1996 Mercury Tracer - Good car for "new to the road" drivers.
Firstly, it's not the best car out there. It's small, even cramped at times, and not the most attractive vehicle out there, but it's different. It's next to identical to the Ford Escort of the same years and shares the same components throughout the entire vehicle. Gas mileage is above average for this time period of the '90s boasting 31 mpg in the city and nearly 40 mpg on the highway. A more realistic figure, based on general upkeep and maintenance at approximately 165,000 miles, is an average of 32 mpg in the city and almost 50 mpg on the highway. The trunk is not extremely spacious but will fit any roadside equipment needed without sacrificing space for other items. The wagon base comes with a roof rack from the factory and will hold two single person kayak's with ease. The short s... (more)
Firstly, it's not the best car out there. It's small, even cramped at times, and not the most attractive vehicle out there, but it's different. It's next to identical to the Ford Escort of the same years and shares the same components throughout the entire vehicle. Gas mileage is above average for this time period of the '90s boasting 31 mpg in the city and nearly 40 mpg on the highway. A more realistic figure, based on general upkeep and maintenance at approximately 165,000 miles, is an average of 32 mpg in the city and almost 50 mpg on the highway. The trunk is not extremely spacious but will fit any roadside equipment needed without sacrificing space for other items. The wagon base comes with a roof rack from the factory and will hold two single person kayak's with ease. The short stature of the vehicle also makes loading and unloading items from the roof rack a breeze. As a 21-year-old car that has been well maintained, the car is an overall good condition. The exterior paint needs minor touch ups but isn't fading or cracking. The interior dash is still soft and the cloth seats have yet to tear. The door panels are a different story. They are poorly made, and the armrest are known to rip off. Performance and maintenance wise is a breeze. An oil change every 6,000 miles will keep the car happy and running strong. The timing belt is not interference. If it breaks it wont destroy the head or affect timing. In an extreme case you could take a quality leather belt and fit it around the gears to attempt to put-put into the nearest town if you find yourself stranded. In short, I'd buy the car again. I'd also recommend it to anyone needing something to get started with as the car is fairly inexpensive. Bluebook is around $1,500, if it's in good condition.
One time, late at night, I took a friend of mine to see a house I was interested in buying. The driveway was poor, and it had just recently rained so we pulled into the yard. On our attempt to leave the car started spinning and dug a rut into the yard. We bounced and yanked until the car was free, and we took off spinning tires across the yard. We never went back to check on it, but we believe... (more)
One time, late at night, I took a friend of mine to see a house I was interested in buying. The driveway was poor, and it had just recently rained so we pulled into the yard. On our attempt to leave the car started spinning and dug a rut into the yard. We bounced and yanked until the car was free, and we took off spinning tires across the yard. We never went back to check on it, but we believe it was trashed.
Gas mileage. The car is advertised from the factory boasting a 31 mpg city and 38 mpg highway. More realistically, it has an average of 34 mpg in city and up to 50 mpg on the highway. It also has a bit of oomph coming from a dead start and is more pull then you would expect from a 1.9l fwd engine.
Gas mileage. The car is advertised from the factory boasting a 31 mpg city and 38 mpg highway. More realistically, it has an average of 34 mpg in city and up to 50 mpg on the highway. It also has a bit of oomph coming from a dead start and is more pull then you would expect from a 1.9l fwd engine.
This car doesn't suffer many cons, but the ones it does are enough to ward off potential buyers. It's cramped at times. I'm roughly 5'11 and 150lbs, and it is uncomfortable on road trips over three hours. The car sits low to the ground from the factory and isn't large by any means.
This car doesn't suffer many cons, but the ones it does are enough to ward off potential buyers. It's cramped at times. I'm roughly 5'11 and 150lbs, and it is uncomfortable on road trips over three hours. The car sits low to the ground from the factory and isn't large by any means.
1995 Mercury Tracer - Fun first time car.
The car was great for a first time car. It got me from where I needed to go mostly to and from work. I barely had any mechanical issues with the car and the build quality was good for its time. It wasn't a fast or powerful car but it wasn't really designed to be. I liked that the trunk could be opened with the key fob and the engine bay was spacious enough to work in if anything needed to be changed such as air filters. One of the things I disliked was the manual windows but it was common for that build year. The fuel economy wasn't the greatest however I wasn't driving long distances so it didn't mater much to me.
The car was great for a first time car. It got me from where I needed to go mostly to and from work. I barely had any mechanical issues with the car and the build quality was good for its time. It wasn't a fast or powerful car but it wasn't really designed to be. I liked that the trunk could be opened with the key fob and the engine bay was spacious enough to work in if anything needed to be changed such as air filters. One of the things I disliked was the manual windows but it was common for that build year. The fuel economy wasn't the greatest however I wasn't driving long distances so it didn't mater much to me.
A friend needed to be dropped off from work and I was the only one that had a car at the time and it made me feel important.
A friend needed to be dropped off from work and I was the only one that had a car at the time and it made me feel important.
Automatic transmission, spacious, easy to see out of.
Automatic transmission, spacious, easy to see out of.
Manual windows, basic radio (no CD player), no power seats.
Manual windows, basic radio (no CD player), no power seats.
1993 Mercury Tracer - Amazing commute car
This car is 21 years old and still running.
Back in the day when it was bought, it probably was a nice but a wallet friendly car.
Great on gas mileage, automatic seat belts, and air conditioning.
It is comfortable for smaller sized people.
No blind spots.
This car is 21 years old and still running.
Back in the day when it was bought, it probably was a nice but a wallet friendly car.
Great on gas mileage, automatic seat belts, and air conditioning.
It is comfortable for smaller sized people.
No blind spots.
None. I hate this car. It is my husband's work car. It is ugly, dirty and we call it the "Trashy" instead of "Tracer."
None. I hate this car. It is my husband's work car. It is ugly, dirty and we call it the "Trashy" instead of "Tracer."
This car has fantastic gas mileage averaging about 33 miles per gallon on the highway.
It still has working cold air conditioning.
It still has hot heat in the winter.
Automatic seat belts ensure that we never get a seat belt ticket.
It doesn't have any blind spots and surrounding traffic and environment is easily seen from all windows.
Huge trunk for such a little car.
Maintenance cost is low for this car.
This car has fantastic gas mileage averaging about 33 miles per gallon on the highway.
It still has working cold air conditioning.
It still has hot heat in the winter.
Automatic seat belts ensure that we never get a seat belt ticket.
It doesn't have any blind spots and surrounding traffic and environment is easily seen from all windows.
Huge trunk for such a little car.
Maintenance cost is low for this car.
It is UGLY.
It is uncomfortable for rides longer than five minutes.
Seats are hard with little cushion, which may be because it is 21 years old.
If you are taller than 5 ft, this car is cramped.
If you are on the large side weight wise, this car will be cramped.
No fancy features like power locks or windows.
Seat cloth, ceiling cloth, and cloth on mirror does not hold up well with time sagging and falling off in places.
Windshield wipers only have a few speeds.
It is UGLY.
It is uncomfortable for rides longer than five minutes.
Seats are hard with little cushion, which may be because it is 21 years old.
If you are taller than 5 ft, this car is cramped.
If you are on the large side weight wise, this car will be cramped.
No fancy features like power locks or windows.
Seat cloth, ceiling cloth, and cloth on mirror does not hold up well with time sagging and falling off in places.
Windshield wipers only have a few speeds.
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