106 GTi

st@nners · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:20

Hi, i am considering buying a 106 GTi, but i am abit concerned about all the stories ive read about head gaskets failing on them.

I want to spend about 3K max, and for that money your talkin S reg with 60K or more in the milage department. But i dont really want to buy one to have to shell out to replace a head gasket a few months down the line.

People who have owned a 106 GTi or who owns one now, whats your opinion on them.

Have you had any problems with it at all be it big or small? Head gasket failure? Cam belts slipping or snapping?, and if so what kinda millage was on your car when it went.

Also what should one specifically look out for when buying a 106 GTi and in general.

Cheers.. Chris..

Trojan · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:21

st@nners said:
Hi, i am considering buying a 106 GTi, but i am abit concerned about all the stories ive read about head gaskets failing on them.

They're not Rovers you know, you should be fine

panthro · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:24

only problem I know about them is the oil filler cap leaking, and having the oil slip onto the cambelt......boom!

Happened to a friends car, only had 17k miles on it. cost £1200 to fix. All 16 valves bent.

Ultra_Extreme · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:24

is this for your main car or second 'fun' car? Cos if its main car id think about an older 306 GTI6 just after facelift. look for one thats been looked after and had a new engine.

try www.gti-6.com

Ultra_Extreme · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:25

panthro said:
only problem I know about them is the oil filler cap leaking, and having the oil slip onto the cambelt......boom!

Happened to a friends car, only had 17k miles on it. cost £1200 to fix. All 16 valves bent.

cam=death

moss · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:27

Ive put over 60k on my GTi within 2 years. The ABS pump failed, got one from ebay for £15 and its been fine since.
Although its got a few little niggles (idle can sometimes be a little lumpy, its usually fine though) its never really let me down. The build quality isnt amazing and its quite thirsty considering but its great fun to drive.
If you do a lot of motorway miles its not so great, 70mph is near 4k rpm in 5th gear.

A VTS is probably better value for money, it'll be newer and have lower millage for the same money, but it wont have leather interior.

moss · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:28

panthro said:
only problem I know about them is the oil filler cap leaking, and having the oil slip onto the cambelt......boom!

Happened to a friends car, only had 17k miles on it. cost £1200 to fix. All 16 valves bent.

Its true the oil filler caps do leak a little, im surprised its enough to get through the plastic cover over the belt though.

panthro · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:31

moss said:
Its true the oil filler caps do leak a little, im surprised its enough to get through the plastic cover over the belt though.

He may have overfilled it? I remember sitting in it when it went bang. He **** himself! It was pretty loud tbh.

st@nners · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:39

Ultra_Extreme said:
is this for your main car or second 'fun' car? Cos if its main car id think about an older 306 GTI6 just after facelift. look for one thats been looked after and had a new engine.

try www.gti-6.com

This will be my main and first car, (awaits the omg new driver in something with more than a hamster powering it)

The idea is i get it, bring my driving and confidence back up to test standard then take my test in it. I have had lessons with a driving instructor but family grievance ment she had to stop teaching just before i took my first test. Then i havnt bothered with lessons since. But i really need to get passed soon and have a car due to new employment opertunities.

Id like to do it this way rather than get another instructor. I got an insurance quote to learn in my dads car 307 HDI 110 Dturbo and it was no cheaper so i thought might aswell learn in my own car and make it something im going to actually want to drive when i pass.

I think running the 306 would cripple me so its out of question really. Plus the insurance is enough on the 106 as it is.

Ive got a quote of £930 TPFT or £1100 full comp. Thats as a provisional driver but my own policy. Im 21

Cheers...

moss · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:40

st@nners said:
I think running the 306 would cripple me so its out of question really. Plus the insurance is enough on the 106 as it is.

Ive got a quote of £930 TPFT or £1100 full comp. Thats as a provisional driver. Im 21

Cheers...

Thats a VERY good quote tbh, the 106 running costs can be quite high, I find mine very thirsty.

st@nners · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:49

moss said:
Thats a VERY good quote tbh, the 106 running costs can be quite high, I find mine very thirsty.

Yeah I was quite supprised with the quote when i got it. I expected it to be a lot more and redid the quote a few times to make sure i hadnt entered anything incorrectly.

What MPG do you get out of it roughly?

I think 35 the book figure.

Chris..

Ultra_Extreme · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:52

st@nners said:
This will be my main and first car, (awaits the omg new driver in something with more than a hamster powering it)

The idea is i get it, bring my driving and confidence back up to test standard then take my test in it. I have had lessons with a driving instructor but family grievance ment she had to stop teaching just before i took my first test. Then i havnt bothered with lessons since. But i really need to get passed soon and have a car due to new employment opertunities.

Id like to do it this way rather than get another instructor. I got an insurance quote to learn in my dads car 307 HDI 110 Dturbo and it was no cheaper so i thought might aswell learn in my own car and make it something im going to actually want to drive when i pass.

