206 GTI- Shit?

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

Evening all,

 

Just tapping into the collective shite-hive of knowledge about these. 

 

Due to an impending midlife crisis I've been looking at things with a bit more fizz than my current Micra. These seem to be pretty cheap (cheaper it would seem than a cambelt change on a Clio 172 which I've also considered) and fairly plentiful. I once drove a friends !.4 and remember it going quite well but the pedals being offset slightly to the left?

 

Anyone with first hand experience?

 

Could I expect a lacklustre driving experience combined with a myriad of electrical maladies followed by a seized rear beam... 

 

Or are they worth a punt?

 

Ta

[alcyonecorporation]

180s are edging into foamer territory - but the standard GTIs are dirt cheap. 

Think of them as a slower 205GTI with softer responses, less lift off oversteer and even more tragic build quality. 

[MarvinsMom]

my kid sister had a non-gti one of these.

 

she chopped a micra K10 in against it, when the pug was 6 month old.

 

she had it 9 months, and it was shit. there was always something wrong with it, so much so she sacked it off in favour of a mark 1 focus.

 

the final straw been when it locked her out in pouring rain. it wouldn't open on the fob thing, or the key.

 

it seems there is a major design flaw in that the fuse box is directly infront of the windcreen so that the water runs off the window, and right into the fuse box, with predictable results.

 

if you are going to have a mid-life crisis, at lleast go and do it right, and buy an MX5 (other posing* chariots are available......)

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

Thanks both for the replies. I may have the option of buying a Mk2 MX5 on the cheap but I'm 6'2 and don't fit. Apparently you can chop the seat foam out but as it stands my line of sight is level with the top of the screen so can't see bugger all without leaning over and down. Not ideal! Same goes for an MGF

[bigfella2]

My missus had one of these for ten years and I used to drive it quite alot. Obvs not in same league as a 172, but quite lively in a straight line, not huge amounts of grip but not rediculously stiff and unbearable either. Can do nice lift off oversteer that is obligatory for a French hottish hatch. Only one failure to proceed in a decade, due to hitting a raised man hole cover, resulting in the car thinking it had been in an accident and cutting fuel off to engine.

So not massively accomplished as a hot hatch but cheap and quite fun to chuck about unlike some German hatches, I did buy it off the missus as I was quite fond of it, but after discovering the sills had gone quite frilly under the underseal and not worth welding it saw the bridge.

Just have a good look at sills though, the stone chip is quite tough so they might look intact but could be rotten.

[SiC]

Given the Clio 172 is pretty much the same price now secondhand, it's a no-brainer to go for one of the best hot hatches of the 00s and the last legendary big engined, small hatch.

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

Cheers both. It was the cambelt change cost putting me off the Clio to be honest. The ones with a recent change command a fair bit of dough

[greengartside]

I had this one...

 

 

W-plate with the 138bhp engine. Went very very well and was very good on fuel. I once did 410 miles from brimmed to empty...

 

 

I'd quite happily have another. The only thing I didn't like was the rather sloppy gearchange on it, would have been 1000% better with a short-shift kit. Look out for rust on these as apparently after I sold this one, it failed it's M.o.T because of this, and then was laid up for two years. I was going to ask about it's fate but the scrapman had already taken it away before I'd got there.

[SiC]

As long as it's not been in an accident, a Clio generally doesn't rust. Cambelt done by specialists is around £500 or so nowadays. If you're going to get it done, get the dephaser, water pump and aux belts done too. Dephaser makes a rattle and usually goes not long after a cambelt change (due to tension). Aux belt snapping usually goes through the cambelt cover and takes out the cambelt.

 

Or do the cambelt roulette...

 

They're pretty much at their lowest now.

[beko1987]

I had a 206 2.0hdi as a first car and it was fine tbh. Was a Pre plex w though. Tbh it was rapid enough, never felt the need for a gti. Granted if I got one now with a few cars and many miles under my belt it would probably be quite shit though, would rather a 406 nowadays

[FakeConcern]

I have a Citroen C4 VTS which has the same engine as the Pug GTI 180. It's now on 188000 miles and I love it. These are also very cheap now so also worth looking at.

