Overview & Reviews

Designers sculpt and adjust interior seating to make more leg- and headroom in the backseat. Five new colors are available and improvements to shift effort on manual transmission models make the 1996 Contour more competitive.

User Reviews:

Showing 21 through 30 of 68.00

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  Marys review - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Mary dore - August 27 - 6:48 pm

  This car fails to meet normal wear and tear, it starts at about 5 years old. First the engine check light come on and no can fix, except for 250 dollars, then they can turn it off. Next, continual problems with the wheel, axles, bearing, alternator assembly replaced alternator, water heater, timing chain, and last but not least the transmission is shot -- every time I turned something was wrong with this vehicle. What a piece of junk, I will never buy anything again that says Ford or Mazda since my car has a Mazda transmission in it. Need to have over head light in the middle of the car you cant see in the back seat when its dark.

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  1996 Contour - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Andy Briggs - May 6 - 9:01 am

  Bought from my father who owned it since new. This car has had multiple maintenance related problems. By 85,000 miles, replaced alternator (which is difficult to access for remove and replace and very expensive), heater blower motor, heater resistor pack, and both wheel hub bearings. I have a continuing problem, yet unsolved, of the radiator fan not turning on when the temperature gauge reads high unless the a/c is on. Check engine light comes on intermittently with an "EGR flow excessive" code read-out. This seems to be too many problems for a car that has had regular maintenance and mostly highway miles. For those reasons, I do not recommend buying, even though it drives well.

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  Great Car - 1996 Ford Contour
  By robertn78 - February 3 - 7:00 am

  This car is very fun to drive. It handles great and has a lot of power with a small 2.5L V6. I have a SE model which in my opinion looks better and it handles better due to different sway bars and shock valving. No problems with this car, just regular maintenance.

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  My Contour - 1996 Ford Contour
  By dvargas - September 27 - 2:00 am

  Ive had no major problems with the engine or performance in the last 8 years. The only recurring problems were with the body parts such as plastic interior items breaking including gear shifter, mechanical window repairs on 4 occasions, etc. Overall I have been very happy with my purchase. A very economical vehicle.

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  Steer Clear - 1996 Ford Contour
  By odie561 - September 11 - 2:00 am

  Steer clear of this Ford contraption. It was nothing but trouble since we bought it. We had to replace two alternators, a power steering pump, and would have had to replace a transmission if we had kept it about 5 minutes more.

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  Time to move on - 1996 Ford Contour
  By kitties6 - August 4 - 2:00 am

  As a commuter car (500+miles per week) my contour has held up well. I have had problems with the sensors (too many to note), transmission (111,000), air conditioner, and wheel bearings (70,000 and 120,000). At 145000 miles I never thought it would last this long.

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  Great Value - 1996 Ford Contour
  By John Snider - June 14 - 2:00 am

  This has beren a great vehicle! The only major repairs have bee replacing the timing belt at 90,000 miles and the front wheel bearings at 102,000 miles. The car holds the road great and still has good acceleration. It has been paid off for a few years now and is still running fine.

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  Might want to steer clear of this one... - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Wig7 - April 19 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car with 80k on it and it was good for a while. Tranny is very problematic as are sensors. Replaced water pump and serpentine belt. Front bearings and alternator twice. Ford transmissions seem very crappy. Vehicle always stalls at stop lights, even in neutral. Might want to try something another car.

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  Weird Stuff Breaks on this Car - 1996 Ford Contour
  By scwallac - April 13 - 2:00 am

  I love the design of the Contour. The outside is nice to look at, and the interior controls are very well placed, with excellent ergonomics. HOWEVER....all *kinds* of weird stuff breaks on this car that shouldnt. Examples: Coil springs(!), front wheel bearings(!), timing belt clatters terribly, headlights-on warning chime, heat only works in defrost position, rubber weatherstrips fly off, transmission went after 125k miles, AC doesnt hold charge etc, etc... You can read all about these flaws in the Ford "TSB - Technical Service Bulletins". If you buy this car, make sure to buy the service manual and technical service bulletins - youll need them!

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  GREAT Car - 1996 Ford Contour
  By EXCLNT CAR - April 12 - 2:00 am

  I love my 96 Ford Contour. This car has been nothing but reliable. I have over 108,000 and other than minor repairs I have had to do nothing to keep my car running smoothly. If it were a little bigger I would keep it forever.