1996 Ford Contour SL review from North America

I had to get a new transmission at 50,000 miles.

The impeller disintegrated and the pieces of it flew into my radiator, requiring a new one to be installed. This happened at 60,000 miles.

The A/C compressor fell apart.

The car has been dripping an oil-like substance (it's gray and thick), and smells absolutely terrible, but nobody can seem to figure out what it is. There is no oil leak.

Internally, the cup holder broke early on from normal use.

The factory CD player died after not much use at all.

The front passenger electric window went down one day and wouldn't go back up so I had to have the door disassembled to pull the glass back up, and now the window won't go down at all.

The check-engine light has come on four times, and all four times I paid $45 to have the mechanic tell me it was just a problem in the dash and there's nothing wrong with the car.

The cooling light also comes on periodically, but then shuts off after driving a few minutes.

The back doors developed a horrible squeaking sound when you open them and became very stiff.

The gas tank cover opens sometimes and doesn't open sometimes using the driver's side tank lever, and at times I have to go out and physically pry it open in order to get to the gas tank.

I bought this car because I wanted a reliable car to get me to and from work and was happy at first.

The car was under warranty when I bought it, and nothing started going wrong until the warranty expired.

I've gotten numerous notices of recalls on this car throughout ownership, some minor and some major.

The overall reliability of this car has steadily declined since day one of owning it.

I've had many mechanics tell me how cheaply made some of the engine parts are, and how they have directly impacted or caused all the problems I've had with it.

The interior of the car is very comfortable and the exterior is nice looking.

Unfortunately, the looks of the car have been deceiving and I have spent an enormous amount of money trying to keep the thing running for the past five years.

I would not recommend this car to anyone who is considering buying one.