Faults:

Clutch cable snapped.

Clutch release arm broke - replaced along with a new clutch.

Boot leaking - rear light clusters had screws missing!

Exhaust blew - manifold and middle section replaced.

Car hitting speed bumps! Previous owner had lowered the already low original suspension.

Shock absorbers worn - nearly new suspension fitted from a 405 GTX.

Mis-fire cause by faulty rotor arm.

General Comments:

Having been very pleased with the performance of my 405 1.6 (carburettor).

I decided that the Mi16 must go like a rocket and had to be my next car.

One problem - lack of low rev torque.

The 405's 8-valve 1.9i has 127 lbs ft of torque and despite the extra 8 valves the Mi16 can only muster 133 lbs ft and the Mi16 is a heavier car.

Fortunately the Mi has has 35bhp more and it shows once the revs exceed about 4000 a minute.

The fastest Mi's are the ones without air-conditioning and pre-catalyst.

Despite the faults I've had I still love the car and its handling and grip are superb.

A 205 1.9 GTi may beat me from the lights, but on the right road the Mi16 is king!

Faults:

Needed new front and back brakes, and rear brake cylinders a week after I'd bought it.

Blows black soot out of the exhaust when you rev it up.

Had to get an oil change almost immediately as it was very black. Possibly due to lack of care from the previous owner.

General Comments:

Apart from the above problems, I'm very happy with the car. Best car I've ever owned. Looks great.

The seating is comfortable.

Hot air on front side windows de-fogs the windows.

Faults:

Rear axle damaged at 175000km. Repair - 400USD.

Front mounting bushes often have to be changed, especially on Bulgarian roads.

Fuel injection problems. At 180000 - problems with cold start - over-rich mixture. At 195000 - poor mixture after the engine heats up to above 80C.

Noisy gear shift.

Engine mounting bush was worn out.

Cam-shaft toothed belt bearing worn out.

General Comments:

Excellent road handling and steering feel. The engine (1600cc, 89hp) is not powerful enough for this car, but the acceleration is reasonable.

Huge space inside, comfortable interior. This is probably the most roomy car from this class (compare with an Opel Vectra for example).

I drive on LPG (liquefied petroleum gasoline) - power decreases further, but this protects the engine (the LPG does not dissolve the oil film in the cylinder).

Engine is perfect, no major problems until now. No oil consumption whatsoever.

Poor gear-shift and clutch feel.

Lack of powersteering is a problem on this big car.

Faults:

Oil breather pipes clogged up with creamy gunk (common fault).

Radiator leak.

Intermittent running probs, sometimes lovely, sometimes a dog!

N/S CV boot, N/S/F wheel bearing.

Sunroof gave up the ghost.

General Comments:

Despite these niggly problems I love this car! The gunking up of the breather pipes and oil filler had me worried briefly (cylinder head gasket?). Finally found that removing the two air breather pipes going to oil filler unit helped an awful lot & made no difference to the engine. The gunking problem is very common in these cars and can seriously affect engine performance, so make sure all the oil pipes are removed & cleaned with petrol when you do an oil change. Also check the filler unit, it has a gauze filter inside & may well need changing (only £10 from a dealer). Contrary to what some garages may tell you, it is an easy job! Get the Haynes manual & do the work yourself.

Found that changing plugs to Bosch super 4's and changing leads made a noticeable improvement to engine.

Sound system is fantastic for this level of car, boy is it loud!!

Handling is excellent, very predictable understeer at the limit.

Suspension... unbelievable, speed humps... pah!!

Seats are sporty but very comfortable, even on long journeys.

Overall, I would recommend these cars highly, look for one that has been maintained properly and you have everything you could need from a car. Best of all, they are ridiculously cheap to buy & insure!