Reliving the past – 1995 Peugeot 106 Ski Edition
Discussion
So, the new addition to the fleet is a 1.1i petrol 1995 Peugeot 106 Ski Edition with a total of just 8600 miles on the clock!
The back story is that I’ve had an eBay search going for at least the last 5-6 years for a Peugeot 106 Ski Edition purely for nostalgic reasons, as I had one as my first car back in January 1995. It even came with free insurance as they did back in the day
I did have a look for mine a few years back but it was scrapped sometime in the early 2000s and a quick look on howmanyleft.co.uk shows most have gone the same way. There are now just four 1.1i petrols on the road as of mid 2024.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and this car popped up. I had a look, wistfully thought back to my one, decided it wouldn’t go any further and forgot about it. Come the day of the auction ending, I looked again, and showed my son; he’s done his driving lessons and still waiting for a test date to become available. He was reasonably enthusiastic so a plan was hatched that this could be his first car and one to specifically drive with me and my wife, in order for him to keep his hand in before the (eventual) test date arrives. It would also tick the nostalgic box for me and give us a little project to work on together. Even the insurance was cheap so win-win all round.
My son and I agreed to go halves, so we put in a bid, got confirmed as the winner and then arranged to go and get it. We’re way down south and the car was in Lancashire Although I’ve been spannering cars for years and have all the tools required, this triggered my deep inner scepticism regarding old French cars. Hence, my wife and I travelled up with pretty much all the tools I own, plus the jack, jump leads, oil, water etc to make sure we got home. Collecting it on the May Bank Holiday certainly made me think we were mad to drive it back (given the wait times for breakdown recovery) but with trailers being a long wait time and throwing caution to the wind, off we went.
Photos from the eBay ad:
So, what have we got?
It’s a petrol 1.1i Phase 1 Peugeot 106 Ski Edition from March 1995 in blue metallic with great service and MOT history and just 8600 miles on the clock as of today. Being the Ski Edition it has the Phase 1 Rallye front bumper and boot spoiler. It’s a 5-speed manual and the wheels are 3 bolt steel with hub caps on skinny little 145 tyres. There’s no ABS and no power steering. Both keys were present.
Allegedly, it was owned an older lady who never drove it, other than to the shops. The story goes that she passed away and it then went to be scrapped, with the second owner having seen it just before this happened and saving it. It was then passed to the chap we bought it from who has spent a fair amount of time, effort and money getting it mechanically good and recommissioned with regards to servicing. It’s also COMPLETELY original with not a single modification, it even has the original Clarion radio. It's very clean underneath, there's no rust at all and the boot floor is pretty much pristine. Bad points however, are the paint. Frankly it’s dreadful, with lots of lacquer peel and scratches but more on that later.
After inspecting the car, it was as described and after startup settled in to a nice smooth idle with no smoke from the exhaust. The battery was new, the alternator was charging it and the oil and coolant were all good. In fact, after spending ages crawling all over it, the only niggle was a slight rattle from the element inside the cat. So, we filled it with fuel and set off home with my wife driving and me following behind in the Cayman. It's TINY compared the Porsche.
Great progress was made at around 65-70mph and after stopping for a coffee and to swap drivers, my wife declared she was very happy and preferred driving it to the Porsche
We arrived home after 4 hours, the car was flawless and it only used 1/3 tank of fuel. In contrast my Cayman was completely empty having used the whole tank to get there and back
The best news is that my son is really pleased and together we’ve already started the work required to make it perfect which I’ll update on shortly. I’ve now had a chance to drive it (as has he with me accompanying) and its proper back to basics driving and hugely nostalgic. It’s certainly quite nippy up to about 50mph too. Although I don’t think we’ll have it forever, for now at least, it seems like a good purchase and the fact that me and my son have had identical first cars is quite amazing!
The back story is that I’ve had an eBay search going for at least the last 5-6 years for a Peugeot 106 Ski Edition purely for nostalgic reasons, as I had one as my first car back in January 1995. It even came with free insurance as they did back in the day
I did have a look for mine a few years back but it was scrapped sometime in the early 2000s and a quick look on howmanyleft.co.uk shows most have gone the same way. There are now just four 1.1i petrols on the road as of mid 2024.Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and this car popped up. I had a look, wistfully thought back to my one, decided it wouldn’t go any further and forgot about it. Come the day of the auction ending, I looked again, and showed my son; he’s done his driving lessons and still waiting for a test date to become available. He was reasonably enthusiastic so a plan was hatched that this could be his first car and one to specifically drive with me and my wife, in order for him to keep his hand in before the (eventual) test date arrives. It would also tick the nostalgic box for me and give us a little project to work on together. Even the insurance was cheap so win-win all round.
