2002 Peugeot 307 Rapier from UK and Ireland - Comments

Day One! Turbo problem. Loose exhaust. Loads of rattles and trim niggles. Parking Aid was only operating as a random beep generator.

Day Three. Turbo problem (again). Noticed paint problem on drivers door. Dealer called it 'over spray'. I called it a mess. After a couple of polishes it was acceptable.

From then on the car was in the garage every month or so for an abundance of minor and the odd serious fault.

The minor niggles were mostly annoying rattles and squeaks, but also included the fit of the carpets which was terrible.

The most serious failure was at 18000 miles (just over a year old) when during the intermediate service a fault was found on the high pressure fuel pump. The pump was disintegrating and basically passing metal fragments into the fuel system. The entire fuel system had to be replaced on Peugeot's authority. This included the fuel tank, fuel pumps, fuel lines, injectors, filters and I'm sure lots of other bits. The car was off the road for 4 days while the work was taking place. There has been no recurrence of the problem thankfully.

But the worst problem with the car which I believe is a fundamental problem of the model as a whole is the suspension and ride quality. Slowly in the time I've had the 307 the ride quality has been steadily getting worse. As it stands now even if I go over a minor bump the car sounds as though it has just broken something. It was first noticed at about 15000 miles and reported to the dealer. Everything on the suspension was checked and passed with no problem. Now at just over 30000 miles I've been told that the front wishbone bushes are worn and need replacing and the rear bushes will need replacing soon.

Also I've been through two complete sets of tyres which I think is pretty poor and probably suspension based.

The car looks good especially with the added spoiler body colour mudflaps and the cabin is spacious and modern, but in this case beauty is most definitely not skin deep. This is the only car I've owned that I genuinely hate with a vengeance. I have only ever owned Peugeot before, but this one is the last.

Peugeot have really done a terrible job on the 307 and they will need to go some to recover the situation.

Sadly this seems to be par for the course with the 307. I particularly agree with the comments about the deterioration of ride quality: Ours seemed quite good when new, but now, unless the road is billiard-table smooth, travelling in the rear seats is not unlike my memory of travelling in the back of a mini - passengers are liable to shout "ooooph" when the car hits a pot-hole.

The car has been at the dealers about fourteen times in two years. Every problem requires several visits because they are always unable to fix first time.

One can't help feeling that the 307's problems are "designed in" - its inevitable position each year at the bottom of the various customer satisfaction and reliability indexes indicates that it's a car that isn't going to come right with age, and Peugeot must be concerned that it is alienating buyers in this sector.

The shame is that the 307 has many excellent qualities but they are overshadowed by its weaknesses.

I purchased a 307 rapier in October 2003, at this point the care was 2 years old. My first problem with the car started when it cut out and wouldn't start with a message saying CATALYTIC CONVERTER FAILED this resulted in me having to be towed to nearest garage and a charge applied for this. When mechanic looked into the fault it was found to be a engine coil fault. Just a month later the carpet started coming away from the door on the drivers side and also back of the seats and the seals of the rear doors split and started to come away. This was put down to wear and tear when reported!!! Then the exhaust started rattling - it rattled so much it snapped a bracket off and broke which resulted in a new exhaust. Again put down to wear and tear!!! The windows started then going up and down by themselves!!! and the radio lost transmission and to top everything off I cannot even get into the car on the passenger side because the lock as gone from inside - This was reported under warranty as well as the windows and carpets and all I have been told is "Well they are temperamental" but as it is now out of warranty as they just kept fobbing me off they are refusing to deal with it unless I pay them to - due to wear and tear!!! The car and the after sales service is absolutely disgraceful and to top it all of I traded in a Volkswagen which are well built for this heap of tatt!!!

I also bought a 307 rapier in 2002. Has a lot of the problems listed in previous entries, but most were fixed by dealer. At 60k, the flywheel shattered and took out the gearbox. Even thought the car was well out of warranty, Peugeot covered the cost of the parts and labor with no fuss. Nothing less was expected.

Had a problem with the clicking of the front roll bar shortly after getting the car. Dealer said that he had seen this a few times. He added washers and tightened it. Hasn't come back since 02.

Ride is stiff, but I like that in a car. Gives good road holding. My car had the 17" alloys as standard and have had no issues with tire ware. I suspect the 17" tires add to the hard ride. Irish roads are fairly rough, especially outside Dublin, but the ride is acceptable.

If your car shakes when at the lights, you need a tune. This happens to me when I get near my service date. Ticks over smoothly after service.

I feel that the fuel economy is excellent. I've often got over 600 miles to a tank. I travel all over the country so spend a lot of time in 5th..

I've had a number of cars, some had breaks falling off at 50mph.. Various engine, chassis issues. My Peugeot 307 has had some issues, but seems to be mainly on a par with most other makes I've had or that my friends or work colleagues have had.

I have a Peugeot 307 D Turbo. It's my 2nd 307. I have an ongoing problem with the suspension. You'll be driving along and all of a sudden it goes 'clunk'. I had the same problem with my previous 307, hence the reason I traded it for this one. When the car was under warranty it went back for this problem and they replaced the top suspension mounts... they did that twice.

It never cured the problem completely, as it started reoccurring when or just after it rained.

It's now come back again and as the car is not in warranty it means I'll have to pay for it to be investigated and hopefully repaired. I can't wait to get rid of this car.

The other problems I had with it were, faulty boot light repaired. Heater sensors changed twice. Flywheel changed 4 times. Anti Roll bar links changed.

Also my radio no longer recognises the CD Auto Changer... the radio now needs to be replaced.