I think running the 306 would cripple me so its out of question really. Plus the insurance is enough on the 106 as it is.

Ive got a quote of £930 TPFT or £1100 full comp. Thats as a provisional driver but my own policy. Im 21

Cheers...

that is a good quote. Spose it depends on if you want the GTi spec really, i mean 306 GTI-6 is insurance group 14 i think yet my 1.8 GLX 306 is group 5 yet unmodded the bhp difference is about 50 or so.

Im not so knowledgeable on 106's but generally they are flimsier, less comfortable and useless for a lot of day to day erranding or general purpose use. They are an about towner car or when properly modded, a very swift ultra-light hatch.

Personally id love a 106 gti, but only to rally around in the dark until i hit a hedge too many, id never want a car like that as a main car and as someone whose of similar age to you (22) and has been driving just over a year (not so bitter and warped as some of the older heads in ere) i think if you want your first car to be something to keep and maintain, then go a lil bigger cos you may soon find limitations on its size and tbh if your into quick cars youll wanna change it soon enough anyway!

mpg would be 30-35 id say.

moss · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:55

st@nners said:
What MPG do you get out of it roughly?

I think 35 the book figure.

I mainly drive around town, and its well below 35 in my experience. I remember some sites quoting around 22mpg around town, if you boot it a bit it seems to go down pretty quick.

st@nners · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:57

Yikes, sounds like its abit of a petrol whore lol

Malachy · 10 Apr 2006 at 08:11

most pug petrols are a bit thirsty,
moss have you checked your stepper motor? very common for this to get gunked up and cause rough idle, all other running will be fine just on idle it will hunt and just run like a bag of poo.

moss · 10 Apr 2006 at 13:01

Malachy said:
moss have you checked your stepper motor? very common for this to get gunked up and cause rough idle, all other running will be fine just on idle it will hunt and just run like a bag of poo.

Yeah, its a common fault, tbh it fairly does it now, not enough to cause much concern anyway.

Ultra_Extreme · 10 Apr 2006 at 14:21

moss said:
Yeah, its a common fault, tbh it fairly does it now, not enough to cause much concern anyway.

pug dealers tell me, ahem i quote, : "No m8 dont think weve ever had an order for one of those, they never go. If ya really do wanna change one tho we can do it for £265 with the vat"

lol pile of poo, picked one up from a breakers disguised as a bunch of trim screws for £1.

Then again it was a welsh mechanic, he was prolly in two minds about what his job was and whether or not to eat his own thumbs.

Malachy · 10 Apr 2006 at 15:04

seems he wanted to overcharge you too they are circa £90 from main dealer

Gaijin · 10 Apr 2006 at 15:55

Malachy said:
most pug petrols are a bit thirsty,

I'd agree with that, i'd say I get slightly better economy on my VTI than my 1.4i 8v 306 and it provides over twice the power

scratch · 10 Apr 2006 at 17:45

Oh not another 106GTi thread. You've got me drooling over them on autotrader now!

I owned a 97R GTi (2 years old at the time) for 3 years or so and absolutely loved every minute of it. Surprisingly for a French car very little went wrong! The only real problem I had was the old lumpy idle issue. It got so bad at one point that it would stall pretty much every time I put my foot on the clutch while decellerating.

The fault usually proved difficult to diagnose, as Peugeot were never able to find the fault part using their diag computers. It was generally a case of trial and error, replacing one part at a time from a list of about 5 possibles. I know of several owners on the PGAC forums who spent hundreds changing parts until they finally cured it! Mine went into the dealers twice with the problem and both times they claimed they couldn't find a fault. Strangely the car behaved itself for a few months afterwards..what a coincidence! I'd recommend taking the car out for a good long test drive to get the engine nice and warm and then see how it ticks over.

The only other common faults I can remember are the ones which most Peugeots of that era suffered with. The alarm ultrasonic sensors are prone to failure, and the airbag light would stay on. The alarm sensors can be turned off every time via a little button beside the steering wheel, but that gets pretty tiresome. The other options were to get them replaced, disconnect them, or get an alarm with a microwave sensor instead.

The airbag light is generally just an orange connector under the drivers seat which would work its way loose. The solution..push it back in!

I modded mine quite a bit (I was young free and single back then!). On the mechanical front it was lowered 50mm, had uprated suspension, brakes and tyres (on 15" alloys). It also had a full stainless exhaust, cat replacement pipe, and 4-2-1 manifold. The manifold made a huge difference to the performance as the standard Pug system is quite restrictive. 4k RPM upwards and she picked up like a dream. A dyno revealed that the exhaust system alone released 15BHP

On the cosmetic front I fitted Morette quad headlamps and a front splitter (oh and some chrome M3 style mirrors but the less said about them the better!). I loved the original styling of the 106 so didn't feel much else was needed.

All in all as long as you don't get a lemon there's no reason why you won't be very happy with your purchase. Every time somebody mentions them I dream of owning another. If I hadn't got myself into financial problems then I would probably still own mine to this day.

Andy