I'm looking at purchasing a 96 Ford Contour GL at a dealer's lot. It has 128K on it. For the most part I like the car. Does seem to have some motor noise, though.
Anyway, when I popped the hood to check out the engine, I noticed I could hardly see anything like you can on most engines. I can usually see the belt, hopefully the alternator is on top and is easy to change, can see the water pump, power steering pump, etc. On this Zetec motor I could hardly make out the belt because it's so crowded in there (but it was at night, too).
So are they hard to work on? I've never owned a Ford before and don't know anything about them. Would it be any harder to install a remote starter than in a GM vehicle? Think it's wise to take on a Contour with 128K on the clock? Asking price is $2200. Has good tires, but I think it might need exhaust work soon if not now. Also it had $2000 worth of transmission work done about 20K miles ago.
Thanks for any input.
-Ryan