Faults:

My 1999 Cougar has been my one and only car... needless to say I thought it was cute as a button... totally fit my personality...However, it wasn't long after getting my first car that I started seeing the dark side of my cougar.

-First the alternator went out

-next was the sunroof (haven't had it since 2003)

-countless O2 sensors

-another alternator

-the backseat has eaten my left side rear seat belt lock by this time

-the transmission went out

-out of no where bad oil leaks

-three new batteries.

The last bad thing to happen was the airbag light turning on, then my car started dinging and flashing lights at me, and when I thought I could make it to a parking lot somewhere, I stupidly stopped for a red light and my car shut off. Not even enough power for the emergency lights to blink. Thus a new alternator. Third one since 2004.

There are also cosmetic problems that have annoyed me to death. What is the point of the front cup holder? If you put anything in it, you better be driving on the straightest and smoothest road you could possibly find. One soft right curve in the road and your wearing your drink. The trunk button next to the pedals a pointless as well. You push the button.. go to the trunk and it is still partially locked. What good is that? I usually just ask a friend to stand back there while I push it. lol...

General Comments:

I love my car, seeing as it is my first car... but I could have bought a new car with the money I've put into this one.

Faults:

Head gaskets replaced at about 85,000 miles.

Halogen dash lights replaced 3 times.

Map sensor replaced twice.

Seats just now showing wear.

Black paint now oxidizing after 20 years.

General Comments:

This car has been a surprise. In its prime it got 33 mpg on the highway. It is still fast and handles great and very comfortable (I've only been sitting in it for almost 20 years!). And best of all, the body style is still unique with the sweeping back cat eye side windows and the vertical back window, not like the cookie cutter designs of todays cars. Basically, the car just takes good regular maintenance and keeps on going. My friends laugh that the tires I just put on it doubled its value--but this car is invaluable because it is reliable and... its been paid for since the day I bought it.

Faults:

Now let's be fair to begin with... I am going to begin this review with the facts that every Ford product I have ever owned has been given to me, and every Ford I have owned has been abused, and most of the things that went wrong were due to abuse. OK now...

Head gaskets blew twice.

Lost the alternator twice.

Transmission slips.

What were Ford thinking when they engineered the automatic seatbelts?

The rear axle makes this horrible grinding noise.

The rear disc brakes have given me a hard time.

General Comments:

Well, I can honestly say that from what I have dealt with from Ford, a lot of this cars woes were caused by the people that owned it before me. However... The things that went wrong with it can definitely be attributed to Ford's lack of testing and engineering. WOAH WHOAH Ford guys, let me explain...

I have owned a 93 Crown Victoria that I put over 60 thousand miles on previous to owning this Cougar, and I loved that car. My father in law has owned a few Crown Vics, and my best friend who is a police officer trusts the Crown Vic with his life. You can see that car used for the police and taxi services why? Because it is a well made, well engineered car.

This Cougar was quite the opposite. It has great lines, it is very comfortable, the steering is tight, and it handles well in bad weather, so those things are good about it. This is proof Ford can make a good dependable car. BUT that 3.8 liter V6 has had problems since the day it was designed with its headgaskets, and Ford had known about the problem and seemingly done nothing about it. I mean the headgaskets are a big thing to go when you don't have a lot of money. It's either fix the car or junk it. And from what I have been told, it is quite common for that to happen every 70 thousand miles. Aluminum heads on a cast iron block with not the greatest design, will get you every time.

And all of the small annoying things broke on the car; panels, the auto seatbelt, and the windows don't go down or up correctly. The auto seatbelts are just unnecessary, and when they fail they are an expensive pain in the behind to fix or replace.

I fell in love with the car when it was given to me, and then it fell apart, so unfortunately it's on the way to the junk yard. If it wasn't for the stupid stuff, I'd recommend this car to anyone. Leave it to Ford to go 3/4 the distance with a car.