ive heard alot of bad things about cougars, my dad who knows alot about cars says theyre good cars, are they?

After '97 FORGET IT!

they arent very reliable they tend to break down a lot

POS

The old ones from the 60 is and 70 is were built on Mustang platforms. After that they were built on Thunderbird platforms. The latest version was much smaller and was not as popular.

The last version FWD was not a very reliable vehicle.It was built on the contour/mystique platform and powertrain were plagged with problems that,s why it was not a big seller ..

They do not make em no more.Also depends on the year.Their engines are pretty strong.The same as the tarus or sable line.
Around 90-95 are pretty well made anything after that so-so.

My friend has one and she likes it. A couple of things here and there, but nothing significant.

Since the newest Cougar you can get now is still probably 4-5 years old, I'd stay away from them because they'd be used cars with a lot of miles.

If you're looking for a nice car from Mercury, check out the Milan. Its super reliable, V6 power, all-wheel drive, and GPS.

the 67-71 were re-bodied Mustangs, 72-97 were re-bodied T-birds, and 98-02 were Mazda's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Cougar

Last cougars are 2 door contours. Too much wiring trouble, and hard to find anyone to work on them.

I've had my '01 for 2 and half years and l have not any major problems. Just the usual stuff like new brakes, tires, etc.

Ford dropped the cougar line for the 1998 year but there was such a cry from the cougar fans that ford brought the name back . The trouble is they stuck the name on a crappy model they had just made that had nothing to do with the older cougars . It was a turd with the famous cougar name that fooled the public . The 1997 and older cougars are great cars .

Let is put it this way: Contours r fine cars. It is when it is converted into a 2-door coupe that problems started to appear, & existing problems exacerbated.

You'd think that the crowded engine bay would get some relief from the conversion. Wrong. Contour/Mondeo family is engine bay is one of the busiest & crampiest in modern design esp. with the 2.5L Duratech V6 installed. The transmission dipstick is HIDDEN under a bundle of wires. ARGH! Cougar: no change.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with a FWD sports coupe. Mitsubishi Eclipse is FWD. There r others. However, it is simply the WRONG car for the brandname. Mercury has always been the ''Buick'' of Ford, so to speak. It is the mid-tier for people who is ready to go up a notch from the plain (Chevy & Ford) but not ready for deluxe (Cadillac & Lincoln) So how do they fit a two-door sports car in the lineup? When there is the T-bird the Cougar cousin makes sense. But there is no equivalent Ford model. And later reskinning made it look like a very sad Contour. :P

It is not a ''bad'' car, but u can do better in that category.

Despite what people believe the latest Cougars arent bad cars. You just have to know what problems to expect in them (check out teamneco.com & newcougar.org-theyll tell u all the normal problems & how to fix them easily & cheaply if possible). Almost every problem that these had could be easily fixed by swapping a part or two. Also they r very easy to increase the power. Between the 3.0 L Duratec parts & the 2.5 SVT Duratec parts there r tons of ways to go to increase power without having to resort to FI.

The last ones built off the T-bird had problems, but if taken care of could run for quite awhile-- l would be wary of these though, they take a lot of pampering to keep in good working order (just like a Grand Am, & just as hard to find one that was pampered).

Well l have read and heard a lot about cars and it all comes to what you like and how you take car of it . they brake down at times, you will never find a perfect car this means IT'S your choice no matter what other people tell you. so good luck on your choice

I've got a 99 cougar with 120k on it & its been nothing but routine matinance. There were some electrical problems with the car ex: part of my instrument panel did not light up at first, my dad hit it & it is been fine ever since, also ive heard of check engine lights coming on for no reason

the car is georgeous, quick, drives well in the snow, & the insurance is cheaper than a taurus (ours was, that is what sold my dad on it). The car is tough, I've been rearended 5 times in the last 4 months (my friends say it will keep hapening until l get my first speeding ticket) & there is no damage besides a few scratches. LOVE my cougar!

depends on what year you are lookg at
i own a 1997 cougar 30th ann. edition never done anything to the car but normal maint. and on the odo is 228,988 miles and will still give camaros and mustangs a good run for there money

They are good cars-I've seen many with well over 100,000 miles that have no problems.

the rear wheel drive cougars share almost everything with the thunderbirds and are basically solid cars the downsized front wheel drive cougar shares everything mechanical with mystique/contour these were thoroughly mediocre cars. if it has the v-6 engine, the insulation will fall off the engine wiring harness [a 1500 dollar part if it is still available] the 4 cyl version is probably your most reliable bet