Used 2004 Mercury Monterey Minivan Consumer Reviews
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EXCELLENT VAN
HAD the chev venture and pontiac before this both were in the shop steady bought the mercury van and it now has 101000 on only problem was 120 bucks very reliable gets from 19 to 24 mpg very comfortable
Third review, now at 80,000 miles
This van continues to be the best auto purchase I have made over 40 years of driving.I have had two repairs over the past six years. A door lock and an AC compressor last year. Total for both $900.00. This van is solid on the road and comfortable for my 6'2" 250 pound frame. Interior is very flexible. Pick up and passing performance seems to have improved over the years. I average 16 mpg city and 23mpg highway.
Still doing great!
My van now has 52,000 and the only problem was to replace a lock on a sliding door. Just replaced brakes and tires this month. Getting 21 mpg over all. About half of my driving is highway miles. My wife and I still love the looks and the comfort on roadtrips. The engine has a lot of torque and is fast off the line and good at passing in the 45-60 mph range. The advance trac feature really keeps it solid on the road.
Cheap Van
We purchased our van new (17 miles) in 4/2005 because of the huge discounts offered thinking it was a great deal. This van has had to have rotors turned 3 times, rotors replaced 2 times, has been in for a leak under the rear seat 4 times (w/mildew), has been in 2 times for interior problems (dash) and had had the front tires replaced 2 times and other misc. problems. It now has 21,000 miles and is going back again for brake issues - vibration when braking. Don't waste your money on this unless you don't mind running it back for repairs every few weeks. Ford needs to acknowledge the major safety issue with the rotors. Too many others have had same problem for ours to just be a lemon.
twice the stuff for 1/2 the price
Had this van for 1 year. Bought used w 12k on it. Really shopped around. The good news is they depreciate from new like lead. 35k new paid around 17k So they're a bargain used. I've had one repair, heated seat stopped working. Wouldn't have had this problem w others models because at this price they wouldn't have had the option on them. Great bang ( leather, power sliding doors, dvd, front/rear parking sensors, stability control) for the same buck that will get you a base used Toyota or Honda.
Finally replaced my villager and WOW
The AC recently went out on my '93 Villager (I cried) and we made the desicion to start looking for a replacement. We looked at the Ford version of this, but were blown away by all of the extra's that Mercury added. We got the Premire and it has everything. We took it to San Diego for a week from Utah and were surpised at how much more room it has than our Villager. Luggage for a family of Six with room to spare! The older kids love the captains chairs and travel through 105+ temps was a breeze! My in laws took theirs through the Mojave the week temps were 120+ and had no problems. If it is anything like our Villager it will be with us for a long time.
Only for Mercury Fans
great on a road trip, never misses a beat. room to spare, good ride, good front seat comfort. Poor quality interior. Cheap plastic, poor fit and finish..looks and feels cheap, even the leather seats are not very good quality. very bad dash controls, figure it out if you can. this van will run hard and never fail its owner.
Best Mercury Van ever!
Great to have a van from Mercury again...and they nailed it! It is the most luxurious interior on a van that i have seen!
2004 Mercury Monterey
I am an owner of the 2004 Mercury Monterey, I have never wrote a review on a car in my life, but thought this important to do on this one. I bought the van with 38,000 miles, today it has 53,000. I have never been so disappointed in a vehicle in my life. This week the air conditioner is out. Its something at least once a month. I am easy on my cars, service is very important to me. I would not recommend this vehicle to anyone. I am a 20 year Police Officer and really considering selling all of my Ford products because of this vehicle, terribly dissapointed in Ford Lincoln Mercury for allowing this type of vehicle on the road.
Transmission/egr headaches
My 04 monterey transmission went too, no warning! Cost $2000. 84,000 miles. Also having problems with engine light. Looks like egr valve. Cost about $350. Love the car, but the excessive repairs are bleeding me dry! With the transmission complaints abundant, why won't Ford do anything? From a large family of Ford owners, I may not purchase another due to lack of support of their owners and their own lack of accountability. How sad.
Great van- great price- love it
Vehicle bought new- no warranty issues - runs very strong. everything still works as new some 4 + years later. Other vans were way too much money and this was a great value for sure. 3 kids, 14/12/9 and we have it loaded and can get 22 mpg at 65-70 mph all day long. City mpg is at best 18- but we have friends with an Odyssey who do no better and freinds with a Sienna who have had engine sludge problems and a door fell off of theirs. Oh yeah- affter 60K miles, we had to do rear brakes. Not bad in my book ! Overall I give this Merc a B+ / A-.
