JAC
New member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2015
- Messages
- 222
Hi all!
First, congratulations on the forum, plent of cool projects and cars in here, and from what I have see, lots of helpful and friendly people.
I came accross this forum whilst looking for info on the Puma, as I have been wanting to pick one up for a while. I was wondering if you guys could offer me some tips.
Let me start by saying, where I live (southern Spain), second hand cars are pretty expensive, but Puma's are actually not a bad price. The average price around here at present is about 2000€ (£1450) for a '98 to '00 with 120k to 150k km (75k to 95k miles), the different engine models don't seem to make any difference in price.
I am looking for a fun car to drive (it will be a second/third car), and decided on the Puma as a good option. I am looking for a 1.7.
Anyways, on Saturday I am going to look at a '98 that I have been offered for a ridiculous price of 750€ (£540) as it has been standing for a long time.
According to the owner, after speaking with him for a while on the phone, the car has only 53.000km (32k miles) on it, and has been standing in a garage for the last 3 years, unused. The owner bought it about 2 years before (for his then girlfriend) and it had 35.000km (22k miles) on it, as it was used as a holiday car by an English guy that only visited in summer. Unfortunately during those first 12 years, it was parked outside (in the sun that we have too much of here) and it is red, or... at least it was!
Supposedly, to pass the ITV (our equivalent of the MOT), it needs new tyres, a new lamp in the left headlight, and the clear covers of the headlights need buffing.
I will be inspecting the car with a mechanic (who has repared and prepared lots of cars with me, so I trust him), but I thought I would ask the Puma experts for any tips on what to look for that would make the alarm bells ring. The main issue is that I cannot test drive the car, as it has no MOT or insurance.
I am not too worried about the external condition, as rust is not an issue here, and I plan on painting anyway. The interior, as far as I can see, is in good condition, but also very faded from the sun. This doesn't exactly bother me anyway, as I will probably change the seats (and remove the back seats) anyway.
This will hopefully be a fun project, and turn into a fun car, but I certainly don't want it to turn into a nightmare (I hope).
One last thing, and sorry for the extra long post, here we have issues with aftermarket parts. All parts must either be original, or have a modification "project" done by an engineer. Luckily I have an engineer to do this (I work with him), but he can only go so far, so no cosworth engines
I apologize again for the length of this! Thank you all for reading and I would appreciate any tips you can offer.
JAC
First, congratulations on the forum, plent of cool projects and cars in here, and from what I have see, lots of helpful and friendly people.
I came accross this forum whilst looking for info on the Puma, as I have been wanting to pick one up for a while. I was wondering if you guys could offer me some tips.
Let me start by saying, where I live (southern Spain), second hand cars are pretty expensive, but Puma's are actually not a bad price. The average price around here at present is about 2000€ (£1450) for a '98 to '00 with 120k to 150k km (75k to 95k miles), the different engine models don't seem to make any difference in price.
I am looking for a fun car to drive (it will be a second/third car), and decided on the Puma as a good option. I am looking for a 1.7.
Anyways, on Saturday I am going to look at a '98 that I have been offered for a ridiculous price of 750€ (£540) as it has been standing for a long time.
According to the owner, after speaking with him for a while on the phone, the car has only 53.000km (32k miles) on it, and has been standing in a garage for the last 3 years, unused. The owner bought it about 2 years before (for his then girlfriend) and it had 35.000km (22k miles) on it, as it was used as a holiday car by an English guy that only visited in summer. Unfortunately during those first 12 years, it was parked outside (in the sun that we have too much of here) and it is red, or... at least it was!
Supposedly, to pass the ITV (our equivalent of the MOT), it needs new tyres, a new lamp in the left headlight, and the clear covers of the headlights need buffing.
I will be inspecting the car with a mechanic (who has repared and prepared lots of cars with me, so I trust him), but I thought I would ask the Puma experts for any tips on what to look for that would make the alarm bells ring. The main issue is that I cannot test drive the car, as it has no MOT or insurance.
I am not too worried about the external condition, as rust is not an issue here, and I plan on painting anyway. The interior, as far as I can see, is in good condition, but also very faded from the sun. This doesn't exactly bother me anyway, as I will probably change the seats (and remove the back seats) anyway.
This will hopefully be a fun project, and turn into a fun car, but I certainly don't want it to turn into a nightmare (I hope).
One last thing, and sorry for the extra long post, here we have issues with aftermarket parts. All parts must either be original, or have a modification "project" done by an engineer. Luckily I have an engineer to do this (I work with him), but he can only go so far, so no cosworth engines
I apologize again for the length of this! Thank you all for reading and I would appreciate any tips you can offer.
JAC