Do they break down a lot?How long do they live (in mileage)?How do they stack up to Honda Civics or other makes for that matter?What is the gas mileage?

their tight

l would suggest you go to your City Library and review the ''consumers reports'' annual report. This will show the best & worst used cars & recomend which ones to purchase.

verry good , but the miliage reacts on how fast you drive,keep carb clean and filter your set fot a life time, do not forget the oil and filter.

It will depend on how well the previous owner maintained it. Have the car looked at by a reputable repair facility before buying it.

Websites like msn.com (click on auto link on left) will have tech info, owner and professional reviews, as well as listings of possible trouble spots.

90s are better than 00s,,cougar over all are the same as other cars,,durability wise, take care of them they take care of you ,if your unlucky,there is always a no good car on any brand or model, you just have to be lucky to pick the good ones,,

They live crores light year

Theyre excellent cars.
The New Edge was made from 99-02, its not going to be any less reliable than a Civic from the same time period at this point (initially the Civic was better, but it evens our over time).

There r many with 200k+ miles that r running fine, many that arent, but it isnt hard to tell which ones have been taken care of.

Gas mileage on a V6 MTX will be about 32 hwy & 28city if u arent heavy on the gas.

If u want some speed out of it, u will have to get a V6 with a manual tranny. The ATX tranny is reliable, but isnt very efficient. The car loses about 30% of its power to the auto tranny.
If youre not concerned about the speed & can drive manual then consider the I4 MTX. It performs just as well as the V6 ATX but gets better mileage. There r only about 500 I4 ATX's, so that model isnt worth looking.

If u r concerned about performance, there arent many cars in its price range that can compete with the V6 MTX. It takes to mods very well if u want to go that route. It isnt a drag car though-it was made for handling rather than straight line racing. There r tons of great power & suspension mods though. The engine was originally much more powerful, but output was cut so it wouldnt hurt Mustang sales, so it has lots of potential. Between the durability of the engine, SVT engine parts from the Contour, the naturally good handling, & all the performance suspension parts it is a very good buy for keeping stock or for modding.

You can get more info about potential problems (including early warning signs to look for), capabilities, repairs, etc at newcougar.org & teamneco.com.
The community for the car is excellent & always very helpful whenever u have a problem.

Mercury dealerships r also great! l found that they will frequently give a discount on repairs (down to the price at a private shop) for no real reason. l would have bought another Merc when mine got totalled just for that, but they dont make anything but family cars now.

l have a 95 Cougar and it runs great -- would not leave home w/o it