Smooth ride with peppy engine
We bought the Monterey new and still have it! Replaced AC @ 50K. Replaced brakes @ 85K and now have 86K. Very smooth ride, good acceleration in traffic and extremely comfy on the road trips. Lots of room for people and cargo. Overall, very very pleased. Esp like the peppy engine in metro traffic. Easy to see out of and feel safe. Good sound! Handles well. Never broken down. Reliable.
I want another one
This was my first minivan and it will be my last. I love this minivan. Everything about it. It is luxury from top to bottom. I just wish it got better gas mileage. I haven't seen another out on the road, which I think is sad because I love it and I think everyone should have one. My kids love the automatic doors the most. I love dropping them off at school and just pushing a button to let them out. I just wish they still made them. I too would love a navigation system and a little more under the seat storage but other than that, it is perfect.
So many problems!
Alternator had to be replaced several times. Power locks refusing to unlock or lock. Rusts like heck! Rusted so deep the back seats wouldn't hold! Key lock on front doof fell off the door frame! Terible acceleration. Poor power. Electrical issues like outlet failing. Front left window sometimes won't open. Overall a crappy car!
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Monterey Experience
Beautifully designed minivan with great standard features. However with very poor gas mileage, much lower than what the sticker stated. Brakes also tend to be squeaky after van sits for greater than 6 hours. Driver's seat isn't very comfortable. Foot pedals need adjusting.
More van for less price than others!
First I drove the Nissan,Honda,Toyota,Chrysler, and Mazda minis. I Bought the Merc because A) My dad worked for Ford, and B) $14000 off sticker price! The vehicle is very sharp looking, inside and out, and there are tons of features included on the Luxury edition. For the same price I paid I would have got a base Sienna with none of the leather, heated seats, power doors, 6CD, trip computer, power pedals, memory power everything, etc. The engine is noisy, but once underway it's quiet. MPG so far is 17/21, not as good as my old Villager. Problems so far: replaced pwr window motor, vibration in 2 tires, alignment off, squeaking brakes. Overall a good deal considering the low price paid!
It's good enough for me
I'm the unusual purchaser. My main car is a 2002 Bentley Arnage. I'm spoiled, and I know it. We bought this car, a Premium model to schlep the dogs and visitors. It has comfort for 7. We got every option, and then added an after market moonroof and wood trim package. It's now 4 years later. The Bentley sits, and we drive the van. It's comfortable, dependable, and has never had a mechanical issue once. I know if I get into this car I'm going to get to where I'm going. Some of the plastic trim items were cheesy, and they could improve on that, but for the price this is a really nice car, and at 3000 miles a year, we're now retired, this car will be with us forever. It's good enough for me.
So many problems!
Alternator had to be replaced several times. Power locks refusing to unlock or lock. Rusts like heck! Rusted so deep the back seats wouldn't hold! Key lock on front doof fell off the door frame! Terible acceleration. Poor power. Electrical issues like outlet failing. Front left window sometimes won't open. Overall a crappy car!
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Upside Down in Missouri
Purchased to replace 2000 Grand Caravan. We purchased over other makes because of great style. Drove Honda, both Dodge and Chrysler, looked At Nissian, and Freestar. Window sticker claims 23 mpg. We have yet to get close. Our best fuel mileage, just over 19 mpg on the interstate with cruise control set @ 70mph. Back to dealer several times. Power sliding doors out of adjustment (way out) took two trips. Arm rest fell of front seat. Rear wipper wiped body not glass. A/C compresser locked up at 10,000 miles, dealer replaced complete A/C system. Ask Dealer to note poor fuel economy on every work order, they reported it would get better with more miles. It hasn't YET!!!
Great value
Vehicle has given excellent service with good gas mileage. Average 19.4 around town and as high as 25 on the highway. Great to drive both in town and on highway
Better than expected after 6000 miles
Tested the Honda and Toyota competition. The Merecury ride, comfort, safety, performance are very competitive. The price is much better with incentives. I am over six foot and 240 lbs and I am very comfortable. Rides great at 80 mph on the interstate. Gettting 18 mpg in town and 24+ highway. Terrific interior and dash design. No defects or problrms at the 5000 mile service. Very satisfied with dealer service so far. So many features and good quality for the price. Rear seat flips and folds easily with one hand. I recommend this vehicle
Comfortable, but piggy
Big bang for the buck. Lots of incentives, and extras included. Most comfortable of all minivans, even the new HOnda. Poor on gas mileage in city. Hwy, ok, but city is more like 14 or 15, not 18 epa. Enough room for everything.
