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

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  Pure [non-permissible content removed] but surprisingly reliable - 1996 Ford Contour
  By levip0721 - January 15 - 6:02 pm

  I bought this car in July 2013 from a friend, Id say less than 24 hours of ownership it overheated, hose blew and split a hose and blew water pump gasket, oil pan leaks now fixed antifreeze leaks with k-seal(does wonders) rear struts are junk, pulls hard right ,poor gas mileage, erratic idle, cant loosen tensioner pulley to replace serpentine belt, THE slowest and least powerful car Ive ever set foot in, my old Buick would blow the doors off this. The only positive thing is its never broke down, only not started once from maf sensor wet, other than that I think about running it into a tree to put this useless excuse of a car out of its misery, also all windows have wiring issues

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  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.

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  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!

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  Dont buy this junk. - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Brian - May 1 - 9:09 am

  This car has been a nothing but trouble. Every problem requires a trip to the mechanic because the car is designed so you cant fix anything without special tools and disassembly of the entire engine. The water pump is a constant problem having to be replaced twice as well as the timing belt. Engine is continually running hot because of poorly designed coolant system. Doors creak terribly when opened. The car has terrible fuel mileage compared to its small engine and pathetic amount of power. The only plus to this car is the availability of used parts. You can find several of these cars at almost any junk yard. That is where mine is headed shortly.

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  Satisfied longtime owner - 1996 Ford Contour
  By original owner - April 13 - 12:20 am

  If youre reading this, youre probably wondering about a 96 Contour as a used car prospect. There were some early recalls and warranty problems, but Ive done decent maintenance and ended up with a reliable, fun-to-drive, economical car. The timing belt broke at 90K (no harm done I should have replaced it sooner), but routine maintenance has been fine, brakes long-lasting, transmission no trouble. Ill be selling it reluctantly, cause I think it has many more miles on it!

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  Worthless - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Tom H. - January 25 - 10:42 pm

  Garbage. Car shakes all the time, speakers are broken, all the windows dont roll up or down Oil pan leaks, shocks and struts are shot, and overheated all the time. Put $2000 in to it for tune up, transmission, and water pump and timing belt. Never buy this car whatever you do.

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  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!

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  Had this one a while - 1996 Ford Contour
  By big rick - November 30 - 10:36 pm

  Bought this Contour in late 1997 with 18,000 miles, and had it ever since-2L four and 5 speed manual makes it a fun- to-drive econo car. Replaced battery and alternator at 43000 m and valve cover gasket and spark plugs at 85000 m. Mine gets great mileage and never has left me stranded. These cars might fall apart if they are flogged hard, with light construction and 2750 lb curb weight. But mine is still fun to drive and has cost me next to nothing to own.

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  1996 Ford Contour 4 dr SE - 1996 Ford Contour
  By JB - November 7 - 1:09 pm

  Ive had this car for almost 10 years now and I really love how it drives. Great styling, power and pretty good mpg. But the build quality and reliability are no so good. Ive replace the catalytic converter, rear strut, brakes 3 times (not too bad), 3 tune ups, radiator, water pump, and now the brakes are going again, clutch is going and there is a small oil leak. The car is worth less than a 1000 bucks so Im sending it to its grave. 145,000 its bad for a Ford but there are a lot of fixes

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  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!