Will the Cougar ever be worth anything?

spjmorris

spjmorris

Well-known user
Apr 10, 2012
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2,271
'Fampton
Or is it destined to be a forgotten car only appreciated by a bunch of die-hards...


It’s often stated in for sale ads for Cougars ‘future classic’ or words to that effect, but is it really? I disagree.

Prices for them are at absolutely rock bottom, most are struggling to reach a grand, hell there was one on ebay sold recently by one of our members with a full 12 months ticket for little more than £300!
When you consider what you get for your money, especially in V6 X Pack form, that’s ridiculously cheap motoring.

So what’s the reason for this? let’s be honest the Cougar, although aged now, is a cracking car, so why does nobody want it?

Is it that the Cougar never had any cachet in the first place? It sold in pretty limited numbers before it was canned, similar to the Probe before it (which I note also sells for pocket change)

I personally don’t see there being an upturn in values for a long while yet, the only good Cougars I have seen in recent years have been the ones in this club, pretty much every time I see one on the road it looks beaten, abused and unloved, and only one big mechanical failure away from being dumped in the nearest scrappy...

Thoughts?
 
When having a head gasket change costs more than the cars worth, its no wonder there being discarded left, right & centre, & its certainly not just cougars. Think its also about the mentality of the younger motorist, they have been bought up in a chuck away world, when you dont particulary look after things, just buy, use, & pass on, therefore the interest in keeping spending to keep an old motor on the road isn't there in abundance nowadays. I can see cougars all but dieing out in the next 10 yrs, all but a few diehards like we have on here, but still cant see them fetching a lot of money, cause they wern't that popular in the 1st place.
 
It would be nice to think they will become classics, but as you have said i think it will take a long time for the values of these cars to rise.There are alot of people that take the mickey out of these cars because of their mondeo heritage which isnt fair because the cougar is a far more stylish car both inside & out.
 
I have to agree, it would be nice to think it's a future classic but it may just be wishful thinking. It didn't sell that well and got canned and maybe because of that people don't consider it anything more than Ford's version of the Sinclair C5. Maybe that's harsh 'cos I love mine and even my father-in-law who has been a motor mechanic for 40 years is impressed by what a cracking motor it is.
But, when mine will cost over 500 to repair I will think twice about scrapping it. I am now looking at 4 new tyres and that will come to over 300 quid unless I go for real budget tyres (which I'm not inclined to).
How long did it take the Capri to begin appreciating again?
 
I was at the "Footman James" Classic Motor Show at that NEC last weekend. There were cars there from the early-to-mid 90s, seriously. Cars with honest-to-God ECUs and electronic fuel injection. The Rover Coupe (which was one of the reasons Ms. Mako and I were there) is celebrating its 20th birthday and had a nice little stand with a production model and a (race-winning) track version. Oh - and a Rover Coupe-shaped cake.

The forum members/supporters that came were anything from early 20s to late 50s. Most of them were mechanically proficient, and all of them were passionate about this unpopular, expensive-to-insure little car with its 6-year production run and low surviving numbers.

They all hated the fact that they were having to find donor cars to scrap just to keep theirs on the road, but were comforted by the fact that other models in the same range could donate parts. Or even upgrades!

Any of that sound familiar?

Like the 200 Coupe, it probably will be the die-hards that keep the Cougar alive. Both had the same criticisms levelled at them, ("[Standard model] in a dress"), but some might be people who lusted after one and couldn't afford to buy new or even 3rd hand.

But in 10 years' time I expect to go back to that show and see a Cougar stand alongside all the Cortinas, Escorts, Capris, Populars, Granadas and Consuls I saw on Saturday. Hope to see you there too.
 
Appreciating classics generally need a following a generation or two too young to run them newish. The Cougar was always unpopular and didn't really have any special pedigree so my prediction is and always has been that they'll fade into obscurity. Modified ones, regardless how tastefully, will be worthless and the very, very rare clean and original example may attract 4 figures again to an extremely small population of interested buyers. To buy a classic car, you're either an idiot or you really have to have a thing for the car. Nobody accidently comes home with a classic they found whilst car shopping wih an amount of cash in their pocket. Classics are sought after by particular individuals who typically have a mix of time, money, ability and a particular interest. The money part is argueably the least important, but no classic car user scraps a car over a subframe or head gaskets, so they do need enough money to just spend whatever the car needs. I just can't see more than a few people who want Cougars that much for it to ever really be considered a classic. Sure, it'll one day appear in Practical Classics mag, but so do Lada Rivas and Austin Allegros.
 
Sadly I think the days of appreciating classics are gone. Cars are treated as appliances these days with no emotional attachments. They only get attention when they break down or the spanner light appears. The days of classic Fords died with the Escorts and Sierras me thinks. :(
 
XKRs seem to have bottomed out a bit. I'll keep a eye on them but there are very few £4k examples at the moment. Looks like they may just be levelling off :) I think the right cars will still appreciate, but it needs to be a desireable car in the first place.
 
That`s the thing with cars becoming classics, they have to be desirable in the first place, the Cougar never really was.

The most valuable Fords are always the fast ones or cars with competition heritage (RS500 Cosworths now selling for 40 - 50K :eek:) even a decent three door will be upwards of 12k

The Cougar will become more valuable but it will be a long time before it happens and even then it won`t reach the giddy heights of anything with an RS badge on it
 
I do believe in say 10 years from now it will fetch 4 figures again, but it will never be worth the kind of money the RS badged cars fetch. But it will always hold a place in Ford history as the car that started the new design theme that all Fords now carry. So in years to come you will see one in say Beaulieu, but it will take a long time for this to happen.
 
