new cougar dilema

S

stewedw

HI everyone, I'm going to buy a cougar afte admiring them for years and my mondeo going to the carpark in the sky :(

I have two options at the moment

a: 2.5l v6 80,000 miles in silver - private sale, some service and mot history £995
b 2.5l v6 120,000 miles in black - dealer, mint condition with full history £690

option b is cheaper by over £200 but the car has went 40,000 miles further and is a year older. The dealer only ever has top of the range, clean examples in his small showroom and the car is standard.

the option a private has 17inch aftermarket alloys but everything else is standard. However on some sites there is a suggestion that 17inch rims can cause handling issues, is this true?

What should I do? I am dubious about high mileage cars but lets face it, any cougar I get will be over 80k regardless.

They are cheap and I have spotted a full leather interior for £200 delivered so I'm tempted to get the cheaper of the two cars and fit that to it. I also plan a service to which ever car I buy, both of which passed their respective mot's in jan.

help, lol!!

cheers in advance ;)
 
tinman said:
V6!!!!
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They're both V6:LOL::LOL:

In answer to your question Stew, a lot of us have 17's 18's, or at least one member has 19's,with no handling problems. Mileage isn't a problem, as long as the car's been looked after i.e. serviced regularly. Mine's done 126K ish, and is still going strong.
 
cheers stribo -- I was leaning towards the black one 120k as it had full service history, not to mention the couple of hundred quid cheaper. Although I said its a dilema I can't really moan about getting a 12 month taxd and motd car for under a grand, let alone a cougar lol.

Cheers for he reply, I think Ill view both and see if there are any other faults with them driving wise and also any other good points as you can only tell so much from photos
 
My view - which might not be popular - is that mileage has very little to do with condition or value.

I would rather have a well-maintained fleet car at 120K than something that has been grannied but not seviced properly with only 60k.

You need to look at them both, assess the condition and servicing, and decide from there.

EDIT: I see you've already decided to that a minute before I posted, so I'll just shut up now. ;)
 
Or pay a little more and get a car with less mileage still? There are a few on autotrader. Depends I guess on how much your willing to spend and how long your thinking of keeping the car :)
 
cheers mako, from what I have read you are spot on. My current car is a 2.2 vectra sri and had a new engine fitted 2 years ago, vrious parts replaces since I got it therefore the only things on the car that are 98k old are the wheels, air con unit and collent system. oh and the frame and bodywork. Everything else virtually has been replaced. I would get £900 or so for the car but its a smashing drive and I have had it 9 years, so better the devil you know until its time to say goodbye etc.

thanks again for the replies, heres the info and pics if its helps

3 Doors, Manual, Coupe, Petrol, Black. ABS, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Folding rear seats, Lumbar support, Immobiliser, Passenger airbag, Radio/Cassette, Side airbags, Sports seats, Traction control, Alarm, Front fog lights, Trip computer, Drivers airbag, Electric door mirrors, Front head restraints, Heated door mirrors, PAS, Rear wiper, Height adjustable drivers seat, Remote central locking, Full size spare wheel, Body coloured bumpers, Front electric windows, Steering wheel rake adjustment, Electrically adjustable drivers seat, Electrically adjustable passenger seat. Insurance Group:14A, A TRUE CLASSIC++ AWESOME POWER FROM THIS V6++ CD ++ REMOTE LOCKING ++ ELECTRIC WINDOWS ++ COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE HISTORY ++ LOADS OF RECIEPTS ++ GREAT DRIVER ++ LONG MOT ., £690
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I'd go with option b.
Check Wishbones are ok, if they are then go with option b. If they haven't been replaced then that could be a few hundred quid. (although there is a group buy interest thread for the subscribed) which could save you quite a bit on those.

I tend to stay away from cars with after market alloys as I suspect that some boy racer may have driven the car like he stole it, being with a dealer you don't know who drove it before hand. and a "lady owner" means nothing to me as it could be the boy racers mum that registered the car.

I know this isn't the case with a lot of cars and some boy racers, even though they drive like maniacs may have looked after the car and serviced it with good parts. and yet some might not be boy/girl racers, they might have just liked the alloys compared to original.
 
ginja said:
Or pay a little more and get a car with less mileage still and in a much less boring colour than common-as-muck silver? There are a few on Autotrader in beautiful, radiant and interesting colours such as Melina Blue, Ebony Black and Tourmaline or Amazon Green. Depends I guess on how much your willing to spend and how long your thinking of keeping the car :)
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Fair point Matt and well made.
 
The-Computer-Saint said:
I tend to stay away from cars with after market alloys as I suspect that some boy racer may have driven the car like he stole it, being with a dealer you don't know who drove it before hand. and a "lady owner" means nothing to me as it could be the boy racers mum that registered the car.

I know this isn't the case with a lot of cars and some boy racers, even though they drive like maniacs may have looked after the car and serviced it with good parts. and yet some might not be boy/girl racers, they might have just liked the alloys compared to original.
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I think you've just quashed your own argument there mate, there's probably as many - if not more - people in this club with aftermarket alloys as there are those with standard wheels, and I'd say that very few of us are boy or girl racers. I've got them and I drive like somebody's Grandad! To be honest, the main reason people get them is that yes, they look nicer, but the tyres are far easier to come by than for the standard 16" wheels.
 
Couldn't agree more, as long as the car has been serviced properly mileage doesn't mean a lot. In fact, given the choice between two 10 year old cars with service history (one with 60k abn one with 100k) I would be more inclined to go for the one with 100k as I would assume that the one with lower mileage may have been used less and for shorter journeys (and not getting up to temp each time it was driven). But that's just my opinion! :LOL:

As mentioned though - WISHBONES! If they haven't been changed then check the general condition of the bushes as they are pricey. Make sure you hear the engine from cold and have a good test drive that gets it up to temp too and listen carefully for any knocking or ticking (don't confuse injector ticking with possible head gasket probs though as injector ticking is normal) (y)
 
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