1988 Peugeot 309 GE review from UK and Ireland

Rear brake backplates had rusted badly and needed replacing.

Rear brake cylinder was leaking.

Brake pipes needed replacing.

Sub frame bush had worn out.

Car is about 15 different colours of blue (due to badly done bodywork repair job after a rear-end shunt!)

It's very hard to get hold of spray paint in the particular blue mine is (calypso blue)

Rear drums need replacing (wheel bearings)

Seats are starting to fray quite badly.

Fuel consumption seems quite erratic (sometimes it can touch nearly 60 miles to the gallon, at other times it will struggle to reach 30)

Tappets need to be forever adjusted.

Burns far too much oil when starting up.

Choke knob has parted company with the dashboard.

Interior light is extremely temperamental.

Dashboard illumination blub has blown.

Clutch is rather heavy, and extremely snatchy.

I purchased this car from an Internet auction site, and as fate would have it the vendor was a friend from college!

Absolute bargain, low mileage, looked good (I was prepared for virtual scrap!)

I did expect it to ride a little better, as the car reviews talk it up to be "smooth as silk" etc., but this seems not to be the case with mine...

Rattles a lot, bangs, creaks, and groans from just about every possible place, although it is a lot better since the sub frame bush was replaced!

When the car was sold to me, the seller informed me that the only work required was that the rear windscreen wiper would need to be fixed. At the MOT station, they took a different view. It needed the whole rear brake assembly renewing, and they said this could cost me 200GBP+. Fortunately, many trips to the scrap yard and a very very good friend saved me 180GBP, eventually only costing me 20GBP!

The tappets seem to forever need adjusting, but the noise never seems to get too intrusive (except when idling!), what can you expect from an engine that first saw the light of day in the late 60's?

Everyone comments on how powerful the car is for its size, and my brother was almost adamant that it was a 1.6 until I showed him the registration document!

Absolutely no rust anywhere to be found, which is a real surprise for a 13 year old car, but it was kept in an aircraft hangar for 3 years!

A great car, it has taken me all over the place, and with minimal cost. The parts are dirt cheap, and the fuel consumption even cheaper (when I don't feel like developing a heavy right foot!), it is certainly a respectable car to own, especially when given the bargain basement prices they can be had for. Not only that but they are surprisingly cheap to insure!

If you are looking to buy one, my advice would be to go for the GL model due to the fact that they have full length door panels, and a clock on the dashboard!

However, I won't be getting rid of mine in a hurry!