To a degree i agree with Peter. I see the cougar following along the lines of the later Capris to the point of four figures in a few years, when numbers have dwindled and the few remaining prime standard/unmodified examples will be the targets of hardline cougar lovers. I honestly can't see a cougar at Beaulieu.
As for here and now, and the immediate future: If my cougar was only worth 1p, i would enjoy it just as much as i would if i had bought it brand new. Que Manos! (y)
 
Have to agree with Al on this until it is ufeasable to keep then I'll ignore all the banter an get another couple of years out of it!!!!!!!!!!
 
TBH if mine dont sell when I advertize it on Autotrader next month (have to wait till i get paid) which i'm being optimistic here....it wont :oops: (wrong time of year etc) I would concider finding a place for it to sit over the winter/spring till the show scene starts up again, I spent a good amount of time and money getting it up to standard and it just feels like i'm taking a horse out to shoot it at the moment :cry:

My feeling is if we keep stripping them down to replace/restore old parts etc. In the end there aint gonna be any left! As for it being a future classic, I don't think so, it has no cult following (in numbers) has no motorsport or popular culture history (its not been in film or TV) and is unloved now as much as it was when it was released.
 
My wife and I had a discussion when I mentioned this post to her, and unfortunately I ended up agreeing with her - unless you have pots of money to keep up with failing parts you could be on a lost cause. Then non Cougar owners bleat on about it's just a fancy Mondeo - is it b*****ks! The engine parts from a Mondeo may look similar but are not always suitable, the suspension is different and scrappy's down my way don't know the difference between the 2 cars apart from the shell.
I was thinking it could be something to look after, keep going and in 10 years time, tin-worm allowing, be proud of a rare car. My mind's been changed. Over 90 quid for a thermostat housing from Fords is the only option I've got on a car that is book priced at 600 if I'm lucky. I told myself that in May next year when some cash is coming our way I'd blow a grand and sort it all out. I'm going to blow 3 and buy another Focus so that I am not being robbed hand over fist by parts shops.
Sorry if I'm on one but this isn't a rant, I just had my eyes well and truly opened yesterday. I've always defended our type of car and being a two door really does it for me plus they are lookers, but at 12 years old what can I expect. Keep yours going and enjoy them, but be prepared to quit one day.
May next year keep your eyes open for those all allusive green panels, cos this thing meets it's maker then and will be stripped, sooner if it doesn't get fixed.
Sorry again guys, just well and truly fed up.
Paul
 
ginja said:
TBH if mine dont sell when I advertize it on Autotrader next month (have to wait till i get paid) which i'm being optimistic here....it wont :oops: (wrong time of year etc) I would concider finding a place for it to sit over the winter/spring till the show scene starts up again, I spent a good amount of time and money getting it up to standard and it just feels like i'm taking a horse out to shoot it at the moment :cry:

My feeling is if we keep stripping them down to replace/restore old parts etc. In the end there aint gonna be any left! As for it being a future classic, I don't think so, it has no cult following (in numbers) has no motorsport or popular culture history (its not been in film or TV) and is unloved now as much as it was when it was released.
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What?? really... ?? Honestly... ?? :eek: My personal opinion is Matt you need to get rid of the car, not store it and spend more on it...??? if it don't sell for what you want for it then the only option is to lower the price mate, is a sad state of affairs but it's the way these cars are going.. if you do a search through cougars on autotrader and ebay you will see yours is at the higher end of the price range of what's on the market now mate at £1300, I am in no way saying it's not worth what you asking.. but you have to look at others selling with similar mileage and no bumper scrapes.. :LOL: and on average they are going for around £700 ish..
 
sorry Matt but you have to think it through, you need the money to pay bills, even if you wait till next year were are you going to find money to insure as second car you have no second lot of NCB to use, so it would be full wack for it and as you have stated many times you have a number of speeding fines which will put your insurance up, plus tax plus petrol, then there's parts, think as you have said yourself you have to make some headway with your bills and no matter how great the idea seems of second car and your favourite one at that, it's not a feasible option
sorry to sound harsh but you started going down the right route, by starting to get your finances sorted, you need to keep going, get yourself sorted then think about the luxury of second cars etc as said you now got a new family to think about and they come first
 
break it into bits matt. Sell rare bits, replace with less rare bits - get yourself a few hundred notes, lower the asking price, get a similar amount of money to that which you are asking - bish bash bosh jobsagoodun.

On the subject of physical value. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay. In the future I believe the only cougar's 'worth' money will be immaculate standard examples.

But on the flip side, should I ever buy another cougar, I personally would not want a standard one and I would pay extra for one i know has been loved and cared for and maintained.

Not that they are available, that list is a short one - but you look at Manos', Alan's, Peter's, Richb's, Rob's - all stunning examples, with a book price of sod all. But I would pay considerably more than book price for one of those.
 
I was just feeling a little disillusioned with it all last night tbh, if the car is gonna sit there its just till it can be sold (tax runs out end of Feb and insurance March) and I can't afford to maintain it. A drop in price is the best option. Log book for firsta came today so thats another nail in the cars coffin
 
i know its hard matt, but take what you can get. Start an auction on ebay at the very lowest you will take (and that number is lower than the one that just first came to your head).

I totally understand that will be a huge thing for you - but it must happen
 
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