Got one at last - Minor head unit problem.

jwaiv

jwaiv

Forum user
Jun 20, 2012
27
1
England
Got one at last

I’ve been looking for a good 2.5l Cougar with the X-Pack for about 2-3 months, I finally found one and picked it up at the weekend. It’s as near to perfect as I think I’ll get for a 12 year old car, it only had 24,878 miles on it when I picked it up and it’s in excellent condition inside and out.

After spending a few days driving about in it I’ve only discovered two minor faults. One was the small plastic trim surrounding the cigarette lighter that had a broken clip and was therefore a little bit loose, this one is easily solved with a part from eBay.

The second problem which I have not solved yet is a fault with the cars 6000CD head unit. The head unit seems to randomly lose its security code, this can happen overnight and it has even happened while I have been driving along. I can have the radio on while drriving and then all of a sudden it seems to reset and ask for the code again. (Fixed after reseating cable)

Does anyone have any idea on what might be causing this?

Thanks!
 
Welcome!! 24k miles???? That's stupidly low!! Is that certified, more for your peace of mind. If it is, I'd take it easy with the car as its obviously spent a very long time sat still!
 
JJ said:
Welcome. Sounds like a loose plug at back of unit would be most likely.

JJ
Click to expand...

Thanks :) Will take a look.

V6SINGH said:
Welcome!! 24k miles???? That's stupidly low!! Is that certified, more for your peace of mind. If it is, I'd take it easy with the car as its obviously spent a very long time sat still!
Click to expand...

I've got all of the MOT's and a pile of receipts to go with the car, it's been used... just not very much :) It really is in amazing condition.
 
V6SINGH said:
Welcome!! 24k miles???? That's stupidly low!! Is that certified, more for your peace of mind. If it is, I'd take it easy with the car as its obviously spent a very long time sat still!
Click to expand...

Ditto. I thought it was a typo.

I'd be looking at hoses and belts with a real critical eye if there's no proof they've been done to time schedule.
 
If it was me, just to be 100% I'd do a check on V-Car ad an HPI report. The car could be 100% legit by all means and if it is, it's worth the investment to certify its authenticity :)
 
All the checks are clear, all legit.... thankfully :) It won't hurt to have this extra bit of paper to go with the car, not that I’m planning on selling it hehe. The car came from a good dealer so I had plenty of paperwork to back it up but I suppose it never hurts to double check.

The mileage is great, the car feels like new. It’s not been used much but has obviously been very well maintained by the former owner. I'd seen a couple of cars at 41-42k and one at 30k but they needed too much work doing so when I saw this one I jumped at it.
 
Um, would it be too much to ask what the asking price was for this cat with such: a ridiculously low mileage?
 
The value of a thing is what someone is prepared to pay for it.

I think you paid the extreme high end of what's reasonable, especially if it needs some age-related work. But if you think you got a good deal on a low-miler then that's what counts. I really hope that you enjoy the car and look after it as well as it deserves.

Be a subscriber here and stick around. It might be that you have the least-used Cougar in the UK... :eek:
 
That's only £500 more than I paid for mine in 2009, (77k at the time) and half what I paid for my first one in 2006 (49k). As above, value is a subjective thing, affected by individual perceptions and priorities. I agree that it's at the top end of what Cougars generally go for today, but I think it still represents startlingly good value for a car as 'complete' as the Cougar and in as good condition as jwaiv reports it to be. Consider what else you can buy for £2.5k and I can't think you'd find much - if anything - in top nick with 24k on the clock that you'd prefer.
 
wow I have never seen a cougar in the last few years with anything less than about 70k on the clock and most are over 100k. If that is genuine mileage it's incredible, what a find.
Hope the radio problem is just the loose lead.
 
kittylover said:
wow I have never seen a cougar in the last few years with anything less than about 70k on the clock and most are over 100k. If that is genuine mileage it's incredible, what a find.
Hope the radio problem is just the loose lead.
Click to expand...

Must have been :) Reseated the connector and it's been fine since, really enjoying the car. I've spotted a few more doing the rounds with between 30-41k on them in the past few days... must resist the temptation to start a collection.....
 
kittylover said:
wow I have never seen a cougar in the last few years with anything less than about 70k on the clock and most are over 100k. If that is genuine mileage it's incredible, what a find.
Hope the radio problem is just the loose lead.
Click to expand...

I bought my Zetec in March last year with only 71,000 on the clock. But...

jwaiv said:
Must have been :) Reseated the connector and it's been fine since, really enjoying the car. I've spotted a few more doing the rounds with between 30-41k on them in the past few days... must resist the temptation to start a collection.....
Click to expand...

Excellent news - glad it was simple and you're enjoying it.

But 30-40K? Really? :eek:

Where, and are they selling? Um, and have they done their cambelts?
 
Don't have the links in front of me at the moment but I think there were two under 40k on auto trader and another one on eBay under 40k that was not a duplicate from auto trader. Not sure what the condition of the cars was though.

I can't remember where I saw the 30-31k car, i think it was on a 51 plate.
 
If you remember where you saw it, I expect there'd be some (slightly guarded) interest.

Low miles are obviously no guarantee of quality/care and won't inflate the price by much (if anything) since it would likely need proper servicing. But it'd be worth knowing where they are.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.