Hi there! I purchased a 2001 Cougar 2.5L about two weeks ago. Yesterday (Jan 31), I was getting ready to go to the beach and jumped in my car, my head filled with the vision of cruising my car down to Huntington Beach, Ca. I start the car, press the button to open the sunroof and I hear a "cracking" sound above my head. The sunroof opens a little bit but doesn't close! What the deuce (thanks Stewie)! I slowly trudge back to my home, my heart filled with fear. I remember all the horror stories of how the Cougar (especially the '99-00 models) are known for sunroof track failure. I thought that the '01-02 cars would be less prone to track damage or failure. I am scared, to say the least. A skyrocketing repair estimate from a local Ford/Mercury/Lincoln dealer to conduct sunroof repair usually ran into the thousands, as I had read on this site. As a graduate student, I am just surviving, so that kind of bill was just too much for me. And one of the main reasons why I liked this car was for the sunroof (among other factors that I considered).



Today, I went to my local mechanic and he said that he didn't fix that kind of thing. But, to his credit, he did refer me to a local sunroof repair shop. Before traveling there, I called the Mercury dealer near my house and was quoted a price for the whole sunroof assembly (including cables and tracks) at $1070 plus tax and labor. Wow!!! I went to the sunroof shop, Sunroof Performers and Auto Accessories 10361 Atlantic Ave South Gate, CA 90280

(323) 564-5019. The gentleman just so happened to have an assembly that was originally for another Cougar customer but that person never came back! When I told him about my, shall I say "shaky" finances, he agreed to do the job for $595. After getting some financial assistance from family (thanks...) the bill for me only came out to $395. I was overjoyed!!! After the work was done, I was told to go home and remove the factory motor and to save it just so that I would have a spare. The new tracks are aluminum and I was told to have them lubricated with a silicone spray or solution every 6 months in order to keep this from ever happening again. I just had to tell this story and say that there is hope if you have a sunroof problem. When you go there, ask for the owner: Cruz. He, as well as his team, are the best!!!

very good i would recomend it to anyone needing sunroof work. very good prices and a friendly staff