Mr. P's Peugeot 106

[Mr Pastry]

As promised - here it is.

I got a good feeling about this from the ad, as you do sometimes, and wasn't disappointed when I saw it.  It really is very clean and unmolested.  According to the history file, it was a birthday gift for a young lady in Prestatyn who kept it until 2019, had it serviced by the dealers, and it has had one owner since.  It has done 60,000 miles, and despite starting life on the Welsh Coast it isn't rusty.   It is an 1.1 Independence, which is some sort of base model with manual windows and no central locking, which is fine by me.

It has had a new alternator, clutch and a driveshaft recently.  It has a new MOT, though will need tyres soon-ish, spare wheel is missing, handbrake travel seems a bit long, and probably ought to have a cam belt, though it's unlikely to be the original after 20 years.  Interior has a few details to sort out, and seats are a bit messy, but should scrub up.  There are a few cosmetic glitches outside, but the body seems very straight, and I can't see any signs of crash damage.

My first thought on sitting in it was, why aren't cars still made like this?  Just well laid- out, basic, and practical, with a bit of style.  Not driven it much yet, but it seems fine.   Independence though?   That sounds like a mobility scooter.  It's tempting to source some Rallye badges to make it go faster, but in some ways that would be a pity as it is such an original car.

[bezzabsa]

Love that colour

[GeordieInExile]

Were these marketed at young drivers? Hence the super stylish body coloured bumpers married to the Billy basic 1.1 and low spec (and low purchase price as a result)?

[loserone]

That's the spitting image of my piss yellow one

(Edit:)Which I think I just saw in the background of @andyberg's post.  

[andyberg]

8 minutes ago, loserone said:

That's the spitting image of my piss yellow one

(Edit:)Which I think I just saw in the background of @andyberg's post.  

Indeed it is! My son owns it now @BerginJR he loves it. He got it from @Sunny Jim early last year. 

[loserone]

4 minutes ago, andyberg said:

Indeed it is! My son owns it now @BerginJR he loves it. He got it from @Sunny Jim early last year. 

Please let me know if he wants to move it on, I've never owned a car three times before 

[andyberg]

1 minute ago, loserone said:

Please let me know if he wants to move it on, I've never owned a car three times before 

Will do, although he’s quite attached to it right now!

[captain_70s]

I wanted one of these as a first car but my parents vetoed them as being too old so I got a mk2 Yaris. A capable car but the 106 is such a looker...

[andyberg]

4 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

As promised - here it is.

I got a good feeling about this from the ad, as you do sometimes, and wasn't disappointed when I saw it.  It really is very clean and unmolested.  According to the history file, it was a birthday gift for a young lady in Prestatyn who kept it until 2019, had it serviced by the dealers, and it has had one owner since.  It has done 60,000 miles, and despite starting life on the Welsh Coast it isn't rusty.   It is an 1.1 Independence, which is some sort of base model with manual windows and no central locking, which is fine by me.

It has had a new alternator, clutch and a driveshaft recently.  It has a new MOT, though will need tyres soon-ish, spare wheel is missing, handbrake travel seems a bit long, and probably ought to have a cam belt, though it's unlikely to be the original after 20 years.  Interior has a few details to sort out, and seats are a bit messy, but should scrub up.  There are a few cosmetic glitches outside, but the body seems very straight, and I can't see any signs of crash damage.

My first thought on sitting in it was, why aren't cars still made like this?  Just well laid- out, basic, and practical, with a bit of style.  Not driven it much yet, but it seems fine.   Independence though?   That sounds like a mobility scooter.  It's tempting to source some Rallye badges to make it go faster, but in some ways that would be a pity as it is such an original car.

These are cracking little cars. I have driven my sons a fair bit and they are just so easy to get along with. I think part of the charm is its basicness yet it still has everything that you need to be comfortable. My son has done front discs and pads, new cat and attacked the smoll bubbling on the sills before it gets terminal. He loves it. 
This looks a fine example. Leave it standard and enjoy the experience. 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

1 hour ago, GeordieInExile said:

Were these marketed at young drivers? Hence the super stylish body coloured bumpers married to the Billy basic 1.1 and low spec (and low purchase price as a result)?

Yes. They were £6,595 and came with a year's free insurance. I was being offered £2k quotes as a new driver back then, so a good deal. 

I had one last year and I absolutely adored it. Felt a lot quicker than a 1.1 had any right to feel, used no fuel and great fun to drive. Did loads of long journeys in it and it was perfectly comfortable. 

[somewhatfoolish]

2 hours ago, GeordieInExile said:

Were these marketed at young drivers? Hence the super stylish body coloured bumpers married to the Billy basic 1.1 and low spec (and low purchase price as a result)?

Yes.

 

[stuboy]

spunky lil motors..... i found pedals too close together

[Imhotep]

I’ve had maybe 9 of these, they’re great things. Far quicker than you’d expect for 60bhp. Dead easy to work on too.

[MorrisItalSLX]

17 hours ago, captain_70s said:

I wanted one of these as a first car but my parents vetoed them as being too old so I got a mk2 Yaris. A capable car but the 106 is such a looker...

If you parents thought a 106 was old how did they react to the Dolomite!

[captain_70s]

2 hours ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

If you parents thought a 106 was old how did they react to the Dolomite!

Unimpressed, but of the opinion it might be alright if it came out the garage a handful of times in the summer to trundle to local shows.

