Eldest daughter was out with a pal yesterday. Pal has had a Puma for a few years and is very pleased with it.
Now daughter fancies one instead of boring a Almera or Corolla.
I used to service a 1400 for a neighbour and it seemed ok. Always passed it's ticket for me.
I think it's a Fiesta with a different set of clothes on. Lots for sale.
Anyone had one or any observations on them? I would prefer her to get a 1.4 over a 1.7.
Cheaper tax, etc and a simpler engine.
Any thoughts ?
Ted
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its hard to find a god one
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Plenty to go at, though,BB. 300 on ebay alone. Might just get one or two that ' click '.
Any common faults ?
Ted
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accident damage no1
no 2 worn out engines
thrashed
clocked
rusty
worn out
the usual ford probs really
oh and insurance is high
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Mates got one which says 40k but I suspect it has actually done 140k. Seems a good car though but as the usual clonky sounding Fiesta suspension. Other mate who has the Panda also wanted one but just could not find anything decent for less than £3k they were all accident repaired clocked modified sheds.
Main issue with Pumas is chasis rust and all the stuff that Bellyboy mentioned.
I thought the engines were quite tough if well serviced though?
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Tue 1 Feb 11 at 16:48
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There was some talk of these becoming desirable, if not quite a modern day classic.
I expect prices reflect that.
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They all rust from the inside above the rear arches (well just above) and around the petrol filler. The B posts where they join the sills are weak points for rust like KAs. PumaPeople was a name of a very good website/forum
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Prone to the usual mk4/5 Fiesta suspension problems with lower arm bushes and anti-roll bar bushes made of cheese. Both easy and cheap to sort out though.
Zetec SE engines have proven tough and reliable if given regular servicing. We had a 1.4 Fiesta mk4 coming up on 100k and was still sweet, gutsy for its size, and oil tight.
They are utterly brilliant to drive. Superb chassis and bags of feel through the steering and seat of your pants. Even the 1.7 could do with more power though.
As others have said, rot is the biggest problem.
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They were also fitted with a 1.6 engine.
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The Yamaha based 1.7 engine needs to have the proper grade of oil at each change - and supplementary oil changes - very fussy engine in maintenance terms..
Even the youngest ones will be 10 years old by now.
www.pumapeople.com/forum/index.php?act=idx
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Rust! I think they came out the factory with free rot along the door bottoms to get you started :-)
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The Pumas that pass my office window tend to be purple and have tailgate wings that would make useful ironing boards. And that's at the classy end of the spectrum for this place.
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Rust was my thought as well. Daughter found a 51 plate 1700 at an Indy in Stockport yesterday and went to see it with pal. She asked me to look at it today so I made an appointment.
The dealer wasn't there and the car hadn't even been got out from the back of the showroom.
I checkefd the belt change times before I went, 100K or 10 yrs. This car had 103K with no evidence of belt change. When the dealer decided to turn up he had no idea. Rusting quite badly on r/o/s arch...more than just bubbles. Could have shoved a finger through....should have done !
He said he wouldn't drop the price 'cos of the belt as ' You won't find a better one ' Could have failed by the end of the street !
I told him it was a buyers market with 300 on ebay plus Fish4cars and Autotrader. He became aggressive and rude, quoting his 7 years in the trade had taught him everything.
I guess this one will go to some poor kid who knows nothing of cambelts....and won't be told !
I told him that was less than a quarter of my experience....and walked !
I've found a couple on-line. Both 1.4s.....A 99 fairly local with a good write up, 64K and only tiny bubbles on the o/s wing.......short time left on auction. A 2000 with 98K,no body faults mentioned and cambelt/pump done. Advertised elsewhere and no bids. Might be amenable to a phone call in the morning.
Just my lookalike in the advert, I'm afraid !....I was the Milk Tray man.
Ted
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I have had the same experience with some of those backstreet Stockport dealers.
Hopefully one of the other Pumas will be good. They should be reliable cars if they have been serviced properly but it is finding the one which has.
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Looked at buying one.
Bare metal - unpainted - on some - especially the Racing ones.. After 2002 iirc they had a nylon mesh on rear wheel arches to prevent paint chips...
Most badly neglected - myriads of niggling problems and unserviced engines...
Had difficulty getting in when car was wet: raindrops kept falling on my head.
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I suspect the trick here is to buy one knowing there will be problems. Buy one with little rust:-
Then remove what little rust there may be
Treat it each year
Replace all the wishbones and bushes
Replace the cambelt, water pump and aux belt if needed
With all that done should be a reliable and very good fun car to drive.
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Well, been and gorn and done it. After looking at a few mis-represented sheds around the place, we found a '52 plate 1.7 with just under 50K on the dial, FSH and all the MOTs.
Small indy working from home in Lancashire. Turned out he had worked for one of our recovery agents and we had a lot in common.
A few small bubbles on the o/s wing edge.....was solid at the back of the edge. This is caused by a folded return on the edge getting wet and not being able to dry due to Ford's strange use of a felt wing liner. Will have it done in Summer and remove or cut back the liner from the edge. The alloys are unkerbed and the mirrors show no signs of hitting walls,
A one owner car from Cumbria, it has a 6 CD unit and some other goodies. Ford has brought the belt change down from 100K to 75K so we'll do that in November with the MOT.
It's taxed 'til end of March and the insurance is the same as her Audi A4...which we think is sold.
It was a bit more than I'd wanted to pay at £1595 but it's a lot cleaner, honest and un-tampered with than the others we've looked at in the week.
Will get a bank draft on Monday and go and get it.
He had a totally original, mint white Mk1 Escort on French plates. !2K on the clock and just imported from Nice. A left hooker..............nice from Nice !
Probably spent it's life tootling up and down the Promenade des Anglais in the Sun.
Ted
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...It was a bit more than I'd wanted to pay at £1595 but it's a lot cleaner, honest and un-tampered with...
Qualities well worth paying a few quid for.
I reckon it stands a chance of holding its value if looked after.
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price sounds very fair to me
cut the cardboard felt liner away near the rear brake pipes too as they corrode like mad here
never had a 1.7 though they do look nice with the lid up
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Yamaha engine, the oil was nice and clean, not like the 1.4 I looked at y'day...like an old diesel with bits in it !
I'd have preferred her to get a 1.4...cheaper tax, etc.
Mind you, if they'd made a 1.3 HCS that would have been even better..no belt, cheap parts.
Good tip BB thanks.
Ted
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Sounds good - remember it needs specific grade of oil. Amongst all my souvenirs I have a nearside tail lamp cluster for one of these - handy them !
Sounds like a good motor - I used one for a while many moons ago - fast, grippy and the best fwd gearchange in the business.
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It is a pitty the Fiesta is scraped as some parts will fit the Puma such as the troublesome heater control valve.
I think the 1.7 like all Fords from the late 90's use 5-30 semi synth but double check that, use thicker oil and it can cause sticking valves.
My mate gets around 45mpg out of his 1.7 Puma but he drives it like he is a grandad, in 5th at 30mph.
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Bloke along the road has one. Loves it. Had it from new. Won't part with it. His wife's car has got progressively bigger and flashier over the years as they add children and dogs etc to their household inventory but he just plods on with his Puma. Must be good cars.
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Is a Puma the cute sexy Fiesta coupe thingy? Girly but a charming little motor even to one who prefers estates or hatchbacks for their long-load capacity.
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Spot on AC - but driven like it was stolen the 1.7 was peerless.
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Brisk too! An underrated girl's car, and not the only one...
:o}
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...Is a Puma the cute sexy Fiesta coupe thingy?...
Certainly is:
tinyurl.com/6hcy72r
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It was the XR3i of my generation really. Many of 17 year old boys wanted a Puma so badly. Ted is so lucky to have bought one of the few original ones left.
Run it like a future classic and it won't loose any value.
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The guys that race kit cars like these 1.7s, they must be lighter than the zetecs or something.
Sounds like a cracking buy for the money, all the best with it!
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Seriously considered one, about 8 years ago! Chap at work had 1.7 - was very keen on its handling. Not fast by any stretch, but pleasant to drive, on my brief (5 miles) test run. Good choice.
Last edited by: NortonES2 on Sat 5 Feb 11 at 20:46
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With PU on the Yamaha engined derivative. Needs TLC in spades to stay on song.
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Good encouragement from you guys, thanks. It'll get oil and filters later in the week.
Daughter can use the Vitara for a day.
We went to look at a 1.4 earlier in the week. '99 car in red. Small indy, extolled it's virtues as a low milage minter....89K, I think. Short ticket, no rent on the screen. Overpriced...but MINT !!
