Ford Puma advice

peanuthead

Hi

Switching my car at some stage during the year - whenever I get the cash up really!

I'm looking at a Ford Puma - around 01. On carzone the average price seems to be about 3500.

Anyone have any advice on them? I've heard that they're pretty good, but if there are any owners/ex-owners that have any advice it would be appreciated!!

thanks
P

unkel

Get the 1.7 Racing :cool:

peanuthead

thats actually the one I was looking at!!

Would have to inquire about insurance first tho

26 f 4years no claims, full licence

Dublin 22

bazz26

You will not buy a Racing Puma for €3500 though.

Initially the Puma came in 1.4 litre and 1.7 litre and later 1.6 litre, fun to drive, parts and servicing are cheap as it is based heavily on the Fiesta.

peanuthead

bazz26 wrote: »

You will not buy a Racing Puma for €3500 though.

Initially the Puma came in 1.4 litre and 1.7 litre and later 1.6 litre, fun to drive, parts and servicing are cheap as it is based heavily on the Fiesta.

Okay well maybe I'm confused about it being racing, but it was a 1.7.

I wouldn't actually want a racing one anyway, the bf would, but its not about him anyway.

But like all cars, it must have bad points...

JHMEG

Based on the Festhy of the same era so parts are cheap. Slick gear change, nice handling, rubbish headlights. Oh and the A-pillar is seriously low. I still remember pain!

elleburp

I bought my Puma in 2004, it has never give me any trouble. There was only one previous owner before me and the only thing I have to say is it has a wonky wing mirror so it always has trouble getting through the NCT first time around. This is from a passer-by pushing my wingmirrors in one night, when they aren't supposed to be moved! Anyway, it's 1.4 Petrol, yr 2000, silver and I'd sell it to ye cos I want to buy a Vespa.

The mechanic told me I'd have to get the timing belt replaced around the 10 year mark (now!) which he assured me was standard for all Ford's like this one. So that'll be happening along with the NCT in Jan....

peanuthead

JHMEG wrote: »

the A-pillar is seriously low. I still remember pain!

I've tried to google this - but could I have it explained to me a bit please?

cheers

mink_man

drive it....off a cliff!

Mr Benevolent

Lovely cars, I'd prefer a Cougar though, they're even better looking.

peanuthead

elleburp wrote: »

I bought my Puma in 2004, it has never give me any trouble. There was only one previous owner before me and the only thing I have to say is it has a wonky wing mirror so it always has trouble getting through the NCT first time around. This is from a passer-by pushing my wingmirrors in one night, when they aren't supposed to be moved! Anyway, it's 1.4 Petrol, yr 2000, silver and I'd sell it to ye cos I want to buy a Vespa.

The mechanic told me I'd have to get the timing belt replaced around the 10 year mark (now!) which he assured me was standard for all Ford's like this one. So that'll be happening along with the NCT in Jan....

Well thanks a lot for the information and thanks also for the offer.

However girly it might sound I really have my heart set on a black one. I wanted my colt black but settled for a dark green. But I never stopped wanting for a black one, so this time round I'll have to go for black! Plus, trying to do this without the help of the banks so it could be sep/oct of 2010 by the time I'm ready to buy

JHMEG

peanuthead wrote: »

I've tried to google this - but could I have it explained to me a bit please?

cheers

The A-pillar (between windscreen and door) is low. I'm not tall. Yet I managed to whack my head off it every time I got out of the car. Puma is the only car I ever had this problem in.

peanuthead

mink_man wrote: »

drive it....off a cliff!

explain?

peanuthead

JHMEG wrote: »

The A-pillar (between windscreen and door) is low. I'm not tall. Yet I managed to whack my head off it every time I got out of the car. Puma is the only car I ever had this problem in.

Thats what I was thinking you meant, but I was too embarrassed to say in case I was way off. I'm 5ft 5 so I should have no problems unless it's extremely low. Bf not much taller either!!

JHMEG

peanuthead wrote: »

Thats what I was thinking you meant, but I was too embarrassed to say in case I was way off. I'm 5ft 5 so I should have no problems unless it's extremely low. Bf not much taller either!!

After a couple of days of whacking your head you'd probably train yourself out of it anyway...

peanuthead

JHMEG wrote: »

After a couple of days of whacking your head you'd probably train yourself out of it anyway...

Ha!! Well I will test drive plenty and you see this time round I'm in no desperate need for a car because I have one.

It's terrible looking for your first - you'll take anything once it gets you out on the road! But I've plenty of time to think this one through.

