1987 Peugeot 205 GTi from UK and Ireland - Comments

Brake servo failed.

Needed new rear wheel cylinders.

Reverse lights didn't work.

This was one of the earlier models and although it was quick and fun I will never have another for the road. (Can't rule out the track though)

The worst build quality ever. Made of tin foil, held together by mud and rust.

The interior was probably worse with cloth seats that ripped and wore if you looked at them too hard.

Also the thing leaked water in through the rear clusters every time it rained.

Smokey engine as well.

I of course did write mine off. Although I still insist that the brake servo failed.

Test: Push the brake pedal all the way to the floor. If when held tight there it still continues to creep to the floor the servo is gone. Also walk away if you here a hissing noise.

I coudln't recommend to anyone that you bought one. If you must get a low miles, end of the line, spotless 1.9Gti. Good luck finding one though.

Your "test" to discover if the brake servo may be broken is somewhat flawed, the symptoms you describe (pedal going to the floor) can be caused by many other problems in the brake system (such as air in the system etc).

I agree about the rather poor build quality!!!

Wonder why you did not buy a late, immaculate, 1.9 model?

Buy a later version then try and slate them!

There is nothing wrong with build quality!!!

I have a "c" reg 205 1.6gti. Its probably the most fun LITTLE car I have ever driven. (however I much prefer something bigger). Yes, it leaks through the sunroof and the driver's door. The driver's window is very slow to wind back up and needs a help in hand, these things just need fixing! Every car has something wrong with it at some stage. The car is great fun and needs to be taken for exactly that. They look great for their age, mine has no rust and with a good wash and polish it looks as good as it did when it came out of the showroom. I brought mine with a full magnex exhaust system on it and it sounds fantastic (no I'm not a boy racer, I am a woman and a biker). For the money you can pick these up for, they are well worth it. I think the key word here is MAINTENANCE, get your hands dirty and fix it! They are worth every bit of effort.

These cars are poor quality and outdated. Buy a modern car your wasting time and money on nothing. I've owned two in the hope of the go cart handling. First a D reg then a H reg 1.9. I was only ever disappointed.

I think this chap has got to accept the fact that he bought a high mileage 15 year old car which has obviously been abused.

It's an old car, what do you expect. There are loads of 205 GTi's out there, maybe you should have looked a bit harder. I have a 1987 1.6GTi that I have turned into a rally car and I am about to purchase another one (1986) to tour round Europe and do track days in. I had a 106 Rallye 1.3, similar type of fun car and a bit more modern, but a lot of reliability issues. I also own a 1993 405 estate with 125,000 miles on it, it goes wrong, but it is old, so I can forgive it occasionally. All old cars are a money pit, if you expect them to be fault free you would have to replace everything that moves on them.