The car looks stylish, but never again

Compact

I bought my 1999 Cougar in August of 1998. From the beginning small things seem to fall off. The first to go was the ash tray. I don't allow smoking so that was okay. There were several recalls every other month it seemed like. Then things started happening. My steering column went out; the instrument panel went out three times ($1500) the first time to replace; front brakes have been replaced several times and the latest is the air conditioning compressor just went out and cost to repair is close to $1300.

sharp, head turning exterior as well as interior design

paint chips horribly and the radio goes in and out

Although i'm sure that not all cougars are pieces of sh*t, i unfortunatly got stuck with one that was. The second day i had my cougar the alternator went out and left me stranded 100 miles from home. The radio went in and out whenever it felt. A week later the speed sensor and a couple other computer chip parts went out and left me with luckily only about a hundred dollars in repairs. I hoped that this was the only repairs I would have for awhile, but a month later the brake lights stopped working half of the time. Luckily this was a recall problem that the previous owner never got fixed. The previous owner of my cougar obviously treated it like sh*t, and it was now my job to baby the hell out of my kitty. The mechanics working on mly car found wiring cut underneath the dash that went to a car starter, alarm, etc. getting that fixed was about $150. By the end of that month i had spent about $1000 on repairs because of its previous treatment. All cars need repairs and such, depending on how they are treated. It is not the car's fault that someone did not take proper care of it. Hopefully, these will be the last repairs needed for awhile.

Turning Power Looks

The motors kicks back a little when turning on the AC.

I'm suprised I have read so many bad comments about Cougars. I love my car, it's awesome. The previous owner said there were no problems at all. It has more power then I'll ever need. It has a V6- 2.5 DOHC engine. Cloth interior, 6 cd changer, sun roof, spoiler...and haven't had a single problem with any of them.

Looks great, always starts, cup holder holds everything I ever need it to, paint is still shiny, interior looks brand new, keyless entry always works, great gas millage, and no weird noises! I cant say much about the stereo because I had soundtrack install a pioneer cd player, but everything's in top notch!!

small back seat(but who cares, I dont sit back there)

You know, Ive had my cougar for six months now. Of course it was the looks that caught my eye, but I was amazed at all the bashing going on here!! I love my car!!! My car is 4 yrs old and has 61,000 miles and not one thing has ever gone wrong with it!! I have leather interior and love every inch of it!! They say its great for people ages 25-40, but Im a 19 year old female and its great.

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1994 eagle talon- loved it

Looks Handling Reliability

I'm 6'2" with long legs and the driving position is slightly uncomfortable.

Superb car, In the UK it comes under the Ford badge. I've got the V6 X-Pack (leather interior, 6-CD changer etc). So far I've done 11,000 miles (I bought it second-hand with 21,000 miles on the clock)and i haven't had a single problem. Punchy acceleration, great handling and looks, solid build. A great purchase at £9000.

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Vauxhall Omega V6 MGF

Great steering/handling, great sporty look. It's fun to look at and also fun to drive. I get compliments on it all the time.

Cramped back seat (the bucket seats are nice but only for short drives) I would not suggest a road trip with any friends in it. The other thing I noticed is you feel alot of the bumps in the road as you drive that I never felt in the other cars I have driven. Needs more compartment space and a cup holder that actually holds a cup :)

I really love this car. I may have only had it a few months but I love the way it handles the curves of the road. I love the fact that I can park it just about anywhere. The look of the car is sporty and fun (inside and out). I can not review the radio since I had it taken out and had a new cd player from Best Buy installed. When I bought the car the trunk latch didn't open from inside the car or the little keychain button access. They had no problem fixing it before I bought it. So far so good.

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1996 Ford Taurus

Looks good when parked

Too many to mention - not enough space on this website to list them all

We needed a reasonable used car for commuting to and from work. This caught our eye as it looked stylish and price seemed reasonable. Take my advice, never buy one of these hunks of junk. We have had the car for a little over a year and have had it in the shop more than out. The list of problems would take two volumes of a book to list, but here are just a few, loud banging noise when turning a tight corner, been in the shop at least five times for the same problem, car intermittently shuts down or will not start at all (looking into filing Lemon law against Mercury) trunk release works only when it wants to. This is a major pain when your hands are full of groceries and your remote just fails. Inside interior looks beat up and the car is only two years old. They use the cheapest possible plastic and other cheap materials. This was the worst mistake we ever made and I would never buy another Ford product. Remember Fix or Repair Daily and I am sure many of us here have had to bum rides to work from friends in their foreign cars that are mighty dependable and worth the extra cash up front.

