205 Owners In Here !! + General Buying Advice

jellybeard999

jellybeard999

jellybeard999

Soldato
Joined
7 Feb 2004
Posts
8,232
Location
North East
Im looking at buying a new car in the next month or two, and this has caught my eye :

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/236219.htm

No Service History, current owner has had it 6 months though, has given it a full going over, and it runs fine, starts first time, and no smoke.
No power steering - much of a problem in this day and age ?

Worth a look do you think, or any more questions i can ask first ? This is what I've asked so far.

There is no rust anywhere on the car and the rear beam is fine. There are no signs of engine damage or body damage anywhere.

I cannot confirm that the miles are genuine because I got no service history with the car. Since I bought it I have given it a full service. i.e. sparks, leads, filters, track rod ends, oil etc. I have all the receipts for this stuff.
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Is the car modified in any way from standard ? No
I know you said the engine is sound, but no blue/black smoke or
anything ? engine is sound, cylinder compression checked, no smoke
Can you confirm that a test drive is possible ? If your insured
How long have you had it ? 6 months
Does it start every time - from cold particularly ? starts 1st time every time
Have you had a HPI check etc ? No but your welcome to do so as I refuse to pay £30 for a piece of paper
All electrics working? yes
Central Locking ? yes
Power steering ? no
Electric windows ? yes
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Anyone any advice ?

My two worries are :
No SH
No Power steering

Should these be a concern ?
Any general advice, or questions to ask ?

Thanks for any help :)

The car is just over 100 miles away, but my area sucks for cars apparantly :rolleyes: (DL14 postcode if anyone cares). Don't mind travelling too much, but want to make sure its actually worth looking at first.

PS - Also on 205gtidrivers forum, but I keep getting an "IPS" error :confused: and struggle to get on the forum, though they are apparantly having server problems.
 
Personally, service history at this price range wouldn't bother me at all. If it's reliable and everything works that's good enough for me. As for power steering, you're in one of the finest front drivers of all time. Power steering just takes away the pleasure.

I'd buy it.
 
Ed said:
Personally, service history at this price range wouldn't bother me at all. If it's reliable and everything works that's good enough for me. As for power steering, you're in one of the finest front drivers of all time. Power steering just takes away the pleasure.
Click to expand...

I thought similar myself. Just theres always the fact that it may have been thrown away to hide something maybe ?

I was PAS would be more of an issue at slow speeds - ie parking

Ed said:
I'd buy it.
Click to expand...

Steady on, need to view it first :p
 
Lack of PAS will annoy you at first if you are used to having it, but you soon get used to it. Eat more Weetabix and be a man.

As for FSH, not many 205's will have one really, when cars get to this price level things like SH tend to vanish and get lost.

Would I buy that one? No, I would want a track/sprint prepped one for that money (of course, such a car would not generally be as clean as that one looks) but it's your choice entirely :)

Somebody has put the later type indicators and tail lights on that one, a common mod that makes it look a lot newer than it is.
 
IMO £1200 is a lot of money to pay for a car approaching 100k miles and 19 years old (even if it is a fun car!)

It may be mint, but these engines quite often need some kind of engine work doing after 100k miles. I've known four cars running this engine (a mix of Cit ZXs and Pug GTi) and everyone of them had a HG on or soon after doing 100k miles :( It may not have any problems but a car of that age / mileage is likely to experience some kind of issue :)
 
My caned 205 1.6 GTi had over 170k miles and still buzzed about without fault. It did smoke a little though.
 
Thanks for the advice guys.

I dont want a track prepped/modded example, as insurance would end up silly for me (21, 1Y NCB).

Id prefer to pay the bit extra for a clean example, I know its an old car, but I'd imagine its at the plateau of depreciation now, and wont drop much further ?

Think I'll see about a viewing then :)

He says he wont take offers, as the price is fair. Any room for maneouvering at all would you think ?

Oh, and what fuel does a 1.9 run on ? I see the 1.6 can run on normal unleaded, but the 1.9 is different ? What would I have to use ? BP Ultimate sort of stuff ?

It has 4 new tyres too, so theres a few hundred :)
 
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Seems a bit pricy, I paid £1250 for my 205 with a genuine 16k on the clock and all the service history, previous MOTs etc, that said mine isn't a GTi.

Lack of PAS isn't a problem, I have no trouble maneuvering mine, and once you're moving the steering is light anyway.
 
Hows this one look.

STDT's are like ice in the sahara. So whats a DT. Looks like its got decent seats and nice steelies.

media
 
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