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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To get a Peugeot 206 as my first car?

72 replies

itsbetterthanabox · 08/04/2014 13:58

My mum is very against all French cars! And the engine size is a little big.
It's an automatic, 1.6 litre engine, hatchback, 51 reg. its going to be £800. Is this a bad/good idea?

OP posts:
ComposHat · 08/04/2014 14:20

Mileage, service history? Length of MOT?

Make sure you get an insurance quote before you part with any cash. A 1.6 is a largish engine in a small car.

LIZS · 08/04/2014 14:22

1.6 is pretty powerful for the size . How much is the tax and insurance on it ? 206 is a great first car though.

ComposHat · 08/04/2014 14:25

Automatic transmissions tend to need a more powerful engine but it will add to the insurance costs for a newlypassed drdriver. Do you need an automatic? If I was buying something of that age/size it would be a Toyota Yaris with the smallest engine.

Original poster
itsbetterthanabox · 08/04/2014 15:05

70,000 miles. I've looked at insurance and can get it for about £550 a year.
I do need an automatic yes.
Service history I'm not 100% on that. I know it's never been in a crash and that it will have just had an MOT when I get.
Thank you, I know so little about cars!

OP posts:
Original poster
itsbetterthanabox · 08/04/2014 15:07

Why do a lot of older people I know hate French cars and Peugeots? They don't seem to be sure themselves Grin. Are the expensive to repair? Don't want to a make a mistake.

OP posts:
StarSwirl92 · 08/04/2014 15:35

We have a 306. Three weeks ago I had to take a week off uni to push the damn thing every day so my partner could get to work. We had to wait for payday to go to a garage and pay for our own starter motor because this is the 5th one we've had.

Do your research and make sure there's no known faults with it, because my partner didn't and I do not appreciate being the one who had to push it.

Preciousbane · 08/04/2014 15:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

formerbabe · 08/04/2014 15:46

German and Japanese cars are widely believed to be the most reliable.

ComposHat · 08/04/2014 16:07

The reputation for unreliability is largely well earned PSA group owns Peugeot and Citroën snd they both tend to come towards the bottom of reliability and owner satisfaction surveys. That said they are usually cheap to buy and fun to drive.

Given that you're limited to automatics I would say proceed but with caution. Ask to see paperwork and service stamps and old MOT certificates. In particular check to see if the cambelt has been changed.

The cambelt controls the opening of the engine valves and they have a life expectancy of about 60k miles. If it snaps then the car will be scrap.If it hasn't you will need to budget about 300 quid to get that changed.

SleepyBum · 08/04/2014 16:13

We had a little 206, loved it but it was always going wrong! Would be very wary of getting one again.

Second the cam belt suggestion, ours went and it was bye bye little car. Definitely find out if it has been replaced before you put in an offer. Or make sure you have the budget to replace it yourself, from experience it's not worth the risk.

SleepyBum · 08/04/2014 16:17

And ours was a 54 reg so a bit newer than yours...def check the cambelt!

excited to share the only thing I know about cars

RedFocus · 08/04/2014 16:30

Don't get a Peugeot! My brother has one and it's cost him a bloody fortune! You are better off getting a Ford fiesta. Cheap, reliable and fun to drive.

RedFocus · 08/04/2014 16:33

They are also cheap to insure which is why they are perfect first cars.

mercibucket · 08/04/2014 16:43

can you afford endless repairs? if so, get a peugeot (parts are cheap anyway)
if not, get something more reliable like a vw. couple of hundred quid more outlay, thousands saved in repairs

Admiraltea · 08/04/2014 16:45

I avoid citroen and peugeot (even more so fiat), too many long stories, but have spent the last 9 years driving renault and find them super cheap to repair, insure and run. Haven't owned a clio though and that looks about the equivalent size car.

My bil has an automatic only licence and has found SEAT to be more reliable than ford (his last ford burnt to a crisp on the hard shoulder of the M25), are spanish but owned by VW. He did drive VW after ford but he thinks SEAT are as reliable and cheaper.

FelixFelix · 08/04/2014 16:53

We have a 2 litre Peugeot 206 and its great. Never had any problems with it! It's also amusing when other drivers assume you can't move very fast as you're in a 206, when you can leave them eating your dust in seconds Grin

Ours has done about 80k miles and the only thing that has gone wrong is we can only use the fan on the highest setting as the fuse has gone. Can be easily fixed though.

UncleT · 08/04/2014 16:56

Direct experience - no problem for about five years, then expect it to basically fall apart.

ThePortlyPinUp · 08/04/2014 17:00

I recently bought my first car (I'm 32!) and I too need an auto, I've got a P Reg Toyota Starlet and I love it, was very lucky as it had a full mot and service history and had one owner from new. I'm hoping to get a newer small Toyota in a few years once I qualify.

MrsDmitriTippensKrushnic · 08/04/2014 17:09

My longest lasting car was a Peugeot 406. Loved it. I tend to buy old cars and drive them until the repairs outweigh the value. I had it around 6 years with minimal MOT expenses (tyres mainly) before it got too much but it was way over 100k mileage by then. I'd get another one without a second thought.

Blamenargles · 08/04/2014 17:25

Avoid French cars you will spend more time at the side of the road than actually on it!
Jap or German every time.

Also is the insurance full comp and how much excesses

PansOnFire · 08/04/2014 17:29

Ooh I have a 206 and a 207 - they've been great, I've never had a problem. The insurance is low and the tax is £30 a year, I have the diesel versions of both.

That said, everyone seems to have horror stories about French cars. I've also been warned off the Ford Focus by loads of people even though I thought that would be a very reliable car and it's not French.

t3rr3gl35 · 08/04/2014 17:46

German or Japanese here too - repairs and maintenance are generally cheaper in labour time as the engines are better laid out for the mechanics to access (spent vast amounts of time a few years ago measuring mechanic labour times across different makes and models...have geeky career that I knew would come in handy some day).

Whatever you settle for, make sure the timing belt has been changed on time, or ask for it to be done as part of the deal, if you are buying from a garage. For your first car, it might be prudent to buy from a garage rather than privately as you will have greater protection (although not much). Happy motoring once you find your chariot.

Lj8893 · 08/04/2014 17:56

My last car was a 206, lovely car.

But a word of warning, when they built the 206 they decided to "seal the bsi unit for life". And then some of them developed faults (mine did) and since the unit is sealed, it can only be fixed by specialist Peugeot mechanics. Very costly.

The faults I had were no indicators and no central locking.

Lj8893 · 08/04/2014 17:57

pansonfire £30 a year tax???? That must be a very new car. My 206 was about £120 a year at least!!

specialsubject · 08/04/2014 18:08

the things on here are the questions you need to ask. Check on the Honest John site for more - it tells you what is wrong with older cars and what to look out for.

buying from a garage means paying a lot more and may NOT provide any real protection. Service history does not necessarily mean that essential maintenance (e.g cambelt) has been done.

as for the Focus - again, there are things to watch out for but Fords are cheap to fix.

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