1985 Mercury Cougar review from North America

The module on the distributor went out in May of 1999. We replaced it with a one-year part and that one went out, a year later. We replaced the whole distributor while we were at it.

The alternator and starter have needed to be replaced twice. Once was after the year warranty went out on the both of them and then both of them went out within a couple of weeks. We decided to purchase lifetime replacement products from then on.

The heater core was the next thing to go out. We fought through the winter and finally became tired of freezing so we put a new one in. There were three bad things about this: #1 It is VERY hard to install. #2 We had to let the freon out of the A/C. #3 It warmed up two weeks later and never got cold again until the next winter.

The radiator began to leak in June of 2000. I had it repaired and it blew out again two days later. I went ahead and replaced it.

Interior has held up pretty well but the paint has faded. I am in the process of restoring this car and will give it back to my dad upon completion. Then it will probably be garaged and driven every so often.

This is a good car. It has about 204,500 miles on the original motor. It still starts at the turn of the key without having to press the gas. It will run with the best of them (Mustangs) even though it only has a 140hp motor. Good take off and handles well, and after 204,000 miles, I'd say 20-24 mpg isn't all that bad.