99 COUGAR WHAT A LEMON HELP?

fleetwoodsimca · August 2002

Would you care to give just a little hint as to what you want to discuss?

dkm4 · August 2002

I purchased a 99 cougar and it is so gorgeous loaded to the tee with every option (SPORT PACK SUNROOF LEATHER AUTOSTART ETC)V6 pinstripe 17" rims z- tires gorgeous but the mechanism are terrible. I purchased an extended warranty to 60K through ford ESP plan nothing is covered that goes wrong.

I have had changed:
STARTER UNDER 30k
ALTERNATOR UNDER 45k
BATTERY UNDER 40 k
BRAKES 3x UNDER 50k
BELT UNDER 30k
FLY WHEEL UNDER 30k DROPPED WHOLE ENGINE OUT
6 RECALLS FOR NONE OF THE ABOVE
CD PLAYER UNDER 40k
3 TIMES OIL LEAKS UNDER 50k
hEAD GASKET UNDER 45 k
INTERNAL ALARM BEEPS 2ND HORN WHILE DRIVING UNER 50k CAN NOT FIGURE IT OUT
DIES SOMETIMES WHILE DRIVING
WINDSHIELD 3X UNDER 50k
SMELLS LIKE ANTI FREEZE, DUE ON DRIVER SIDE WINDSHEILD INSIDE SAYS NOTHING WRONG, GET A LOANER CAR DOES THE SAME THING
SURGES WHEN GIVING GAS BETWEEN 40-50MPH, CHARGED ME 250 FOR NEW WIRES AND PLUGS (MEANWHILE THEY ADVERTSIE 100 MILE TUNE UPS WITH THIS CAR) STILL DOES THE SAME THING.

I FIXED ALL ABOVE AND THEY ONLY PAID FOR THE FLY WHEEL AND STARTER.

NOW FOR THE NEW PROBLEM SUNROOF JUST SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING, UNDER 55k STILL UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY, DOES NOT POP EVENLY, THEY CLAIM THEY DO NOT COVER THERE FACTORY SUNROOFS, GRINDING NOISE.
NOT A NEGLENCE ITEM OR MAINTENANCE, NOT LISTED IN CONTRACT AS COVERED OR NOT TRYING TO GET ATTORNEY GENERAL TO HELP ME HAVE 2 OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.

THEY CLAIM THEY DO NOT MANUFACTOR THE REPLACEMNET PIECE THEREFORE I NEED THE ENTIRE SUNROOF KIT 1600 DOLLARS TO GET THE ONE PIECE WHICH OF COURSE IS NOT COVERED, i HAVE BEEN FITTING WITH FORD THEY CLAIM THERE IS NOT RECALLS AND WILL NOT HELP ME WITH THE PRICE OF THE ITEM. SUPERVISOR TOOK 2 MONTH TO GET BACK TO ME IGNORED 4 CALLS

ANYONE ELSE WITH THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SELL MY 22k CAR PURCHASED IN 99 CAN NOT EVEN GET 10k FOR IT, DEALER ON TRADE IN WHILE SUNROOF WORKING AND PERFECT CONDITION OFFERED 8500. I OWE 7500 AND PUT 8000 DOWN A PURCHASE. THIS WAS MY FIRST NEW CAR AND I WILL NEVER BUY AN AMERICAN PRODUCT AGAIN.
i BRING THIS CAR TO THE DELAER EVERY 3000 MILES FOR OIL CHANGE NO ONE ELSE HAS EVER MAINTAINED IT ALL CHECK UP EVERYTHING

A MONEY PIT!!!!!!!!!!!
help

fleetwoodsimca · August 2002

Your situation sounds truly overwhelming. If I owned that car, I soon wouldn't. If you hope to recover any money, you may need to consult with a lawyer.
I disagree with what seems to be your conclusion that all American cars are unworthy of purchasing-- but to each, his own decision.

Kirstie_H · August 2002

I think you'll find that we've had "lemon" complaints from owners of vehicles from just about every manufacturer -- if you look down the list (and the archives), you'll see topics titled " Problems" full of posts. From the Toyota Sludge topic (R.I.P.) to Honda Accord Problems, Part II, it's apparant that a few lemons fall from every tree.

