1992 Peugeot 205 Style Diesel 1.8 non turbo diesel from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Excellent reliable and economical motoring!
Faults:
Needed new wiper blades all round.
Rocker gasket needed replacing (not a massive job, and the part was only £6).
Clock adjustment doesn't work (not that I'm bothered!)
Paint very patchy on bonnet and roof.
General Comments:
This little car is turning into one of the best cars I've ever owned. I was very lucky, the car came with a full service history, and the previous owner had poured quite a lot of money into it. Strangely, the paint is very patchy on the roof and bonnet, but as a budget car, these things can be looked over. It came with what appears to be an after-market sunroof, made by Britax, which adjusts to three or four positions, and doesn't leak.
It has never failed to start, and will happily return 60+mpg. A full tank (currently £34), and the car will happily trundle through roughly 450 miles before it needs to be filled up again.
It's not massively fast, and will never exceed 90mph, but with the fuel economy, I don't really care! The brakes are very sharp, and even on skinny steel wheels, it's never worried me with the stopping ability. The steering is a bit on the weighty side, but it's not a massive struggle.
Being the "Style" model, the trim level is pretty basic (not even a cigarette lighter), but unless you're used to a very high spec car, it won't bother you too much. I don't mind anyway.
It did me proud and flew through the last MOT. I'm going to keep it for a long as physically possible, it hasn't started to rust anywhere, which I'm taking as a good sign. I would like at least 200k out of this car, and I'm rather positive that it would make it!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 24th September, 2006
2nd Dec 2008, 13:51
Check the front calipers for binding, this is quite common on these cars. If they are sticking then your front brakes will wear prematurely, normally on one pad. Either the piston itself or the two sliders can seize. Luckily a replacement caliper is only around 30 - 40 quid-ish (non genuine).
Everything about these cars are quick, easy and cheap to repair! I have a turbo diesel 205 and it is the best car I've ever owned. I've become more attached to it than any other car I've had and I've owned some quite nice cars. This old beast really has character and never lets me down! 200k out of these old Perkins engines are totally achievable, regular oil changes and I'm sure you'll hit that magic mark.
Enjoy! I know I am!
16th Feb 2009, 17:15
You mean peugeot engines.
4th Nov 2006, 11:04
An update at 111,126 miles.
Have finally got around to replacing the rocker gasket which was an incredibly easy job, even for someone with basic mechanical knowledge, such as myself. I don't own the Haynes manual yet for the car either.
Have also changed the front pads as found that the outer pad on the driver's side had completely worn out, but the others were fine. Am going to be paying attention to that. On the plus side, they were only £8. I bought some new discs (£21...wow!) at the same time, but the current ones haven't warped or gone wrong in any way so they're spare for now.
I've been reading reports of these cars eating front brakes, so I'm pretty sure that getting 11k off a set of front pads in pretty normal.
Otherwise, all still fine. :)