Considering a 160k Puma – am I mad?

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sleepingjiva

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2021
Messages
3
Hi, everyone,

So great to find such an active, friendly and dedicated community here! Pleased to be part of it.

I'm looking at getting my first Puma (a 1.7) and have been comparing what's out there over the past few weeks. I've already discounted a few for having too many owners or not enough history, and I've recently come across one which has had one owner and has full service history. Plus, a quick check on the MOT history and it hasn't even had any advisories other than worn tyes.

The only catch… it's done just over 160,000 miles :eek:

My thinking is that to have kept it on the road that long, and in such good nick, that one owner has clearly looked after it well. But how long do these things last, realistically? Can I keep going to 200,000 and beyond? I'm hoping to keep it at least a couple of years.

Thoughts and comments gratefully welcomed, and thanks again for having me!

Jon
 
Mileage is what it is. When I buy a used car, I'm more concerned about rust than anything. All the mechanical stuff can be fixed. Most modern engines can do well over 200K with regular maintenance.

Being a 20 year old car with some miles on it though, you do have to be prepared for anything...Fuel pumps, water pumps, alternators, starters, and every other wear and tear item has already done its job and will be retiring itself sooner or later.

Its really just a matter of deciding how much risk your willing to take.
 
The Puma engine I have in my Fiesta has around about that sort of mileage, if not more - car has around 155k on it and the engine has done roughly 10-15k more (I can work it out if I get all the paperwork out).

It had 2 previous owners before me, one of which I believe did a lot of motorway miles in it..

I had the cambelt replaced a short while ago and the mechanic said when he took the rocker cover off, he noticed how 'clean' it was in the head. No sludge build up and the oil was nice and clean. He commented that he'd never seen an engine of that age and mileage look so 'clean'.

If you look after them engines.. they will serve you well.
 
Hello and welcome to the site.

Mileage is not the biggest concern with a Puma, as has already been said, at this age nearly everything else consumable will have been or be needing replacement. It's usually rust that prevents people maintaining them for longer, I'd wager that most scraped Puma are for rust and not engine issues.

This is an old thread with a few updates, but it shows that some people have made it past 250k
 
Thanks, everyone, for your input. I intend to have a good look at the engine if I go and see it, obviously, but it's encouraging to hear that kind of mileage isn't as big a deal as I might have thought it was.

It's up for £1,195.00 but I'm sure I could get it for a grand. At that price, most other Pumas seem to have lots of advisories and/or MOT fails for corrosion (which have presumably been patched up in some way) but some have considerably fewer miles on the clock.

It's rust you've really got to worry about with these, isn't it?
 
Yes, rust can make them uneconomical for most people to repair.

Boot floor, footwells, sills, wheel arches, seatbelt mount points, subframes etc etc
 

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