Faults:

Leaky exhaust which never got fixed.

Some of the heat protection on the underside rattled then fell off.

My head gasket blew at 99,000 miles.

General Comments:

Funking excellent car to drive. Like driving on rails, but still with the thrill of being on four wheels.

When I found out the max. HP can be found at 6,250rpm I thought to myself that I had to try it. I did and it was sweet as!! But, once I popped the fun didn't stop. I found myself doing this through every gear until the head gasket went.

The car was cheap and I sold it at a loss, the fuel consumption was piss poor so you could say that it was a bad decision getting the car. This is wrong, it was the funnest year of my life, expensive, but I owned a gorgeous looking car that revved like a madman!!

Faults:

Hot water matrix hose split twice.

Stitching on driver seat coming slightly undone, but fixable.

Rev counter ceased working recently.

General Comments:

The 205 1.9 GTi is a very rewarding car to drive. I have not driven a car that can match the handling or poise on a twisty back road. The 1.9 is the definitive hot hatch, it has power, poise and everyday usability that is difficult to match even by today's standards.

I was very lucky to pick mine up for absolute bargain money with a mind-bendingly full service history and 1 owner from brand new with the original dealership finance form still to hand showing what he paid, how and when. It has a host of extras including a factory sunroof, power steering and full stainless steel exhaust.

The car is chipped and tuned, but has not had the pants thrashed off it and still drives as new. The additional tuning and chipping enables it to comfortably match a Civic typeR to 100mph and goes on to roughly 135mph top end.

It is very thirsty and needs constant love and attention, but, if you are lucky to find one in similar condition to mine just buy it and maintain it as best you can. It will become a classic and will be worth a lot of money in the not two distant future.

Should you sell, provided you have not abused it, you will get back what you paid for it.

Faults:

Head gasket blew 2 months after I bought the car.

Engine died and had to be replaced.

Battery - similar story to engine.

Alternator (I think that's how you spell it, the bit that charges the battery) - had to be replaced.

Seats loose.

Back bumper collapsed unexpectedly (Possibly someone drove into it, not sure)

Front indicator light broke (bad driving not badly made)

General Comments:

When the car is not in the garage being repaired it runs beautifully.

However, it is expensive in terms of repairs, and seems to continually have something wrong with it.

The dealers themselves are expensive so I have found local garages are best for repairs.

The major problem I have with the car is that it has a manual choke, yet I know of cars 5-10 years older than mine with automatic chokes. A manual choke is a pain if you have left the car for a short period of time, and seems to have no real purpose other than to annoy the owner!

However, It's worth buying if you can put up with its unreliability and can afford the repairs, it genuinely runs really very nicely when it is running well. However, I am going to sell up and buy a 306 I think!

Faults:

Front right fork had to be replaced on 180 000 km.

Front suspension rubber parts make unpleasant noises in dry weather, I have tried to add some grease, helps for some time.

Breaks renewed on 120 000 km.

Fuel preheater caused problems with air in the fuel, I by-passed it and had no problems since.

General Comments:

Good, reliable, gives about 20 km/l, (5l/100km), never failed me or left me on the road.

Performances are satisfactory, we are talking about 1800 cc, 65 HP diesel!!

Very silent, especially in comparison with my previous car.

I often forget on which side is my fuel tap...:)

An overall pleasure to drive.