Mercury Cougar

lmigliore · July 2001

gustafc: like dmitchel, I do use the mirrors on my Cougar. There are still horrendous blind spots that most other cars don't have. The mirror coverage is somehow insufficient.

gustafsc · July 2001

Granted, blind spots should be minimized as much as possible in the design.

But, "Be alert, this nation needs more lerts!"

Skip G.

badulah · July 2001

Although I do think the Cat has some big blind spots, I have never really had a problem with them. I am very cautious and always use my mirrors.

Why do you have a problem with the placement of the interior fuse box?

camelard · July 2001

I think I can answer that one. I drove around for Lord knows how long before someone was kind enough to point out that my brake lights were on all of the time (and I just thought all of the tailgate'ers were on vacation). Turns out the switch (located right above the pedals) had been kicked off. The default when the switch is off is all brake light, all of the time. This is the same location as the fuse box and just begs for problems.

hbund216 · July 2001

To make the design of the fuse box even better they have a second one under the hood that holds the relays and some other fuses.

dmitchel · July 2001

I went to "visit" my car on Friday... at the body shop... They had said it was ready at last - the molding had finally arrived from Detroit.

So I walk up to my car and look at the paint match and I am impressed - until I see the dent.

A NEW DENT - A NEW DOOR! a dent - not a dent in - a dent out - small but THERE! A dent! sheesh - and then I get in the car to test the widow and hear this scraping glass against metal noise...

So now they say it will be ready Tuesday.

sigh

jettalover2 · August 2001

Hey,
I have a VW GTI GLS and my insurance is 700 dollars. Would a Cougar be much more? I am only 16 and getting a loaded cougar!! Someone HELP!!!

fish8 · August 2001

It would be very difficult for any of us to tell you how much your insurance would be. There are so many variables: previous driving history, residence, car(year of car), age, grades, etc......

Are you paying $700 a year? every six months?

I would be surprised if you were only paying $700 a year. I am 28 and married and still pay about $800.00 per year. Actually, within the past year my insurance company (State Farm) increased my insurance. They said they reevaluated the Cougar and increased the premium accordingly.

Good luck with your car!!

jettalover2 · August 2001

I am very excited about my new cougar. It's green with grey leather. It is a 5-speed, is the manual alot faster than the auto? I think my insurance is 700 every six months. Is the cougar considered a hatchback like my current car? I am going tomorrow to get my new Cougar, I can't wait!

fish8 · August 2001

Yes, the 5-speed is faster than the auto. There is probably about 1 second difference from 0-60.

Enjoy your new Couagr and PLEASE drive safely and use your blinkers. ;-)

thadjosh76 · September 2001

I have a 2001 black cougar and already have a paint chip or two from little rocks. Is their a way I could order paint for it and touch it up? What is the best way to go on this? Thank you very much.

fish8 · September 2001

Just go to you local Ford or Mercury dealer and ask for touch up paint. It cost around $5.

magnusvt · September 2001

Hey all,
I'm looking at buying a Cougar after I graduate this May. I wanted to get some opinions from owners, enthusiasts, etc. on the car's strengths and weaknesses. The more detail you can give, the better. Thanks!

gustafsc · September 2001

Check back into the archives of this discussion group.

If there's anything we haven't covered in the last three years, I can't imagine what it would be.

I think that, in general, we're pretty happy with the Cougar, and that a lot of the little headaches that were present in earlier models have been worked out.

Skip G.

fish8 · September 2001

I think gustafsc is right about the newer Cougars. I hope at least.

smc7 · September 2001

I just hit 4200 miles on my 2001 Cougar and have seen no problems. It's a great ride. I highly recommend getting the V6 manual. The power is greatly noticable between the automatic and manual transmissions. Test drive both of them to see for yourself.

c2_marc · September 2001

I have a 2001 C2 Blue Cougar which I love, but having a problem with the special 6-CD changer (I would have preferred the standard single CD/cassette anyway). When it gets hot, it does not like to eject CD's (says CD error). I'm trying to figure out if it's because some of them are computer-made CD's with labels, or if there's a problem. Has anyone else had this happen? I'm considering changing the stereo for an AIWA or Pioneer double-din.

fish8 · September 2001

I would recommend bringing your car to the dealer to have them diagnose. Have you tried that yet?

spartan93 · September 2001

You may want to try to verify your own diagnosis. There is the strong possibility it can't read CD-R or CD-RW. The owner's guide should provide information about what discs it will accept.

ksuwildcat001 · September 2001

I also have a 2001 C2 Cougar with the 6 CD indash changer and mine plays CD-R discs just fine.

