The Contours main apeal is the low resale value. Compared to other cars of the same year, size, and equipment it can be had for far less, good for the buyer. It is available with a V6, and they are common. Overall it is not the most reliable, but if you get it for a good price you will still come out ahead money wise. A four cylinder with a manual transmission is probably the most reliable. The automatic transmission is not very reliable and costs about $2500 to rebuild. Adding an outboard cooler and filter along with fluid changes keep them going. If the trans is never serviced on a regular basis it is in danger of early failure. '99's and '00's have more of the bugs worked out and are obviously newer and possibly still under warrenty. Updates to things like the V6 water pump and all model transmissions improve the reliability of the later year cars.