I'm even open to persuasion on the model - I want something that looks nice, my idea of looking nice would be the following cars:

mitsubishi colt (not new model)
ford puma
hyundai coupe (v. common on the roads now)
opel tigra (although I've heard a lot of horror stories)
toyota celica (I feel they have a bit of a 'skanger' label attached though)

Henry Ford III

1.7 is the best engine. Fun little cars. Not expensive to run. Try to get one with a/c.

Saab Ed

A friend of mine has a mint 00 Puma coming in in January. I know this because I have it traded to him. The car is mint in silver. If its any use to you then contact http://www.rathcoolemotorcompany.ie/

RichyX

They're alright cars, but I could never get over the feeling that it was a more cramped and expensive Fiesta.
It might have just been the one I was in but the trim was very rattly and wasn't aging well. The mileage was around 100k so that obviously contributed.

As mentioned above the 1.7 engine and the gear change are good.

peanuthead

Thanks guys

Thanks Saab, but as mentioned before, I'll be holding out for a black one!!

Cramped seems to be the buzzword connected to these cars. Was looking around the colt today and I was thinking about whether or not I would feel comfortable or not with less head space, even though I don't really use it.

I'm short enough, and have to be close enough to the pedals as it is with my short legs. Wonder what that would look like in a Puma.

How do they hold up in a crash test, couldn't really find one on youtube, but from what I did see they look like they crumble.

EDIT: Just looked at a few more and not so bad. Depends what you're hitting I suppose Not that I plan on hitting anything btw

RichyX

peanuthead wrote: »

I'm short enough, and have to be close enough to the pedals as it is with my short legs. Wonder what that would look like in a Puma.

I'm 6 foot so I occasionally have trouble with smaller cars. You should be grand

How do they hold up in a crash test, couldn't really find one on youtube, but from what I did see they look like they crumble

The Fiesta it's based on is a 3 star car, not bad, not great.

zilog_jones

elleburp wrote: »

The mechanic told me I'd have to get the timing belt replaced around the 10 year mark (now!) which he assured me was standard for all Ford's like this one.

That's correct for Zetec-SE engines (all the ones in the Puma) - 100,000 miles or 10 years is the interval for timing belt changes.

peanuthead wrote: »

Cramped seems to be the buzzword connected to these cars. Was looking around the colt today and I was thinking about whether or not I would feel comfortable or not with less head space, even though I don't really use it.

The old Colts are pretty cramped cars too. I think rear passenger space is the worst part with the Puma, not like the Fiesta was bad enough!

How do they hold up in a crash test, couldn't really find one on youtube, but from what I did see they look like they crumble.

Crumple zones are there to absorb energy away from the passenger compartment, so it is not necessarily a bad thing.

daftd

mink_man wrote: »

drive it....off a cliff!

Down with this sort of thing

B00MSTICK

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=121124&cat=all

peanuthead

Just checking on the cost of insurance for this one.

FBD 700 odd euro, fully comp (dont know the excess)
No Nonsense 471 fully comp (250 excess) or 497 with windscreen cover.

Now I've a few quesstions about this: Why would I want windscreen cover if I'm fully comp? Is that not automatically part of the 'fully comp' package?

I thought FBD and No Nonsense were the same company - so why the huge difference in quotes.

Online quotes by the way.

TheColl

peanuthead wrote: »

How do they hold up in a crash test, couldn't really find one on youtube, but from what I did see they look like they crumble

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/ford/puma-1997.aspx?Page=4

doesnt give much info, but doesnt sound the best really.

bazz26

Policies vary, don't assume fully comp includes windscreen cover. Insurance companies are like Ryan Air, the base price is low to get you hooked but then add on certain features and the price climbs.

BTW Nononscense Insurance are FBD by another name.

JHMEG

peanuthead wrote: »

Why would I want windscreen cover if I'm fully comp?

One affects your NCB the other doesn't.

FTO has a helpful owners forum in Ireland. colm_mcm on here is the man to talk to. Fair difference between the FTO and a Puma/Tigra tho.

peanuthead

JHMEG wrote: »

One affects your NCB the other doesn't.

FTO has a helpful owners forum in Ireland. colm_mcm on here is the man to talk to. Fair difference between the FTO and a Puma/Tigra tho.

FTO is too performance for me (even though many would prob argue its not perf at all)

I'm not actually looking for the racing model of the puma either, I got mixed up at the start of the thread.

JHMEG

There are several black Pumas for sale, 1.4, 1.6 and 1.7. You shouldn't be stuck for choice anyway.

