1999 Mercury Cougar 2.0 from North America
Summary:
Been getting me from point A-Z, and so far so good!
Faults:
I've noticed that I have a power surge problem.(95,000Km)
The car has some serious problems when I go through deeper puddles.
All I've had to replace on it was a blower motor (100,000km) that cost a total of $35, and some headlights, a total of $30.
I had to replace all four tires (113,000).
I'm still glad that I bought this car. I just hope for no problems, and cross my fingers that it doesn't eat anymore tires.
General Comments:
I've had this car for a year now. I'm very happy with my 99 Cougar 4cyl 2.0.
I just wanted to say that my Cougar is a very reliable little machine. I had it parked in my back yard for about a week this winter. The temperature was at -30 to -45C, and when I went to start it, it fired right up.
I put about 500km on it in a week.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 11th March, 2009
27th Feb 2009, 09:51
For your tire/rim problems you may want to go to a tire dealer and simply ask for an estimate. That will spell out the rim size and tire size. You could also go to a junk yard and see if you could get matching replacement for the off sized rim.
Go to a car parts store and have them scan the computer of error codes. Some stores do that for free. Now you have something to go by. You can narrow down the cause for the CEL after that. Sometimes it is the tank lid, or the MAF sensor, or the ignition system (plugs, wires, coil pack). you can replace parts going from cheap to expensive. Of course that mechanic of yours went the other way and started with the catalytic converter. I can't say if it was bad or not, but it is not the part I would have started with.
I also recommend you use some Lucas Oil Fuel treatment to get rid of carbon deposits.
Good luck and search the Cougar/ Contour sites for ideas.