205 buying advice
Discussion
Have a look around on www.205gtidrivers.com
Plenty of info there!
Plenty of info there!
Edited by simes205 on Sunday 25th February 18:10
warren182 said:
Cheers, thats a good site, lots of useful info. Are there an sepecialist dealers that deal in 205's?
Just GTI's in Horsham I believe. Expensive though. I'd go private.
www.justgtis.com/
mikey_p said:
warren182 said:
Cheers, thats a good site, lots of useful info. Are there an sepecialist dealers that deal in 205's?
Just GTI's in Horsham I believe. Expensive though. I'd go private.
www.justgtis.com/
like Sorrento said, don't even go there. Plenty of threads around regarding specialist dealers.
warren182 said:
How useable are they as an everyday car? I'll be covering about 10k a yr.
I don't use mine for work but I do around 7000miles a year. Saying that over the 6.5 years I've had the car I've rebuilt the beam, rebuilt front suspension and carried out a front brake upgrade, changed the steering rack, fitted a rebuilt Mi16 engine and re-con gearbox. Actually the only original mechanical parts are the rear brake lines and they are going soon!
warren182 said:
How useable are they as an everyday car? I'll be covering about 10k a yr.
Depends how much you rely on them. A car this old will need things replacing so don't expect the reliability of a 2yr old motor. Having said that once the normal bits are sorted out (and assuming you don't buy a duffer) they can be very reliable. I have used one to commute for a few years now but I can get to work without it should I need to (I do all repairs myself so it can take a while to fix things sometimes). I don't think I'd recommend it as a tool to get to work if it is your only method of getting there.
If you are good with a spanner then they are very cheap to run, if you pay a garage it can get expensive but will vary by car and by garage.
My experience is that even a cheap old one can be really very reliable after the first few months spent fixing and tuning (usually at very little cost and a reasonable amoun of time twaeking things).
Rob
i do 12k a year in mine and it runs and works as good as any other 205 i know of 
p.s. buy private, just do it wisely
p.p.s dont be afraid to travel to get a good one. i got mine from a gtidrivers member from stafford. Quite a journey
p.s. buy private, just do it wisely
p.p.s dont be afraid to travel to get a good one. i got mine from a gtidrivers member from stafford. Quite a journey
Edited by sorrento205 on Monday 26th February 23:42
trickywoo said:
Also don't be blinkered for a 1.9 vs a 1.6. The pahse 2 1.6 make more or less the same power as the 1.9 and on 95 ron as well.
Let me guess, you have a 1.6? 1.9 engines always make more power! Really don't understand how anyone can say otherwise! They have an extra 300cc FFS.
one big one from experience would be chack the rear suspension - if one side is lower than the other/has excessive camber/is seized you need to allow a couple of hundred quid extra to sort it. just check both sides move freely and silently when you view any cars as rear beam problems are very common apparently.
beyond that I've had a great deal of fun with mine for not a lot of cash, no real drawbacks to note. I suppose the 1.6 is fairly high-geared on the motorway, with road/engine noise being a lot more intrusive than in a more modern car.
good luck looking though
beyond that I've had a great deal of fun with mine for not a lot of cash, no real drawbacks to note. I suppose the 1.6 is fairly high-geared on the motorway, with road/engine noise being a lot more intrusive than in a more modern car.
good luck looking though
pdd144c said:
trickywoo said:
Also don't be blinkered for a 1.9 vs a 1.6. The pahse 2 1.6 make more or less the same power as the 1.9 and on 95 ron as well.
Let me guess, you have a 1.6? 1.9 engines always make more power! Really don't understand how anyone can say otherwise! They have an extra 300cc FFS.
Its well known that 1.9 loose more ponies than the 1.6 over time. 1.9 on 95 ron would make 115-120bhp 1.6 110-115. 1.6 is also more keen to rev.
I did also say more or less the same power
The point I'm trying to make is that some people may buy a poorer condition 1.9 simply because its a 1.9 when there is no point doing so.
maybe so but the engine size isnt the only difefrence between teh two. when i was looking for one i wanted electric windows, i wanted the half leather seats, i wanted the rear disk brakes etc etc. All depends where you want to go with the car too. The 1.9 is a much better base for the Mi16 conversion
Budget on replacing everything.
Quiet frankly, you may as well spend a couple of hundred quid on one with a really straight body and very nice, working interior and then spend another £1-2k on replacing all the mechanicals. That way you'll have a nice "new" reliable 205. Even the last of the line ones are over 15 years old now and unless the car comes with a huge stack of receipts expect to replace: all suspension, all bushes, brakes (calipers, discs, pads, lines), numerous electrical components (plugs, leads, dizzy, afm etc) all the fluids, tyres etc. There are lots of cheap engines to drop in if the one that you have has been badly neglected.
Once you've done that there is very little routine maintenance to do and you should get a few years of trouble free loo-nacy.
Or check out 205gtidrivers - there are usually a few well maintained ones on there for sale.
Quiet frankly, you may as well spend a couple of hundred quid on one with a really straight body and very nice, working interior and then spend another £1-2k on replacing all the mechanicals. That way you'll have a nice "new" reliable 205. Even the last of the line ones are over 15 years old now and unless the car comes with a huge stack of receipts expect to replace: all suspension, all bushes, brakes (calipers, discs, pads, lines), numerous electrical components (plugs, leads, dizzy, afm etc) all the fluids, tyres etc. There are lots of cheap engines to drop in if the one that you have has been badly neglected.
Once you've done that there is very little routine maintenance to do and you should get a few years of trouble free loo-nacy.
Or check out 205gtidrivers - there are usually a few well maintained ones on there for sale.
badders said:
People often say this, but why would a 1.9 lose more power over time than a 1.6? The stroke is the only real difference between the engines. Unless the 1.9 crankshaft puts more wear on the liners/rings, i dont see how its possible...
Probably because 1.9 never came out of the factory with the full 130bhp in the first place.
IMHO 205s are not about BHP in any case. They are fun because you can drive them hard without doing silly speeds. I've owned a few cars and the XT (80bhp) was probably the most fun of the lot.
Gassing Station | French Bred | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff