Faults:

New transmission, water pump, timing chain. Brakes, rotors, tires, shocks.

General Comments:

I bought this car because my sister had an 88 red one new and it was parked next to another car in 90 that burned and it burned hers. She hated losing that one. I've had an older Cougar and even a T-bird. This one is by far my favorite of them all. This is one of the last 20th Anniversary models to roll off the assembly line. Mfg 6/87. This one drives better than my supercharged Buick! It's not as fast off the line, but it handles way better, especially with Sensa-trac struts and shocks with HP tires. Recently got it painted and the windows tinted. Everything works on the car just as it did when it left the assembly line. I hope to get 148000 more miles out of it. Heads turn when people see me driving it because not many of them are in my city, but mine's the best looking one around by far!

Faults:

Rebuilt Transmission (135,000 miles)

Replaced Engine (125,000 miles)

Right window hard to open/close

Replaced rack and pinion

Engine problem (incorrect timing)

Replaced Heater Core

Other Misc. Small things.

General Comments:

I am 22 and have only owned 2 cars, an 88 Mercury Cougar, and later an 87. The 88 was a great car, although it suffered from small electrical and mechanical maladies throughout its life. I inherited it from my mother in 1998. It ran faithfully without major incident until February 2003, when at 264,000 miles, the seals in the engine went bust.

I bought my 87 Cougar in 2002, and it has had a few more problems than the 88, but it is a great car. I think the engine and trans problems were caused by poor maintenance, and were not design flaws. These cars look great and they are tanks. My 88 was rear-ended at 45 miles an hour by an SUV and suffered only a small scrape on the bumper. They are solidly built and very reliable, even with their small problems. The only problem that really bugs me is that both my cars tend to falsely report low oil pressure, due to a loose connection. It's an easy fix, though. I would recommend these cars to anyone, although they are getting hard to find.

Faults:

Transmission needed to be replaced at 115,000 miles.

The heating coil is beginning to go bad.

General Comments:

The 1987 Mercury Cougars are very fast and handle better than any other car I've ever been in before. They extremely hard to break down and are perfect daily drivers. I'm still surprised drag racers haven't looked into these cars.

Even though the previous owner took the anger she felt toward her ex-husband on this car, it's in near perfect condition. I mean she fed her horses out of the trunk, but nothing is wrong with the car!

No matter how much tough love you give these cars, they never quit, unless you don't know how to take care of your cars. If you can't get a Cougar to work, then good luck finding a car that will work for you.

By the way, if you think the body of a 1987 Mercury Cougar is ugly, then I'd stay away from any muscle cars; because that's what they look like! I'll give you some free advice, if you don't like the Cougar's, get a foreign car, because the 1987 Cougar is an all American car!!