[Mr Pastry]

A small update then.   Interior now looks decent after much vacuuming and shampooing.  I don't think the PO was a careful type.  Radio ignored my efforts to re-code it, so stuck an old-school one in for the moment, which sounds good enough.  Clock similarly refuses to be adjusted, so I will have to get used to living in a different time zone.   Fixed a broken parcel shelf hinge.   Replaced the flashy dealer plates with plain simple ones, which I think look better - of course will retain originals for posterity.   Then there are a few more cosmetic bits to do, as and when.  

The handbrake was marginal and pulling up more on one side, so slackened it right off and tried some heavy braking to try and get the adjusters to work.  This was partially successful and produced a firmer pedal, so something has happened, will see how it develops.   While underneath, had a good look around and couldn't see much rust anywhere.

The right hand driveshaft was knocking in spite of being clearly brand new  - no option but to change it, and they are not expensive.  Managed to catch all the gearbox oil and not spill any on the drive.  While I was in there I wanted to change the bottom ball joint as the boot was split, but there was no way it was going to come out of the wishbone.  As it appeared to be  serviceable I greased it up and just swapped the boot.  Refilled the gearbox through the breather, as the filler plug is inaccessible and very stuck, has probably never been out.   New driveshaft is OK .  Pleased to discover it has new brake discs.  Adjusted the clutch cable, which has a sensible manual adjuster, and that has improved the feel of the pedal.

It certainly goes well, rides well and handles nicely, and will do the job.  I think it was a good buy, but I'm not that comfortable in it - can't seem to get the seat in quite the right place, maybe I will get used to it.   I would be interested to try one with manual steering, as it is a bit over-assisted for my taste.   It reminds me a bit of my old Mk 1 Clio  which would have been a competitor when new, but I think the 106 is a better design.   It's not as much fun as a 2CV though.

[Imhotep]

If I remember right to do the clock you have to hold the button down with the ignition off, turn the ignition (but not the engine) on, and you should be able to set it from there. 
 

That could also be the service light and me talking out my arse, it’s been a while. 

[Sigmund Fraud]

38 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

I would be interested to try one with manual steering, as it is a bit over-assisted for my taste.

Keep in mind that the manual rack in those has a much higher ratio than the power assisted version. I think the difference is 1 or 1.5 more turns lock-to-lock, which is annoying in a car with such sharp handling.

I vaguely remember something about the Rallye and GTi versions with power steering being set up to provide less assistance to improve steering feel. So if you want the steering to be less assisted, you may be able to swap or modify the control unit to achieve this ?

[castros_bro]

Manual steering is fine and unobtrusive and you forget about it until doing a tight very slow parking manoeuvre and can't spin the steering with one finger whilst looking out the rear window.

[Stinkwheel]

Great buy. Great cars. I had an R plate in green back in 2007/8, it had been a little old lady car and was only showing 50k and full history with a full set of new michelins fitted. Same engine etc but a step up in trim as it had leccy windows etc. It had been bought for my now late wife who promptly expired the very next day (with 17 years hindsight i can say that quite glibly now, but it cased a lot of mental health issues for us all at the time, anyway, not important here)

I was left with a 106 and needed to downsize the fleet as money situation all changed, long story short, the little 106 was perfect as just an car doing all the an car things without any bother at all. That is what seems severely lacking in todays world, small, cheap basic yet functional vehicles. Even the things like bASe Dacias and the like touted as basic/small normal cars arent anywhere near as utilitarian/simple as a 106 of this era, shame really.

Hope it continues to give excellent service 

[Noel Tidybeard]

2 noticeable flaws with 106

1. pedals are close together if you got big trotters
2. servo is on wrong side so can elicit an "OH SHIT" now and again when braking hard

[Stinkwheel]

1 minute ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

2 noticeable flaws with 106

1. pedals are close together if you got big trotters
2. servo is on wrong side so can elicit an "OH SHIT" now and again when braking hard

Both true, but if youve owned AX's before, they just feel the same as that, being the same floorpan / mechanicals essentially

Also, if you press on a bit they can be a bit swap endy, admittedly i only ever did it twice, but that was enough to show me how twitchy they were when pushed

[grogee]

17 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

Managed to catch all the gearbox oil and not spill any on the drive

 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

6 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

2 noticeable flaws with 106

1. pedals are close together if you got big trotters
2. servo is on wrong side so can elicit an "OH SHIT" now and again when braking hard

3. Gear linkages have all the strength of a wax crayon

[Matty]

10 minutes ago, Conrad D. Conelrad said:

3. Gear linkages have all the strength of a wax crayon

4. Having to continually beat women off with a shitty stick gets tiresome

[stuboy]

10 minutes ago, Matty said:

4. Having to continually beat women off with a shitty stick gets tiresome

single teachers... they see security in a 106 owner and English heritage sticker

[Mr Pastry]

3 minutes ago, stuboy said:

single teachers... they see security in a 106 owner and English heritage sticker

The voice of experience?

[stuboy]

5 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

The voice of experience?

gentlemen never tells, but today was meet the teacher today.........

[2flags]

Looks a great little car. Well bought.

[Lord Sterling]

Nice. Love 106s. My only real experience of one was when I used to know this other waste of a "mechanic" who liked British cars and was a close relative of the Lord of the Rings writer.

I do have a pic somewhere but here it close to what it looked like:

Same colour too. It was a proper nippy thing, loads of character, it's the kind of car that makes you think it's really all the car anyone really needs.