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 11 through 20 of 68.00

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  You may not believe this one! - 1996 Ford Contour
  By the looker - April 11 - 8:41 pm

  First I will list the problems I have had with this vehicle, which Im sure is no suprise to you the readers. Engine stalls cold. Battery discharges after a couple of days. Window fell of track (drivers side). Engine Idle RPM varies while stopped in traffic. Overheating came because Ford had used a plastic not metal impeller for the water pump. The whole engine wiring had to be replaced because it was falling apart (the plastic insulation). Fan not working light comes on despite you actually seeing the fans working. Now brake pedal is intermittently hard to push during stop. Happens without warning. Now for the interesting part..This vehicle of my original ownership only has 17780. Presently

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  piece o junk - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Gene P. - March 18 - 8:23 am

  No wonder Ford is on the verge of bankruptcy. I have never owned a car so unreliable as this in my life. My daughter got rid of it for a Corolla as she was always having it repaired. Wheel bearings every 50k miles? I only bought it as the body had no rust and have regrets. Transmission torque converter, rear struts, a/c compressor, yellowed headlight lenses, wheel bearings, etc. Back to Honda / Toyota for me.

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  Gets Better with Age - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Annelise - January 3 - 6:11 am

  My Contour hit 200,000 miles last night! Ive got the V6 5-speed. Though I had problems with it early on--water pumps, numerous recalls and that darn engine light that wont go off--its been great for the last 120,000 miles. I love the way it handles and it still has plenty of power. Im curious to see how long it will last!

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  Good first car - 1996 Ford Contour
  By jvhofw24 - September 17 - 1:25 pm

  Overall, the car drives well. It has the right amount of zip when you need it, and I found it to be pretty reliable. I owned the car for almost six years, and up until a couple months ago, I only had relatively minor problems with it. (i.e. brake rotors, 1 alternator, 1 battery, and a window motor) I put about 90,000 miles on it while I owned it, I drove it all around the country, and it got me everywhere I needed to be. At about 160,000 miles, the car sort of began to fall apart, but I guess that what happens when you drive a Ford. I still feel I got my moneys worth.

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  Eleven Year Ownership. - 1996 Ford Contour
  By D.Adams Contour LX - April 3 - 4:06 pm

  This car has been one of the most reliable and economical I have owned, especially after 11 years of mostly city driving in San Antonio,Texas.

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  Dont Buy This Car! - 1996 Ford Contour
  By hiker78 - January 24 - 9:06 pm

  Im at 128,000k and its sitting at a repair shop right now waiting for the auto salvage guys to pick it up...tranny finally blew and Im done dealing with this hunk of junk, multiple and frequent problems beginning 3 months from purchase date alternator, blower motor, brakes, sway bar links, outside window trims, temp gauge that burns out every 6k miles, serpentine belt, wheel bearings, broken cup holders, gas cap cover had to be pried open every time, various inside lights constantly burned out, paint peeling off front end, heat slow to warm up, weak A/C and the fuel pump wiring was at the point where I had to lean back and hold the plug down while turning the key to get the thing to start.

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  My all-time favorite car - 1996 Ford Contour
  By rbsjrx - April 3 - 5:15 pm

  I bought my Contour used and have put a lot of happy miles on it. It has the largest standard wheel/tire combo available and I suspect the engine management chip may have been tweaked by a previous owner. It handles like a dream, virtually the same as my 03 Focus SVT (it helps that its lower and wider than the SVT). Power from the Zetec 4 is quite adequate for occasional gusto driving, and works well with the OD automatic transmission. The state troopers once gave me a certificate that it can indeed go 92 MPH without breathing too hard. The only costly maintenance has been to replace the timing belt at 60k miles as recommended.

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  A nice looker & driver / keeps you broke - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Larry James - March 9 - 1:31 pm

  Car purchased by my wife with 35k miles, she puts 34 miles a day to work and home. Within the first year tires were shot, alignment bad, replaced ball joints, the large belt. Then at 50k to 60k miles front wheel bearings, Brake rotors, calipers. since then alternator, large belt. Now at 120k the front wheel bearings and brake rotors (warped) and now head gasket!

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  Fords cost-cutting shows - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Verbal - February 25 - 12:25 am

  I bought this car slightly used, based on favorable reviews in the car magazines. It is a sporty sedan that packs a lot of value for the money. The engine, suspension and brakes are well-suited for the enthusiast driver. However, this is the most fragile car I have ever owned. With less than 75k on the odometer, I have had to replace the water pump (a flawed design with a plastic impeller wheel), the catalyst, and the starter motor. The check engine light turning on is a quarterly event. The stock CD player would skip if you looked at it cross-eyed. Owning this car makes me believe that when Ford lines up suppliers, it always takes the low bidder. Ford: you have lost this customer.

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  My wheels. - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Marqui16 - September 16 - 2:06 am

  My Contour now has 198,000 miles on it. I bought it used with about 34,000 miles(mostly highway) and have owned it for 7 years now. I changed the transmission once, the alternator once, several belt changes, headlight problems, and several other minor changes, but never any engine problems. It is still a fun car to drive but since it was my first car I am ready to move on to foreign cars (less maintenance).