Great Mini-Van for All Your Family Needs
An all around great buy when considering all incentives and price paid for it. Great low torque power. VERY comfortable interior. In our opinion - the best looking Mini-Van out there. Fuel mileage is comperable to all other vehicles in this segment - which all could show improvement. 3rd row fold flat seat and tip up 2nd row seats provide plenty of seating and carrying options. We are very happy with it - 2 years later!! At 60 mph - we get 24 mpg on the highway. around town is around an average of 16-18 mpg. Had a few recalls - but those were fixed right away. no problems with the vehicle otherwise. HIGHLY R RECOMMEND BUY*ING IT!!
Mercury minne van
This van is very nice to drive but there is more road noise than I expected but operates well both on the road and in town how ever it is at the present time making poor gas milage, they tell me it will get better with more milage, will wait and see on that.
Good Mercury so far
The van has been good for the 1st year. I had to put new tires and found not a tire usually everywhere. The MPG is not the best. So far I really like the room (3 grandkids) comes in handy, good acceleration when moving into traffic, etc.
I'm surprised how great it is....
I use a minivan for my business. It gets driven hard in city traffic every weekday. We had an 01 Villager leased, and I was a little concerned that the Villager was no longer available. It had been very good to us. I was looking for a replacement when the lease expired, but decided to try a Monterey. I was leery because of the reputation of the Windstar. We now have 9,000 miles on the van with no defects or repairs required at all. I expected much less than we got, my driver just loves it. It was pricey, but certainly is made very well. It's not class leading in my opinion, but it's still underrated because of the way it performs.
Monterey Van Review
Overall we are very pleased with our Monterey Van and would recommend this van to others. It drives smoothly and is wonderful to take on long trips. The interior design of the van is what we like the most. It is easy to move around and the front passengers have lots of room for storage. We like all of the extra features, there are so many. We love this van!
Fun to Drive
I was disappointed that Mercury had discontinued the Villager, and was hesitant about the Monterey. But now after 1200 miles, I enjoy it more. Highway gas mileage is better than Villager, but not quite as good around town.
Mercury Monterey
I really love my monterey. It has plenty of room for my three kids and all of their stuff.
Look Elsewhere!
We bought a 2004 used in 2004 with low miles, certified and inexpensive. Even though we got a good deal on the price- it was not worth it! First, the heated seats had to be replaced twice, the TRANSMISSION had to be replaced at 35k miles, then a whole stream of problems with the emissions, which was not covered on the extended warranty that came with a certified car. It has a clunky transmission, a loud ride, brake problems, auto door closing problems and every other option on this car has a had some sort of problem or another! Even though many of the items were thankfully under warranty, it is a constant hassle having it in the shop and there is always some sort of fee that is charged!
2 weeks out of the showroom
So far so good. Other than a slight paint blemish the vehicle seems to be finished perfectly. The ride is comfortable, handling is predictible, pick-up is better than expected. Nice overall features- heated seats, auto dimming rearview mirror and great sound system.
Long trip comfort
Taking a trip from Florida to New Jersey ,to Connecticut, to Massachusitts, I found the ride very comfortable, and considering the load I was carrying, I averaged 20 miles per gallon. Upon returning I averaged 22 mpg on a trip to Orlando, and back. My wife and I found it a very comfortable ride.
Montery Luxury
A nice step up from a Windstar SEL. Better featurers more power better trans. The ride is better and it is quieter inside. We are very pleased with the improvments.
Mercury Montery Mileage
We traded a 2000 Olds Siloutte and are somewhat disappointed with the Montery in comparison. The gas mileage on the Montery is VERY disappointing. We are averaging 14 around town and about 19 on trips. This van is also much louder (engine/road sounds) than was our Siloutte. While the van looks great, we are disappointed with mileage and interior noise. I also need to note when the rear DVD player screen is in use it completely blocks the driver's sight view from the rear view mirror. This was not the case in our Oldsmobile. Lastly, the auto climate control is confusing in setting temperatures for driver, passenger and rear. The fan speed cuts back to soon leaving the car uncomfortabe
GREAT MINI VAN
great vehicle - great NVH - GREAT FUEL ECONOMY - GREAT PERFORMNCE - GREAT SPACE FOR LONG TRIPS - GREAT FEATURES- INFO CTR.-FOLDING REAR SEAT- JUST A FUN TO DRIVE CAR
Moving Up To Mercury
I moved up from a Ford Windstar to the new Mercury Monterey and I love the luxury of the Monterey. The power is more than adequate for a fully loaded mini-van. And with the entertainment system, it's the perfect family car for our frequent trips to Las Vegas.