David Bloyd

acurarsxnut · October 2001

I use to own a 2000 Cougar with dual Borla Catback system. I sold it because sales tanked and with only 38,000 miles on it I didn't want an Edsel in my hands. You could buy a new 2002 Cougar for nut much more than mine was worth. I bought a 2002 Acura RSX Type-S. The Cougar doesn't even stand a chance in any category against the RSX. I did love my V6 Cougar though. The short lived reign of the Cougar is gone forever. Long live the memories of the past.

mdriver · October 2001

The Cougar in concept is good. But the issue with many prospective buyers remains build quality/reliability. Also, many people the Mercury brand doesn't stand for anything. In fact, in the rest of the world where the Cougar is sold, it is simply known as the Ford Cougar.

palfito01 · October 2001

I have a friend with a 96 Cougar and it will not start unless the gas peddle is depressed. Now I am told that it will not start at all. Also, he has been having electrical problems. Could all of this be linked together?

Any suggestions?

gustafsc · October 2001

Wish we could help, but we're all owners of '99+' Cougars, and have little knowledge of the earlier varieties.

Skip G.

futh · October 2001

I test drove the acura rsx and was not impressed. I was expect a much more solid drive. Any model below the Type S sucked. Power was very weak. The only model I would consider buying would be the Type-S like you did. However, if your gonna spend 24,000 on a car why not buy a Mercedes Benz C-Class C230???? I was very disapointed in the interior. It had very bland dials and controls. The only decent feature was the speedometer. It was not that sporty (interior) for being a sport coupe.

burnsmr4 · October 2001

Hey, CSG...

Where are the regular Cougar discussions now? Here or in "Chats On?" Just curious.

burnsmr4

gustafsc · October 2001

curtmood · November 2001

My wife insists her mother used to own an rx7, but it wasn't a Mazda. She says it was a Mercury. I says to her, you mean xr7 honey. She goes ballistic. I have never heard of that model but she's found some classified ads for cougar rx7s. Possibly misprints, I say. Please, someone advise us and if there is a cougar rx7 direct us to positive proof. Thanks in advance for the help.

crazed17 · November 2001

I was wondering if there has been any mention of seeing a Cougar with a bigger engine in 2003? I know it was being considered for this year. I am really interested in the car's looks, V6 sport options, and price, but sorry that my mother's Chevy Malibu has better 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. I think a ~200 hp engine would really help sales and guarantee mine.

Also, does anyone know of dealers in the New York City-Long Island region that carry a good supply of Cougars? The last two dealers that I went to only had one each. Thanks.

gustafsc · November 2001

No Cougar S for us.

We've gone round and round on this subject w/Mercury and lost out.

All the good engines that could have been used in the Cat went to the new Jaguars.

2.5l SVO, 3.0l, all gone.

What we got is all we're gonna get.

Skip G.

harbachj · November 2001

Try Hasset LM in Wantagh. L.I. Actually the V6 with 5-speed is reasonably quick. 0-60 in under 8 seconds. Quite a bit slower with the auto. The SVT engine would be nice though.

crazed17 · November 2001

Thanks for the help. I'll be at Hassett in Wantagh this weekend, sneaking around the parking lot looking for Cougars and trying to avoid salespeople. I'm also considering going to my local dealership, where they have a 2001 green V6 sport model wasting away, and seeing if they'll take a low offer to get rid of it. With winter approaching and 0% financing ending, the dealer may be desperate to make a sale.

lmigliore · November 2001

Green is nice. I hope it's a 5-speed.

dgemini · November 2001

Hello,
I haven't posted in a while.

I had some kimchi last week. I can neat it, but it definitely isn't my cup of tea.

I do like Yakimandu though (did I spell that right)?

I will be driving my Cougar for the first time in 7 months around December 16!

Later

lmigliore · November 2001

On the Internet, nobody knows you've had kimchi.

gustafsc · November 2001

You've been in Korea for how long, and you're just now getting around to eating the national soul food? Agreed, kimchi is not the greatest stuff around (at least to our western palates) and there is a tendency toward those evil little peppers showing up in the damndest dishes. But, if you can get them to tame some things down, the cusine can be interesting. Not that I'm an expert on Korean cooking, but I have had a little exposure to it. Some of thier pickled dishes are excellent.

Hope you have a good trip home for the Holidays. Is it a P.C.S. or just leave time?

Skip G.

dgemini · November 2001

To answer your question, it is just leave time. When I get back I will have 4 months to go :-(.

