Ford Contour V6 and/or SVT

[SlowSpyder]

I'm going to probably keep my 98 Sable through the winter, in the spring I think I might look at replacing it. I'm looking to spend around $4-$5k for a used car. I like my Sable, but it's coming up on 150,000 miles and I'd like something with a bit better gas mileage. Manual transmission would be a big bonus also. Looking on Autotrader.com the Contour SE/Mercury Mystique with a V6 and 5 speed is in the $3500 range, the SVT is in the $5k range. I think it'd be a decently fun car and still be able to carry my wife and son without any problems while getting a bit better gas mileage then my current car. Anyway, has anyone owned one of these cars? Any comments on the reliability?

My Sable has a 3.0 liter Duratech V6, the Contour has a 2.5 liter Duratech V6. The SVT has 30 more horsepower (200 vs. 170), nicer wheels, body parts, interior updates, bigger brakes and a sportier suspension from what I understand, otherwise they're pretty much the same. Thanks for any opinions.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Gotta head this one off at the pass...

My dad owned a Contour V6, later passed on to my brother and I. It was a lot of fun to drive, lots of spunk, great handling, etc., but it was just not worth the headaches.

Blown water pump, electrical problems, you name it. The car was not abused; it had its regular maintenance and it still developed huge issues. I don't remember the details, but it amounted to about $2,500 worth of repairs over the course of a few months. At that point, the car had only 160,000 km (100k miles).

Avoid these vehicles, please.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Well I know it as the Ford Mondeo and they are reliable transport with a pretty spirited drive for a FWD car. Parts are cheap, should you need them.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Well I know it as the Ford Mondeo and they are reliable transport with a pretty spirited drive for a FWD car. Parts are cheap, should you need them.

Interesting...why is it that Ford seems to cheap out on the North American versions and only sell their quality products in Europe and elsewhere?

 

[SlowSpyder]

I'd give my Sable a B- in reliability. It always gets me where I need to go, no engine/transmission issues at all. But, the turn signals don't always work (biggest complaint I have), the radio stays on after I power off the car sometimes, the passenger door lock sticks, the tires wear unevenly (wheel bearings are bad I think, but that'll happen on any car), and other little annoyances. I figured the Contour would be just a smaller version of what I have, so I was -hoping- it'd be fairly reliable.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Well I know it as the Ford Mondeo and they are reliable transport with a pretty spirited drive for a FWD car. Parts are cheap, should you need them.

Interesting...why is it that Ford seems to cheap out on the North American versions and only sell their quality products in Europe and elsewhere?

I think they have a cheap image and people are just not willing to pay just a little more for something decent.

 

[vi edit]

The SVT is a hoot to drive. Not a ton of grunt off the line, but it winds up well and gets moving at higher RPM's. One of the best handling FWD cars you will find too.

Problems are weak water pumps that are known to go out early (as noted earlier).

The shifter is very grumpy in cold weather and will get very stiff (worse than any other manual gear box I've used).

Very expensive repairs under the hood. That 2.5L is wedged in there and it's a bitch to work on. Plus being an SVT means that it has a number of custom parts that will not be as easy to find as the more pedestrian version.

You also run into problems finding a clean/non-abused one. This car is prime target for the boy-ricer crowd. So many of these poor vehicles have had lame body kits, chop-job performance upgrades, and general abuse. Finding a "pure" one is very difficult.

 

[Vetterin]

Okay, reality time. I bought an SVT new in 98 and just traded it in last year for my Subaru. In the 8 years I owned it the biggest problem I had was a dead fuel pump and a bad crank position sensor both of which I replace myself (actually I did all my maintenance myself) . The water pumps get a bad rap because the early years 95-98 had plastic impellers which tended to self destruct at around 60K miles. After 98 they switched to a metal impeller and that's the end of that problem.
The SVT or even the SE for that matter are great road handling cars and really fun to drive.
I bought my first NEW car in 1970 (442 W30), but still think my SVT has been the best overall car I have had. Good luck in your search.