Faults:

Car fuel pump went out.

O2 sensor, 6 things wrong, AKA oxygen sensor.

The seals on the back window are coming off twice.

The car rusts pretty fast.

Transmission went out.

Had to change tires twice.

General Comments:

Wow I just bought this car today. I really thought I was getting a great deal due to it ran fast.

Brakes were pretty good, and it only had two owners before me.

Little did I know, as I was driving home to go buy new car seats and a steering wheel cover due to there was a lot of wear and tear done to the seat and carpet, which I thought was normal, then I read that a lot of cars had this problem.

Now I had a mechanic look at it, and they told me I need to change my fuel pump and a lot of other things. This is going to cost me a cool 900 dollars. I wish I had researched this car better and read this ahead of time. I do not recommend this car to anyone. I feel bad that I'm going to sell it, but I'm a single mom and need a working car, not a problem.

Thank you for listening to my cry!!

Faults:

Worst car I've ever owned. Alternator, just multiple electrical problems.

Turn signal; had to rubber band relay to new assembly.

Road noise vibration, thank god it doesn't have a sun roof.

If you accelerate hard, the car behaves like it is running out of gas. When you get it started, it will act like it's out of gas and sputter for miles if not days.

Trunk windows don't work, cupholders.

Chews through tires even when babied.

Blower motor heat out, repaired multiple times.

Loose front end.

Leaks fluids.

Drains batteries, ruins batteries, electrical problems.

Am/FM has never worked on radio. Replaced under warranty.

General Comments:

This car looks nice.

The weakest vehicle if ever driven very slow though. High on insurance; my 1983 Rabbit is way faster than this thing, and it only cost 600 bucks, never breaks and is cheap/ easy to repair.

The only people who think this car is fast and handles good, are people I wouldn't trust with a car that is fast and handles good.

Resale value is pathetic, it's more worth it to me to watch this car burn or get crushed than what I could sell it for.

Faults:

Alternator -- This is a common problem with this car, it's located next to the exhaust manifold. It's tucked in behind the engine, down low. It gets cooked from the heat and splashed with water. It's difficult to remove, which means a big labor bill to replace.

Check Engine Light -- Bad Catalytic converter. I had the computer reprogrammed (flashed) to an updated spec.

Lights would flicker -- Another common problem -- Ford has a service bulletin, cheap, easy fix. Did it myself.

General Comments:

This is a good looking, sporty and fun car to drive. I would recommend the 6 cylinder over the 4. The 6 cyl. will get you good gas mileage (26 MPG), and provide decent acceleration. My Cougar is almost 10 years old but still fits in with the newer style cars -- it doesn't look dated.

There are definitely some common problems with this year Cougar.

Alternator -- see above.

Sunroof -- 1999-2000 years had plastic tracks and parts that would break. The 01, 02 Cougar had metal tracks -- much better.

Flickering lights -- see above.

Rear hatch doesn't open properly.

Rough idle -- Moosing sound -- Replace idle air control valve -- Easy fix!!

Cup holder will spill hot coffee in your lap!!

Not much room in the back seat for more than a kid. I'm 6 '2" and I fit just fine in the drivers seat, even with the sunroof. Car has a hard sporty ride, handles great. A lot of road noise in the cabin -- it's not a Cadillac. This is a great first car for a teen. You can get one in good shape for a great deal since they are not to popular. Plenty of info on the net to deal with the common problems. Consider the 01, 02 model, Factory has fixed many common problems including the cup holder!!