Is this a fair swap?

K

Keithj

Forum user
Dec 26, 2012
23
2
Yorkshire
I realise I'm not allowed to advertise my car for sale on here ( even though I'm a subscribed member I haven't reached the required 30 posts to do so), so firstly let me state that my car is not for sale!! A friend of mine has asked if I would be interested in swapping my cougar V6 on a T plate for his V plate escort estate. Both cars have similar tax and test and to be honest I could do with the extra boot space and extra MPG as I do a lot of miles for work (650 miles last week). Just out of interest how much might my cougar be worth as he has advertised his car at £350, would I be getting an ok deal by doing a straight swap or could I get more money if I sell it private then I could give him the £350 and still have some change in my pocket? My MOT runs out early May and my cougar has had a bit of a poor paint job, His escort needs 2 new cills which Ive no problem doing. I just wanted to ask what you would do? Ta
 
Have a look at what similar condition Cougars are going for on ebay. That should give you a ballpark figure to work on. Swapping should mean less hassle as you wouldn't have to go through the selling process.
 
Honestly, if your paint's no good, short mot, and what sounds like high mileage, you might only realise somewhere in the region of 500 quid from your cat, leaving you 100 quid or so in your pocket.
I'd cut my losses
 
I agree with Steve. Ignoring who is getting what looks like the "better" car, the deal seems to benefit you both. If you won't fall out over any problems you both have, I'd go for it.
 
I would point out that you're barely going to notice any difference in your weekly spend fueling an Escort versus a Cougar. They're both old and relatively inefficient engines. Unless his is a diesel of course.

It's really a diesel you'll need to notice a meaningful difference. The Mk5 1.6 Escorts only did around 35mpg when new so you'll be lucky to get a 15% improvement on your fuel consumption.

I'll go the other way to everyone above - if you need more boot space and better fuel consumption for your work, then flog the Cougar cheap and buy an equally cheap old diesel with mechanical injection.

You'll notice 45~50mpg against 25~30mpg. You won't really notice 35mpg against 30mpg.
 
jamie_duff said:
I would point out that you're barely going to notice any difference in your weekly spend fueling an Escort versus a Cougar. They're both old and relatively inefficient engines. Unless his is a diesel of course.

It's really a diesel you'll need to notice a meaningful difference. The Mk5 1.6 Escorts only did around 35mpg when new so you'll be lucky to get a 15% improvement on your fuel consumption.

I'll go the other way to everyone above - if you need more boot space and better fuel consumption for your work, then flog the Cougar cheap and buy an equally cheap old diesel with mechanical injection.

You'll notice 45~50mpg against 25~30mpg. You won't really notice 35mpg against 30mpg.
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I totally agree with Jamie here. For £500ish you could get a half reasonable old oil burner and while I appreciate the swap over would cause you I convenience if you are doing 600+ miles per week then the savings you would make are significant
 
Good points guys, my comments were based on the assumption the Escort is a diesel, otherwise as Jamie rightly says you won't notice a huge difference.
 
Hi there I have own a couple of escorts before and was relatively unimpressed by their mpg. Also they never seem to be out of the garage either. I had loads of problems with them such as bearings collapsing, oil leaks etc. Personally I would sell the cougar and buy something else. On the plus side for escorts tho is they are very easy to work on so if you don't mind getting mucky ya can save on maintenance if you get one of the very few good ones left.
 
If the fuel consumption is the same howz about ditching the tailgate and making a Cougar Estate, TopGear style of course ! :LOL:
 
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