AlanD

We have a '98 Puma 1.7 sitting in storage. Only 50k on the clock, so we're keeping it til the kids get older and we can go back to use it then. A free car essentially.

What a cracker to drive though. Love it. Nippy, handles great and has never given us trouble.

dublintuition

Hey

tis is the OP on her 2nd account as I'm still waiting on the password for my original one!! :mad::mad:

So I've bought the puma now, black like I wanted!! Picking it up tomorrow.

Its a 1.7. Does anyone know what mpg I get out of it?

Also - how often does the timing belt need to be changed? I've been told every 80K miles, but that seems a lot

ytareh

I ran a nice blue 98 1.7 one when it was only a year or two old with well under 30k miles up.Like all small Ford cars of the era it is probably beyond economical use after 40-50k miles or three or four years old.Before 48k I had to fit two new front shocks and a starter motor .These Pumas ,Kas and I presume Fiestas practically self destruct at 40 k miles.The engine MIGHT be ok (in fact its the most durable feature)but the suspension includings hocks and bushings will be hanging out of the car .It will be horible to drive over average irish roads with bumps and potholes .Some small consolation is that parts should be cheap(relatively speaking) but frequency of repairs will be frustrating.
In no way can you compare the milage on one of these with a 'normal' car .The Celica (best of the lot but tax and insurance will be far higher )will be in better shape at 140k miles than the Puma at 40!!!
Pumas rear seats and storage space is tiny.Having said all that I felt the 1.7 was a genuine SAFER Peugeot 106GTi alternative ...sure a second or so less to 60mph (8.4-8.9 vs 7.4-7.8).
I bought my Puma having driven my wife's Ka and being absolutely BLOWN AWAY by its handling .Genuinely limitless(your nerves would give out way earlier) in the dry unless you were a moron .I was a bit disappointed to find that the Puma actually didnt handle as purely .It has traction control which dulled the handling but perhaps kept you out of more serious trouble.
I recall the ABS brakes ( and traction control too) were useless in the snow and MPG was not great at 37mpg.
If you could pick one up REALLY cheap in farly good shape might be worth a risk .Green was lovely .Id imagine 1.4 a bit dull.

Ah hey I see you got one !Best of luck!(Youll need it to keep a black car clean in this weather !-Im sure the thrill will wear off after a few weeks of washing and it will be allowed get a bit grimy)The spark plugs DONT need to be replaced until very high mileage as far as I know but at their age might be a good precaution anyway ....wont be cheap

ytareh

If you dont like the integrated cd player or its not there or its broke you can buy a facia adaptor to fit your own new ('plain rectangular ' unit) one.The parcel shelf always falls down and the rear hatch drips water like amd when you open it -but doesnt leak.

dublintuition

ytareh wrote: »

I ran a nice blue 98 1.7 one when it was only a year or two old with well under 30k miles up.Like all small Ford cars of the era it is probably beyond economical use after 40-50k miles or three or four years old.Before 48k I had to fit two new front shocks and a starter motor .These Pumas ,Kas and I presume Fiestas practically self destruct at 40 k miles.The engine MIGHT be ok (in fact its the most durable feature)but the suspension includings hocks and bushings will be hanging out of the car .It will be horible to drive over average irish roads with bumps and potholes .Some small consolation is that parts should be cheap(relatively speaking) but frequency of repairs will be frustrating.
In no way can you compare the milage on one of these with a 'normal' car .The Celica (best of the lot but tax and insurance will be far higher )will be in better shape at 140k miles than the Puma at 40!!!
Pumas rear seats and storage space is tiny.Having said all that I felt the 1.7 was a genuine SAFER Peugeot 106GTi alternative ...sure a second or so less to 60mph (8.4-8.9 vs 7.4-7.8).
I bought my Puma having driven my wife's Ka and being absolutely BLOWN AWAY by its handling .Genuinely limitless(your nerves would give out way earlier) in the dry unless you were a moron .I was a bit disappointed to find that the Puma actually didnt handle as purely .It has traction control which dulled the handling but perhaps kept you out of more serious trouble.
I recall the ABS brakes ( and traction control too) were useless in the snow and MPG was not great at 37mpg.
If you could pick one up REALLY cheap in farly good shape might be worth a risk .Green was lovely .Id imagine 1.4 a bit dull.