I haven't eaten much kimchi...but I have had other Korean dishes. I like Yaki-mandu (is that spelled right?

I have also been to the beef and leaf a couple of times and most the food their is top notch!

You know the military lingo...were you ever in the service?

Take care

gustafsc · November 2001

1. I can't speak Korean at all, so don't ask me how to spell yaki whatever ;-)

2. USMCR, 24yr, GySgt(ret). (12/62-2/87)

When your active time is up, you might consider Reserve or Guard duty. Keep your hand in the Military and have a real life too. Plus, you can get retirement benefits if you do a full 20.

I'll start drawing retirement pay next July along with medical and other goodies. I plan to live forever, so it'll have been worth the years invested.

Skip G.

Skip G

sutovas · November 2001

Today I went through a lot of the messages here on the Cougar. I personally really like this car and thinking of getting one. It seems that I may get a pretty good deal on a 2002 C2. I am still not convinced that the car is reliable though. I want to keep the car for at least 5 years, so I will not kill it too much and hope that it will not give me much trouble. I got a very mixed idea from the posts. I also read somewhere that Ford might even stop making the Cougar soon. Why are there so few out there? Could someone with relatively high mileage comment on the reliability. It seems that there may be serious quality issues + problems with part supply = lot of time at the dealer. All the input is really appreciated (I would like to decide this week). -thanks

badulah · November 2001

I have had my 1999 Cougar since November of 1998. It currently has 56,000 miles on it and I have had very little trouble with it. There were some fit and finish issues, but most of them were worked out in later models. There have been a few recalls, but nothing major to my knowledge.

The reason why there are so few of these cars is because Ford did not advertise this car. They never had a decent advertisement campaign, therefore the general public never got the word that this car exists. Even though I have had this car for over three years, people still come up to me and ask about it. They usually ask "What kind of car is that?", and when I respond with "Its a Cougar" they usually say something like "WOW! I didn't know they still made the Cougar".

It is rumored that Ford will halt the production of the Cougar in 2003, but no one will confirm this rumor. I spoke to several plant workers and engineers when I was at the plant this past summer for Cougar Fest 2001, but none of them had any information on this subject.

I would recommend the Cougar to anyone looking for a great Sports/Touring Coupe. It has excellent road manors, decent power, and is the best bang for your buck in its class.

-Rob

dgemini · November 2001

I agree with Badulah,

The Cougar is a great car for the money. I mean where else can you easily buy a V6 powered sport coupe for under 20 grand? If you do your homework and shop around you could get a V6 powered Cougar for around 16-18,000.00.

I have over 60,000 miles on mine. Yes, I did have a throttle break on me (which may have been my fault, I really don't know), and I had to replace the tires at around 40,000 miles and brakes at around 50,000 miles, but other than that I have had no problems with the car.

Good luck with whatever you decide to buy.

fivespeeed · November 2001

I've had my '99 Cougar for one year now, it has 34k on it. When i bought it i listed to anyone who had anything to say about it. So far as i see it...its a good car for the money, good gas mileage for a V-6..i get 35mpg on the highway, and i love the interior, all around good car. On the down side, I've had to have a BRAND NEW transmission installed becuase my car would not go in reverse. Now, the car has to be forced in all gears (more than before) but the dealer says refuses to do anything about it..(to all those saying to go to another dealer..shut up already). I've heard about a lot of minor problems but nothing real major. The used ones sell for cheap for the kind of car that you get, that's why i bought one...but i would NEVER buy one new. I hope to trade it in or sell it soon and get something else though...a WRX or an Altima V6. Make sure you buy from a good dealer...the salesman may be nice..but if the service department doesnt treat its customers right...go somewhere else!!

gustafsc · November 2001

If it's a new tranny, it might be stiff for the next 10K mi., and then start to loosen up. It took my '99' at least that long, but now it's OK.

WRX would be fun, but they don't offer a good looking 2dr coupe.

Skip G

crazed17 · November 2001

I was at a dealer tonight discussing the lack of supply and absolute zero effort that Mercury puts into promoting the car. That's when he mentioned that he was surprised they were continuing for 2003. He had some newsletter from Mercury which gave him this info. He also told me that they will be producing the Cougar with a bigger engine (I failed to ask exactly how big). Of course, 2003 is still far away. But at least it looks promising.

