RE: Peugeot 205 GTI: PH Used Buying Guide
Discussion
MrScrot said:
alfapork said:
Dale487 said:
You didn't mention that cracking of the body shell along the rainwater gutter seam can be a problem to look for.
IIRC it doesn't actually crack the metal on the rainwater gutter. There is seam sealer there and that cracks, not the metal. Cosmetic but water can get in if not attended to.Worst case scenario - some owners have started to find that the ingress of moisture through the crack has caused some very bad rusting to develop from inside the roof panel. It's a hidden area, difficult to spot even with the interior roof trim removed as (IIRC) the roof is double skinned around there or something. 205s have always had a reputation for being one of the most resilient cars to rust of that era (certainly the 88-89 on ones anyway). But now some of these less common, less known rust traps are starting to come to light. Something to be aware of anyway.
drjdog said:
No mention of the electrics being an absolute pile of garbage. My 1.6 would moderately often just conk out while driving, refuse to start, the lights might not work, etc..
The blocks were also prone to leaking the water into the oil.
I think mine was the worst car I've ever owned, which surprised me at the time because it replaced a 205 diesel, which I still think may have been the best car I've ever owned.
I call BS on that "water leaking in to oil" claim. They weren't prone to it. It's not a known common fault. It was common for people to not refit the headbolt spacer on the rear at the timing belt end during maintenance, causing the headbolt to be wound too far down and crack the block at a waterway though.The blocks were also prone to leaking the water into the oil.
I think mine was the worst car I've ever owned, which surprised me at the time because it replaced a 205 diesel, which I still think may have been the best car I've ever owned.
Electrics weren't neccessarily any worse than many other 80s/90s cars. They were so simple that wiring issues could be easily traced and fixed. Commonly things like a bit of corrosion at the connectors as they weren't well sealed (if at all!) against the elements. Or corroded earth blocks. Or corrosion at one of the engine loom multi plugs above the gearbox (usual fix, chop it out, chop back a few inches to fresh wire, either splice together or fit a new super-seal connector).
First car for me too - 1.9, graphite grey, F176 MTW. Bought in 1996. Still think the 1.9 alloys are one of the best designs ever. Really suit the car.
Pains me to say I part exchanged for £1k in 2000.
Friend of mine had one with the Turbo technics conversion with one of the blank switches being the 'boost' button that took it to 190hp
Pains me to say I part exchanged for £1k in 2000.
Friend of mine had one with the Turbo technics conversion with one of the blank switches being the 'boost' button that took it to 190hp
Heartworm said:
My dad had a 205, not a GTi but ever since it's a car I've wanted to own, but never actually done it. First car I really remember and was absolutely gutted when he slid it on mud into a colleagues new merc and wrote it off.
First car was my grandma’s inherited 205 GR 1.4. Even that felt pretty nippy as it was so light/ flimsy. Memories include:
Non ABS aqua planing
114mph on the way to Norfolk (is that even possible?!)
Going 45 degrees into a ditch on country lane then bouncing out again
Garage refusing to service as there was ‘too much mud underneath’
PoopahScoopah said:
MrScrot said:
alfapork said:
Dale487 said:
You didn't mention that cracking of the body shell along the rainwater gutter seam can be a problem to look for.
IIRC it doesn't actually crack the metal on the rainwater gutter. There is seam sealer there and that cracks, not the metal. Cosmetic but water can get in if not attended to.Worst case scenario - some owners have started to find that the ingress of moisture through the crack has caused some very bad rusting to develop from inside the roof panel. It's a hidden area, difficult to spot even with the interior roof trim removed as (IIRC) the roof is double skinned around there or something. 205s have always had a reputation for being one of the most resilient cars to rust of that era (certainly the 88-89 on ones anyway). But now some of these less common, less known rust traps are starting to come to light. Something to be aware of anyway.
We owned one from 2003 to 2014. To all the naysayers worried about crash protection or lack of it, both my children grew up being carted around in one and didn't die!! Also, loads of space. Our fold up buggy would go in sideways, along with a weeks shopping and tiny enough to fit in any car park space.
