Just bought my mum a puma as her seat needs too much work.

12 months mot no tax £500. Didnt think that was too bad, had mainly women owners and a good service history. 106k

Goes quite well was surprised never been in one before

Is there any common problems too watch out for on them apart from rust?? Will be getting it sprayed underneath shortly!

 

Engines should have regular oil changes, and oil level should be checked often, they don't like low oil.

 

Thats not a problem as i always do that anyway

 

Standard wear and tear things really like rear axle bushes and suspension top mounts and lower arms. Make sure its had a cambelt and keep an eye on rust.

 

Had a recent'ish cambelt, rust seems to be not to bad but get it waxoiled soon!

Generally a good car then?

 

I think so

Nip over to my forum for help and advise from lots of friendly and knowledgeable members:

www.projectpuma.com

(All free)

 

I have been running one as a daily, cracking cars, with plenty of poke for what it is

 

I was surprised with how nippy they are tbh and also quite good looking from the front end!!

 

What oil do they take? Is the fuel filter underneath?

 

5w30 semi or fully synthetic.

The fuel filter is under the car in the middle - basically under the back seats.

 

Have to agree with everything that's been said I picked one up cheap to use the engine into my fiesta, but really enjoyed driving it and was shocked how well it went only problem mine had was the rocker cover gadget had gone and oil was running into the spark plugs

 

^^ That's a common one as the fixing bolts secure into cheesy metal that can't be tightened that much. Go liberally with gasket sealant and it's usually ok.

 

HCV is common just like Fiestas, as has been said, really don't like low oil.

Rear arches and sills rot too.

Generally a good reliable car!

 

I think they go really well.They make ideal track cars.

 

i hated puma's with a passion until i traded one in against a car i sold and i didnt want to get rid, it handled like it was on rails and pretty nippy for what they are

 

oh and remove the carpet rear arch liners and bin them they are permanently wet which causes the arches to rot from the inside out taking the sills with them, bin it and stonechip or underseal the arches

 

Yeah will do that, need to do that on the mrs fiesta too

 

As above

HCV
Rust
ARB bushes
Lower rear wishbone bushes

Handle really well and will surprise a lot of cars on a b road.

Fun doesnt always cost a fortune, its much more fun wringing out one of those than shitting yourself in a 500bhp saph down a bumy twisty b road IMO

 

Rear suspension bushes horrible job

 

Brakes are shit, well they were especially bad on mine when i got it, so on went st170 front discs and mk3 mondeo callipers. Shave a bit off the top and bottom of the callipers and they fit under the std 15 inch wheels

I used mine daily for 2 years and 3 weeks ago px'd it for a scooby lol
I tracked it round combe and found it a bit slow, but then combe is a fast circuit. For the daily commute tho it was good fun and if driven hard would upset a lot of people!!