My friend owns a '95 Ford Contour and was wondering if she should trade it in on a better car. I don’t know much about them so if anyone can give some input one way or the other I would appreciate it.
If it’s been well maintained and is not giving her problems, then she might as well keep driving it. It’s not worth much by now, so she’s not risking much driving it until repairs make a new(er) car preferable.
Agree with texases; if the car is reasonably reliable and does not cost an arm and a leg to fix, I would just keep driving it. It is worth very little in trade or sale.
This car, known as the Mondeo in Europe, was a Ford Attempt to sell a “world car”. Unfortunately it did not sell well in North America, in this price range Americans want more back seat and trunk space. Also, it was less reliable than other cars selling for the same price.
In another post today, “Worst Car I Ever Owned”, one Poster lists the Contour as one of them. So there are good and bad, and Kowboy’s friend might just have one that is OK.
There is no advantage to trading, since she will get very little for the car.
That said, she should be saving up for the future purchase of a car. Things start going wrong with any 14-year-old car, she doesn’t want to be caught having to put big money into it when she’d rather trade.
Right on, tex! I’m assuming she does not drive as much as the gentleman in the “Worst Car” post, but all the same, it will require a quick decision to get rid of the car with the first MAJOR repair! Putting a lot of money into a Contour is really sending good money after bad!
Age is not so much a factor as good design and good care; my wife drives a 15 year old Nissan with 122,000 miles on it, which has yet to let her down!
There are a lot of good reliable cars on the market, new or used. Many are not expensive.