I can only say what a great car. Real world far quicker than 0-60 times suggest thanks to that instant torque and tiny dimensions. It was always fun driving through 30MPH zones in 5th, then flooring it at the derestricted sign and instantly pulling away from modern cars, especially TDIs caught in the wrong gear and hobbled by turbo lag.
Best steering of any car I've owned and the best throttle response. Of all the cars we've owned, its the one we miss the most, although my MK2 MX5 is a close second.
I can only say what a great car. Real world far quicker than 0-60 times suggest thanks to that instant torque and tiny dimensions. It was always fun driving through 30MPH zones in 5th, then flooring it at the derestricted sign and instantly pulling away from modern cars, especially TDIs caught in the wrong gear and hobbled by turbo lag.
Best steering of any car I've owned and the best throttle response. Of all the cars we've owned, its the one we miss the most, although my MK2 MX5 is a close second.
Edited by greenarrow on Friday 27th July 10:51
I have owned 2x 1.9 GTis, 2x CTis, a 1.6 and a 1.9 auto and a 309 GTi 5 door, best handling was the 309, most fun was the '94 model 1.9 GTi "Classic" a limited edition with full black leather upholstery, a/c, factory sunroof, p/s and Mayerling Green metallic paint, a magnificent and much admired car. I now have a 306 2.0 Cabrio and a 206 GTi 180. I am 76 years old and live in New Zealand & have owned 21 Pugs so far in my lifetime.
greenarrow said:
We owned one from 2003 to 2014. To all the naysayers worried about crash protection or lack of it, both my children grew up being carted around in one and didn't die!! Also, loads of space. Our fold up buggy would go in sideways, along with a weeks shopping and tiny enough to fit in any car park space.
Best steering of any car I've owned and the best throttle response. Of all the cars we've owned, its the one we miss the most, although my MK2 MX5 is a close second.
Re the crash protection ...lol. I think it depends on how many crashes you had in your 205! Carted mine around in a Saxo VTS ....and then even worse scoring in NCAP ...an E36 BMW ...but luckily we all survived.....no crashes though .Best steering of any car I've owned and the best throttle response. Of all the cars we've owned, its the one we miss the most, although my MK2 MX5 is a close second.
Throttle response was good but that on the 1.9 engine shaded, in my opinion, by my Astra GTE 16v. Jewel of an engine
s m said:
greenarrow said:
We owned one from 2003 to 2014. To all the naysayers worried about crash protection or lack of it, both my children grew up being carted around in one and didn't die!! Also, loads of space. Our fold up buggy would go in sideways, along with a weeks shopping and tiny enough to fit in any car park space.
Best steering of any car I've owned and the best throttle response. Of all the cars we've owned, its the one we miss the most, although my MK2 MX5 is a close second.
Re the crash protection ...lol. I think it depends on how many crashes you had in your 205! Carted mine around in a Saxo VTS ....and then even worse scoring in NCAP ...an E36 BMW ...but luckily we all survived.....no crashes though .Best steering of any car I've owned and the best throttle response. Of all the cars we've owned, its the one we miss the most, although my MK2 MX5 is a close second.
Throttle response was good but that on the 1.9 engine shaded, in my opinion, by my Astra GTE 16v. Jewel of an engine
I "think" mine was F174 WEF. White 1.6.
Bought it around 1999 on about 100k miles. I was in my 2nd year at uni. Had quite a time with it.
Drove it down to the south of france for a fortnight camping with all our gear and three of us in it. It ran like a bag of s
t, but we made it back. I took it to a rolling road to have it tuned, but the guy turned me away straight away with a list of what was wrong with it. It then had new distributer, coil, plugs, leads, etc and finally it ran kind of alright-ish.
I picked up some big tubs of fence paint for my mum, but on the drive home i got a bit enthusiastic and when i pulled in the drive and got out i noticed orange/brown paint running out the boot and down the back bumper. It was like a bomb had gone off. It was everywhere! In the end i fitted a donor interior out of a 1.9 that was being stripped for racing!
It used to go through drive shafts regularly. It was only when i looked at the front end closely i realised it'd had a shunt. I took it to a local garage that do stock car racing and they pulled it straight on a jig.
I had numerous things go wrong. Starter motor packed up. Wheel bearings. The clutch cable snapped while i was going through a town centre. That was fun. Driving in town without a clutch is tricky.