Ah hey I see you got one !Best of luck!(Youll need it to keep a black car clean in this weather !-Im sure the thrill will wear off after a few weeks of washing and it will be allowed get a bit grimy)The spark plugs DONT need to be replaced until very high mileage as far as I know but at their age might be a good precaution anyway ....wont be cheap

thanks for the advice - it's the first bit of negative feedback I've had and I've gotten a lot! But thanks for the tips anyway!

dublintuition

ytareh wrote: »

If you dont like the integrated cd player or its not there or its broke you can buy a facia adaptor to fit your own new ('plain rectangular ' unit) one.The parcel shelf always falls down and the rear hatch drips water like amd when you open it -but doesnt leak.

Heard that about the parcel shelf actually and just read about the rear hatch too.

dublintuition

ytareh wrote: »

hocks and bushings.

Whats a hock?

EDIT: I get it, shock, sorry,my bad!!!

ytareh

HOCKS!?Sorry my bad Shocks of course ...If you ever sit in a similar aged Fiesta you will realise youre exclusive little sports coupe isnt quite so exclusive !They are almost identical inside !But it is a lovely car to drive IF its in perfect condition .But thats a Big IF...Engine sounds nice -its a 'kinda' VTEC job (ie fairly economical at lower revs but gets going at higher revs )and gear change is lovely (metal knob is freezing on cold mornings!)Sadly one of my abiding memories of my Puma is the indescribably bad odour of our Dalmatian puppy's salivating in bucketfuls on her few journies in the hatch area.NOTHING including enough onions to feed half of France could get rid of the stench !I was happy to get rid of the car in the end though ,the lack of reliability made the high price at the time too hard to stomach.I was only sorry I didnt get rid of it before the big bill for new shocks and starter motor before 45k miles ...

Henry Ford III

ytareh wrote: »

.....Like all small Ford cars of the era it is probably beyond economical use after 40-50k miles or three or four years old.....

I disagree. Most others will too. Fiestas and Pumas of that vintage are still fine cars.

All used cars will need ongoing maintenance and replacement of some parts.

37mpg from a 1.7 125bhp engine isn't bad in the real world.

Merch

AlanD wrote: »

We have a '98 Puma 1.7 sitting in storage. Only 50k on the clock, so we're keeping it til the kids get older and we can go back to use it then. A free car essentially.

What a cracker to drive though. Love it. Nippy, handles great and has never given us trouble.

I'd run that every now and again if I was you, nothing worse than any car (or a lot of kinds of machinery) sitting idle for causing problems.

Merch

ytareh wrote: »

I ran a nice blue 98 1.7 one when it was only a year or two old with well under 30k miles up.Like all small Ford cars of the era it is probably beyond economical use after 40-50k miles or three or four years old.

I tend to disagree, 40 or 50K miles depends on how it was kept maybe?
100k and getting 46mpg on long runs, long may it last, hope I havent jinked myself now

Merch

elleburp wrote: »

The mechanic told me I'd have to get the timing belt replaced around the 10 year mark (now!) which he assured me was standard for all Ford's like this one. So that'll be happening along with the NCT in Jan....

You might want to check that with ford, I think they revised some of their timing belt intervals down, maybe by 20k miles or equal to two years

dublintuition

Merch wrote: »

ytareh wrote: »

I ran a nice blue 98 1.7 one when it was only a year or two old with well under 30k miles up.Like all small Ford cars of the era it is probably beyond economical use after 40-50k miles or three or four years old.

I tend to disagree, 40 or 50K miles depends on how it was kept maybe?
100k and getting 46mpg on long runs, long may it last, hope I havent jinked myself now

How do you calculate the mpg? Is it just your own estimation or do you have a chip in the dash?

Is yours a 1.7?

Mine's 67K on it ans afaik (will ask this afternoon) hasnt been changed. I should really change it right away??

@ytareh If you saw what I'm driving now you would realise that given my price range - this is an exclusive car!! Currently driving a colt with a host of problems, which would probably end up costing me more than car's worth.

Reliable car, but just old (1997), was broken into, was my first car so a few dints, needs new tyres, needs alignment, is a strange rattle coming from under the car and I don't know the mpg but I do know I'm getting 40 miles of urban driving for €35!!! :eek:

Gatster

ytareh wrote: »

Like all small Ford cars of the era it is probably beyond economical use after 40-50k miles or three or four years old.Before 48k I had to fit two new front shocks and a starter motor .These Pumas ,Kas and I presume Fiestas practically self destruct at 40 k miles.The engine MIGHT be ok (in fact its the most durable feature)but the suspension includings hocks and bushings will be hanging out of the car .It will be horible to drive over average irish roads with bumps and potholes .Some small consolation is that parts should be cheap(relatively speaking) but frequency of repairs will be frustrating.

TBH, this is one of the worst generalisations I've ever read on here, and there's plenty.

