looking at a cougar

[dranger21]

So im looking at a 2001 merc cougar today. Dont know much about them. Anyone know anything to watch out for, own one, are they good cars. etc..anything is appreciated

 

[superdave1984]

Sorry, I was thinking something else.



Moving along...

 

[OilPatch197]

Sorry, I was thinking something else.



Moving along...

I was also!

 

[tpking]

i was thinking damn me to but then i saw you wanted a car .. go figure

 

[Jason]

I am with the rest. I thought maybe it was something good. All I can say is if it's a 3.8 that hasn't blown head gaskets yet, walk.

 

[Carlos Murphy]

koogar

Yah, me too...

Car, gun, cat, older woman who pursues younger men

 

[Ozwynn]

So im looking at a 2001 merc cougar today. Dont know much about them. Anyone know anything to watch out for, own one, are they good cars. etc..anything is appreciated

they put a 3.8L in the 2001? I thought they had like a 2.7L or something small like that.

 

[dranger21]

sorry for the confusion..i guess i need to be a little more clear but hey it gets people to look at this thread haha..but anyway its got a 2.5L v6 in it.. i drove it and it seems to be a decent car but ive been wrong before

 

[Jason]

Oh yeah, brain fart. Excuse me on that, I drove 15 hours with a smooth bore tank.

The last gen Cougars are decent cars except they are built on the Contour/Mystique platform. Suspension and brake issues are common. They can develop some bad electrical gremlins too. I had a 99 though that had no problems in the 60k miles I owned it. Plus it was electrically limited to 130 something MPH!! Not bad for a small V-6 car.

I saw lots of troubles with them at work though.

They crash well too. this was vs. a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab.

 

[Otto]

*Terminator theme song*

Sorry this thread was begging for a pun

 

[CJREX]

I had a '99 SVT Contour which was mechanically very similar. I had it for 3 years with very few problems.

Very good crash rating.

If it's a 5 speed, it will likely have a 3rd gear grind if it's over 70k miles. They all do it (if driven enthusiastically). They have a weak 3rd synchro. Fix is a trans rebuild at around $1400 from Haynes motorsports. That includes a LSD and better synchros.

Also, watch to see if the engine becomes energetic at around 3800 RPM. They have an IMRC box that fails after a few years and prevents the secondary butterflies in the intake from opening. About $150 for a new IMRC (InterMediate Runner Controller) box. At least it's easy to change.

I thoroughly enjoyed my SVT Contour and would still have it today if my clutch leg didn't demand an auto for DD duty. Don't know about the Cougars or regular Contours, but my SVT version had terrific handling. Much better than my Camaro SS.

But the SS would destroy it in a straight line.

Lots of good info on the platform here:

www.contour.org

 

[Mark_88]

Jason...you missed one at the bottom...

I guess buying a cougar would depend on why they are selling and why you are buying...

I don't like them myself, but only because they are complicated to work on and any service should be done by a qualified tech if you're not one yourself...minor things you can do yourself mostly...as you've probably learned from owning a Ranger...

 

[Shran]

My buddy has a '99 with the 2.5 V6. He loves it but it has not been very reliable and parts are insanely expensive ($300 for an alternator??? )

It has also had a lot of issues with an intermittent miss and the trans not shifting right or at all. The interior also feels really cheap to me since the cloth comes unglued from the foam...looks like a cheap seat cover after a while.

Other than that, it's a really fun car and is plenty fast.

 

[stegomon]

cool cars....but tires for them are pricy....funky size

 

[Jason]

Jason...you missed one at the bottom...

Thanks for the heads up but I stopped covering plates. One day I thought "why does it matter if someone knows my plate number?"