2004 Mercury Mountaineer

If you like the Ford Explorer but want a little more class then it would be found in it's cousin, the Mercury Mountaineer. The Luxury SUV has nice body lines, comfortable seating and a lot of little extras. Room is a plenty, easily fitting 7 adults along with a ton of stuff in the trunk. It rides smoothly and pulls a decent amount of weight behind it. Wet and or snowy weather is easily handled by the girth of this vehicle, winter is made easier by the little extras such as heated mirrors and seats. Both the cooling and heating systems work great as does the AWD. Rough and or rocky roads are nothing to this truck though worry may set in over the nice paint job, especially if you have a "special edition" color that is pricey to touch up. Of coarse there are issues. Every year that they "upgrade" something, it messes with the entire system especially the wiring. If you have one that has a "for a first this year" expect some problems. The Mountaineer is also the kind of vehicle that will outwardly show it's care. If treated roughly or neglected it will blow spark plugs, the transmission will leak along with a multitude of other issues. Doing most of the work yourself is easy enough for someone who knows what they're doing. Parts for a tune up and oil change will run between $40-$80, but beware some of the known issues with this SUV are actually due to faulty after market parts such as the Purolator fuel filters a few years ago that were recalled, this was the filters doing damage, not the Mountaineer. Many people get mad at the vehicle over these fuel system issues but hey they put the aftermarket junk in the truck. Other then that issue, this Mercury gets the same fuel usage as most SUVs, coming in around 16-19 MPG mixed and higher on the highway. The Mercury Mountaineer doesn't quite hold it's value as well as it should. The hefty price tag is not what you'll get back once your off the lot.