I've been in two minds whether to sell this one or not as I've grown rather fond of it since I finally got it through the test, but I have my sensible head on at the moment so I'm putting up a for sale thread while the going is good.
I took this in part exchange against a Fiat Stilo I sold. It came with an MOT failure sheet which I naïvely thought didn't look too daunting, but I had failed to take into account the car's Frenchness and my own uselessness, and it took me rather longer to get sorted than anticipated - by which time other things needed attention as well.
So it's had a new front wishbone on the nearside, a new track rod end on the offside, a new CV boot, and a new wheel cylinder and brake shoes on the offside rear. It's also had welding on the offside sill, done by the garage that MOTd it. I've also done various other more minor bits to it like fit new wiper blades and fix the reversing light. The horn didn't work when I got the car - this turned out to be a mystery issue with that particular circuit in the fuse box, as the lighter and the HRW (which are on the same fuse) didn't work either. I wired up a separate push button for the horn (passed the MOT but could really do with the switch fitting in a better place), and I also wired in a twin lighter socket as the lack of charging points for sat nav and phone were getting to be an issue on longer journeys. The HRW is still inoperative though.
Mechanically it is spot on - mileage is relatively low for a 24-year-old diesel Peugeot at 115K. It starts straight up every time and has never given me any trouble - the only thing I can fault it on is that the idle is a little on the high side.
It does need the tracking doing - the usual counting-the-threads trick didn't work when I replaced the TRE as the lock nut on the new one was a completely different size. I got it reasonably close but it really needs doing properly - the steering can "kick" a bit over sharp bumps and scrubs slightly on full lock, especially in the wet. There was an advisory on the MOT for slight play in the other TRE, so probably best to get that replaced at the same time. I'm buggered if I'm doing it though given the fun* I had with the one I did replace. It's still perfectly drivable as it is though - I've done over 2,000 miles in it since it passed its test and to the best of my knowledge no nuns or kittens have died. There's also an occasional knock from the front over bumps - not sure what's causing this as there weren't any advisories for suspension components on the test. It could even be the TRE causing it.
The bodywork is a mixed bag - most of it is very clean and shines up well, but there is a dent in the offside rear quarter / door and the front wings are bubbling at the bottom where they usually go, just above the bumper. The MOT tester also said that he reckoned the nearside sill would need some sparkly stick attention by the time the next test comes around.
The interior is pretty clean for the age, and the seats are comfortable enough for me with my dodgy back to do a 250-mile stint without any problem. The electrics, such as they are, all work apart from the aforementioned HRW. I've fitted upgraded speakers in the front so the stereo is now audible at motorway speeds. Windows are keep fit all round but it does have central locking (although this doesn't always work on the tailgate). It also has the funky vacuum-sealed sliding sunroof - the previous owner mentioned that this had a slight leak in heavy rain but I've never had any problems with it. Oh, the driver's pin switch for the interior light is temperamental and the boot light doesn't work, apart from that one time when it did. And the coolant temp light sometimes comes on randomly, which is mildly irritating, but the radiator fan kicks in and out as it should (the only time it's kicked in was when sat in traffic on the M25 in 30 degree heat) so all's well on that front and I think it's just being French.
The best thing about the car is the performance. It's not brilliant around town as it has quite a lot of turbo lag (standard on these) but on the dual carriageway / motorway it is much faster than it has any right to be - the way it goes from 60 to 80 in 4th is quite something, and it'll cruise happily at quite illegal speeds. If driven sensibly it's very good on diesel.
MOT is to June next year and the car is located about 15 miles NE of Norwich.
Pics:
I took this in part exchange against a Fiat Stilo I sold. It came with an MOT failure sheet which I naïvely thought didn't look too daunting, but I had failed to take into account the car's Frenchness and my own uselessness, and it took me rather longer to get sorted than anticipated - by which time other things needed attention as well.
So it's had a new front wishbone on the nearside, a new track rod end on the offside, a new CV boot, and a new wheel cylinder and brake shoes on the offside rear. It's also had welding on the offside sill, done by the garage that MOTd it. I've also done various other more minor bits to it like fit new wiper blades and fix the reversing light. The horn didn't work when I got the car - this turned out to be a mystery issue with that particular circuit in the fuse box, as the lighter and the HRW (which are on the same fuse) didn't work either. I wired up a separate push button for the horn (passed the MOT but could really do with the switch fitting in a better place), and I also wired in a twin lighter socket as the lack of charging points for sat nav and phone were getting to be an issue on longer journeys. The HRW is still inoperative though.
Mechanically it is spot on - mileage is relatively low for a 24-year-old diesel Peugeot at 115K. It starts straight up every time and has never given me any trouble - the only thing I can fault it on is that the idle is a little on the high side.
It does need the tracking doing - the usual counting-the-threads trick didn't work when I replaced the TRE as the lock nut on the new one was a completely different size. I got it reasonably close but it really needs doing properly - the steering can "kick" a bit over sharp bumps and scrubs slightly on full lock, especially in the wet. There was an advisory on the MOT for slight play in the other TRE, so probably best to get that replaced at the same time. I'm buggered if I'm doing it though given the fun* I had with the one I did replace. It's still perfectly drivable as it is though - I've done over 2,000 miles in it since it passed its test and to the best of my knowledge no nuns or kittens have died. There's also an occasional knock from the front over bumps - not sure what's causing this as there weren't any advisories for suspension components on the test. It could even be the TRE causing it.
The bodywork is a mixed bag - most of it is very clean and shines up well, but there is a dent in the offside rear quarter / door and the front wings are bubbling at the bottom where they usually go, just above the bumper. The MOT tester also said that he reckoned the nearside sill would need some sparkly stick attention by the time the next test comes around.
The interior is pretty clean for the age, and the seats are comfortable enough for me with my dodgy back to do a 250-mile stint without any problem. The electrics, such as they are, all work apart from the aforementioned HRW. I've fitted upgraded speakers in the front so the stereo is now audible at motorway speeds. Windows are keep fit all round but it does have central locking (although this doesn't always work on the tailgate). It also has the funky vacuum-sealed sliding sunroof - the previous owner mentioned that this had a slight leak in heavy rain but I've never had any problems with it. Oh, the driver's pin switch for the interior light is temperamental and the boot light doesn't work, apart from that one time when it did. And the coolant temp light sometimes comes on randomly, which is mildly irritating, but the radiator fan kicks in and out as it should (the only time it's kicked in was when sat in traffic on the M25 in 30 degree heat) so all's well on that front and I think it's just being French.
The best thing about the car is the performance. It's not brilliant around town as it has quite a lot of turbo lag (standard on these) but on the dual carriageway / motorway it is much faster than it has any right to be - the way it goes from 60 to 80 in 4th is quite something, and it'll cruise happily at quite illegal speeds. If driven sensibly it's very good on diesel.
MOT is to June next year and the car is located about 15 miles NE of Norwich.
Pics:
