General Advice please

I forgot to mention I am an old g** now and my arms ain't what they used to be, plus T and sani breaks burn up time.
Still took me a weekend though.
 
And the Saga Continues... Feel free to add your opinions

Well Ladies and Gentlemen,
Just had a look at the cougar with gearbox issues for sale for £300.00.
Bodywork mint, Leather Interior (unlike mine).
No Heated front screen (unlike mine).
Think his mechanics diagnostics are correct with slave cylinder. Will not go into 1st with engine running. Will drive if you double the clutch (bit rusty on that as its been over 20yrs for me). Didnt feel like it was slipping though but it was very wet so drove gingerly.
Headlights are poor compared to mine. Engine doesnt feel quite as willing as mine (Mine at 134k, his at 98k). Brakes att quite recent and serviced 5 months ago.
Coolant warning lamp illuminated but level looked fie to me when i checked.
Taxed until end of Jan, remember no MOT over here.
Thinking of offering £200.
What does everyone think? Please be honest, have broad shoulders.:)
 
That's a very tricky one. I had a look at your previous thread but I'm not clear on whether you're looking at this as a replacement, a second Cougar, or just a project to sell on.

My advice to you - for whatever it's worth - would probably depend on that.

On the other hand, if you're happy to tie up £250 on the car (after haggling) and a further couple hundred on parts to get it sorted and then flog on, I personally would probably go for it.
 
To be honest, its one of those things that just happen to come along. My initial thoughts were to break it as getting spares over here a nightmare. Buts its already Manx registered, newer and an x-pack so higher spec than mine. Its really too good to break. But.....when these cars get the classic tag they should have, mine is older. Also, I think I prefer the darker colours. If I can fix it myself it would be nice to use that while I tart up the blue one. If I'm really honest, its not myself i need to convince, but the wife.
 
Zeoman said:
If I'm really honest, its not myself i need to convince, but the wife.
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Yes, I got the feeling you wanted it but were reaching out for reasons why you shouldn't. :LOL:

Here's my take on it if you don't mind:

When my poor, damaged Tiger came on the market for a similar price to the one you're looking at, I gave it far more thought than necessary. It was a £300 car after all. Not peanuts, but not 3-year-old Mondeo money. But I knew that things needed to be done that were outside my skill-set and that it would need some commitment.

It was actually Tracey (Ms. Mako) who told me to stop worrying about it and just bloody get on with it. After all, even if it was a shed, I knew that the parts and scrap value would cover the purchase cost. Quote, "Why are we even talking about this?". She applied common sense, bought it, and handed me the keys.

Tiger had some challenges - welding - but that still didn't cost more than the value of the car parted out and scrapped. Tiger is now part of the family, has had enormous amounts of love and effort expended on her, and I've never looked back.

The TL;DR version of this is, you have absolutely nothing to lose if you buy the car and find that you can't fix it. If you need to sell it to Mrs Zeoman, remember that you can't lose. Why not take a punt?
 
I got my cat to break it but in the end I could not do it car was to good it's now sitting in the garage with a west wings body kit etc and I even purchased a Clio to keep it off the road on Rainey days
problem is there is to many rainy days
got my cat for 250quid needed a lot of work but she is now a stunner
 
I bought mine for £200...No MOT due to a rotted out rear sub frame, shot discs & pads, engine ran like it was full of ball bearings, most of the rubber bushes were perished and the tyres were no longer legal, but.....i still bought it because i fell in love with it.
It's been 7 months now, spent just over a grand (inc the car), enjoyed all the bashed elbows, bumps on the head and skinned knuckles, it's now on the road and drives like it's on rails, stops & starts and i think I'm 1 of 3 other owners where i live to have one. The additional reason to buy is all the help you'll get on here to get you where i am at now. TS
 
Well, Was all set to buy the cougar this week, but wait, hey, my tenant has not paid her rent to me(again!), so there I am nearly £900.00 down this month and looking like a right wally for showing interest and not buying. I really could have done with at least the parts. Gutted, yeah!
 
Well, Guess what! Saw the ad last week and seller has dropped price to £250.00. Offered him £200.00 cash and he has accepted! Result! Paying today and waiting to see if i can get a lift to Peel! Now how do I replace that Clutch again???? ;-)
 
Ha! That's fantastic.

The first step to replacing the clutch is the purchase of bacon, clearing some floor space, and finding some goons. Your location makes the last item a bit tricky...
 
Thinking of offering £200.
What does everyone think? Please be honest, have broad shoulders.:)[/QUOTE]

My other car ('98 Cougar 2.5 X-Pack) is in better condition (i.e it runs and drives
perfectly) and the best offer I had was 95 quid...That's why I'm going to break
it for spares...
 
As a newbie still. 95 quid is a joke as you'll get 150 scrap. I predict that within 5 years people with start to look at the Cougar with real interest. When you consider an All agro now has classic status. Let's face it. The Cougar still is great car.
 
Zeoman said:
As a newbie still. 95 quid is a joke as you'll get 150 scrap. I predict that within 5 years people with start to look at the Cougar with real interest. When you consider an All agro now has classic status. Let's face it. The Cougar still is great car.
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I agree...though right now any high-ish mileage Cougar with a less
than perfect service history and no MOT can be very cheap, as the
breaker can afford to leave it on his property for years until he's
sold it off in parts, but in the UK it's impossible to keep any car
on the road (even if it's up on axle stands and clearly not being
used) unless it has tax, MOT and insurance...you have to declare
a SORN (statatory off-road notification) and it has to be off the
road...fortunately I have use of a tiny garage to hide mine of the
road, otherwise I'd have had to have taken the 95 quid...that
was the scrap price...
 
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