My son and I agreed to go halves, so we put in a bid, got confirmed as the winner and then arranged to go and get it. We’re way down south and the car was in Lancashire
Although I’ve been spannering cars for years and have all the tools required, this triggered my deep inner scepticism regarding old French cars. Hence, my wife and I travelled up with pretty much all the tools I own, plus the jack, jump leads, oil, water etc to make sure we got home. Collecting it on the May Bank Holiday certainly made me think we were mad to drive it back (given the wait times for breakdown recovery) but with trailers being a long wait time and throwing caution to the wind, off we went. Photos from the eBay ad:
So, what have we got?
It’s a petrol 1.1i Phase 1 Peugeot 106 Ski Edition from March 1995 in blue metallic with great service and MOT history and just 8600 miles on the clock as of today. Being the Ski Edition it has the Phase 1 Rallye front bumper and boot spoiler. It’s a 5-speed manual and the wheels are 3 bolt steel with hub caps on skinny little 145 tyres. There’s no ABS and no power steering. Both keys were present.
Allegedly, it was owned an older lady who never drove it, other than to the shops. The story goes that she passed away and it then went to be scrapped, with the second owner having seen it just before this happened and saving it. It was then passed to the chap we bought it from who has spent a fair amount of time, effort and money getting it mechanically good and recommissioned with regards to servicing. It’s also COMPLETELY original with not a single modification, it even has the original Clarion radio. It's very clean underneath, there's no rust at all and the boot floor is pretty much pristine. Bad points however, are the paint. Frankly it’s dreadful, with lots of lacquer peel and scratches but more on that later.
After inspecting the car, it was as described and after startup settled in to a nice smooth idle with no smoke from the exhaust. The battery was new, the alternator was charging it and the oil and coolant were all good. In fact, after spending ages crawling all over it, the only niggle was a slight rattle from the element inside the cat. So, we filled it with fuel and set off home with my wife driving and me following behind in the Cayman. It's TINY compared the Porsche.
Great progress was made at around 65-70mph and after stopping for a coffee and to swap drivers, my wife declared she was very happy and preferred driving it to the Porsche
We arrived home after 4 hours, the car was flawless and it only used 1/3 tank of fuel. In contrast my Cayman was completely empty having used the whole tank to get there and back The best news is that my son is really pleased and together we’ve already started the work required to make it perfect which I’ll update on shortly. I’ve now had a chance to drive it (as has he with me accompanying) and its proper back to basics driving and hugely nostalgic. It’s certainly quite nippy up to about 50mph too. Although I don’t think we’ll have it forever, for now at least, it seems like a good purchase and the fact that me and my son have had identical first cars is quite amazing!
Thanks gents 
It’s genuinely great to drive, not fast but definitely not slow. It has bags of feel and needs smooth inputs to get the best from it. I’m used to analogue, raw cars as I have a Caterham R300 but it’s definitely of its era and highlighted how refined and dulled modern cars have become. My son commented how much steering feel there was compared to the Hyundai i20 he learned on which made me very proud
Even operating the heater and stalk controls brought back strong memories! So yes, nostalgia in full over drive, it’s all good so far.
Cambs_Stuart said:
That's a great find. I had these on the shortlist for when my son passed his test, but there's hardly any left. So he got a 107.
How is it to drive? As good as you remember?
Thanks Stu, I’ve followed your 107 thread with interest as my son is in a similar position to yours and I think our objectives are aligned with cars for them to learn on!How is it to drive? As good as you remember?
It’s genuinely great to drive, not fast but definitely not slow. It has bags of feel and needs smooth inputs to get the best from it. I’m used to analogue, raw cars as I have a Caterham R300 but it’s definitely of its era and highlighted how refined and dulled modern cars have become. My son commented how much steering feel there was compared to the Hyundai i20 he learned on which made me very proud
Even operating the heater and stalk controls brought back strong memories! So yes, nostalgia in full over drive, it’s all good so far.
Nice find OP. I’m a big 106 fan too. My dad worked for Peugeot in the 90s, so I had Phase 2 1.1 XL as my learner car (bought for us to learn in like you’ve done) and my first proper car that I bought myself was a 1.4 Quiksilver. Also had plenty of rides in company Gtis, but never got round to getting one - would love one now!
Love this! Always had a soft spot for the Phase 1 106 and 306, particular special editions! I wasn't even aware of the 'Ski' model! Slalom yes, but not ski. Everyday is a school day.