The Cougar isn't promoted because Lincoln and Mercury are trying to sell Grand Marquis and Town Cars. It's a vastly different demographic. Unlike Chevy, which has four cars starting under $20k. The companies have to realize that it's not always a good image - one of the reasons Oldsmobile died is because everyone associated their cars with old people. The Alero and Intrigue came too late.

Even though I'm not their typical market (25 yrs old), I've found the dealers to be extremely helpful and knowledgable about the Cougar. They call me quickly when they get information and have not tried any tricks. This contrasts with a number of stories about other dealers, notably Hyundai. My friend who just bought an Elantra got a sales pitch on a $1,500 satellite security device. Another had to argue with the dealer to get their license back after a test drive.

To the person considering buying one: Cougar has the best value (number of options at low price) of any 6 cylinder or 100ft+ wheelbase car. It's one of the cheapest 6-cylinder engines (I can only think of the Malibu as less) and the cheapest with 4-wheel disc brakes. It may get pushed into the sports coupe category against wannabe-sports cars, but it really just is a fun, attractive alternative to the same boring midsize car that most Americans drive (does it matter whether you choose an Accord or a Camry?). Regarding reliability, it always takes a few years of production to get the kinks worked out. And most of what is mentioned here are annoyances rather than problems. On one of the VW boards they're discussing engine rebuilds - that is the car to avoid. I figure that if I spend $1,500 less than an Acura RSX base (the car I pick as closest to a Cougar-price not exact), I really don't care if I have to replace the alternator and an electric lock or two.

Feel free to disagree. I'll know more when the dealers find me a Laser Red one.

trigger8 · December 2001

This post is in response to people wondering about reliability of the car. I got one of the first new model cougars in summer of 98 (99 model). I now have 74,000 miles on it.
First off, this car has been a lot of fun and is a tremendous "bang for the buck".

Quality wise, I have actually had most of the recalled problems (some before the recall). A few fit and finish problems that were annoying.

My biggest problem is now that it is older, I am finding it is a really expensive car to fix. I have the V6. One example of this was a couple of months ago I had to replace the alternator (normal around 70,000). Now, I looked at doing it myself, no way. Brought it to a chain autoshop. After they futz around with it for 5 hours, they gave it back to me, could not get it out. So, I brought it to the dealer. ~230 for the alternator (hmm, OK), ~250 in labor(WHAT!), total of ~500 for an alternator. They actually have to take the front end apart to get to it, just one of a couple that have happened to me. In general, the parts aint cheap.

I still like my car and it still runs well.

badulah · December 2001

I have to agree with Skip: I would consider the WRX, but its so dang ugly!! I know they are fast from experience. I have tangled with them on the street and on the Auto-Cross track. If they took the mechanics from that car and put them in to the RS body, I would consider getting one sometime in the next year or two.

As far as a Cougar with a bigger engine goes: I have been assured from plant engineers (Face to face at Cougar Fest 2001) that this style of Cougar will never receive anything bigger or more powerful than the standard (170 hp & 165lbs. of Torque stock) Duratech V6. This is sad, but true.

FiveSpeed:
Why would you never buy a new Cougar?

gustafsc · December 2001

Boy, you're being agreeable today!!!!!!

Skip G.

crazed17 · December 2001

My local dealer offered me just under the invoice price on a 2001 Cougar to get it out of his showroom. It wasn't the exact model I wanted, but with the lower finance rates on the 2001's I'll be saving $5,000 from the normal market-rate loan on a 4-year deal.

The closer tried to sell me on an extended warranty. He claimed that the warranty would be fully refundable if I made no claims on it; that this was a special deal usually only offered on some Mountaineers because of some problems they had. I wasn't inclined to believe him, and I have found nothing on the internet about this. Has anyone heard of this? I have seen similar offers from some aftermarket companies but never from a manufacturer.

Thanks for all of the previous help.

burnsmr4 · December 2001

This is more to the Edmunds.com moderators than the group as a whole. Which is the most current discussion? Chat's On... or this one? Please either consolidate or close the other discussion. Jeepers...

revka · December 2001

The Mercury Cougar "Chat's On" discussion resides only in the Cougar Support Group owners area and is intended to be more of an owners hang out....

Whereas this particular discussion is also linked to Hatchbacks. That means you can also access this discussion via the Hatchbacks message board. This is a place where both owners and non owners (i.e shoppers) can discuss the Mercury Cougar. It's presence on the Hatchbacks board also let's non-owners know it's a hatchback design. In addition, if you enter this discussion via Hatchbacks, you'll also exit directly back out into the Hatchbacks board.

Feel free to participate in which ever discussion you'd like. Happy motoring!

Revka
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