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 1 through 10 of 68.00

• 

  pretty car but drives bad in first. - 1996 Ford Contour
  By not a taurus - October 18 - 9:59 am

  Like look and feel of contour,but the car drives bad in first gear,scary in traffic.Want to get rid of it A.S.A.P.

• 

  Nice looking hunk o junk - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Brian - May 7 - 6:15 pm

  Well, I started off the first year with really no issues except the air conditioning compressor blew. Well, the past 4 months have been HECK! The tranny has started to knock, the windows get stuck down, the alternator and/or starter is going, the abs light flashes, the o2 sensor blew, the hood release snapped from the cable, drive side headrest broke, and the engine stalls at stop lights. Its been a good first car,up until now, I just cant wait to upgrade!

• 

  Worst car Ever Bought - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Driver - December 16 - 3:47 pm

  I bought A 96 Ford Contour with less than 100000 miles on it. Drove it one day transmission went out. Had it replaced and then less than 6 months later same thing. I had to replace the water pump, timing belt, serpintine belt, battery, and battery wire on this in 6 months and not to mention after replacing the cable. The car caught fire! Never buy anything stamped found on road dead again!

• 

  Shanes Nightmare - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Shane - June 1 - 2:01 pm

  When this car was purchased, I had just gotten rid of an 1990 Ford Taurus (never had a problem, just died). Since Ive bought this car Ive suffered through a blown head gasket, 2 alternators, a water pump, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, alignments, tires, brakes, rotors, battery, gas cap opening problems, check engine light that wont go out, brake fluid & oil that leaks from nowhere (mechanics cant find the source of leak), headlights, lights burning out inside vehicle, along with various electrical problems. Yesterday the speedometer finally went for the long goodbye. Ive never spent so much money for car repairs & maintenance in my years of driving. This car completely stinks!

• 

  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

• 

  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.

• 

  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!

• 

  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.

• 

  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.

• 

  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.