Made an appointment with him at his suggested time. He told me exactly where it was, opposite a main dealer...easy ! Couldn't find it. Eventually saw the car in the corner of a locked pitch but with different name on the fence. Why didn't he tell me to look for that firm's name ?....Bad start ! Turned up an hour late, even badder ! Said he'd been stuck in traffic. Yeah , small country town at lunchtime ? We weren't.
It got worse...ear-ring, scruffy trackie bottoms and dirty trainers...shaven head. Kept calling me ' mate ' from the first moment we spoke on the phone.
The car wasn't mint, the back wings, however, were. I hadn't appraised him of my experience and I commented on them. ' Yeah, mate, I 'ad 'em done ' Big error, I prefer to see what's what. I felt underneath and there were cobs of filler in the arches. He had no idea whether the belt had been done. The oil was filthy.
We declined...' S'all right, mate, there's a few coming to see it later '.....fine ! What bugs me is that some poor sod will buy it without a clue.
Glad it's all over..your heart sinks when you see someone like him get out of his car.
Ted
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I've posted this before, but this tells you all you need to know about the way this car drives
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCWGBYc8zlY
Brilliant handling car! :-)
Hope your daughter enjoys the car. Sounds like a cracker.
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Ted, i'd love to tag along with you on one of your car buying jaunts...reading about them is fine but.
Get the feeling you're that unflappable old soldier who stands solemn faced among the chaos going on all round, and chimes in perfectly with the most devastating witty put downs without a hint of a smirk....wish i could do that, always end up with a silly grin.
Good find by the sound of it, got yourself a fairly easy to service motor too...yes i know it's not for you, but us daft blighters know just like you that we'll end up fixing the blessed thing for them there kids.
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any fake gold on the neck ted too?
get down shep
jees i hate those types with 4 mobiles in their pockets and their dole appointments next tuesday
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Ted,
Get some decent security for it - something she'll use - be a shame if some knob stole it.
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you cant steal it
you would have to hack the dash to get to the pats and kids of today wouldnt know how anyway
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A good visual deterrant, though.
GB.......A gentleman should always be unflappable and behave in a modest manner.
Here is an example...drawn by my now gone policeman friend, as a reply to a party invitation.
Hope it's not too rude. Worth a click to enlarge it.
s479.photobucket.com/albums/rr152/1400ted/c24/?action=view¤t=Cartoon24.jpg
I have all his later cartoons on memory stick now.
Of course, Norman would, in reality, be pitching in in the background rather than stood nursing a half !
Lovely guy.
Ted
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Don't know where my ' post-pug ' post went but she has, for years, religiously used one of those yellow fingys which fully enclose the steering wheel.
As I commented...a good visual deterrant.
Ted
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I used to recommend those discs and even tried to sell a few
the parents were spent up and the kids wanted a cd with bigger speakers
i gave up
took their money and kept the gob shut
dont see broken into cars anymore
its all smashed up cars from too much too young and flowers up the lampost these days
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I think the message is getting through that you need the keys nowadays, hence other forms of car crime. Big worry now is some clod who thinks he can barrel it and rips half the dash out, effectively writing the car off.
Ted
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If memory serves me right there are two keys with this Ford - the big multi use one and a standard black key with a red chip on top.
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>> s479.photobucket.com/albums/rr152/1400ted/c24/?action=view¤t=Cartoon24.jpg
Brilliant, and SWM loved it....sure i speak for the rest of the reprobates..if you fancy uploading a few more we'd love to see 'em.
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I'll find a few suitable ones.. Some relate to particular events so won't mean much to you.
He trained as a stained glass artist, national service in the RAF then Manchester City Police in 1956. Loved his animals, socialising, dog walking with SWM where he mercilessly tried to get off with her...he'd have run a mile if she said yes.
Put the date on everything he bought...had a 50p coin superglued to the path by the front door.
First class beer and red wine bibber. I saw him collapse a garden chair and land on his back holding a full glass of red and not spilling a drop ! Had a Staffie called Gertrude.
3 cats, Sidney Cooter, Aeroplane Eggbottom and Miss Prettypants. don't ask !
Big C got him about 6 yrs ago...all that fun and talent gone.
Ted
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>> Big C got him about 6 yrs ago...all that fun and talent gone.
Not sure whether i hate C more than politicians, close run thing.
Sounds a proper geezer.
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Ford Puma. - Bellboy
