27th Nov 2007, 20:29
"Bottom line- stay away from domestics because more likely than not, they're going to have problems and hence cost you more money down the line."
I disagree with this statement. I've owned over a dozen used domestics in the range of 5-15 years old, and they have been good cars. My '97 Mercury Sable was four years old when I got it with 30,000 miles, and it now has nearly 180,000 miles on it with no repairs needed. The story is similar for my '84 Plymouth Reliant, '83 Chevy Cavalier, '94 Cadillac Seville, and '02 Ford Explorer. All of these vehicles were less than $5,000, and several were less than $1,500.
On the other hand, with people clamoring about used Toyotas, you can get great deals on used domestics, and if you do your own maintenance, you can save all the more money.
29th Nov 2007, 11:30
Indeed, 20:29 is smart: let someone else pay the horrendous depreciation on domestics, then maintain the car well and avoid abusing it. My kind of thinking.
28th Aug 2008, 19:49
Well I have had my Ford Contour for 2 months and I have had lots of problems with it.
It seems like I can't keep the check engine light off, my transmission is shifting hard, and when I take off in first gear, it wants to vibrate slightly when I put a load on it by turning on the A/C; it starts shaking violently and loses power.
I'm a huge Ford fan, but this is almost enough to reconsider Ford. Note that I do have a 2.5 V6 DOHC 24v 1998 model GL version with 154,000 thousand on it, but I treat it like a Corvette.
My advice is do a lot of research before buying.
13th Mar 2009, 19:20
1998 SE, bought it with 98,000 back in 2005, currently has about 138,000.
Replaced rack at about 105,000 and trans at about 108,000, and water pump at 110,000 (could they make it any harder?).
Overall, a nice driving, comfy car. Check engine light... try fuel injector cleaner about every 4th fill up, and see if your oil dipstick has its rubber o-ring still.
Anyone want to buy it? Will need an alternator (battery light been flickering for about two years, alt putting out about 55 amps, should be 100 or better, but it never has NOT started. Oh yea, will need a trans soon, I think, it's bucking at about 35 mph, like it's jumping into neutral, fluid is up, not burnt. OD light and check engine lights are both off?
I guess since I paid $700, and the major repairs (Rack and Transmission) cost roughly $3200 combined, I got my monies worth???
I want my 1991 Escort back, sold it for $400 with a 178,000 miles on it and it was easier to work on!!!.
Buy a Hyundai or KIA 100,000 mile warranty!!!
27th Nov 2007, 15:58
Judging from most comments, it appears the tranny has a design flaw.
Normally the tranny should hold up for the life of the vehicle. I never have had an automatic go bad on me, even in cars at 150k miles. (GM cars)
There are so many cars you can find that are in good shape for around 2-3k, BUT don't go to a dealer if you can avoid it. Just shop around on craigslist.
Oh, and send the Contour to the junkyard; you should get 300-500 out of it.