Ford Contour Ran Bad Now Won’t Start At All

Reader Question Hi,

I have a 1998 Ford Contour. The car began to tremble 4 days ago but still drove. However, sometimes when idling too long it would stall.

Now, the car starts but cuts off immediately. I had the car towed today.

The mechanics came back and told me it would be one of four problems.

One – the car is running on 1 cylinder.

Two – it could be a rotor problem

Three – a head gasket problem, or a broken valve problem.

Really, I have put thousands into this car, should I put any more?

Hey there

First thing that comes to my mind…..run away from this mechanic as fast as you can. Those are some pretty expensive guesses, and a good mechanic will not guess…they test first!

I would highly suggest you have this car towed to the dealership or to an independent mechanic shop with a good reputation. This could be something as simple as a bad spark plug wire, a dirty throttle body or idle control valve etc. etc. etc.

In my opinion, these cars have a lousy maintenance track record, so if this is going to be a costly repair, you might want to cut your losses and trade up to something newer with a better maintenance record.

I really like the Kia RIO, its super economical, very inexpensive, super roomy, and sporty and comes with a 100K mile power train warranty…and you can buy it for little to no money down with great finance rates.

Kia Rio Review

I need to get a review of the 08 RIO)

Blessings,

Austin Davis