Is the 1.6 any good? Are they as reliable as they sound on paper?
My sister fancies one to replace her MGF having done the homework, but are they fairly trouble-free?
She would have liked a 1.7 but I have read in several places that the 1.7 has a particular issue with short journeys which she does quite often although she does a long drive every weekend.
I havent found any info specific to the 1.6 hence the question!
What sort of servicing costs are you looking at with one?
Thanks in advance!
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My sister has run a Sept 2000 1.7 since January 2002, It was bought from a Ford Dealer , the previous owner was local and she actually met him once on a service visit. The car has been faultless (touch wood) with only routine servicing (but including front discs last year), she travels 12 miles a day - round trip. The engine uses little oil and seems to warm up quickly.
It's had all round tyres now (mileage 40000 something). It's a fine car superb handling masses of grip, superb gearchange, a bit fragile inside though - but nothing's broken off, it appears to be German made (fro the VIN).
The car has sailed through all MoT with no extra costs. Warning though on seized Spark Plugs. The car has been dealer serviced from new, the original supplying delaer and then a more local one. The second one is cheaper. Small fuel tank can be a nuisance more than anything. It now hs a tiny crack in the rear tailight which causes condensation - £65.00 new somwhere around £35.00 on the fleabay. She's replacing it in the new year....
The 1.7 Yamaha engine is a flyer....
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The 1.4 Zetec SE Ford / Yamaha lump I had in my Fiesta was a flyer, I bet the 1.7 version goes like stink.
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The 1.6 was excellent;all Pumas were made in the Niehl plant in Cologne.
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Thats excellent, its been a real task finding something she doesnt think is for old people - I mentioned the Honda Civic 3d and she went into some tirade about does her hair look grey and is she wearing it in a bun?!
What is the servicing schedule like? Are there any expensive services and any reason why a car with 40k or so would be a bad buy - she has £5500 ish to spend- can she get a reasonable one for that money?
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... she has £5500 ish to spend- can she get a reasonable one for that money?
Eyes left says MAX asking price nationally is £3.5K. lots at £3K - 3.5K
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I've been a regular user of sis' Puma. The nearest you'll get for the money to a 4 wheel motorbike. The steering belies it's Fiesta origins, almost good enough to be rear wheel drive :-) - seriously the steering actually feels alive around the centre, the many Foucii I've driven have failed to do this.
Yes she'll get a decent one for her money, Sis' immaculate FSH'd one is worth no more than 4.2k. Dunno about the expensive services, certainly no worse than any other car. They are Fiesta bits - mainly.
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The 1.7 is the one to have - great little car.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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The 1.7 is the one to have - great little car. - - - - - - - - - - -
Except that three reliability reports ive read have said that doing short runs specifically in the 1.7 models causes issues, which is for most of the week, what my sister does, hence the 1.6 seems to be the more sensible option - buying a car that has known problems with short runs, to do primarily short runs wouldnrt be sensible.
The 1.6 does seem harder to find, but if I recommend a model that breaks down, ill never hear the end of it!!
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Read Pugugly {P} 's post again...:-)
Key point about the larger engine is to use the correct oil at all times.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Read Pugugly {P} 's post again...:-) Key point about the larger engine is to use the correct oil at all times. - - - - - - - - - - -
Just sounds like the kind of thing my sister would get wrong and her request was something that doesnt need any special attention like her MGF does - she wants to to have a car that has no special needs whatsoever other than the usual checks which she brings it over to me for.
I know it sounds pedantic, but I cant trust her to make sure the right oil is used and I want her car to last, so must make sure she gets a car that has turn-key owner responsibility!
Would it help if she gets it serviced more often with the short journeys?
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I was lucky to pick up a 3 year old 1.6 Puma with 8K on the clock a few years ago, it was immaculate and selling it was the biggest mistake I made (I was after more power)!! It's most reliable and best car I've had (I've had a few hot hatches since but nothing beats the all round package). Take a look at pumapeople.com for lots of info and they're a friendly bunch. The guy who bought my Puma had ran his current Puma (1.7) into the ground and was after another as he loved the first one, I still see it now and again :-(
As for servicing there's Puma Build in Birmingham (excellent service) and Puma Speed in Yorkshire. Both highly respected independants who know there stuff should.
There's a few known issues with them (1.4/1.6/1.7) but on the whole there great cars. Common issues are stuttering /lack of power when the air con is on (no fix as such- running 97ron unleaded reduces the stutter significantly) and I believe it's fairly common in the 1.7 to suffer from an exhaust sensor failing (check for lack of power and sooty exhaust). Again more info on PumaPeople.com
As a sign of my affection for the car- I'll tell you it's the only car I have the sales brochure for and a limited edition book from Ford on the Puma (it cost me £40 on ebay a few years back).
If I could find one with low miles I'd have it in a shot, I could be Steve McQueen all again!
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I've got a Focus with the 1.6 engine, which I believe is the same (Zetec-SE). I have noted decreased reliability with more numerous shorter journeys - it was a much happier car doing slightly longer journies and it will eat through petrol much much faster if just used for 5 mile trips (I recently got 280 miles out of a tank compared to a usual 380 when doing longer journies). Such a thing is to expected but I hadn't realised it would be so drastic.
That said I've heard the Puma's are very reliable cars - and even if they go wrong should be cheap to fix Fiesta basis, Focus engine, bits ought to be easier to come by than those for the 1.7...which is a Yamaha Puma-exclusive engine...
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