A go anywhere - everywhere van
great room, plenty of power features, all the toys. hard to use radio and a/c controls, cheap plastic interior parts. super great ride and handles very well, power to spare. the best dealer service I've ever had. van gets plenty of wows. this van is at home at the counrty club, road trip or shopping mall. easy to drive and live with
Monterey: nice surprise
Easy to use seating, quick response, smooth and ultra quiet ride, somewhat pricey yet well above average in overall performance in its class- Monterey is a welcome addition to the stylish but practical minivan.
Monterey
A high quality and well built vehicle. Safety features outstanding
Upscale Quiet & Adequately Powered Mini
We have taken ours on 6 hr trips & it is very quiet, very comfortable, & adequately powered for traveling & passing at 80MPH on the turnpike. Every amenity is available except a few of the gimmick options that each manufacturer exclusively carries. We love this vehicle! It is a new platform for Ford/Mercury so we had a few recalls, which were promptly fixed. Really don't know how anyone would say Dodge/Chrysler is better & looking at specs on Japanese brands size, power, mpg, etc. are all w/in same ranges w/only slight differences. We highly recommend this vehicle for a family. FYI: Mercury comes w/more options for the $ than Ford.
Never though I'd own a Mercury.....
I recently lemon-lawed a smaller foreign made van and began the long shopping process over the fall. I had read that Mercury had began selling a van again in '04, so I gave it a shot. I'm glad I did. If Lincoln made a van this would be it, and mine isn't even the loaded one (Premier), quiet, great ride, good power. It's got everything you could ever want in a vehicle. I don't mind at all giving up a little gas milage for the convience and luxury the Monterey provides. I have recommended this vehicle to all of my family and friends. With the rebates L- M was offering the price for the incredibly equipped Luxury (mid-level) was unbelieveable. Looking forward to a Holiday roadtrip w/ the family.
Loved the Villager, tried the Monterey
We have a 95 Villager with 291K & still love it, even without AC. Bought this Monetery after my husband totaled 2002 Villager & ended up with a scratch. Love it but many repairs. Now Drivers heated seat is out, Drivers side heat blows cold, replaced transmission at 135K, replace brakes on regular basis, expensive to replace tires, and windshield wipers work intermittently
Mercury Monterey Premier 2004
We tested the vehicle over the weekend and decided it was what we wanted. We drove it to CO in Nov. and it performed well. When we ran into snow and ice in Leadville, etc, the advance-trac system kept us from slipping. The gas mileage is not great but averages around 20 miles/gallon. The van weighs 4600 lbs and handles very well on curves. It is very quiet in the cabin and handles bad road conditions very well. We remain happy with the van now logging over 7000 miles of enjoyable driving.The heated seats have been a plus this winter. It is a little early to rate the reliability but everything gone well thus far.
wonderful features
This is a great van. Lots of leg room in the front. I love the buttons 2 open side doors in front as well as rear. The ride is smooth. The rear seat folds in giving GREAT SPACE in the rear when not in use. You will not be disappointed if you buy this one.
Monterey
Quite an improvement over the Mercury Villager. More features, better pickup and more comfortable.
Excellent Choice for us
Our family bought a Monterey to help move my college bound daughters. We were sold on its design and functions, especially the huge area of cargo space. we fit in a 88" couch and moved kids from central Illinois to Wisconsin with easy. The ride is superior and the features are wonderful. We are currently downsizing and this vehicle is doing the job again. Beat any pick up truck, and can be quickly converted into a seven passenger van with little effort and luxury appearance and feel.
False Promises
Build quality is dismal. In 28K miles, I have new tires, new rear brakes, new traction control chip, new windshield wiper cowl and the power doors have been adjusted 3 times already. Gas mileage is poor. 14 city & 17 hwy. Dealer promised 18/23 which never, ever happened. Interior materials are poor quality and cheap. Only reason I bought it (left over model with huge discount of $15K off list). That's where the bargain ended.
2004 Mercury Monterey Lurury van
Especially like fold down rear seat, vehicle is very responsive, like rear and front sensors and canopy air bag system. I am still strong on American cars and would never own a foreign one as I see cancer (rust & eaten away metal) on many of the foreigners and some GMC models.
fun vehicle
great and fun to drive
The ultimate mini-van
The Monterey feels and drives like a sedan with all the room that you expect from a mini-van