Faults:

The silencer fell off due to rusted exhaust pipe.

Some parts of front suspension had worn out bad.

Lots of worn small parts due to previous owner's negligence.

General Comments:

The car is fun to drive. The handling feels sensitive and accurate, and it'll go where you point if you have the guts to do so.

It's none too comfortable, the seats are too soft and narrow for even the slightly wider shoulders. The suspension is stiff (although for obvious reasons).

The ride is not too good when taken on a long ride, but when taken to some winding road and driven hard it shows what it's made for.

The gearbox is close-ratio, meaning the car won't top 200km/h, but accelerates extremely aggressive at lower gears.

The clutch takes a couple of weeks of getting used to. It's extremely difficult to slip it.

Faults:

Break went at 950 kms

Rotator broke at 100.000 kms on the motorway (UK dealer had failed to heed my warning)

Electronic distributor went at 105.000

New suspension (front) at 115.00 kms

(I am still driving on the original rear suspension!)

Needed two new drive shafts twice within 4 weeks (dealer in UK installed the wrong model)

Alternator replaced several times within months (UK dealer again)

Drive belt replaced three times in two months (UK dealer again)

Refund for unnecessary dealer repairs promised by Peugeot Coventry - never happened though

Other repairs were very much part of the normal wear and tear on the car.

General Comments:

This was (and still is) a lovely, nippy car with lots of oomph for its 1.1 l engine. And it handles very easily and comfortably up to 12O kms/hour

It parks easily due to its size and its excellent visibility all round.

But above all, at 173.000 kms and 13.5 years it still offers me a consumption of 4.5 l/100kms at a reasonably steady 120 kms/hour.

In the light of the incompetence at the various Peugeot dealers and the disappointing contact with Peugeot UK, I would not buy another Peugeot again in the UK.

The car was finally properly repaired in France and since then I schedule my trips so that the car can be serviced and pampered at either of two Peugeot dealers: one in a small town in The Netherlands, the other in a similarly small town in France. Both dealers are family firms. They provide me with a free replacement vehicle too!

I have every intention of keeping this one going for as long as possible. Even if this summer's huge hailstones south of Lyons finally managed to dent it!

Faults:

The brake pipes and hoses perished with age at about 90K miles causing previous MOT failure.

The exhaust manifold required replacing which was difficult as the bolts had rusted on (60K miles).

The radiator developed a leak and required replacing.

The track rod end recently (101K miles) wore causing MOT failure.

It's getting a little smokey now.

General Comments:

This car has to be one of the best ever. It's great fun to drive and despite having owned it for 3 years, it's still great fun to take around the twisty roads of Wales.

It's also surprisingly cheap to run. With a little mechanical knowledge you can do most things yourself (the drive-shafts are very easy -- three bolts hold them in place!).

Sure, parts have gone wrong. The great thing is that every garage will work on it and parts are dead cheap. My garage even knocks 10% off the price of repairs as it's simple design is so easy to work on.

I pity the Max Power crowd who spoil the lovely exhaust note, the torquey engine and the ageless styling. They just don't understand what a perfect car is.