High driven miles, still worth buying?

Hi all

I've found a relatively cheap and well kept Puma, but it's been driven about 215 000 miles, and I'm not really sure at all whether the engine and the whole car will last... had some bad experiences in the past. I was hoping maybe the Puma experts here could give me some advice on the matter.


It's a '98 1.7 with the electric seats option. The owner has used the car as a long distance driver mainly, he's kept it well maintained with Ford dealership repairs etc., the engine has had some work done on it after a failed cambelt and the shocks have been changed.

It has a bit of rust in the wheel arches and the clutch is slipping, but other than that it's in really good condition for the mileage.


So the question really being here, is it worth to buy a Puma with this high driven miles + replace the clutch, or should I chuck some extra and get one which hasn't been driven this much? And if you think it might be worth it, how much would you consider paying? The clutch job would apparently cost around £ 590

Thanks in advance!

IMO - Knowing that a car has been well cared for is invaluable. A service history is worth it's weight in gold. I'd rather buy a car at 80K with history than 40K without.

How cheap is cheap? There are loads about these days with hald decent mileages (About a 1/3rd of that one) that are going relatively cheaply - less than £1K sometimes. 215K is the highest I've heard of a 1.7 doing mind. Is it all documented?

BTW - electric seats were std on a '98 car

Welcome along anyway! - ask anything as there's a wealth of experience around here.

k:

I'd say that is a bit too high, there are still very reasonably priced 1.7's around with plenty of history with much lower miles. The failed cambelt would worry me too - when they break the potential damage they can cause is immense. I'd keep looking.

Wow, what quick reply.

Well, around here the price range for Pumas usually starts from around £ 4000 with 1/3 mileage of this, and then skyrockets... This one was advertized at 3000, but I'm definitely not paying that much since the clutch job is 590, so hopefully closer to 2300.

The service history is all down on paper, so no doubts about that.

Ah yes, there was actually this very small "deadzone" in the steering at 60 mph... Barely noticeable, though.


The belt broke at 87K, where the car was taken in for repairs. According to the owner, the belt replacement guidelines were looser back then, and the interval was tightened later. The belt was later serviced and replaced at 180K.

Where are you Jay?

Those prices you quote are far higher than I've seen locally. I've seen them for £1000 - £2000 with 50K miles on younger than you quote :shock:

We like to be on the ball with replies here

Finland. Gotta love the car tax.

Ah.. that explains it.

Thought about importing one from the UK? or Europe?

If you can ensure that the history is 100% and it's well maintained, you should be ok. But : remember the sometimes reported problems with 1.7 nikasil linings on high mileage cars. Well maintained it shouldn't be a problem though.

Yeah, although I don't know if they are any cheaper. Based on some research I've done, prices in Germany for example seem to start around £ 1900... Then, add taxes, ranging from 1200 to 2200, which really depends on the car.

Add shipping costs, and you end up at the typical price level here.

That's a bugger

It is worth the effort though as they are cracking cars.

Let us know if you need a once over on a car - info - opinions - picture analysis and opinion.

I'm normally about from 7am - 11pm, so I'll see it.. :lol:

Indeed. I've driven one which had a properly working clutch and it was a blast. Well, as much of a blast you can have with someone elses car on a public road, but in any case. =)

My main concern right now is the total life span of the engine. I had an otherwise well cared for car previously, but it had also been driven quite much and the engine gave up. The engine of the Puma did sound quite healthy, though, and as I mentioned, it had some.. gasket.. or something changed along with the cambelt when it broke.

I do have a couple photos of the car, although I don't know if you could say much based on that. Anyways, thanks for the help so far. I appreciate an expert opinion

Always happy to help 8)

Put the pictures up and we'll have a look - or pm / email them to me if you'd rather not expose to everyone (oo-er..lol)

http://img507.imageshack.us/my.php?image=a3ch3.jpg

http://img187.imageshack.us/my.php?image=a1zx1.jpg

http://img107.imageshack.us/my.php?image=a2bg8.jpg

Hi Jay,

Im Red, Welcome to the site.

Looking at the pictures it does not look in bad condition for the age and mileage however... it would seem a shame to have such a budget for a car and end up with one 215k miles .. that must be steep in kilometres!

It's a shame you can't just buy one in another country drive it back home and re-register it.

Woah.. do you know how many miles it has done since the cambelt broke last time?

The interval is every 80k miles so that car should nearly be on it's third change by now! You really don't want it snapping again as it was lucky not to trash it the first time around. The damage from it snapping and be very fatal to these engines.

I wish you good luck in what ever you decide k:

maybe it is km? that would make it about 130,000 miles,and why do pumas on the continent have wheel trims?i saw 1 in ibiza and 1 in tenerife with trims,maybe there an option outside the uk.and if it has done over 200,000 miles it would only be worth about £500 if it was in the uk.

Thanks Red

Yeah, the car tax here is a bit silly. They have changed it just this year though, but there is very little details on how it affects things.

The belt broke at 87K. The latest change was at 180K.


For the note, I've converted the original KM values to Miles and Euro values to GBP for your convenience, so yes, the numbers I've posted are indeed miles.

good grief!thats 344,000 km!thats like driving to the moon!!

Yep, almost!

Thought I'd drop a note; I've decided to look at a 1.4 Puma, which hopefully will be otherwise as nice as the 1.7 'cept for the engine. Priced around the same, too.

The 1.4 model is very good as well. Not quite as fast obviously, but it handles just as well k:

I think you would be denying yourself the true experience of the car to settle for the 1.4 though. It was designed with the 1.7 in mind, the 1.4 was a budget option.

I personally wouldnt buy a petrol engine with over 150,000. Its not just the engine thats done that mileage, is the brakes, the suspension, all the pumps, all the electrics etc. You will be looking at replacing all fliddly stuff like window seals, water pumps etc.

Bought the 1.4, it's still perky despite the engine =)

Here's a pic, though it's a bit on the dark side...
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1704/pumaje2.jpg

A red '98 1.4... Windshield has a small but non-obstructing crack and the drivers side front brake disc is broken... Of course used as a bargaining weapon so I got it for a quite nice amount in the end. Otherwise in great condition and well kept by the previous owner.