I sold it to a housemate for £600. It had 145k miles on it at that point. He drove it for another year or two before it started making some very alarming suspension noises. I'm not sure what he did with it, but it's now not appearing on MOT history, so i'm guessing it was scrapped.
I did buy another 1.6 about 10 yrs ago on a whim out of some kind of delusional nostalgia. It was rubbish. I really wish i hadn't done that!
I've not lost the peugeot bug entirely though. I have a 306 GTI-6 sitting in my garage, though i've hardly used it. I'm hoping they become more valuable so i can justify spending some time and money getting it really tidy. They're 4x rarer than 205 GTIs dontchaknow
Bought it around 1999 on about 100k miles. I was in my 2nd year at uni. Had quite a time with it.
Drove it down to the south of france for a fortnight camping with all our gear and three of us in it. It ran like a bag of s
t, but we made it back. I took it to a rolling road to have it tuned, but the guy turned me away straight away with a list of what was wrong with it. It then had new distributer, coil, plugs, leads, etc and finally it ran kind of alright-ish.I picked up some big tubs of fence paint for my mum, but on the drive home i got a bit enthusiastic and when i pulled in the drive and got out i noticed orange/brown paint running out the boot and down the back bumper. It was like a bomb had gone off. It was everywhere! In the end i fitted a donor interior out of a 1.9 that was being stripped for racing!
It used to go through drive shafts regularly. It was only when i looked at the front end closely i realised it'd had a shunt. I took it to a local garage that do stock car racing and they pulled it straight on a jig.
I had numerous things go wrong. Starter motor packed up. Wheel bearings. The clutch cable snapped while i was going through a town centre. That was fun. Driving in town without a clutch is tricky.
I sold it to a housemate for £600. It had 145k miles on it at that point. He drove it for another year or two before it started making some very alarming suspension noises. I'm not sure what he did with it, but it's now not appearing on MOT history, so i'm guessing it was scrapped.
I did buy another 1.6 about 10 yrs ago on a whim out of some kind of delusional nostalgia. It was rubbish. I really wish i hadn't done that!
I've not lost the peugeot bug entirely though. I have a 306 GTI-6 sitting in my garage, though i've hardly used it. I'm hoping they become more valuable so i can justify spending some time and money getting it really tidy. They're 4x rarer than 205 GTIs dontchaknow
Edited by PTF on Friday 27th July 12:21
3x 205's and 2 x 309 gtis here.
Don't think I paid more than £800 for any of them , back in the very early 00's when they were 10 a penny.
Ended up putting the 1.9 from one of the 309's into one of the 1.6s when the 309 failed an mot and had a 1.6 with a bottom end gone - no fancy modules to recode then!
Oh, and to add something vaguely relevant: check the manifold to downpipe connection - always seem to rmember these blowing!
Don't think I paid more than £800 for any of them , back in the very early 00's when they were 10 a penny.
Ended up putting the 1.9 from one of the 309's into one of the 1.6s when the 309 failed an mot and had a 1.6 with a bottom end gone - no fancy modules to recode then!
Oh, and to add something vaguely relevant: check the manifold to downpipe connection - always seem to rmember these blowing!
Ah the 205, the only car I have written off during 20 years of performance motoring.
Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
996GT3_Matt said:
Ah the 205, the only car I have written off during 20 years of performance motoring.
Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
Which did you think was better the 205 or the 106? Alas I was just 18.. and bought a shonky 1.6 in graphite grey. At this stage of my motoring history (my paper licence was crease free and shiny) I blew the rest of my Barclays Bank loan on a K&N induction kit, a Kenwood mask head unit and of course a big bore exhaust. I may have added a Dimma petrol cap too (cringeworthy now, I know).
Having never visited a track or benefited from any driver training, the electric chassis was all too much for my dim-witted wrists and clumsy feet... 6 weeks later the car was upside down in a ditch having left a B road at approximately 70mph tailgate first. A baptism of fire in lift of oversteer!
Despite the tinfoil build quality, my friend and I both walk/staggered away, collecting two trees and rolling several times at ~70mph. We were extremely lucky of course but the 205 is perhaps not as flimsy as the internet will have you believe.
My next purchase (a year later) was a 106GTI. What a car that was too.
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