Faults:

Where to begin. Well let's start with saying that I haven't really had any different problems with my "investment". I bought it used from a dealer 2 years ago. It had 39000 miles on it, and they were only asking for $7k. Little did I know that would be the worst $7k OF MY LIFE!

First of all, I noticed right after pulling off the lot that between about 7/8 tank and 2/3 tank, my car would get approx 3mpg (that's 3 (three), not 30). So I really only filled it up to about half full most of the time for fear of wasting money on gas.

The next problem I noticed was the fact that I was having to buy a new battery every 7 months. Assuming this was my alternator, I just replaced the batteries, after receiving a quote of $600 to replace it because of its terrible location under the hood.

Next to go was the driver side power window, it just stopped working. That was going to cost me $70 for the motor, plus labor fees. So I just dealt with it.

Lastly, that stupid yellow-orange light from hell just wouldn't go away. The code said that there was an oxygen problem, and a "too rich/too lean" issue. I replaced the gas cap, fuel filter, 2 of the O2 sensors on the car (because those are the only ones I could get to myself), and still NOTHING!

I finally just pulled into a dealership (first resetting my check engine light) traded it in, and walked away.

My $7k "investment" turned out to be approximately a $10k headache.

DON'T EVER BUY A 99 COUGAR!!!

I now have sympathy for every Cougar owner I see on the road.

Faults:

A week after I purchased the car brand new, I had to get the fuel pump replaced and a new alternator.

The original tires that came with the car were not that good, and I had several flats before I replaced the tires with Firestone. The original tires were Goodyear.

The car has an on-going problem with the check engine light, but you just learn to ignore it; since the gas cap is the culprit. I would say once all the recalls were done, I had zero problems other than the check engine light.

In the past two years I started having problems. The air intake opener was sticking, but this was cleaned and works fine now. It wasn't opening and I was having a problem accelerating on the freeway.. ;0

A couple weeks ago the car turned off while driving. I pulled the car over to the side and the car started no problem. I took it to two mechanics and both could not find a problem. I just figured that was a sign to get a new one.

General Comments:

Overall this car was a good car, I always got the oil changed every 3,000 miles and got tune-ups as scheduled. Besides manufacturer defects, I think the car was a good buy overall. I think the older the car gets, the worse the issues get, and it's better to get rid of it before the 100,000 mile mark. The car definitely has electrical issues. The fuel injection is suspect, but I would frequently use the cleaner and had it cleaned by a professional.

I didn't have as many problems with the car as other people. I will say that I did not run to the mechanic for every little thing. When the check engine thing happened and I found out it was the gas cap, that was last time I had a mechanic deal with that issue. I think like most things, if you treat the car good and get your routine maintenance, it will be a good car. However, the electrical issues with this car can be irritating. I had the spark plugs replaced and wires after 60,000 miles. Prior to that I had a problem losing power from the day I bought it.. which basically meant if it was raining you could only have the lights on and the windshield wipers going. If you had the the heat and radio on too, the car would fluctuate in power when you stopped at cross lights.

Anyhow, it was a good car. I got rid of it last week after it cut off on me in the middle of the street. I bought a 2006 Infiniti G35 coupe, hopefully it will be a good replacement. I'm staying away from Ford products at this point.