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

swschrad · August 2002

you make 100,000 of something in a row, there will be more than one that are purely putrid products. if there were closer to 100,000 stinkers, the outfit would no longer be around... like, say, Yugo.

that's more than patient. copy your invoices and see a lawyer (aint NObody gets my original papers without a court order, and then they have to give me exact copies and a receipt.)

zueslewis · August 2002

Is it a Ford ESP? It matters, please let me know.

vidtech · August 2002

seems to me the dealer should have covered the head gasket and oil leaks under your ESP plan.Maybe the dealer explained their favorite phrases:"all cougars do that"or "I couldn't duplicate the problem during my two minute examination".

swschrad · August 2002

"gee, all the Cougars we sell and service do that, and nobody else is reporting it."

now how could that happen, huh?

radu95 · September 2002

I have a 99 Cougar with 40k miles, warranty ended 6 months ago. Last week sunroof wouldn't close, spent several hours on phone trying to find someone to fix it without going to dealer because the dealer has already screwed me once with the speaker/radio issue. Found one of two places in my area that fixes sunroofs, turns out this guys says he repairs 2-3 a month all with the same problem. It costs $1200 to repair. They could get it closed so my husband had to break the rest of it to close it because it was supposed to rain that night (good thing he did because it poured). I am looking for anyone else that has had the problems with the sunroof. I also discovered that my problem with the speakers has happened before too. I am planning on going first to the dealer and then the manufacturer with both these problems.

tboner · September 2002

If it's anything like it's older cousin, the Contour and Mystique, you probably just have worn nylon gears.

Look for Chris Hightower over in the forums at www.contour.org

(Here, I found it, a common problem on the CDW-27 platform, I don't know if your Cougar is the same, but here you go: http://www.contour.org/FAQ/FAQ.php?s=probs&display=stuckmoonroof )

He'll give you the information about how to check if this is your problem.

If you have any sort of mechanical ability, you can fix these gears in sort time, and for a lot less than $1200.

TB

Mr_Shiftright · September 2002

Okay , Dealer screws customer, customer hates dealer, goes elsewhere, gets $1,200 quote from friendly sunroof repair, who sort of half-assed fixes it, hubby then breaks sunroof in desperation to close it before it rains.

What's happening to the world? Shouldn't this be, like, PRETTY EASY? It's not a Saturn V we are launching here. Sounds like NOBODY did anything right the first time!

"They" say that a marked decrease in competence is one of the signs of a crumbling civilization.

fleetwoodsimca · September 2002

Very astute, Shiftright!

swschrad · September 2002

pigs, communists, lies and spies, all of them, they're all out to get me.

the scary part is, there are too many scumbuckets out there to dismiss the above feelings as somebody who needs to get their prozac renewed.

talking with a guy just this afternoon who took his blown Volvo off for an oil change, and the mechanic tries to sell him a new turbo. "it's bad, it's leaking." doesn't leak unless under load, the guy can't pinpoint the problem, but oil is clearly all over everything.

finally gets a friend to sit in it and gun it while he looks. sure enough, when the pedal is punched, it leaks a nice series of drips off the oil return line, which fall on the driveshaft, which throws it all over. turns out friendly mechanic removed an O-ring on the pipe connection to the turbo, and it only leaks when the engine torques over to the side.

insurance companies my butt, they don't want you in the service bay so you don't catch them at it.

sandyboy · September 2002

Ever notice how when they lots of problems with an American car, they are quick to say, "I'll never buy an American car again!!" ~ but when they have problems with a FOREIGN car, then they say, " It's a little thing, I'm sure they'll fix it under warrentee" ! My friend's Volvo was in for a new Tranny at 6,300 miles, after that the A/C quit on him. 2 months later it left him stranded on a Sunday night!
His comment? You gotta expect trouble sometimes, after all there are over 1,000 parts in a car. Stuff fails sometimes. BEFORE the Volvo, he had an Olds Aurora that he dumped on the Volvo dealer because "it had too many rattles" and "American cars are made crappy" ~ ~
BTW, the Cougar is made by MAZDA, so go yell at THAT JAPANESE car company!! MAZDA makes it for Mercury!!
If you buy a foreign car, best of luck - but, Hey, please don't tie an American flag on it!

gustafsc · September 2002

The Cougar was made in the Auto Alliance plant in Flat Rock Mi.

This plant built both Mazda and Cougar products.

The Cougar was based on the Contour/ Mystique platforms which were primarily a European or World platform.

Many of us have been to Flat Rock and toured the plant, which is a joint venture between FOMOCO and Mazda.

Skip G.

By the way, I've had little trouble with my '99 Cougar (except for being a target for other idiots).

jpcarrow · September 2002

Thanks for the "heads-up" on the 1999 Mercury Cougar. I wondered why a loaded 1999 (gorgeous-by the way) Merc Cougar was only $10,995. I'm a starving grad student and "just" smart enough to do some heavy-duty investigating. I appreciate that you shared your experience. Sorry for your costly dilemma. I bought a lemon once too, and am still mourning that loss. For whatever it's worth---take the hit and git!

99 COUGAR WHAT A LEMON HELP?

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