1998 Ford Contour SE 2.5L Duratec V6 from North America
Summary:
Wonderful experience, wish I still had it
Faults:
Brakes.
EGR valve.
O2 sensor.
General Comments:
The 2.5L V6 Duratec was one of Ward's Top 10 engines in the 90s, and it's obvious why; the engine on this car purred like a kitten without any issues, other than routine maintenance.
Parts for this car were cheap and easy for even a novice DIYer.
What doomed this car was the transmission, which went on us rather suddenly. However we believe it had to do with a mechanic error mixing a transmission line with a power steering line (the transmission went the day after the mechanic had messed with it, with no prior symptoms).
This car handled like a dream; very sporty for a sedan.
This is the car I first learned to drive in, it was my mom's, we were so devastated we kept it around for about a year. We had a hurricane in that time and were without power for a week. The lighter port on our other (active) car was broken, we tried starting this car on the off-chance it would run, and after almost a year of sitting there and going through a hurricane, it started right up and was our lifeline for power for a week.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 29th December, 2013
5th Jun 2013, 11:56
I am very happy that you had a great experience with your car, but in all fairness, you only have 107k miles on it in 13 years of ownership. Nowadays, the real test of the car's worth only begins after 100k miles. With that said, I do hope that the car will continue to serve you well.