The 205 Replacement

[The Arch Bishop 0]

After a couple of weeks of looking for Volvo's, Mr2's and a multitude of other random (and fairly wrecked stuff) I came across adverts for Ford Puma's. Seemed a perfect (albeit a bit girly looking) replacement for the pug. Great handling, nice little revvy engine etc and importantly cheap.

 

Went to see one this evening and, apart from being pretty tatty with plenty of Ford spec surface rust, it was a good-un with a very sweet sounding engine and a recent MOT. Deposit changed hands with the very pleasant seller and I'm looking forward to lots of driving fun for not a lot of cash.

 

Once again though, the government doesn't make it very easy to be a law-abiding citizen and when it comes to driving it home it's looking a pain in the rear to do it legally. Currently, as it stands, the car has an MOT, I have sorted insurance for it this evening but to get the tax, I need to have the Green V5 or SORN in this case, in my hands (according to the site). Now, with this in mind, if I ask my affable seller to stick 6 months tax on it once it's on the insurance database and I'll bung him the money, will he be able to do this with me being the insurer? Looking at it in a different way, if I cheat slightly, wait until the car is listed on the insurance database then ask the seller for the ref number on the SORN slip and try and tax it myself with his details on the log, will this work?

 

Call me a tw@t if I'm missing something and making it more difficult than it should be!

 

Advice would be gratefully received and comments about hair-dressers cars will be expected!

[welshpug 1,666]

Yes he will be able to tax it with you as the insurer, though he'll need your cover note/cert if he's doing it in person, doing it online you'll just need to wait 24hrs and collect the disc from the registered address when it comes through.

 

 

beware rot and panel damage on these, you can't get new ones, otherwise much the same as a Fiesta mechanically, so not a bad handler and goes well enough.

Edited December 13, 2010 by welshpug

[The Arch Bishop 0]

The rot doesn't bother me too much, it's a year of cheap motoring larks and there's nothing parting company anywhere. I may break out the Bilt Hamber if I begin to like the car! Or I may just have my fun and break it at the end. Dirty Puma...

 

Anyway, It'd be a case of doing it online so all should be well? I trust him pretty well so that sounds like the ideal way around it.

[muddatrucker 125]

I taxed my last car with the 'new owner' slip, the mot certificate and my insurance document (which I'd forged since Admiral were taking an age to get it sent out - just needed to fool the silly lady in the post office really, wasn't difficult!)

[McDude 33]

muddatrucker is right - you only need the little green slip that says 'new owner' on it and you can tax it providing you also have the MOT and Insurance.

 

Pumas are seriously good fun, I had a Racing Puma back in 2001 and it was sweeeeeeet. I had a Fiesta Zetec S before that which had the same chassis set up as the standard Puma and that was a handling dream too.

 

Enjoy.

[The Arch Bishop 0]

muddatrucker is right - you only need the little green slip that says 'new owner' on it and you can tax it providing you also have the MOT and Insurance.

 

Pumas are seriously good fun, I had a Racing Puma back in 2001 and it was sweeeeeeet. I had a Fiesta Zetec S before that which had the same chassis set up as the standard Puma and that was a handling dream too.

 

Enjoy.

 

I certainly will! Actually, I remember being lent a poverty spec Fiesta of the same period when they were new. I was stunned on how well it cornered and felt. It was suprisingly back-endy for an everyday hatch but very catchable. I really struggled to give it back.

 

Hoping this will feel like a sportier setup with lots more go.

[welshpug 1,666]

Which engine is it? they aren't that quick straight line wise but can be hustled along nicely.

[The Arch Bishop 0]

It's the Ford/Yamaha 1.7 engine. Worth noting that it's Twin-cammed and varilable cam-timed and yet, only manages to top the old single cam Pug 1.6 8 valve by 10 bhp! Possibly a little greener though.

[Anthony 1,003]

Puma's are excellent little cars with cracking handling, quick enough to entertain and cheap as chips to run

 

Slightly surprised that you're going for a rusty one though, given that rust and not being able to address it yourself was a large part of why you sold the 205! Still, so long as it's only cosmetic and you're not too fusssd, then it's not too much of a major issue I guess and just accept that it's effectively throwaway when it gets bad enough to fail an MOT.

 

Just beware that if you tax it online, the tax disk will go to the current owners address, not yours. Not an issue is you know/trust them, but I certainly wouldn't be doing that with a car bought off a random - I've always just taxed recently bought cars at the post office using the green "new keeper" slip from the V5C.

[The Arch Bishop 0]

I see your point Anthony, but it's currently surface rust and not in hard to reach areas. A brush down and spray up will keep it at bay for a year or two. It's not planned to be a long-term love affair like the pug, just a bit of fun.

 

My biggest hang up with my old car was that I wanted it perfect and it was never going to happen with time and skill being limited. This has an MOT and currently structurally sound and I'm not bothered about it being perfect as I don't care as much. The old car has gone to a home that can do a proper job (it's already well on its way the last I heard) and so I'm happy that it's another one saved rather than rotting in my garage. A much more fitting result for a 205 in my mind!

 

The guy is taxing it online and adding it to the total so no risk for me in that respect.

 

In all honesty, the biggest thing I'll miss from 205 ownership is this forum. I feel like a bit of a hanger-on!