We've had Fords (including a Puma, which we still have as a 3rd car), another 3 mates who had Pumas and countless other Fords over the years - none of them came close to "practically self destruct at 40k miles", or had any suspension issues bar the regular wear and tear and all bar one were well above 40k. I accept there are lemons made in every car range, perhaps you were unlucky?

ytareh

Sorry but Im gonna stick by my guns on this ...Late 90s Kas and Pumas (and presumably Fiestas ) will have bushings and / or shocks gone at extremely low mileage which will totally spoil the driving experience on the irish secondary roads they should be most at home on.These items should NOT be 'normal wear and tear' below 80-100k miles.Ever stopped to wonder how Escorts (of that vintage) which were made up to the very late 90s and sold in their thousands here are now almost extinct ?

Henry Ford III

ytareh wrote: »

Sorry but Im gonna stick by my guns on this ...Late 90s Kas and Pumas (and presumably Fiestas ) will have bushings and / or shocks gone at extremely low mileage which will totally spoil the driving experience on the irish secondary roads they should be most at home on.These items should NOT be 'normal wear and tear' below 80-100k miles.Ever stopped to wonder how Escorts (of that vintage) which were made up to the very late 90s and sold in their thousands here are now almost extinct ?

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=112

No mention of anything there. Suspension components wear in every car, and didn't fail prematurely on Pumas or Fiestas.

p.s. Older Escorts were, in general, rubbish.

Gatster

As stated by Henry Ford III, old Escorts were rubbish - go to the UK and count how many you see about nowadays (you'll be waiting a while ) and they sold in absolutely enormous numbers relative to Ireland. To clarify my earlier post, I should have wrote

"had any suspension or other issues bar the regular wear and tear"

Our Puma has done 92k on original suspension components, I'm in the process of giving it some 10 year anniversary TLC so it may well need new bushes and the belts definitely need changing, but I'd say that's to be expected at that age.

Another case was our older Fiesta ('97 I think) a few years ago, sold at something like 80k on the clock, again original components...there's plenty more examples as well.

ytareh

From your link Henry Ford!

"Front suspension bushes have been prone to wear so if the front suspension clonks this is probably why."

Anyway I hope the OPs is a minter !I enjoyed driving mine .

dublintuition

Thanks ytareh and without junksing myself I hope.... it does seem mint mechanically! Obviously I'm just going on what I could tell bringing it to the garage where I'm storing it (storing it until march so I can renew policy without incurring any charges for changing in the middle of a policy!) but it seems to be great.

One thing I would like to know though - if there's anyone who has one maybe they could help me out here...

when i put the alarm on I don't get a beep or anything to acknowledge that the alarm has gone one, rather I get a double flash of the indicator lights. Now the alarm hasn't gone off and I was considering setting it off to make sure it makes noise, but then I worried about how I might turn it off!!

so I'm wondering the following:

• Should I hear a beep or some noise to acknowledge that the alarm has gone on?
  
• If it goes off, how do I get it to stop?

JHMEG

dublintuition wrote: »

Thanks ytareh and without junksing myself I hope.... it does seem mint mechanically! Obviously I'm just going on what I could tell bringing it to the garage where I'm storing it (storing it until march so I can renew policy without incurring any charges for changing in the middle of a policy!) but it seems to be great.

One thing I would like to know though - if there's anyone who has one maybe they could help me out here...

when i put the alarm on I don't get a beep or anything to acknowledge that the alarm has gone one, rather I get a double flash of the indicator lights. Now the alarm hasn't gone off and I was considering setting it off to make sure it makes noise, but then I worried about how I might turn it off!!

so I'm wondering the following:

• Should I hear a beep or some noise to acknowledge that the alarm has gone on?
  
• If it goes off, how do I get it to stop?

Changing car mid policy won't incur any charges. Your premium will go up slightly anyway and it'll cost you a bit more I'd imagine as you're going to a bigger engine, but waiting till March won't save you anything.

Might not have an alarm. Lock with a window down and then unlock by hand from the inside, open the door and see what happens.

dublintuition

JHMEG wrote: »

Changing car mid policy won't incur any charges. Your premium will go up slightly anyway and it'll cost you a bit more I'd imagine as you're going to a bigger engine, but waiting till March won't save you anything.

Might not have an alarm. Lock with a window down and then unlock by hand from the inside, open the door and see what happens.

Well it suits me to wait so I can get the full amount together for tax for year, but I'm with 123 and they have told me that they will charge me. They charged me for the temp sub to move it too.

Cheers for the advice on the alarm. What will stop it going off if it does have one? Just unlocking it?