will go through a big maintenance cylce at 90-100K miles or so. Expensive things like the AC compressor and ATX will be replaced, and neither of these are cheap to fix. This is the main reason why our cars have such poor resale value.

I usually buy most of my cars at this point and have a relatively good next 100K. The 2000 SVT I just bought has already had the engine, tranny, clutch and AC rebuilt. The way I see it, it should be good to go for a few years.

I've got 170,000 on my Mystique, and other than the scheduled maintenance, intake manifold gaskets, front brake pads and rotors, etc, I haven't had any surprises with my car. But I follow the factory maintenance schedule religiously, and drive extremely conservatively.

But getting back to disposable.....YES, I have heard Ford technicians refer to Contours/Mystiques as "disposable cars" and legend has it they cheer every time one of them hits the junkyard. The Contours are forever associated with Jac Nasser, one of the most hated men ever to run Ford Motor Company. The Contour was overpriced by about $3000 for its market class, often times costing MORE than a similarily equipped Taurus. I have read that Ford actually lost money on every Contour they sold, but they "had" to keep them on the market to compete with Grand Am's and
Century's.

Every time I take my Mystique to the dealer for its monthly oil change, the service manager always asks me when I'm trading "that thing" in for a "good" car. I tell him when it hits 200,000 miles, we'll talk.

As other said these are wear items, if you don't don't do your own repairs little thing here and there could add up,if you have the $ to spread that is nothing worng to tread your youself a new car at this point.

I've replaced very few things on mine. The water pump is the biggest. I'm still on my original clutch, bearings, starter, alternator, etc.

Just like most other cars, some are better, some are worse.

Welcome to the real world. Cars don't last forever, unless you want to spend big money replacing every part.

Do you wear the same shoes or underwear forever???