Faults:

Timing belt.

Battery.

Alternator: four of them, apparently there was no reason for this. They said "some of them just do this"

Water pump.

Something wrong with rear suspension, constant tire wear, no one knows why, I have taken it to several service centers.

Warped head: caused because, as they put it, "these engines naturally run hot (warm) and that will happen after this many miles."

General Comments:

Terrible car, buy it if you are good at getting cheap parts and can put them in yourself.

My mechanic calls it a Mercury mistake, and I see lots of other people seem to say the same thing.

Not exactly a comfortable car, but not the worst either.

Handling can be compared to that of a minivan; it really rolls into the turns.

Faults:

I have had this car since the end of January 2004 and I am now in the process of replacing the alternator for the second time.

The cockpit engineering in this car is horrible. The one cup holder hardly works and would be very easy to break.

I have never witnessed a car that you have to turn a wheel to adjust the seats, especially when it has power everything else.

General Comments:

If this car would not have been almost given to me I probably would never of bought it. The car runs and handles well as long as you have a surplus of alternators and batteries to feed it.

There are some serious electrical problems and would recommend you look elsewhere if you are considering this vehicle.

Faults:

Bought car from a mechanic; he installed new engine (from salvage yard).

In a span of 40,000 miles:

I had to replace the tires 4 times at $250 each time.

The front brakes were replaced only once $120. O2 sensor-$75. Radiator leaked so I bought some Bars stop-leak and that fixed it.

Had to replace the alternator 2 times at $250 each time (best price!). Had to replace battery 3 times at $150 each time (this was the best price!).

Had to replace rear wheel brake cylinders 1 time at $120. One of the motor mount bolts sheared off and caused vibrations.

Poor gas mileage. Oil leaking onto top of spark plugs. Check engine light comes on all the time--scanner shows no codes.

Transmission has lost 1st gear. The car is drivable--you have to shift into second get it up to 25 mph, then shift into drive. Overdrive light comes on/goes off (I believe this is a code which puts the tranny in safe mode.

Rear doors squeak--even after thoroughly oiled. Power antenna is not operational.

General Comments:

Overall the car is fun to drive, but the costs to keep it going are horrible. Just as a side note: I took very good care of this vehicle. Oil changes every 3,000 miles with Valvoline and Purolator Oil filter ($8 each). Changed air filter every 6,000 miles. Changed fuel filter every year. Rotated tires every 3,000 miles. Performed 2 tune-ups. I bought this car thinking it was a good buy--big mistake.

Faults:

Pretty much everything. You name it.

Water pump blew 5 times.

Head gasket blew.

Timing belt went.

Leaked oil.

Power antenna.

Ball bearings.

Those are off the top of my head. I had to do numerous other repairs.

General Comments:

Quite frankly, the worst car I have ever owned.

It never seemed to run for more than two weeks before the check engine light came on again.

I think Mercury styled this car very well, when I sold it, it still looked very nice. Too bad it couldn't have ran as well.