This is kind of random, but my wife has always liked the Mercury Cougar, the new sporty little one.

It is time to get rid of her Accord (ricer ricer) now that it has 400,000km on it and is rusted and beat to death.

I was going to get another Accord with high miles on it (she drives 1,000+km per week so a new car doesn't stay new long).

This will definately be her last shot at a two door because the little ones will be coming in the next couple of years, so i was thinking of buying the Cougar 2door she has always wanted.

Anyone know if they are reliable? Good on Gas? or are they junk?

THANKS!

 

Avoid like the plague.

I bleed Ford blue, but I'll be the first to tell you, '99+ Cougars, steer clear of 'em. Absolute bears to work on, packaging nightmares. A rash of '99 and '00 models with V6s and automatic transmissions had bad flywheels, the starters would clash and grind and eventually start breaking teeth off the flywheel. Transmission removal in that car is not cheap nor easy. And about those transmissions, CD4Es are not well regarded for their longevity or reliability. Catalytic converters failing in the V6s is pretty common too, and like everything else about that damn car, they ain't easy to do, especially the rear one since it's part of the exhaust manifold. The IMRCs stick a lot on the V6s. I've seen lots of wiring problems, mostly corroded/poor grounds around and under the battery tray, when battery acid leaks onto 'em. They're very hard on brakes regardless of how you drive.

Interior wise, they all had problems with the defroster grill warping and popping off the dash. Originally, the only fix was to replace the entire dash panel, but I think you can get the grill seperately now with some rivets or screws or something to service it, but the dash still has to be removed to fix that. The sunroof tracks were garbage, made of plastic in places where they should be metal. The tracks break and leave the sunroof stuck partially open. The track itself is only serviced as an assembly and lists at about $900.

I'm glad they stopped making the damn things.

 

Thanks for the info, you sound like you speak from experience.

Glad I haven't mentioned this option to my wife already...

THANKS!

 

the only place i've seen one is on speed channel when they run the mountian motor pro-stocks...

looks like a celeca to me...

...zap!

 

a few years back I was Interested in the Mercury Cougar. Went to a used car lot where I found one I liked that had just over 40K on it. Test drove it, and was very disappointed in the fit and finish of that car. Rattles to hell, and talk about a rough riding car. The Interior felt cheep and sounded cheep driving down the road. Decided not to get that car, and went for a Mercury Sable Instead and that was a great car in replace of that Cougar.

BTW FordWask.... Quinton works at a dealership so him of all people would know of any major problems with any Ford vehicle, so take his advise and avoid that car cause it sounds like a nightmare of a car to own.

 

I've had a Ford service rep tell me directly that they would never own the latest variation of the Cougar unless it was still under factory warranty. Don't walk, RUN away from the idea of purchasing one!

 

Quintin, how hard is it to remove teh dash in these cars? My wife has a 2000 Contour. The problems started with the defroster popping off, now the dash is curling up/back...... She had a 98 that was a great made car, just lots of drivability/pinging/no power probs. This 2000 is ok mechanically, but the interior is falling apart. The trannys seem to be ok if you drive them easy and change the fluid every 30k. The ol d'tour at about 30k on the fluid would shift so hard it would rattle change in the dash pocket...

 

We had a loaded 02 Cougar for awhile and loved it (wifes car). My only complaint was it didn't have enough power for me, (but I find thats a problem with anything with a motor ususally). We only put 35000km's on it before I convinced her that we should trade it for a the new F150, and other than a leather seat cover replaced on warranty, it never had one problem. I was quite impressed with the handling, ride quality and overall fit and finish.

 

My dad has a 99 Cougar V6 auto. Gets 26mpg around town with a light foot. Only has about 60k miles on it, but it's served him pretty well.

I had a 2000 Contour which was the same platform and had no problems with it in the 25k miles I had it. Cougar is tiny inside compared to Contour. Front seat track is shorter and there is not headroom front or rear for my 6'4" frame.