6th May 2008, 11:44

Me and my wife have just bought a 1998 1.7 Puma. I took it up to the car wash on bank holiday Monday, gave it a good clean on the outside. Only when I finished I got in to start it and no power. The AA came and couldn't sort it; he tried to jump start, it failed. He tried by hitting the starter motor, failed, tried to bump start, failed. He towed it to the garage where they changed the battery and then plugged it in to the computer and it came up with error code 21, something to do with the key. He can't sort it so it will have to go the Ford dealer unless anyone out there has any ideas.

3rd Aug 2008, 13:56

Hi, my girlfriend bought a 1.6 Ford Puma and it started shaking on the way home after 50 mph. I had the wheels balanced, but that didn't fix it, so I bought a new set of wheels and it still does it. It seems to go worse when there are more people in the car. Could anyone help me?

17th Sep 2008, 03:48

Have had my Puma from new for nearly 7 years and have yet to meet a car I like better. Brake pads only had to be replaced after 64000 miles and it has now done nearly 90000, with very few repairs. Suspension arms being replaced as we speak, to get MOT but the car still drives like a dream. Have had no problems with leaks etc and still thoroughly enjoy driving it. Definitely a driver's car; not for the Chelsea tractor brigade!

13th Nov 2008, 17:16

I have just purchased a 2000 1.7 Puma.

All that needed doing was 4 new tyres and a set of brake pads and this car drives like brand new. 60000 on the clock and not a problem with it.

Last owner had a problem with the key fob so he bought a new fob £20 and fixed.

I agree it is a drivers car and one to be enjoyed.

18th Dec 2008, 17:00

We've bought a 2001 Puma with 77k on the clock - £1800 quid. After a good clean and a full service/timing belt change, it feels as good as new and it drives far better than any car I've owned before - and I've had a 740 BMW!

Each journey is a pleasure behind the wheel. If you expect to own a car that they finished making in 2002 and not to have any problems with it, cloud cuckoo land should be your home address.

A cracking motor that, like any other, stays cracking if you invest some time, love and affection into it.

Get bargain fun - try to ensure you're not buying anything that's been thrashed and you won't forget it.

15th Jan 2009, 09:22

I drive a 98 Puma... I replaced the standard 15 inch alloys with 17 inch alloys; it was the best thing I ever did!

I think a lot of the complaints listed here can be filed under wear and tear. It's a mechanical beast, things break...

Yes, the parcel shelf is a pain and having water run into the boot when you open it in the rain is also annoying. Can I live with this? Most definitely.

Pulling away from standing traffic and accelerating hard in first, dropping it into third and then cruising along at the limit is always a thrill for me. Even more so when I check my mirror and see how far behind me the rest of the traffic is.

I love this car, sad but true.

24th Jan 2009, 11:04

Hi, I've had my '98 Puma for nearly for 6 years now and having done nearly 110,000 miles in it I have to say (sad I know), but I love it to bits.

It hasn't EVER let me down and there is not a person who hasn't had a smile on their face after taking it for a little spin...

Great Cars...

7th Feb 2009, 17:42

Hi guys, just after a bit of advice really... I have a 1.7 Puma with 56,000 on the clock and it has recently started to play up. At a constant throttle position, the TC and ABS lights come on and all the external lights get bright and the blower comes on at full blast with hot air only. The problem can be cured by switching on the heated windscreens or dropping a gear and planting it. The dash dials then reset by going round to max/min and then it starts working as normal again. I guess it is an electrical fault but can't work out what's causing it... Any advice would be great... Thanks.

15th Feb 2009, 11:06

Just got a Puma - 2000 1.7 lovely car, 100k on the clock paid £1070 off ebay. I'm a new driver so I'm not gonna blame the car for any problems, the only little problems I have found are:

1) Rear visibility, which I guess is the price you for the beautiful shape of the car..

2) A problem I want advice on (please) headlights seem poor, I have replaced with brand new ones from Halfords and I have adjusted the setting inside the car, I think the height at the back of the car effects the light as they seem to point to lower.. any advice..???

3) The car sometimes stalls in first gear (again I am a new driver) this tends to happen in the first 2 minutes off the engine been started only..

Now on to the GREAT points, firstly it looks really good, MPG is good, acceleration in 2nd and 3rd is good 1st gear as well if you don't mind a bit of noise from the engine. This is a fun car to drive, it ain't expensive to run, it's good value.

Overall 8/10 could do with better light dispersion, 8/10 is a good mark in my opinion as you'd probably pay a lot more for 10/10.

11th May 2009, 17:19

Hi there.

Bought a puma 1.7 R reg 6 months ago and it's lovely!

The lady that sold me it mentioned a lot of the common faults everybody else seems to be bringing up. Water getting in the car turned out to be door seals which she had replaced.

IMPORTANT: one common fault seems to be that the revs maintain or shoot up when you press the clutch, especially on the motorway after high revs have been maintained for a while. It took my garage 3 diagnostics test to figure out it was the throttle sensor, which is really cheap to replace! (part, about £35)

Also the radio used to switch itself off whenever it felt like it (she told me about this). I however figured out the front sometimes comes loose (the buttons 2-5) and just need pushing back in.

This car can be thrown around corners and loves the motorway, it is great and I love it, it just doesn't like speed bumps very much (get a strange noise from the front which apparently isn't the suspension)! Also it is true that when opening the boot in rain, the water from the roof gushes in, but never mind! Only cost me £920 and drives superb.