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Toyota - love it Honda - Love it

The looks on this car when I purchased brand new, turned more than a few heads :-) Sometimes I really enjoy this car and it's edgy styling and smooth handling. The acceleration with the V6 will put a grin on your face. Peppy 170-HP engine is rather impressive. It's fun to take sharp turns in my cougar, the handling in tight situations is also quite impressive.

Poor paint job, pitiful cheap interior, sorry excuse for a cd player, brake dust is absolutely horrible, my windshield looks like someone has poured grease all over it (does anyone out there know how to take care of this problem? I use expensive car window cleaner and it still has a grainy look to it), cheaply and carelessly constructed, gas mileage is not up to par with other sporty coupes in it's class (I shouldn't complain though, it is a V6)

I thought that I was getting a great deal when I purchased my 2000 Cougar in February of 2001 (It was a brand-new car, but left over on the lot from the previous year.) I got it for only $15k...it had about 35 miles on it! It just took my breath away when I first saw it. My Cougar is laser-tinted red with a rear spoiler, 15" alloy wheels, cd player, and power package. There is also a very sporty, edgy accent stripe running down the side that definately made the car stand out when I first purchased it. Although I haven't had as many problems as other Cougar owners have listed on this site, mine has caused me grief at times! I have had to take the car in for a few recalls, the cd player is just a piece of junk, the interior (which I thought was gorgeous when I first bought it) is made from cheap plastic that scratches so easy (it looks like someone took a power drill and just started swinging it around the interior of my car!) I have also had problems with the exterior paint (it chips/scratches very easy and is no longer glossy) and the windshield has a permanent haze/grimy look that will not go away no matter what I try. You would think by hearing my problems that I treat this car like garbage, but the sad part of it is, I BABY this car unconditionally and still have trouble with this cheap hunk-of-junk! I just count my blessings that I haven't had all of the mechanical problems that other Cougar owners on this site have had (knock on wood! my warranty runs out soon!) Most of the problems with my Cougar have been cosmetic defects. I wash and wax this car regularly, keep a good set of tires on her, get the oil changed and serviced at the dealership at regular intervals, and try my best to keep this thing in shape. This cat is running out of steam...QUICK. Shame on you Mercury! I won't trust you or your products again!

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None...I miss my 1994 Toyota Celica ST. I babied that car too, and put around 100k on her, and never had the problems I had with my Mercury cat!

None

everything

This is the crappiest car ever. The biggest mistake of my life. The back windshield doesn't work(and it makes a really loud humming sound, so i have to keep the radio up really loud so that i cant hear it.) The driver side window leaks, you can actually see where the seal is pushing the window out. It takes me three tries before i can get my trunk to close. I have to slam it really hard. The radio rarely ever works. The stupid program buttons are horrible. Every time i start my car up, it makes a horrible sound like a can is rattling in my engine. I bought a three year warranty for an extra $1000, and i probably wont keep this car past christmas. I got the manual and the shifter is so messed up, it is incredibly hard for me to shift my gears, i have to slam the shifter just for it to go into gear, and now its grinding everytime i go into 3rd and 5th gear.For everyone out there thinking of buying a cougar, i strongly discourage you from doing that. It is such a waste of money.

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This is my first mercury, and i will never purchase one ever again.

Drives and handles great. Looks sharp.

Air and water leaks are constant, and dealers apparently unable/unwilling to eliminate the problem.

'99 cougar purchased new. Can live with dingable doors and air/water leaks, even the occasional radio problems. At under 36k miles, the automatic transmission blows - slips, hard shift, no reverse - and bill expected to be around $1500 to $2000. General question to all: how many have had similar problems with automatic transmission? If there's enough of us, maybe we have leverage.