What's quite interesting is that specific special edition appears to share the same interior trim as I had on my 1996 306 D-Turbo S model, which I had always assumed was unique to that model. The official name for reference is "Cresta Cloth".
Keep us posted - I will be following this thread with interest.
What's quite interesting is that specific special edition appears to share the same interior trim as I had on my 1996 306 D-Turbo S model, which I had always assumed was unique to that model. The official name for reference is "Cresta Cloth".
Keep us posted - I will be following this thread with interest.
Edited by MattyD803 on Monday 12th May 07:56
Nicely done! I saw this on ebay and was tempted given how many can there be with that sort of mileage around and really liked the part xsi looks, I looked for some 3 stud alloys immediately after! But in the end was put off by how far away it was and perhaps a slightly vague ad from the seller in some places, but glad to see it was as it appeared to be, cool little car and what a great project for you and your son :-)
Great thread, will be keeping an eye on this one for sure..... That is a great find!
I had a 1.0 Key Largo edition (green with yellow beach stickers on it everywhere) for my first car back in 2010, followed by another 1991 series 1 as a second car.... The second one was a 1.1 but didn't feel much different to the 1.0 if I'm honest. They are such a hoot to drive, and definitely feel more nippy than the power suggests. All the best to your son for passing his test, he will learn much more driving one of these compared to a new eco box, not to mention the amount of fun he will have!
I had a 1.0 Key Largo edition (green with yellow beach stickers on it everywhere) for my first car back in 2010, followed by another 1991 series 1 as a second car.... The second one was a 1.1 but didn't feel much different to the 1.0 if I'm honest. They are such a hoot to drive, and definitely feel more nippy than the power suggests. All the best to your son for passing his test, he will learn much more driving one of these compared to a new eco box, not to mention the amount of fun he will have!
Thanks all for the kind words everyone, it's amazing how many memories these little cars can stir up.
Peugeot (and Renault) certainly did some wacky interiors back in the 90s.
MattyD803 said:
What's quite interesting is that specific special edition appears to share the same interior trim as I had on my 1996 306 D-Turbo S model, which I had always assumed was unique to that model. The official name for reference is "Cresta Cloth".
Thanks, that's really useful to know Peugeot (and Renault) certainly did some wacky interiors back in the 90s.Gary29 said:
Nice! Picking up a 106 in a Cayman is perfect.
Always wanted a Rallye or a GTi/Saxo VTS, slopes off to eBay.....
Thanks Gary, I always wanted a red Phase 1 Rallye too, why I didn't pick one up when they were available for a couple of grand is a big regret of mine.Always wanted a Rallye or a GTi/Saxo VTS, slopes off to eBay.....
Little update on the 106. First job was to tackle the interior. This was treated to a full wet and dry vac with a sanitising solution to get the seats clean and interior smelling fresh. It really wasn't too bad, but we agreed it should be done just to get the car as good as we can. All work carried out by my son's friend's father who owns a local cleaning business and they did a brilliant job.
Despite not being that bad, the water bucket wasn't surprisingly black.
Next up was the HVAC panel. The central slider had clicked off from the vents meaning they were permanently closed and the buttons had discoloured in the sun. My son did a great job here, carefully removing the radio, then the central vent panel, and then clipping the mechanism back together and giving it all a good clean.
We then used some Forever Black bumper trim restorer on the fascia buttons. I've used this before on my old 205 GTi and found it to be excellent. We tried it out on a small obscure part first of the HVAC first just to make sure it matched and then used the a small Q-tip to gently wipe it on the buttons and fill the dimples.
All back together, looking and working as it should.
My son has now ordered some new decent quality mats as the originals were missing and the car has been dropped off to have the exterior paint sorted. We're giving the exterior a full make-over so more on that to come when it gets back from the painters.
Despite not being that bad, the water bucket wasn't surprisingly black.
Next up was the HVAC panel. The central slider had clicked off from the vents meaning they were permanently closed and the buttons had discoloured in the sun. My son did a great job here, carefully removing the radio, then the central vent panel, and then clipping the mechanism back together and giving it all a good clean.
We then used some Forever Black bumper trim restorer on the fascia buttons. I've used this before on my old 205 GTi and found it to be excellent. We tried it out on a small obscure part first of the HVAC first just to make sure it matched and then used the a small Q-tip to gently wipe it on the buttons and fill the dimples.
All back together, looking and working as it should.
My son has now ordered some new decent quality mats as the originals were missing and the car has been dropped off to have the exterior paint sorted. We're giving the exterior a full make-over so more on that to come when it gets back from the painters.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff