205 Diesel - My new shite

[garethj]

After a little while on 2 wheels, I got back on 4 today with the purchase of this very red 205 dizzler (non turbo)

 

Ebay made me pay £509 which wasn't bad considering it's only got just over 100k miles, it looks pretty good and I really wanted a 2 door.

 

 

 

The drive home was ok, the wheels are badly out of balance so 70mph is a bit of a shaky ride but otherwise it makes its 60bhp work very well. I've only ever driven diesels that are modern with big turbos and I really don't see the attraction. This one just drives like a petrol engine that runs out of revs a bit earlier. Gearing seems higher to cope with it, so your change up speeds are similar enough to petrol cars.

 

The ride is really nice even with the bigger wheels, are they GTi alloys? It's got power steering which works ok and the whole lot feels pretty nice considering it costs less than one new tyre for a BMW X5. The drive back was with the kids on board so there were no heroics around the sweeping bends but I'm quite impressed with the thing.

 

On my list of things to do is...

1. See if the battery is ok, it was reeeeally sluggish to turn over, but I don't know if that's because the car's been out of use for a while

2. Figure out how the stereo works, particularly how to switch the bastard thing off.

3. New wipers, I'm straight in with the big jobs, me.

4, Service. Is there a pdf of a handbook anywhere? Somewhere that'll show me how to change a headlight bulb and what the fuses do? Is a Haynes manual worth getting or is there a better one?

[warren t claim]

Top purchase!

 

I have a 205 owners handbook if you need it.

[garethj]

cheers, dude. 2 minutes ago I bought one on ebay though!

[KruJoe]

There's a new X5 appeared down the road from me, and yes it does have the most ridiculous tyres on. £509 is pretty strong money for one of these, but it does look a very tidy one, with original Inca floor mats too! Or have these suddenly started appreciating?

 

Those wheels are indeed from a 1.6GTI, or maybe an upper-middle range 309. I have loads of spares lying around if you need owt.

[dollywobbler]

Nice. These PSA diesels really are wonderful after modern diesels. Not much power, but you get an even spread of it throughout the rev range - and they pootle along merrily below 2000rpm too.

 

If the headlamps are like the BX, there is a double-pronged metal catch that hooks in one end. You sort of squeeze it and the bulb comes out. They might be nothing like BX headlamps though.

 

I think it is slightly strong money, but I think that's only a sign of how undervalued these cars are. Given that more and more people are after simplicity and economy, values of these in good condition can only go up.

[Pete-M]

Those 205 GTi 1.6 wheels are a bugger to balance as they don't fit most balancing machines.

 

Otherwise, you're making me want an XRAD.

[garethj]

Agreed it's pretty strong money, but as I said finding a 2 door was tricky and this one's got a year's ticket which takes out some of the lottery.

 

Cheers for the tip about wheels being difficult to balance; I'll see how they get on today but otherwise I don't mind some more normal wheels. It's got 75 miles a day ahead of it, so non-triangular wheels is a must.

[Volksy]

These are GR53.

 

Had one myself years ago, and loved it, it used to breeze a 120 mile return daily commute, they're comfy and have a surprising amount of go.

 

Yep I agree its strong money for one, but it looks very tidy!

[carlo]

I don't really see why £500 is strong money for an obviously good condition 205 diesel, which will be cheap to run and great fun to drive; they were wonderful little cars as was proved by the fact they went basically unchanged for 12 years. And people are appreciating 90s PSA cars, look at BX diesel prices. Power steering is the finishing touch on these, but I'd put back on the original wheels and appreciate the ride as it should be.

[warren t claim]

Those 205 GTi 1.6 wheels are a bugger to balance as they don't fit most balancing machines.

 

Otherwise, you're making me want an XRAD.

 

Indeed. Have the wheels balanced on the car and you'll notice the difference.

[ashmicro]

I don't really see why £500 is strong money for an obviously good condition 205 diesel, which will be cheap to run and great fun to drive; they were wonderful little cars as was proved by the fact they went basically unchanged for 12 years. And people are appreciating 90s PSA cars, look at BX diesel prices. Power steering is the finishing touch on these, but I'd put back on the original wheels and appreciate the ride as it should be.

 

 

+1. Not a lot of money for a tidy, economical wee car. Looks ace, enjoy!

[garethj]

The bloke at the tyre place said he had an adaptor for these, there's always the chance a rim is bent so I'll find out this afternoon.

 

The battery dragged it into life this morning but could barely manage when I had to restart it. It's like a 6V Beetle when you've left the lights on all night... Must check the battery levels and connections tonight

[r.welfare]

The other option is to go for a set of 15" 406 steel wheels with 60 or 55-series rubber to keep the rolling radius the same (or slightly higher), to provide a cheaper option for tyre availability.

 

Re. the poor starting - might be the battery, but may also be air getting into the fuel lines and allowing derv to drain back into the tank; does it chug a bit roughly and blow out white smoke for a wee bit once it catches? One of my 405s was a right pain in the backside for this. Try slathering Vaseline round the fuel filter joints, change the leakoff pipes around the injectors and perhaps also the primer bulb. None of the above fixed it for me but I did find holding the accelerator down about a 1/3rd of its travel when starting got it going OK.

 

Of course, it could also be the glowplugs - 3 of which are straightforward to change and the 4th (behind the fuel pump) is, ahem, 'fiddly'.

 

Looks very straight though and I don't think £500 is too rich given the year's ticket, the obvious tidyness of the thing and it's well-known fuel supping abilities. Yes, it's old and £500 would buy a lot of later-plate car, but you'd probably struggle to get any small diesel worth having for less than what you've paid for that IMHO.

[Pete-M]

I wouldn't say £500 is expensive for it either. There's a slightly scruffy but nice spec STDT on ebay right now that still has a couple of days left and has romped past £1200 already, so £500 for what looks like a very tidy little 205 diseasel seems cheap if anything.

 

I suspect it's just half this place thinks cars are never worth more than tuppence and a half sucked Werthers Original.

 

Oh, and once you've got the alloys balanced, keep 'em. 406 steels indeed. Behave!

[dieselnutjob]

does it crank over poorly, or does it crank over well but not start?

 

my impression from what you've said is that it's the speed of cranking that's the problem rather than the engine actually starting.

 

if so it's most likely due to an old battery but yes it's worth checking the wiring.

 

I think it looks great for £500.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

You just can’t go wrong with one of these. I don’t think they’ll ever get cheaper than what they are now, and £500 for that doesn’t sound expensive to me, it certainly looks pretty tidy.

 

These cars score so highly on all fronts that theres probably no better all-round daily car for anyone who can bring themselves to drive what is a 15-20 yr-old motor. They’re just mega competent at everything, including being great fun. They don’t even seem to go rusty.

 

I’ve got a RHD 1994 one on French plates stashed away, ex-grandad_Bo11ox, will no doubt hoik it out one day. It always starts straight up with a decent battery after sitting for 12 months and ticks over like a boss.

[carlo]

You just can’t go wrong with one of these. I don’t think they’ll ever get cheaper than what they are now, and £500 for that doesn’t sound expensive to me, it certainly looks pretty tidy.

 

These cars score so highly on all fronts that theres probably no better all-round daily car for anyone who can bring themselves to drive what is a 15-20 yr-old motor. They’re just mega competent at everything, including being great fun. They don’t even seem to go rusty.

 

I’ve got a RHD 1994 one on French plates stashed away, ex-grandad_Bo11ox, will no doubt hoik it out one day. It always starts straight up with a decent battery after sitting for 12 months and ticks over like a boss.

 

Is there some deep pshycological message behind your new avatar Mr B?

[garethj]

The wheels were balanced pretty well, any shaking now happens above 80mph but he said the tyres are very worn so it's as good as it can be. GPS confirms 80mph which is quick enough for the dual carriageway, and I'm getting the hang of the drive now and warming to it.

 

New wipers means I can see, Radio 4 programmed into the stereo means I can hear things and it grips really well around the twisty roads. I'd have thought the ride would be poor with those big wheels but it's actually very good, the heater is quick to get warm too so it looks like a right result. I filled the tank last night (slowest fuel filler in the world) and zeroed the trip meter so we'll see how good the economy is. I'm not hanging about so expecting 55mpg

[Cavcraft]

Ace cars, echo all the positive things said about them on here. They're not exactly slow either in n/a form and the economy (as you'll find out) is superb. Pretty sure they're mostly galvanised too, as Mr Bo11ox siad they don't really seem to rust. £500 seems good money, the days of these being £200 knackers seem to be coming to and end as people realise just how good they are for everyday use.

[garethj]

The battery seems much better after a few long journeys, it now cranks over with no problem and starts fine. Less impressive is the maximum speed, just a whisker over 80 is the maximum on the flat but I think it should do about 90. There’s a hard spot on the accelerator about ¾ down, I can push past there but there’s no more speed. I may just be bending the throttle pedal….

 

I’ll investigate the air filter this weekend, if the engine’s got reasonable compression is there anywhere else I should look?

[ProgRocker]

Wow, that looks rather nice. The 1.6 GTi alloys set it off quite nicely.

 

I had one of these baser model 205s in my mind 10 years ago when I wrote off my Fiat Tempra and needed something cheap to insure like a 1.1 petrol or the 1.8 n/a diesel version. Ended up getting a Mini Racing Green instead.

[dollywobbler]

I wouldn't expect much more speed out of it. My BX felt hard-pushed by 85mph, though my first BX diesel (with the larger 1905cc diesel) did once hit 100mph on the speedo. It seemed to lose a large amount of its engine oil by the next time I checked so I didn't do it again...

[Shep Shepherd]

I only have firsthand experience of the petrol 205, but going by that experience, I imagine that the diesel version is even better

[Guest Len H]

Old diesels do run out puff quite early but I'd expect more go out of a 205 diesel. Most of the n/a diesels I've tried are happy at 90MPH+ once they get there. I'd replace the fuel filter and check the housing for air ingress.

[mnde]

The 205 is right up amongst my list of top shite buys, and I'm determined to have one at some point. The one I want to try is the XT/XS with the 85 bhp 1.4 engine... or ideally the 5dr GT, but I've never seen one.

 

Mark.

[garethj]

A small update on this, after 420 miles the fuel tank was still about a quarter full but I filled it up anyway to check the economy – 52.5mpg! Not bad for thrashing it almost everywhere.

 

The air filter I ordered last week arrived so I fitted that last night; it raised my maximum speed from 81mph to 88mph. I’ve poured in some “miracle†diesel injector cleaner too, we’ll see if that helps and I’ll have a go at changing the diesel filter next week. I wonder if the big wheels are limiting the top speed – I’ve done the rolling radius calculation and it’s 4% bigger than the standard wheels and tyres so perhaps the car is overgeared now?

 

It drives quite well, idles nicely and the heater works well when I leave the house at 6:15am. The radio is down by your ankles and of course it’s a bit light on luxury features (a bit light? It doesn’t even have a courtesy light switch on the passenger door), but otherwise it’s not a bad old thing for getting places on the cheap. It feels bigger inside than an old Polo but a bit smaller than a Golf. Handling is pleasant and it allows you to carry momentum through corners very well.

 

It's one of the least powerful cars I've had in a loooong time, but it does the job of 80 miles per day very well.

[garethj]

A month of miserly motoring and with new filters and a dose of injector cleaner it'll now get upto almost 90mph, I'm giving it the old Italian tune-up every day and the car is thriving on it.

 

Perhaps because of this I can't seem to beat 53mpg, but I also can't do worse than 51mpg which is quite respectable. I'll give it an oil change when I get 10 minutes spare, and I may investigate a small fuel leak but otherwise it's needed not much more than the rear washer jet unblocking. That's my kind of maintenance requirement

[scooters]

great car mate - these make so much sense at the moment and you get all the G9 bits about owning a 205 - no water traps, sprightly handling, comfy seats etc...Billy's right, you don't see 200 quid ones anymore - that mantle has passed to the 306

[garethj]

I can't seem to beat 53mpg, but I also can't do worse than 51mpg which is quite respectable.

Economy has settled at 51mpg for my commute, but for the last couple of weeks I've done the dual carriageway bit at 65mph instead of 75mph and that's got me to 56mpg.

 

The suspension has started to creak over bumps so I might need to investigate underneath, but only when it's not farkin freezing.

 

Other than that, it needs nothing more than a cupful of coolant once a month (almost 2000 miles). For an economy car, it gets the official stamp of approval. I'd like to say the money saved is going towards something interesting but crap for me, but the family Volvo S80 is due an MoT in a few months so I'm saving for its successor.

[wackywacerwill]

Missed this before, looks a cracker does that. This thread confirms my suspicions. Since owning my 1.0 pez 205 I've been eyeing up the aga versions thinking they must be a good buy.

The doors throw out a long way on these don't they, less faff when getting the kids belted up than the average same size 4 door in my experience.