 

I'd only get a Clio 182 if it was Racing Blue, Liquid Yellow or Inferno Orange, all of which put the price right up!

[SiC]

A standard diesel hatch is very different to a hot hatch!

[Cavcraft]

Fine looking cars those GTIs, look nicer than the Clios imho.

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

Thanks again all. Having been used to miserly motoring for the past few years the thought of a £500 cambelt change is enough to make me retire to a darkened room for a lie down. Perhaps I need to stop being such a skinflint.

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

Golden Wonder

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201701301801459

[For Fiats Sake]

I'd vote Clio, purely because I had a works 207 and at 2 years old the throttle ecu needed replacing due to random revving.

Obvs a basic spec diesel is should be quite a different experience from a GTi.

[SiC]

Golden Wonder

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201701301801459

That's the 140bhp, not the 180bhp. Warm vs Hot hatch.

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

'Great investment'

'Consistant squeak'

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201612300902510

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

Does the 180 share the same engine albeit breathed upon, or is it different?

[hpi_matrix]

Saxo VTS. They're starting to go back up in value, especially if you manage to find a mk1.

 

Alternately Ibiza/Leon Cupra

[FakeConcern]

Does the 180 share the same engine albeit breathed upon, or is it different?

http://pscuk.net/threads/72172-206-gti-140-v-180

[Psycho Charlie Knobcheese]

Thanks for all the replies- sounds like they're cheap for a reason!

[bigfella2]

Thanks for all the replies- sounds like they're cheap for a reason!

Honestly there not as bad as people make out.

[Stebob]

In defence of these, we had a 1.6 xsi 16v for nearly 6 years.

 

Was incredibly reliable, wouldn't do less than 45 to the gallon, handled like on rails too, took on some seriously quick stuff on the twistes and they couldn't touch it!

 

Can't say I noticed much difference between the 1.6 and the 2.0 tbh and the xsi has the same suspension and interior as the gti, and is also much lower on road tax too, that might be a consideration if it's post 2001.

 

Unfortunately although mechanically sound at 170,000 miles what sent ours away was lack of use and the bsi failing including one or more of the fuse boxed going, although even at this stage there still wasn't a scrap of rot anywhere on them.

 

The other thing to mention is that they have a terrible blind spot courtesy of the thick a pillars, caused a few near missed over the years coming up to round abouts!

 

Also just an observation, they all seem to have dints in the ns front wings, no idea why?!?

 

Steve

[Rusty_Rocket]

Mother Rusty had a 2002 Pug 206 HDi for 12 years. I looked after it from new. In that time, in addition to usual servicing, it required a new indicator stalk and a bottom pulley. That was it. For 12 yrs of daily use.

 

Excellent cars if you start with a decent one.

[0ldCh0d]

If getting a 206, check that both the back wheels are aligned correctly & not at an angle, If at an angle, it usually means a new/recon rear axle is required.

Which i dont think is expensive, but i think it's a bit of a PITA to do.

[Faker]

I've a very good friend who absolutely loves 206 gti's, to the extent that he owns 3, and one grand tourismo - GT (the silver one with huge bumpers which was the homologation car for the 206 wrc car apparently). Pics from Google

[blakey79]

The Peugeot 206 GTI looks good, and they can be bought relatively cheap,my experience of both is that the Peugeot is nippy the 140 bhp model, the 180 bhp is rapid, but the build quality is poor.

 

I echo the majority of the board, a Clio 172 is immense fun, fast, handles great, can handle motorways without damaging your eardrums, as you say look for cambelt and de phaser replacement, and you've a fantastic car.

I made the mistake of going for a 2006 Polo GTI, over a Clio 182 a mistake that took all of 2 days to realise.

 

Alternatives

 

Leon Cupra

Focus st170

 

Or a random that I enjoyed immensely a Yaris 1.5 SR.

 

Ta ta

[KruJoe]

 

[SherpaMog]

Clio 172 all the way, no rust, amazing cars to drive.

Just listen for obvious dephaser noise, run it for a bit, let the dice land where they may and do the belt, pump and dephaser if it seems a goodun.