Selling a junk Mercury Cougar
Any Cougar sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
Step 3 of 3 · Get your offer
Prefer an instant online offer?
Peddle quotes online in every state and arranges the pickup. You give your details to Peddle, not to us.
If you sell through this link, Junk Cars Nation may earn a referral fee. It doesn't change your offer.
What owners report about the Mercury Cougar
NHTSA has 1,603 owner complaints on file for the Mercury Cougar, model years 1995 to 2002, the 217th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are electrical system (215, 13%), engine and cooling (198, 12%), fuel system (179, 11%). 96 complaints involved a crash, 32 a fire, and 3 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 70,000 miles. The 1999 model year has the most complaints (740). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is electrical system, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car that doesn't run: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Mercury Cougar by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 160 | Brakes | 12 | 5 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | 77 | Engine and cooling | 4 | 0 | 2 | 61,000 |
| 1997 | 112 | Engine and cooling | 2 | 2 | 0 | 65,850 |
| 1998 | 1 | Electrical system | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | 740 | Electrical system | 34 | 3 | 9 | 73,000 |
| 2000 | 283 | Electrical system | 20 | 13 | 5 | 65,000 |
| 2001 | 103 | Fuel system | 8 | 8 | 3 | 76,500 |
| 2002 | 127 | Fuel system | 16 | 1 | 3 | 74,500 |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Mercury Cougar recalls
NHTSA lists 11 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for latches and locks (2), brakes (2), electrical system (2). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 1999 model year, suspension (campaign 08E033000, Apr 2008): FEDERAL MOGUL IS RECALLING 6,903 AFTERMARKET BALL JOINT ASSEMBLIES SHIPPED BETWEEN NOVEMBER 9, 2007 AND MARCH 26, 2008, WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN PACKAGED WITH INCORRECT NUTS. THE PART NUMBERS PACKAGED WITH INCORRECT NUTS ARE:…
- 1999 model year, brakes (campaign 06E022000, Mar 2006): CERTAIN AFTERMARKET BRAKE HYDRAULIC MASTER CYLINDERS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT BRAKE CYLINDERS FOR CERTAIN FORD, DAIMLERCHRYSLER, AND JEEP PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE BRAKE CYLINDERS WERE SOLD UNDER THE BRAND NAMES OF NAPA, RAYB…
- 1999 model year, fuel system (campaign 04V421000, Aug 2004): ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, CONTAMINATION OF THE FILTER IN THE FUEL DELIVERY MODULE (FDM) CAN REDUCE, AND EVENTUALLY BLOCK, THE FLOW OF FUEL TO THE ENGINE.
- 1999 model year, electrical system (campaign 01V230000, Jul 2001): ON CERTAIN MY 1996-1998 PASSENGER VEHICLES BUILT AT THE KANSAS CITY, CUAUTITLAN ASSEMBLY PLANTS OR ON MY 1999 PASSENGER VEHCLES BUILT AT THE AUTOMOTIVE ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY PLANTS, THE ROUGH SURFACE OF THE HEA…
- 1999 model year, lights (campaign 01V032000, Feb 2001): VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE BRAKE LAMP SWITCH TERMINALS COULD OVERHEAT.
What a Mercury Cougar is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Cougar on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car that doesn't run 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Mercury models
- Mercury Sable 3,942
- Mercury Grand Marquis 3,757
- Mercury Milan 3,226
- Mercury Mountaineer 2,646
- Mercury Mariner 1,722
- Mercury Mystique 1,508
- Mercury Villager 1,365
- Mercury Tracer 413
All Mercury models · All makes · Cash for junk cars by state
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Mercury Cougar worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Cougar gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Mercury Cougar that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Mercury Cougar?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Mercury Cougar numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.