Just got me a 94

[lunchbox0029]

I just got this 94 . It needed a drive door I put that on . I think the head gasket is out the lady said it burned coolant. she said she took it to a shop and they said it had no compression so I will check it today. The car is real clean other than the two drivers door they are tan and my car is white. It has 83,000 and a old lady owned it before me. The inside look new the leather is nice no rips dosen't even look used. I got it for 300.00. I'll put up picks tomorrow.

[v8_dave]

300 is okay, just remember that small price when you are swearing your ass of fixing it daily.

[MichiganTeddyBear]

as much as I love my 91 conti... you heard of the old saying "a boat is a whole in the water, surrounded by wood, into which one pours money".. well, my conti is "an obstruction on the road, supported by 4 rubber tires, into which I pour money"..

all joking aside, when everything is right on them, they are wonderfull, but repairs (unless you do it all yourself, which saves a TON of labor $$) can get pricey.

good luck on your new found toy!

[pro-five-oh]

Welcome! You will love your ESSEX Machine, and it loves you, for you saved it from the scrapyard.

That said, brace yourself. You've probably bought a poorly maintained vehicle and it has a lot of issues that will creep up in the future. Fix it up right and it'll be the most cost-effective luxury car out there. Good luck.

[towncar95]

ohh another conti ESSEX machine owner. :) and i hated mine wheni got it, now i love it but still ove my towncar. as pro has said there is something about an essex machine.
lunchbox if it needs head gaskets you better do them yourself as the price to do the job is probally about $1000. am i wrong guys?

[KENDO & MYRA]

SELL IT,GET RID OF IT<ITS A MONEY PIT...................................
...............FORD MEANS, Found On Road Dead

[pro-five-oh]

SELL IT,GET RID OF IT<ITS A MONEY PIT...................................
...............FORD MEANS, Found On Road Dead
Maybe you should practice what you preach.

What's jor problem, mang? :)

[KENDO & MYRA]

yes pro,i am,im taking the subway to work and useing my car on the weekends until i save enough money to buy another car

[pro-five-oh]

Just checking. That, and you can put a new car purchase in a more positive light, the guy just bought the car!

And honestly, for an 11-18 year old luxury car, these things hold up ok. Ask anyone with a 1990-92 Infiniti Q45 about what happened to their fancy engine at 100k...they don't last much longer than that because of cam failures. They just stop running, and fixing them costs thousands of dollars.

At least Contis are affordable. A weekend of wrenching and a few bucks in parts and they'll run again for another 100k. Plus they get good fuel economy and ride nice. Keep that in mind.

[MichiganTeddyBear]

yea, a few bucks is all it takes.. aside from the expensive suspention parts, the parts they use are very reasonably priced. afterall, ford made about a gajillion of these 3.8's... and most parts are interchangable between fwd and rwd versions.

yea, elbow grease is the key to keeping them running... if your handy with a wrench, you got it made..

and there are some VERY knowledgable people here to help you with the problems you may encounter.

I will admit my conti has had (has some still) problems, but overall, it was a VERY good value for the price I paid. I can see if you pay a couple grand for an Essex conti, and have nothing but high dollar problems where you would have a bad taste in your mouth. but to be honest, considering my conti sat for 2.5 years, unprotected, in NW michigan, it has had only a few problems that have sidelined it, all of which have been documented here.

[Steve Moran]

I think it all depends on the statis of the vehicle when you get it.
Mine are / where good. but who needs 4 Contis so I limited my self to the best two and I am happy. I honestly could not be happier for the $200 I spent on each of them and the maybe $450 on repairs between the two.
I take care of them and they take care of me. :)

[lunchbox0029]

I'm going to fix it myself. I like the car alot and for the money I paid I cant loose. I'm still going to get a town car.

[Wolfe_83Conti]

I feel the same way about my Conti. Also, since yours is a '94 model, maybe they worked out the worst of the bugs by then, so you may not have to do too much. Just keep on top of the maintainance, and you'll have a great car.

[towncar95]

FORD could also mean FOUND ON ROAD DRIVING :)

Kendo any myra... ithink the subway is more dangerous then your car :):):)

[pro-five-oh]

Also, since yours is a '94 model, maybe they worked out the worst of the bugs by then, so you may not have to do too much.
Well they really didn't. The head gaskets (poor cooling system care on a motor with an iron block and aluminum heads) and transmission (not a great design) and air suspension (again, victim of neglect) are all possible problems on a $300 car.

But if you like workin on cars you'll find this one pretty easy to work on (for something FWD) , cheap parts, and a lot of on-line help. A Ford shop manual (or even a Chilton's for a Taurus) will come in handy.

Again, its a whole lotta car for $300. ;) :D

[Wolfe_83Conti]

I agree with both of y'all. My Gracie drove home after being badly neglected for a year, and for the $750 I paid, I got a helluva car that I can do everything on my own. And when I can pony up the $100 for the starter, I'll see to that directly.

[brasolt03]

Heck, i paid 2500 for my 94 with the heads done and a new front air supension. Since then I have had only had to do the rear air suspension and regular maintence I have had it a little over a year now. In all honesty I am not getting rid of the car anytime soon sure it's motor is not as rock solid as my old Ford tempos 2.3liter but at least it will pull a hill at 60! Even for what I paid for mine I feel I got a good value this car will be with me for at least 5 years although i am considering a 97 conti!

it's true you do get addicted to these things! :)

[MichiganTeddyBear]

yea, addiction, thats it. they kinda 'grow' on ya.

after my 91's rear suspension fell.. (see another thread, titled 'master mechanic' I think) for what I found on the rear of my conti... Red Green would be proud of whomever done that work... I found an opportunity to get a newly totalled 90 for parts... price was awesume.. condition, even better overall. my wife gave me a funny look, and didn't talk to me for 2 weeks after I told her I want to drive from NW michigan to the Huntsville Alabama area to tow back a wreck... but when she finally did start talking to me again, and I explained how much NEW stuff was on it that mine needed (or would need), she seen the light of day.. just one qualifier... the parts car has to be gone by fall of this year!


that said..I won't thread jack... but, by all means, wrench it yourself, you will have a wonderfull car, and it will be good to you.

[Robert Hartling]

I just got this 94 . It needed a drive door I put that on . I think the head gasket is out the lady said it burned coolant. she said she took it to a shop and they said it had no compression so I will check it today. The car is real clean other than the two drivers door they are tan and my car is white. It has 83,000 and a old lady owned it before me. The inside look new the leather is nice no rips dosen't even look used. I got it for 300.00. I'll put up picks tomorrow.
If the heads are bad let me know. I had the heads on my car done after head gasket failure. only about 100 miles maximum on them, I'll send them to you just for the cost of shipping. I have white doors also, from mine. Gutted them out though (no window regulators or motors.

[lunchbox0029]

Well I got it back together. It seems to be running good. What it looks like happend is the spark plug came apart and bent the head gasket. It did a liitle damage to the head (little scraches). When I got it back together it smoked for a few min but it stopped when it got to temp. It hasn't smoked since. I think this was the best 300. I have spent in awhile.

So far I spent
300. car
65. parts
1 days work

Not bad for a good running car with cold ac.
:D

[lunchbox0029]

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2360791

[pro-five-oh]

Wow, that's a clean car! Good job, even if it is a total pile (it won't be) you have so little in it, its a great deal to ride in a car that nice.

[Steve Moran]

What I love is that nobody wants to work on them so they get sold reasonably.