1993 Mercury Cougar RX-7 review from North America

Purchased car for $2000, with the following defects:

Bad passenger window electric motor (64$)

Cracked windshield ($166)

Broken headlight knob ($20)

Broken brake light switch ($10)

Bad brake pads and rotors ($115)

Missing jack and lug wrench ($30)

Recently blew head gasket on passenger side bank (V6).

Machine shop recommended pulling driver’s side bank. Sure enough, head gasket on driver’s side was just about to blow in the exact same spot as the passenger’s side head. Machinist said that this is a common problem with the ford 3.8 liter engines. Mill both heads, upper gasket set ($260).

While I have the engine down to the block, I’m also replacing:

Water Pump ($60)

O2 sensors (2 x $50 = $100)

Power steering pump ($65)

Got fuel injectors reconditioned ($85)

Hoses and belts (approx $100)

Car had a fair amount of sun wear when I got it (oxidized paint, discolored trim pieces, yellowed head light lenses). Amazingly enough, it cleaned up really well and looks really decent now. The interior leather trim on the seats only shows a little wear on the driver’s seat, but it’s not too bad. The interior had several stains and was overall pretty grubby when I got it, but again, it cleaned up really well. Replacing the remote key-less entry system was a little bit challenging, but I was able to get all the original functionality back with an aftermarket remote system.

Car drives and handles well. Pickup is a little sluggish for a 3.8, but it may have had the blown head gasket since I got the car and that may have contributed to the lackluster power.

The car is actually fairly easy to work on. It looks like the Mercury engineers did a pretty good job of designing the car for serviceability.

Overall I’d say the car has been pretty consistent with what I’d expect for a cheap car. If I wasn’t able to do the work myself though, it would probably be cost prohibitive to repair.