1999 Cougar Issues

So I have had my Cougar for nearly 3 years. I had the alternator, the air
conditioning register, fuel pump,and coolant tank replaced. And today I'm
having some transmission sensor and alternator wires or something fixed
with a grand total of $1,500. My dream car has become my enemy. Everytime
something gets fixed a few months later (or less) it's back at the shop. I
have it serviced and I don't abuse it. What's the deal? Should I start
looking for another car?

Can't offer help on if you need to look for another car. I mean, with
everything replaced, you can almost be sure that atleast THOSE parts
won't break anytime soon anymore.

As to the last repair bill I got for my Cougar ('99), that was
slightly higher then $1500... . Recalculated to current rates,
slightly more then double that actually. Transmission died on me,
needed new front tires, and the front end suspension needed the
bushings replaced. Oh, and a few other small things (light bulbs, oil,
stuff like that).

For the sake of argument, I'll leave any previous repairs and stuff
out of the loop here.

Transmission was said to have worn out... Seems it can happen,
although I hadn't heard of it ever before. Front tires just were worn
down, but it turned out that the tires that came with the car weren't
manufactured anymore, and I'd have to fit tires that were a tad larger
then the originals...

If the tire has a slightly larger radius, it'll travel further with
the same rotation speed. If one rotation equals a certain distance,
then a certain amount of rotations equals a certain speed. If that
distance changes, the rotations don't change. But that does mean that
the car travels slightly further per rotation, and hence moves faster
then indicated on the speedometer. That might've been an issue, but it
seems it's not really something to worry about. (Police REALLY like
fines here).

Specially those bushings annoy me to no end up to today, seeing you
seem to be able to buy them for every model Ford/Mercury, EXCEPT the
Cougar... Which means you need to have the complete front-end lower
suspension arm replaced. I couldn't not do that cause the driving
capacities would deteriorate, and the car would run into trouble with
the law (every car older then 3 years must have passed a test
certifying that it's safe to drive with, and those bushings are a part
of that test).

All's fair on that, but why can't one buy the bushings separately.
Ford Europe refuses to say anything else but the standard reply: "You
cannot buy bushings for any Ford model separately. You need to buy the
whole thing in one piece. This is done for safety measures". Which by
the standards of the dealer is a load of bull. You can buy bushings
separately for other models, but the Cougar seems to be 'special' in
that regard too.

Then if you step over the fact that it's a safety issue, there's the
price. Looking at Canada and the going rate for the part there... And
setting that off against the price I need to pay... Why am I 310% more
expensive then a regular canadian driver (and I'm talking just the
part price here... so just getting the part)??????? Again, this seems
to be internal info, and will not be disclosed.

I'm sorely tempted to atleast order the parts in the US if my car ever
needs repairs, and get the parts shipped myself. I'm starting to think
that's a cheaper solution then the usual Ford EU channels.

I've already told Ford that stuff like this really gets the fun out of
driving something special REAL fast... They seem hardly impressed.
Like I really expected 'm to.

If any of you guys has more info on that bushing item I'd appreciate
to hear it... As I said, it's still annoys me to no end.

Neko-

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 16:30:24 -0500, "dkel" <dekelley DeleteThis @indiana.edu>
wrote:

 >So I have had my Cougar for nearly 3 years. I had the alternator, the air
 >conditioning register, fuel pump,and coolant tank replaced. And today I'm
 >having some transmission sensor and alternator wires or something fixed
 >with a grand total of $1,500. My dream car has become my enemy. Everytime
 >something gets fixed a few months later (or less) it's back at the shop. I
 >have it serviced and I don't abuse it. What's the deal? Should I start
 >looking for another car?<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->