This Mystique is a bad mistake of a car
Everything imagine-able including blown head gaskets has gone wrong with this vehicle.
This vehicle has always started well, but countless things at any given time have always been bad inside and outside.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 14th March, 2009
Voodoo'ed Mystake
Blew engine first day (not my fault screwed up crank bearing)
Blew tranny out the first day after engine got repaired (kinda my fault after putting the new engin in forgot to put trans fluid back in the tranny OOPS)
ALL WIRES ARE DRY ROTTED TO HELL.
I bought the MYSTAKE back in March of 2007, lo and behold no less that 14 hours later I had the engine torn out of the car... three months later when I finally have the money to buy a new engine I install... about a week later the engine is in... BAM trans locked up on me in front of a State Trooper... he asks if I had a car problem... I respond, "nope, I just slam on my brakes at random intervals"...about another month later I have bought the BRAND NEW TRANS. from some company in Florida... I put the damn thing in and the car won't start... the MORONS that sent me the transmission didn't install a properly working Neutral switch... so needless to say I got my money back, but I still have the trans... put a new switch on fires right up.
Car is running great for a couple weeks... then comes DOOMS DAY Oct. 16, 2007...I'm sitting in traffic and along comes a Ford F-250 with a damn ranch-hand bumper on it plows the hell out of my car... TOTALLED it is still my daily drive, but now I have no trunk space...it's a compact car.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 8th November, 2007
The transmission in these cars was a complete disaster. I used to own a Contour (the Mystake's twin) and those transmissions were made very poorly. The engine wasn't that great either (just like the rest of the car).
When the reviewer talked about dry rotting wires he did not mean the actual metal. He most likely referred to cracking and brittle insulators. These models are known to have faulty wiring harnesses.
Fun to drive, but keeps you on first name basis with the service manager
Prior to my purchase:
13,218... Alternator replaced
17,630... Battery Replaced
56,087... Brake Pads Replaced
73,403... Rear struts replaced and CD player fixed.
After I purchase car in December, 2002:
76,387... MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor replaced... $485.73... 01/2003
76,485... Battery Replaced... $108.49.. 02/2003
78,360... HEGO sensor (Oxygen sensor) replaced... $372.77... 07/2003
82,134... Vacuum hose replaced...$83.72... 01/2004
82,571... Upper & lower intake manifold leak... $408.84... 02/2004
83,187... Change & Flush Transmission Fluid... $128.47... 03/2004
90,148... Change & flush power steering fluid... $84.75... 12/2004
95,589... New tires, replace cabin filter, radiator flush... $765.83... 06/2005
103,636... Coolant light replaced... $48.00... 01/2006
106,662... Coolant sensor replaced... $82.66... 05/2006
109,371... Fuel injectors flushed... $109.49... 09/2006
111,472... Water pump & thermostat replaced... $311.42... 11/2006
112,934... Flywheel & starter motor replaced... $1216.96... 01/2007*
114,097... Tune-up, spark plugs, reprogram code... $163.71... 03/2007
115,850... Vacuum tube to evaporation mgmt valve... $252.00... 04/2007.
Sub-totals... $3,262.10.. Repairs. + $1360.74... Maint. =
Total... $4622.84.
All work done by a Mercury or Ford dealer. Exception is new premium Goodyear tires with free rotation.
* Chipped teeth in flywheel had been noticeable since purchase (but I did not realize this at time of purchase).
However, problem became worse and concern I might be stranded somewhere overcame high cost to fix.
I purchased a used 1997 Mystique LS in December, 2002 paying $4500. During the test drive I noticed the rear struts needed replacement and CD player did not work. The dealer corrected these items.
The car is a pleasure to drive! It has a good European feel - solid with little lean in the curves. The LS has a quick responding, six-cylinder engine, automatic transmission, leather seats, power sunroof, electric driver's seat and good sound system. Highway mileage is 29-31 at 70mph.
I have averaged 9,400 mile annually. Of that, there might be two or three trips of 1400 miles. So, I don't drive a lot of miles and I am easy on the car, very seldom venturing over 5000 rpm.
As others have stated, there always seems to be something in need of repair. I wonder if the next thing might be the transmission or timing chain or...
I am trying to determine if I should buy something newer, or keep the Mystique for another five years. One thing is I am not tired of driving it. It still feels responsive and tight. But, I have looked at the Scion tC (about $18,000 new) which has a lot of nice features. It has the same wheelbase as the Mystique.
Unless something bad happens before the fifth anniversary (December, 2007) of driving the Mystique, the average yearly repair bill has been $652. Not including oil changes, the average preventive maintenance total is $272.
If repairs and maintenance continued to be about $1000 per year, then keeping the car would be a lot less expensive than buying anything else. If anyone else has some comments or ideas, please let me know.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 6th October, 2007
8th Nov 2007, 10:40
The engine may have been the cars fault. The transmission was not. That was your own stupidity. Wires cannot be dry-rotted, as that refers to wood. You also cannot tell if they are or not because you cannot see every single wire in the car. If they were corroded, the car would not run. The neutral switch was not the cars fault. The truck that hit your car, again, was not the cars fault. In fact, from the looks of this review, NOTHING was the cars fault, except for you and what is surrounding it. If anything in this review was true, you wouldn't be worrying about the car anymore because insurance would have replaced your car plus costs of hospital bills, etc. And if you were hit that hard from behind you would be in the hospital. Unless, of course, you "forgot" to get insurance for the car also?