Faults:

- Coolant hose split.

- New clutch & cable needed, the previous one had been fitted badly and was jammed half on, so wore out quickly.

- Handbrake cable broke.

- Hood slashed open by a vandal (not the car's fault), this is currently repaired by copious amounts of black tape until I can afford the money for a new one.

General Comments:

I had a 1984 205GT that I loved before and when it died, I had a year in between with a diesel Escort which I totally despised - it looked like a taxi, had wobbly handling and was slow. The feeling was apparently mutual as it disintegrating into rust during this period just to spite me.

I have had a few problems, mainly down to its age. But the whole it is reliable. The design still looks good, it looks nice with the roof down, and has a smart denim interior.

I always found 205's very good fun to drive. This model only has a single carburetor so there is a little less acceleration than my 1.4GT had. Being a cabriolet, it does lose some of the sharpness in the ride and roadholding because it is more flexible - on bumpy roads you get a fair bit of scuttle shake.

Overall, it's worth living through with the rattles, occasional leaks, draughts, and condensation, just to enjoy summer with the roof down. I love this car!

Faults:

Manifold cracked.

Brake pads changed.

Head gasket went at 1400000, so the engine was replaced.

New clutch needed.

Horn broke.

General Comments:

What a car! I previously had a 1.1 205, and ever since a 1.9 flew away from me at the lights I have always wanted one!

Its handling is unlike any other car I have ever driven, or been in, and it loves to be driven hard.

There is always some extra power left in it and you are not going to be embarrassed by many cars.

It still looks amazing and its style has not faltered over time.

The insurance is very high (I'm 19 and got quoted £5000) but it is worth every single penny. With a little work, and money, it can be amazing.

My car has been very expensive to keep on the road, I have already spent twice as much on it, than I bought it for, but once again, it is worth it.

Faults:

The water pump had gone when we brought the car, but that only cost £30 quid to repair.

Overheating due to the water pump not working.

General Comments:

This car is great, I would definitely buy another one. It has great spec, good performance, is cheap to run and it looks great.

The only thing that I don't like about it is the fact that it has green tartan seats.

Faults:

The starter motor failed at 107,000 miles, however it gave plenty of warning.

The alternator failed at 110,000 miles.

Both driveshafts failed.

Replaced both rear brake compensators at 117,000 miles.

General Comments:

Although the car has been quite unreliable, and has been the only car that has ever let me down at the road side, I would still recommend the car to others.

The parts that have failed, are parts worn through age, not design faults.

This car is also good for long journeys. I drove mine from London to Rome, in 20 hour non-stop trip.

Faults:

At 78500,the left engine mounting broke as I went over a hump and it cost me £250 to repair. This is because when the engine mounting broke, a bolt got broken into the water-pump housing so I had to replace that too.

At 78700, the exhaust downpipe happened to be so rusty, the power from the engine blew a hole in the rusty part. Initially I ignored it in hope that it would not cause many problems, but I was forced to quickly replace it when it was losing power and consuming more fuel. This cost me just £50 because I fitted it myself.

General Comments:

This is the best budget 1.4 you can get your hands on if you cannot afford GTi insurance. It is comfortable, quick and a pleasure to drive. Can leave a lot of modern 1.6s trailing from 0-60mph.