Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Love before or After...?

I got pissed off at my modded SHO and wanted a new SHO type car...so the CSVT is what it was....

Coming from a very fast, great handling & braking, sharp looking 2 door sports car I needed a 4 door "family" car.

I gave up the being very fast, but kept the handling, braking, and great looks. That was an acceptable trade off and the SVT was unmatched when I bought it. To this date there still is not much that stands up against the SVT in overall package and price at it's been in service for nearly 10 years now. Factor in the horrible resale and the SVT makes one killer used car purchase!

I was in the market for a good looking, fairly quick (from the factory) 4 door. Looking at A4s, I happened to stumble upon the review of the SVT. Being a Ford guy, I was interested. After reading tons of reviews and comparisons, I found the CEG classifieds and my SVT. Flew from Fl to TX with a check in my hand and drove it home. All that without even seeing the inside of a 'tour (let alone the SVT) in person!

Of course I did have a return ticket and did a test drive to make sure I liked it and the guy didnt mis-represent the car over the phone and in pics. I had no intention of flying home, however. The car was pristine and as soon as I got behind the wheel I had a grin on my face!

I had a friend buy a contour, V6 MTX, took a ride in it once, and from that day on i wanted one, then, as luck would have it, i was looking for a car, and thare one was.

I didn't even know what the SVT Contour was about 6 months before I got it. I realy wanted a Mustang GT but couldn't get with the insurance costs so I tried to look for something that was American and resonably quick. Found the Contour, looked around here, and have driven it ever since.

I still need a lot more power and RWD but I will probably keeping the Contour for really long time. It's too rare to give up.

Bought new after a lot of careful consideration of many different cars.

My CRX Si was totalled and I needed a bigger car anyway since we were starting a family.

I "loved" Maxima SEs but this car won my dollar. I don't regret it (usually).

If it was 1996 again, I'd do it again.

for me... I had to start finding a car... I wanted to find a decent sized car for a good price. I looked at Escorts, and the only ones I liked were the GT's and ZX2's which both were out of my price range (I would have taken them regaurdless of it they are 2 door or not)... I looked at Honda Civic's which I only liked the 2 door... and I REALLY wanted a 4 door car, mileage was too high to find one in my price range also. I looked into Daewoo, and came SUPER close to buying a 2000 Lanos Hatchback with an automatic... But decided against it. My brother calls me one day and says "What about a contour?" Both of us knowing very little about them... He pointed me in the direction of a 96 Mystique LS which was out of my price range (which I SHOULD have tried to get because an mechanic had owned it). AND the other option was a 96 Contour GL. There was literally NO information about this car in the paper except where to look at it. I showed up, and low and behold its 1) in my faveriote color (NO thats not what determines buying a car for me). The body was in pretty good shape. I walk up closer to it.. and i see that it has a stick... That was the killing point, I HAD to have the car. 100K miles, but when we started it... Ran like a top. Took it for a drive, and thats when I knew... I had to jump on this car. I had my dad look it over, said it was a good buy. Bought it within the week for $1750 out the door. 2K miles later... Timing belt snapped in my driveway... i got about 10 minutes of warning on my drive home from school. I got over charged to replace that and my serpentine belt. Ive also had a bunch of little various problems that I have delt with... Lately I have needed Sway bar links and bushings... I have no money to replace them... Nor do I have any time... it makes me sad because the klunking noise drives me NUTS!. I love how the car drives, I love the unique styling of the car, and if I could... I would never give mine up. I REALLY want to drop a new engine and trans into it if mine ever gives out. But I know that I need to get rid of her some day, its a sad day for a kid to let his first car go to some other kid who probably will beat the [censored] out of it. But Its ok... because the contour spirit will roll on in my Focus! HEHEHE.

My second car was a 98 Mystique, bought it one year old. It was a zetec ATX. I replaced the tranny at 80K KM and both front wheel bearings within a few months of owning it. I was pretty happy to get rid of it shortly after. I replaced it with a 2000 Focus SE MTX and it felt like a rocket compared to the Mystique . I have since owned a WRX and blew the tranny in it had tons of problems with it and was also happy to get rid of it. I started pickup up beaters and fixing them up to sell them. I came accross my current 96 Mystique and figured it was a good deal and I would do the same, sell it within a few months. Then in fixing it I came accross the 3.0L forum The rest is history.

BTW no I haven't blown my stock diff

I started with a 97 SE Sport only because I wanted a stick after driving atx for years. After calling 25 to 30 dealers and coming up with about 6 cars, I went to my Ford dealer and told him to find me something. He came up with a black 97 Sport Zetec. I bought it because I was tired of looking, talk about fate. That's what brought me to where I am today. The longer I had the Contour, the more I liked it, and now I have my SVT. God, what a country!! And, like JCSVT says, it's just too rare to give up. I'll never, ever again be able to say I own 1 of 207 that were ever made. That's just too cool.