I bought this car trying to get rid of my 1987 XR4Ti. The '87 was nothing but a problem. And worse, everyone knew it so no car dealer would give me much of anything to accept it as a trade. So I went back to Mercury. At this time I was a road warrior for a major insurance company, a sales rep, so I was doing a lot of traveling in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana & Ohio. I called every dealer in my area and asked what deal they would give me. Turned out the best deal I could find was at a dealer in Indianapolis, Indiana. My insurance company home office was there. I scheduled a visit and picked up my XR4Ti, newer better faster. The dealer assured me this car was much improved over the 1987. It had to be. Better handling, 15" rims and tires. I have to say I rather enjoyed this car. With a turbo charged in-line 4 putting out 175 horse power, this car was pretty quick. Handled well, seated four comfortably. Interesting to look at. Respectable gas mileage. I had a good time with it for the first two years.

The first thing that happened was the antenna in the rear hatch quite working. Of course, the dealer wouldn't take my word for it aí Šent the AM/FM cassette off to California to have it fixed. That unit never worked right again after it came back. They finally figured out it was the lead wire running to the door that broke.

The next thing was the transmission. Apparently fifth gear had poor lubrication to it. When the transmission would get hot from a long drive, and I was doing many of those, the fifth gear would melt to the shaft. lock up and not shift. The first transmission I fried almost stranded me in Indianapolis on a trip. It locked up a few blocks from home on the return trip. The car couldn't be towed on the rear wheels cause the transmission locked up. The dealership had to order a transmission from Germany. I drove a rental car for six weeks waiting on the new transmission. The service manager showed me the melted transmission gears. Fifth was melted to the shaft. The second transmission was easier to get. Ford was stocking them in the USA by that time. 

The story leading up to the last replacement is pretty sad. My wife was driving the car when it wouldn't shift. I called the dealer and they sent a tow truck. I was waiting on the truck since I had trade cars with her so she could drive to work. He took the Merkur to the dealer on a flat bed tow truck. After I got the car back, it was pulling to the left badly. I had just put new tires on it so I quickly took it to an alignment shop. The shop called me and said they couldn't align it and asked when the car had been in an accident. This car had never been in an accident. I bought it brand new. They told me some of the front suspension was bent. I called the dealer looking for some guidance and assistance. The service department at the dealer insisted the tow truck driver must have done something to the car when he picked it up. I was there and watched him load it so it would've been when he unloaded it at the dealer. I called the tow truck owner, he told me that was very unlikely, they have never had an issue like that, and that he delivered the car to Mercury intact. The only two parties that had access to my car during this time both denied any knowledge of the damage. And here was my damaged car that needed some serious repairs caused by someone else with a set of new tires being eaten up by the bad alignment. I pressed the dealer for some help. The service department begrudgingly agreed to see what they could fix it under warranty. I had to pay for the balance. I was not happy, plus the left front tire was definitely showing uneven wear. I was still in and out of the dealership on a regular basis. Some months later, maybe close to a year, I was having a problem with tape player again and ended up in a one-on-one conversation with one of the younger mechanics. Nice kid. got to talking about my car, the good and the bad of it. He told me, in confidence, that my car had been dropped off the hoist at the dealer. 

In between transmissions, the turbo went out and had to be replaced. The warranty covered it. I figured out that the Ford warranty put more in the car than it cost me new. Three transmissions, a turbo, a rear hatch, a "new" radio, several electrical problems just to name the major issues with the car.

The last two years I had the car, the dealer had it more than I did. Each time I was given a rental car to drive. The last time I had it there for a stay the same dealer managed to rip me off one more time. I had to pay for the rental car and the dealer would reimburse me. He shorted me the last time. I never was able to collect in full as owed to me.

After four years of owning the car, the warranty was coming to the end. By this time I was on a first name basis with the service manager and several of the mechanics. My last oil change there, I asked the service manager if this was his car would he keep it beyond the warranty and try to upgrade it or just get rid of it. He started to list all the problems he saw coming in with XR4Ti's and said "dump it now while it was running." I thanked him for all the help, left and went car shopping. That was my last Ford product. Yes, it was a German Ford, but this car was definitely not one of Ford's better ideas. The service at the dealer was below satisfactory. The car left much to be desired. I traded my white extinct XR4Ti on a new Nissan 240 SX. Ford quietly stopped importing the Merkur line. The brand name faded away. To this day I am still amazed to see some XR4Ti's on the road. Survivors, I guess. A good idea gone real bad.  I wonder how many other prior owners now proudly drive Japanese cars like me.