 This is our second Contour.  Our first 
Contour was 2 years old when we bought 
it and found that it had some 
reliabiltiy problems.  We loved the car 
so decided to buy a brand new Contour 
thinking that proper maintenance and 
care would eliminate the reliability 
problems.  It didn't.  Our new car has 
been in the shop many times since we 
bought it.  The starter went out after 
5 months, the engine blew at 22k miles, 
the dash warped, the emergency brake 
mechanism has had to be replaced, and 
the trunk developed a major leak that 
required 5 visits to the dealership to 
fix.
 Still, this car looks great and is a 
lot of fun to drive as a family car.
 