At what cost??

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Foolsgold

New member
Joined
Oct 8, 2018
Messages
9
At what cost would you go, to keep your puma?? Its probably a question that keeps cropping up! My thunder is at the cross roads of its life the dreaded rust has got to it badly. To keep it going will cost mega bucks. Undecided as to spend or break-any thoughts wise people??
 
Depends what the car means to you.

For me... I've owned mine for 10 years, I met wife because of a Puma. I would and do go some way to keep a Puma in my life.
 
Had it 4 and half years bought as a stop gap but grown to luv it -not got the knowledge or skills to carry out rustoration project so gotta go to garage -2 garages wouldn't touch it third will but say if I start it's a can of worms n could cost monumental
 
Well this question i get asked all the time??
For me my Ole Wendy is a keeper.. she wants for nothing.

See I like so... the money spent on a new car, Insuance switch over, road tax and all the expenses you'll make excuses for might just sort your puma and more.!!

Decisions Decisions ??
 
Hi All at what cost do you keep paying out for repairs ?.
Mot time Millie has been off the road for to long nearly two years now after head gasket blow.
I have now got round to replacing her engine got good engine with under 75k from good friend he replaced cambelt water pump
And then scrapped the track car.I also replaced front discs and pads new brake hoses.
Mot was bad rust being the main problem at the rear inner wheel aches both sides holed
Both outer cills holes near seat belt mounting.
Got quote for welding £400 so it must be done or Millie's scrap.Shes to good to go for scrap so £400 for another years motoring in her is well worth it hope to get her back is Friday.
 
Hi.
I have had my Puma for fourteen years and I will never get rid of it. This year I spent £1360 on MOT which included welding, bespoke cat, handbrake cables, rear brakes and lambda sensor. I have just spent £725 on spray work to restore the body to its former glory. I will be adding a post with more detail on my project thread with photos some time this weekend.

Regards,
Richard.
 
my blue puma was bought by my dad in 2008, when he died I took it on didn't drive it for a long time... in february this year I made a start on it and have vowed to go through it and never say no to it whatever it needs im currently half way through the mechanical things and im counting parts costs mainly for shits and giggles but I don't care really.... im lucky the floor isn't dreadful but what can ya do? for every xr3i or mk2 escort I threw away because it needed mot welding... this car is my way of apology lol I don't care about value... it'll never be worth what I spend but then drinks at the bar don't make for a sound investment either... I prefer tea and biscuits :wink:
 
I'm nearly £4k in the hole on mine now, but it is future-proofed to some extent. It'll be a while if the car's value ever approaches what I've spent on it! However I'm negotiating renting a garage for the winter to keep the worst of the elements at bay, to try and make it last a bit longer and keep mileage down. I'll just be driving an old beater during the winter, I'm on the lookout for a nice granddad car with auto box.
 
Anything is fixable, just depends on passion and determination of the owner. I’ll never get rid of my first Puma, I plan on having her for as long as humanly possible so she’s recently undergone major reconstruction work. I’ve lost count of how much I’ve spent but nearly 5 years later she’s Pretty well futureproofed :grin:

H x
 
Hi,
I have been very busy flashing the cash. My Puma is coming up to 140k now the engine still pulls well is smooth and quite. Any way I purchase a used engine with 27k on it in June. I had it fitted with as many new bits as possible, clutch, belts, water pump, all new oil seals, injectors, a/c compressor, necessary gaskets, plus full engine service. Had it done at my usual garage. Total cost £1425. You may think I am mad but I intend to keep it for ever and hopefully start reducing the mileage I put on it. It goes like stink, I think I have all the horses back in the stable now. As a plus the emissions are down as well.

Regards,
Richard
 
RICHARD MANSFIELD2 said:
Hi,
I have been very busy flashing the cash. My Puma is coming up to 140k now the engine still pulls well is smooth and quite. Any way I purchase a used engine with 27k on it in June. I had it fitted with as many new bits as possible, clutch, belts, water pump, all new oil seals, injectors, a/c compressor, necessary gaskets, plus full engine service. Had it done at my usual garage. Total cost £1425. You may think I am mad but I intend to keep the for ever and hopefully start reducing the mileage I put on it. It goes like stink, I think I have all the horses back in the stable now. As a plus the emissions are down as well.

Regards,
Richard

Now that is commitment 👍
 
That's the way to go, if you want to keep your car after the engine dies.
 
Mines on 175k and going strong 💪 at least now the shell will definitely outlast the original engine and box. Got a spare to rebuild for when the time comes! #savethepumas
 
Mine has (today) just passed it's MOT with a brake pipe, fuel pipe & new tyres as an advisory ;)

Last MOT cost £600 :(

This is my 2nd puma, the first one's engine went & adding up all the other things that needed doing in the next year or so, I scrapped

I had allowed £1k for this MOT as at the last MOT I'd taken it to a new garage & really had my trousers pulled down :( - their advisories never appeared on this MOT!

So, I suppose, in excess of £1k would be the cost I'd consider losing this one....
 
What's the cost of keeping it running versus the cost you'd incur replacing it and suffering depreciation on another vehicle :grin:
 
Hi Millie pass her mot today only need a rear tyre which I through was close
The advisors where tyres near limit.
Also rear hoses showing signs of corrosion.
Replaced tyre had new rear brake hoses fitted new brake fluid.
Also had the hand brake cables renewed as the cables rusting and needed to be replaced.
Cost of the work was £285.00 including the mot £55
we was pleased as punch to get Millie another mot and had some work done which needed done
So another year on the road for our Millie
 
Hi all Millie pass only problem near side parking brake low efficiency had the rear drums off cleaned and adjusted
Brakes passed another year with her cheap mot this year advisory was near side drive shaft boot shows signs of wear replace soon ordered boot today will fit weekend so we got away the it this year .
 
This is a question I struggle with every day on my 2001 Cougar. I bought it new and the car means a lot to me but financially it makes zero sense to try to fix the rust. I've been keeping it parked for the last couple of winters hoping to prolong it's life a little bit but I'm going to be forced to drive it this winter unfortunately. This might be the final nail in the coffin.
I have a second Cougar that I've been building over the last couple of years that should be ready to take over the duties in the spring so that's when I'll have to do something about the first one.
My current thinking is that I might strip down Cougar #1 and use as much of it as possible in a custom hot rod or kit car build. That would allow me to keep the car alive in spirit without dealing with the rust.
Alternately, I might just park it for a couple years and see if my affection for it wears off or not then decide on restoration later.
 
Hi.

A very good question. Well with my age I never know when I will be hanging up the driving gloves so I have made the decision that I am now on my last car so ..............
The sorry saga continues. Well, 2018 I spent £1360 on getting an MOT. Sept 2019 I fitted a 27k engine replacement to my Puma with all new parts where possible...cost, £1450. Now the reason for the engine change was for some time I had promised myself some FRP equivalent cams with matching remap to go with the FRP exhaust system. So June this year I went to Lightening Motor Sport for the cams and remap to be fitted. Checking the engine it was down on compression on cylinders 2 and 3 (possible burnt exhaust valves). So 7th September car back in for head to be sorted and at the same time to fix the speedo drive in the gear box. Any way to cut a long story short... engine and box out, head rebuild new piston rings and big end shells plus some other odds and ends gaskets water pump, new leads, plugs and coil pack, exhaust manifold re-wrapped etc, etc.

The car runs like a dream about 145 BHP. COST £3289. If I could rewind back to 2018 would I have still done it all....YES.

You see I am mad.

Richard.
 

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