Ford Pumas almost being given away!
Discussion
Ok, apart from the slight girlie image and rusty wheel arches <£1k seems to buy a lot of PH friendly Ford Puma. A girl at work just bought a nice one for £650 and she had a huge choice locally.
I'm tempted if I can get a baby seat in the rear seat, but are there any other catches that are making them so affordable?
I'm tempted if I can get a baby seat in the rear seat, but are there any other catches that are making them so affordable?
Edited by Emeye on Sunday 15th January 15:24
The youngest of these is now around 10 years old, so if the cam belt hasn't been replaced, get it done straight away.
That's straight away. Don't hesitate just do it.
Fuel consumption is around 36mpg and the tank is only 40litres so you'll struggle to get 300miles between filling station visits.
The Puma is in insurance group 12 which is an issue for younger drivers.
On the upside, it's a hoot to drive and service parts are cheap.
Mrs S has been driving Pumas for 10years and has covered over 200,000miles in the 3 she has owned. She's had one cambelt failure and 1 ecu failure in that period, fortunately both were covered by warranty at the time. Other than that there have been no problems. I've been ordered to keep her current one going for as long as possible.
The Puma was the Top Gear Car of the Year in 1997 and this old TG video is excellent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCWGBYc8zlY
It also featured in one of the best TV ads of all time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2OV7Zz4VsM
That's straight away. Don't hesitate just do it.
Fuel consumption is around 36mpg and the tank is only 40litres so you'll struggle to get 300miles between filling station visits.
The Puma is in insurance group 12 which is an issue for younger drivers.
On the upside, it's a hoot to drive and service parts are cheap.
Mrs S has been driving Pumas for 10years and has covered over 200,000miles in the 3 she has owned. She's had one cambelt failure and 1 ecu failure in that period, fortunately both were covered by warranty at the time. Other than that there have been no problems. I've been ordered to keep her current one going for as long as possible.
The Puma was the Top Gear Car of the Year in 1997 and this old TG video is excellent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCWGBYc8zlY
It also featured in one of the best TV ads of all time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2OV7Zz4VsM
Heartworm said:
Emeye said:
Is it just the rear arches?
All the cars I looked at 4/5 years ago were suffering badly on the rear arches, at the time the cars weren't all that old and it was enough to put me off looking any further tbh.
IF you can find a rust free one then go for it, they are cracking cars
The rear arches do rust, badly, but if you can put up with a bit of cosmetic rust then it really is a lot of car for the money.
I got mine about 15 months ago, and I love it. A lot of fun to drive even if it hasn't got that many horses under your right foot.
If you wanna read about my running costs, check out the thread I put up in readers cars... Linky
I get a bit better than 36mpg, probably average 40 with 44 on a run, or 35 on a very hard drive.
I got mine about 15 months ago, and I love it. A lot of fun to drive even if it hasn't got that many horses under your right foot.
If you wanna read about my running costs, check out the thread I put up in readers cars... Linky
I get a bit better than 36mpg, probably average 40 with 44 on a run, or 35 on a very hard drive.
Emeye said:
Ok, apart from the slight girlie image and rusty wheel arches <£1k seems to buy a lot of PH friendly Ford Puma. A girl at work just bought a nice one for £650 and she had a huge choice locally.
I'm tempted if I can get a baby seat in the rear seat, but are there any other catches that are making them so affordable?
http://www.britax.co.uk/car-seats/fit-finderI'm tempted if I can get a baby seat in the rear seat, but are there any other catches that are making them so affordable?
Edited by Emeye on Sunday 15th January 15:24
Britax say yes, you can fit a baby seat in the back.
As has been said, rusty rear arches are an issue on these - the Ford panels are now quite rare as they used up the stock a lot faster than they thought they would!
Aside from that, it's a great little car. They share a lot with the Fiesta of the same period which was no slouch in the handling department, and the 1.7 engine is a peach. It's quite busy at motorway speeds though.
1.4s are fairly hard to find, but cheap to insure.
The 1.7's the one to have (You won't find a CHEAP FRP and I've never seen any point in the 1.6 myself).
Whilst a lot rust, a fair few don't seem too bad, so you need to hunt around to find a good one.
Great to drive, never seen the 'girlie' image myself, but I'm sure thrusting young executives in their 1.8 Mondeos and A4s might not see the appeal.
I can't imagine you'd get 36MPG out of a 1.7 driving spiritedly - I never did!
M
The 1.7's the one to have (You won't find a CHEAP FRP and I've never seen any point in the 1.6 myself).
Whilst a lot rust, a fair few don't seem too bad, so you need to hunt around to find a good one.
Great to drive, never seen the 'girlie' image myself, but I'm sure thrusting young executives in their 1.8 Mondeos and A4s might not see the appeal.
I can't imagine you'd get 36MPG out of a 1.7 driving spiritedly - I never did!
M
PumpkinSteve said:
ensignia said:
What spec/year/mileage are you looking for?
No idea, just a silver or black one with propellers that hasn't got iron ore for arches
P.S. A 1.7 though, I didn't realise there were loads of variants.
Emeye said:
I'm even more tempted now. I can live with rusty arches! I had a mk4 1.4Si zetec fiesta years ago that was great to drive. Anyone know how much a Cambelt change on these is?
A mate had it done, and I think it came out to be in the £200-300 range, so about normal for a cambelt. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff