I honestly don't even know where to begin with this thing... shocks, high tire prices, axles, electronics, headlights, gas, goddamn check engine light burning a hole in my retina, exhaust system, transmission, brakes, cup holder, cosmetics (interior/exterior), and most likely more than that.
SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE, PLEASE! I only bought this car because I was in a hit and run accident and my liability only paid out 3500 for insurance and it was over christmas break and I have 2 days to find a car before returning to a school that I was living outside of its bus area. I've abused this car in every freaking way possible just because of its horribly crapiness. All Fords seem to be the same, my dad just recently bought a 2000 F150, and it's slowly telling him who's the boss. Don't bother with Fords, and especially Mustangs. My friend had a Mustang, 5 days of owning it and the manifold cracked, the exhaust fell, the clutch stripped, and the mph gauge needle broke. Horrid horrid horrid rubbish.
"Buy a bus pass along with this car!"
- I'd much rather ride the bus than own a piece of garbage like this!
Amazing how the car responds poorly to "I've abused this car in every freaking way possible..." Generally when you take care of a vehicle, it takes care of you, and the opposite is also true. Of the Fords I've owned, the only one that I abused is the only one that broke regularly (1998 Crown Vic used as a taxicab, and it drove FINE, just went through tires, brakes, lighting control module, turn signal switches, heater cores, fuel injectors, and gas filters like nobody's business).
The others (1967 F-100, 1970 F-100, 1975 Torino, 1976 Marquis, 1986 Escort, 1986 Tempo, 1989 Escort, 1993 Tempo) gave me exemplary service based on the prices paid for them.
The other Ford cabs I had (1999 Windstar, 2000 Taurus, 2001 Crown Vic) I treated better than the '98 and they never broke during my service with them. As for other cabs, well, the 2000 Lumina I had decided to start slamming from 1st to 2nd by 53K. Went with a 1999 Lumina after that and had no problems. Then no problems with a 1999 Astro. No issues with a 2000 Grand Marquis, either. Had skads of breakdowns in all the 98-01 Intrepid 2.7L models, but the 3.2L Concorde and 3.5L Intrepid seemed OK. 1999 Venture blew a head gasket. 2000 Voyager grenaded a piston, but STILL RAN, just a little more oil consumption and a little less power. 1998 Sable was great until someone ralphed in it. Last cab I drove was a 2000 Impala with 320,000 miles and no problems with it other than AC was slow to cool.
Friends with Mustangs...1995 V6/5-speed gave the owner many AC issues, but nothing else. 2000 V6/auto stalls on left turns in parking lots, but dealer cannot replicate. 2002 V6/auto transmission failure at 43K. 2004 GT auto no problems. 2005 V6/auto no problems.
You've "abused this car in every freakin' way possible" and yet you wonder why it's falling apart. Your problems are of your own making, and it sounds like you got your "knowledge" of cars from your dad's habits, since his cars are falling apart, too. Stop beating the crap out of your car, and it might actually run for a while.
I had a 1987 Mustang with a 4 cylinder and it gave me NO PROBLEMS. The one and only thing I did was replace the clutch for a center force.
My 98 V6 Mustang is about to hit 150,000 and NOTHING has gone wrong with it. I have to assume the car has a check engine light, because I have never seen it lit up. I have had it for 9 years and it is by far the best, most reliable car I have ever had. I'm still on the original engine and transmission, and it purrs along perfectly.
Oh by the way, as for Ford, their quality is now equal to Toyota and Honda, did you catch that in the news? The Fusion was rated ahead of the Camry.
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