Although I put very few miles on this vehicle the brakes had to be repaired 5 times, tires replaced twice. It seemed as if it spent more time in the dealership than at my house. The alternator went out, the belts had to be replaced. The speedometer was intermittent. The dealer could not get find out why the dummy lights remained on.
This was my 5th and LAST ford. Having a lemon is one thing, but the company refusing to assist with one of there dealers is another. Every time I looked at this vehicle I could feel my blood pressure rise. I took the loss had it destroyed and bought a Dodge. I will never own another ford or purchase any vehicle affiliated with ford. I no longer let anyone in my family use the F word!
Some drivers need more than a 2.o 4cyl. by the time you push the little motor to speed, you brake heavy to stop.
I would recommend a ford, since now in almost 2004 still own a 1996 Contour LXC. v6 mtx.
These vehicals are fine machines, but they are sophisticated automoblies as well. They have many sensors for emmisions control and engine management purposes. People drive cars these days like they are indestructable.
Abusing a 2.0 engine will get you hating ford.
The dummy lights are there to indicate a certain condition which may require some attention. from the pathetic line of reasoning you choose to wander it was more to warn the passengers that YOU wre present than anything else. as for tire wear, it is very important on any vehicle to check and maintain the pressure, as well as to rotate them at each oil change (if you do change your oil).
As an owner of a '98 Contour GL, I too can attest to the fact that this car wears through tires faster than any other car my husband and I have owned. My husband is very particular about maintaining our cars, including good quality tires, correct tire pressures, and regular tire rotations. We still needed to replace the tires every 15,000 to 20,000 miles.
I would say that the tire wear is acceptable given the small size tire. Remember, smaller times rotate faster than a larger tire at ANY given speed, and commonly wear faster for that reason. They heat up faster, and are weaker when combating road stresses than the larger, but that is inherent with the limitation of size.
True quality is also subjective regardless of brand when talking about compact car tires; less attention, development, design and material, is given to a small commercial tire than what is given for a larger, higher priced vehicle tire, unless you go for a performance rated tire.
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