2001 Peugeot 106 Independence review from UK and Ireland

Exhaust silencer blew open 4 weeks from new.

Engine cut out at traffic lights, or idled badly.

Had terrible problems starting when warm.

Sunroof leaked.

Windscreen leaked.

Wipers literally fell apart.

Back seat broke the second time I folded it down.

Gearbox leaked oil at new, then was really noisy after the repair.

This car was a complete disaster.

It was one of the first 2001/2002 model, I got it in June '01. It was the first Independence the dealer got through with the sunroof.

Had the car a week and the back box blew out - took the dealer 6 weeks to get a replacement. The replacement went bad a week later, though not as bad as the first. Dealer fobbed me off with some excuse about the joints needing to soot up.

Gearbox was spewing oil - only noticed after the first few days. Dealer fixed that, but I don't think they refilled the oil as the gearbox was very noisy afterwards.

Engine would constantly cut out at traffic lights. Also idle was inconsistent. Several trips to dealer involving new throttle cable, throttle sensor, throttle body, more tweaking of throttle cable. Changed dealer when car was 15 months old, they replaced the exhaust sensor which finally cured that problem. 15 months and 2 dealers! Excellent!

Sunroof started leaking after a year. Several seals and lots of trips to dealer finally fixed the problem.

Leaky sunroof replaced by a massive leak in the windscreen. I'm talking 2" of water on the drivers-side floor. Dealer 1 said there was nothing wrong. Dealer 2 refitted windscreen to no effect. They thought the leak was coming from the seam in the roof under the black plastic strip. Would take major work to fix, and quoted 1 week.

Wipers disintegrated on the motorway - passenger side wiper arm broke, and the collided with driver's side wiper, resulting in total wiper carnage.

Sold the car after 18 months, totally disillusioned. More than 25 trips to the dealer in 18 months is not funny.

However, the car was nippy, fun to drive, and got 55mpg even when thrashed.