Peugeot 205 bangernomics
Discussion
After selling my XJ8 and Land Rover, I needed to buy my wife a cheap set of wheels for commuting. She doesn't have any NCB, so I wanted to get something(s) for up to 12 months, after which we can afford insurance for something much more nice.
However, I wasn't prepared to settle for anything too boring (i.e. a Micra). It needed a bit of character and something reasonably old and basic that I could repair/hit with a hammer/not worry about.
I won this bad boy off eBay, for the princely sum of £400.
The power steering wailed like a banshee when on full lock, it rattled, smoked and leaked a little through the big glass sunroof, but came with six months MOT and a couple of months' tax (just before the change in taxation process), along with lots of dents and dirt.
I gave it a jet wash, topped up the oil (it came with 2.5 litres in a bottle in the boot) and put a little air in the tyres, and that was it for 6k trouble-free miles. Unfortunately by the time the MOT was due in January, I was pretty clear there was no hope of it passing without substantial work. Rotten inner wing, noisy steering, juddering brakes and various odds and ends meant I'd have been to embarrassed to present it at my local garage, let alone foot the bills and associated work.
Man maths kicked in though: I got £100 for it in scrap, it had come with £25 of diesel and a Pioneer CD player worth £25 according to eBay, so I reckon this one only stood me in at £250.
On top of that, I had bought another slightly less bargainous 205 diesel to replace this one. The new 205 cost £650, but with a years' MOT and full service history. Unfortunately it is the even slower non-turbo, but is much, much cleaner. However, I can't bring myself to treat it quite as badly as its predecessor. So next week I'm having the tracking done and a service.
I've got a handy stock of spares from the old 205, including a couple of decent tyres. That's just as well, because my wife had an unfortunate encounter with a pothole yesterday.
I reckon these old non-GTi 205s are proper bargains right now. They're not going to become sought-after, but they are from the old-school Peugeot days, favoured by Top Gear. Both cars have returned 55mpg without trying.
More to follow...
However, I wasn't prepared to settle for anything too boring (i.e. a Micra). It needed a bit of character and something reasonably old and basic that I could repair/hit with a hammer/not worry about.
I won this bad boy off eBay, for the princely sum of £400.
The power steering wailed like a banshee when on full lock, it rattled, smoked and leaked a little through the big glass sunroof, but came with six months MOT and a couple of months' tax (just before the change in taxation process), along with lots of dents and dirt.
I gave it a jet wash, topped up the oil (it came with 2.5 litres in a bottle in the boot) and put a little air in the tyres, and that was it for 6k trouble-free miles. Unfortunately by the time the MOT was due in January, I was pretty clear there was no hope of it passing without substantial work. Rotten inner wing, noisy steering, juddering brakes and various odds and ends meant I'd have been to embarrassed to present it at my local garage, let alone foot the bills and associated work.
Man maths kicked in though: I got £100 for it in scrap, it had come with £25 of diesel and a Pioneer CD player worth £25 according to eBay, so I reckon this one only stood me in at £250.
On top of that, I had bought another slightly less bargainous 205 diesel to replace this one. The new 205 cost £650, but with a years' MOT and full service history. Unfortunately it is the even slower non-turbo, but is much, much cleaner. However, I can't bring myself to treat it quite as badly as its predecessor. So next week I'm having the tracking done and a service.
I've got a handy stock of spares from the old 205, including a couple of decent tyres. That's just as well, because my wife had an unfortunate encounter with a pothole yesterday.
I reckon these old non-GTi 205s are proper bargains right now. They're not going to become sought-after, but they are from the old-school Peugeot days, favoured by Top Gear. Both cars have returned 55mpg without trying.
More to follow...
Not a bad choice! I bought a 205 to teach our kids to drive in a few years ago. It survived both of them trying clutchless gear changes and my own penny pinching. The glass sunroof on ours was a complete pain as the condensation was horrible. Generally reliable despite previous bodges (Not mine!)
Those non turbo 205 diesel models were a complete turd to drive - even back in the 90's they were shockingly bad - how could you make your wife drive on in 2015?
They do cope with the miles quite well The last one I had (back in 1996) was on something like 144k when I sold it and when I next saw it about 12 months later in a petrol station it had magically wound its self back to 70,000 miles, when I explained to the new owner that the real mileage was more than double that a year before he didn't believe me.
They do cope with the miles quite well The last one I had (back in 1996) was on something like 144k when I sold it and when I next saw it about 12 months later in a petrol station it had magically wound its self back to 70,000 miles, when I explained to the new owner that the real mileage was more than double that a year before he didn't believe me.
Now you've all made me feel bad for making her drive these things 
But honestly, she hated driving the nice cars I've owned - XJ8, 328 etc. because of the size and thirst. Plus I am usually very pedantic about keeping cars top notch, so its been a relief for both of us to have something that costs pennies and doesn't matter if some to@£$r dents in the car park.
But honestly, she hated driving the nice cars I've owned - XJ8, 328 etc. because of the size and thirst. Plus I am usually very pedantic about keeping cars top notch, so its been a relief for both of us to have something that costs pennies and doesn't matter if some to@£$r dents in the car park.Complete turd is a bit harsh. If you want to get from a to b on the cheap they'll do the job. Quite a few years ago I picked up a free 205 n/a diesel for my wife. Cost a tenner to get it through an mot and although it subsequently needed a few odd jobs it took my wife up and down the M3 everyday for about a year.
We fitted an interior from a plush model and with that it was fairly comfortable. Yes, it took a while to get up to speed but it would happily sit at 70 all day whilst sipping tiny amounts of fuel. We took it well over 300k miles and it was still going strong. Great little car!
We fitted an interior from a plush model and with that it was fairly comfortable. Yes, it took a while to get up to speed but it would happily sit at 70 all day whilst sipping tiny amounts of fuel. We took it well over 300k miles and it was still going strong. Great little car!
Great work on the bangernomics. 55mpg is mighty considering the 205 doesn't look particularly aerodynamic! Having had numerous Peugeots I realise this is mostly due to lightness, but it makes you wonder why modern diesel cars are no more fuel efficient after 25 years of R&D. You'd think the aero improvements and engine technology would offset the weight increase...
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