Found a cheap Contour

A boredom Craigslist search showed me a $800 Ford Contour. V6, 5 speed. Sounds pretty fun if it runs and drives.

Worth it to buy, drive for a few weeks, and flip?

SVT? Those have a 3rd gear syncro issue that you should be aware of. If the trans is good then go for it.

IIRC they have some other issues as well, but are easy fixes. There was a thread about them a few months ago. A number of guys used to buy/fix/flip these cars.

dean1484 wrote: SVT? Those have a 3rd gear syncro issue that you should be aware of. If the trans is good then go for it.

Looks like a regular one, judging by the cloth seats. Still, if it's a runner and not all rusted out, it's easily worth $800.

If not rusted, I'd drive the wheels off it. Which may not be long considering it's a Ford.

There's one at a stealership local to me that looks decent, NMNA.

http://www.crossroadsusedcarsinc.com/1999_Ford_Contour%20SVT_Tremont_IL_229175192.veh

I've always kind of liked them and kind of wanted one. Never liked one enough to pull the trigger, though.

I worked for a Ford dealer in the late 90's. We had 3 or 4 Contours and Mystiques that were basically lot fixtures. If the transmissions weren't busted, they wouldn't start, if they did start, the engine wouldn't be running right.....I would stay far away from either of those cars.

I drove a few and V6 was AWESOME!! The noises it made where fantastic.

In reply to Fobroader:

Other than the oiling issues and lack of LSD for the SVT, what else plagued them?

Electrical gremlins up the wazoo, we had a cherry, low mileage red one that the tranny went out in....after it was just sitting. It would throw random codes, run rough, not start, kill the battery. Fun car when it ran right, but that didn't happen a lot.

There were the exhaust manifold / cat combos that would die and pull parts of the cat back through the exhaust port, if I remember right...

In reply to MINIzguy:

I've just about stopped asking about what others think about certain cars I like.

Not because it's not helpful but you'll never get a concensus on just about anything.

Id say go for it if you think you'll be happy with whatever you'll do with it.

(Just want to add this: GRM is the BEST site for these questions. It's chock full of smart, helpful guys so if you had to ask about a car, this is the place to do it!)

Not an SVT, but still has a V6. I was wondering if they were reliable and easy to flip.

Good to know what you guys think of it. I'll check it out if I have time this week.

I know my buddy had one in college and it had a lot of electrical problems and that was 10 years ago. I don't know how common that is though.

I blew up my SVT but then again I've blown up most vehicles I've owned.

I had a '96 SE V6 5MT for a couple of years before I sold it to buy a '98 Maxima SE. I'll copy / paste from my post here:

"Owned a '96 SE for several years and always wished I had ponied up the cash for the SVT. At the time, the local SVT dealers here were treating them like the second coming. Even for the used ones, no test drives without signed purchase agreements, etc. But the add'l 30 horses would have been appreciated, as would have the stiffer suspension.

I loved the core of that car. Engine, transmission, brakes & suspension. Free-revving 2.5 liter 24-valve V6. Nice 5-speed with cleanly-spaced ratios (although 60 mph required third gear.) Good four wheel discs with unobtrusive ABS. Stiff but not painfully sprung. I had lots of fun blasting up and down on/off-ramps, carving up corners, the occasional high-speed freeway run and relative anonymity from the local law enforcement.

It was everything else sucked. Eventually I couldn't tolerate the nickel & diming. Seat rails that didn't fit tightly to the bases, thus creating a wallowing effect that couldn't be solved without full replacement. Plastic water pump impeller disintegrating during a morning commute, thankfully I saw the temp gauge peg and rolled it off before it warped the heads. All manner of body hardware failure, terrible window seals, ground effect fastener plugs that never stayed in place, leaky trunk, et al. The final death blow was a leaky rear main seal that would have cost $800 in labor just to get at.

Sold it for what I owed, then bought a '98 Maxima SE. The Nissan was superior in almost all aspects... more horsepower, great sounds from the VQ engine, excellent transmission, more brakes, way better interior room & ergonomics. Everything except for handling. The Contour's multilink rear suspension was more planted & reliable than the Maxima's beam with trailing arms..."

If you can live with quirky styling and Ford of Europe parts, go for it. I still miss how fun it was to drive but not the dollars I poured into it.

My brother used to have an SVT Contour, I loved that car. At the time, I had a '96 Maxima SE. I agree with tdisalvo. The Maxima was a better car in most ways, but the SVT was more fun to drive. I think it was one of the best looking four doors.

The regular V6 5 spd was also a good car. If you needed a cheap driver or project, it could be a good car. I wouldn't buy one to flip though. They are not very desirable or valuable, and you could lose your money quick if it needs any work.

They have disappeared around here. The only one I know of is a CHUMP car. No regular Contours either.

My 2000 CSVT was one of the best cars I've ever owned. Fun, practical, cheap, and (for me) reliable. I know they had their issues, I guess I just got lucky. Bought it for $7k, put 40k miles on it, and sold it for $6200. Loved that car.

I had similar experience to the other Contour owners. Really liked the car, but finding a cheap Contour is similar to finding a cheap Porsche. It ain't cheap to fix.