1995 Mercury Mystique GS from North America - Comments

I have a 1995 Mercury Mystique with only 57000 original miles. The car has been nothing but trouble. Stay away from this car. It is not a good value unless you are getting it for free.

Oh, yes these cars are really pieces of junk. I would not recommend anyone to buy one unless you are a serious do-it-yourself guy or a professional mechanic. Even if you pay 300$ for this car it may be too much, like I did. It's only got 117.000 on it and it actually looks quite good so 300 should be a bargain? You could be fooled.

Bought this as a second car (my primary car is a near new Mustang that I don't want to use around town) and I feel the ground is starting to burn under my feet after endless repairs. I'm always done my own repair and servicing, but this car is simply too much. Picture a situation from a comic magazine where a customer is in a used car lot and the car in question is falling apart when door is opened.

It's actually like that, litterally speaking. This car is totally falling to pieces. Knobs, handles, headrests, windows, badges, various plastic fittings, plastic covers in the interior, and other parts. I'm not exaggerating, but I'm spending almost every second weekend repairing this disaster. And I've had it into an auto repair shop for some electronics trouble. And of course I've had the engine tops off twice for repairs. Other mechanical trouble; wheel bearings, struts, tie rod end, servo pump, various rubber hoses since they are all rotted, window lifter motor, second hand transmission since the old one would not shift etc etc etc. And all this in just over 2 years. Since I do the job it's not costing me much, but it's affecting my social life to spend all this time repairing this disaster zone and getting a tow when this stops around town. If I had not my bank account would be empty. I guess the quote for the repairs I've done would be in the 10.000$ range or even more.

Next major thing failing now, its sent off to the yard. I'm not selling it, I'm not that cruel. And I'll spend some extra cash getting a 5-6 year old Camry or Altima. I KNOW they'll be good.

I consider this car a symbol of what went wrong with the US auto industry in the 1980-1990. People were escaping from US manufacturers and I understand them well. Getting stuck with such a disaster machinery when you have car and house payments could ruin you. My 2005 Mustang is good and I hope it will last, but still I don't consider the quality of my Mustang to be as good as a new Nissan or Toyota. US manufacturers still have a way to go. They make cool cars, but cars that are not that well built.

Let us all send our Mystique/Contour/Sabre/Taurus cars off to the junk yard and let us forget this sad era of US car manufacturing.

All you people are so funny! Have you never heard of something called WD-40? When sprayed on door latch mechanisms and hinges, it eliminates squeaking and prevents sticking. Amazing! Ever heard of changing your transmission fluid and filter? It's called routine maintenance. Funny how nobody wants to accept responsibility for taking care of their own property. Everything that goes wrong must be somebody else's fault.

"I consider this car a symbol of what went wrong with the US auto industry in the 1980-1990. "

We've had a dozen good, reliable, high mileage cars from the 1980's and 1990's, including Dodge, Plymouth, Mercury, Chevy, Pontiac, and Cadillac. Maybe we just take better care of things, but I can't believe that we were just lucky with such a wide variety of different vehicles.

"All you people are so funny! Have you never heard of something called WD-40? When sprayed on door latch mechanisms and hinges, it eliminates squeaking and prevents sticking. Amazing! Ever heard of changing your transmission fluid and filter? It's called routine maintenance. Funny how nobody wants to accept responsibility for taking care of their own property. Everything that goes wrong must be somebody else's fault."

It sounds like you never owned a crudtour/mystake. As someone who made a MISTAKE of owning one I can sit back and laugh at Ford's misfortunes.

"We've had a dozen good, reliable, high mileage cars from the 1980's and 1990's, including Dodge, Plymouth, Mercury, Chevy, Pontiac, and Cadillac. Maybe we just take better care of things, but I can't believe that we were just lucky with such a wide variety of different vehicles."

You seem to be buying a lot of cars?

It all depends what you are using these reviews for. Most new car customers don't have much problems with their cars. But there are lemons out there, but they are not that many. The problem is when you buy a used car with no warranty and you are short of cash. You know this is usually why people buy old cars. I'm in school and need cheap reliable transportation. If I then end up repairing my car this can break me financially, right? That's why such sites are a gem. You can find out which cars that you should not buy and what cars are reliable even when used.

I don't know anything about this Mystique, but I know for sure I don't want one thanks to this site!! When hundreds of people seem to have a bad experience with this model this is not a good sign and I'll definitely clear away.

Wow, I just don't know where to start. I have worked on cars since my dad put a wrench in my hand when I was, I don't know probably 12. I'm not a professional auto mechanic, but I was a diesel mechanic for several years. I've owned and worked on a lot of used cars (mine, friends, relatives, etc.) but I have to say my mom's 1995 Mercury Mystique 4cyl 5speed she bought used with 50,000 miles on it, has to be one of the worst cars that ever came off the assembly line. I do admit that when you buy a used car you don't know what your going to get and sometimes you get a lemon, but COME ON! I agree with all the posts that call it a mercury mistake. At least with the 95'-98' models. All the problems that have been posted here has happened to my mom's car and then some. If I had to write down everything that has gone wrong with this car, there wouldn't be enough room. Just my opinion, take it or leave it.

My son just bought a 95 Mystique... for $200.00.. not a bad deal as the radio is worth more than the car... but reading this forum has shown him (and me) that this is a short term car for him (he is a new driver)... the car has been sitting around for 18 months so everything was a little tight.. we put new rear bakes on (Rotors and Pads) that was bought by the previous owner and it has a brand new battery... so now for the whats still wrong part... cup holder broken off (what a stupid design) Exhaust leak at manifold (not looking forward to that job) this is a V6 so should be interesting, Left Front Wheel bearing is done, the outside seals for the windows (fit on the door) all 4 are rotted!.. and the usual stuff of a car that's been sitting around for a while... anyone got a good workshop manual (PDF) for this thing? Haynes does not cut it..

I thought it was just "me" and my "Mistake." Same things, leaky trunk, broken cup holders, everything falling off or apart. We have had the window switch fixed for the Fifth time. Wheel bearings replaced a few weeks ago.

Wow...what a shame, I just hit 100,000 miles.