what to look for on a 206?

The 206 is quite crap, get a fiesta. It is an old peugeot it will probably cost you a fortune in repairs each year. A 1.4 fiesta would do you better in every way I can think of:)

The 1.9D will be rubbish. The 1.4 petrol will only give a pathetic 75hp (still more than a 1.9D though).

A 1.4 fiesta is faster and will cost you less to maintain. The fiesta looks better but this point is just imo of course.
 
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MarkDavis said:
206s aren't THAT bad. It is after all a 10+ year old design. How many small cars designed 13 years ago are still good now? Not many. 206 ride and handling is decent enough. The big downsides are the reliability / build quality and the horrendous driving position.
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In my eyes they can't be that great, and my 1994 sunny SR is far better in the handling, seating postion, and especially speed department. So there is no way a 206 is good :p
 
Girlfriends and cars, bad combination.

Friend of mine agreed to buy his other half a car as he wants to learn to drive. He asked me for help as he knows nothing about cars, said he wanted something midsized, reliable as possible and safe for a few k. I suggested a Focus or Golf, but she cried (literally) at the idea because she "doesnt like fords" :rolleyes:

They ended up getting a 306 1.8, which has had several electrical issues since buying it and the 'stat's on the way out.

To the OP - put your foot down and make sure she gets a proper car
 
They really are terrible cars, two friends have them (One got rid) and they are both constantly going wrong, have the most awfully built interiors in the entire world and are generally really nasty. But they look really nice which is why girls keep buying them.
 
iaind said:
Girlfriends and cars, bad combination.

Friend of mine agreed to buy his other half a car as he wants to learn to drive. He asked me for help as he knows nothing about cars, said he wanted something midsized, reliable as possible and safe for a few k. I suggested a Focus or Golf, but she cried (literally) at the idea because she "doesnt like fords" :rolleyes:

They ended up getting a 306 1.8, which has had several electrical issues since buying it and the 'stat's on the way out.

To the OP - put your foot down and make sure she gets a proper car
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Do NOT get me started on this.

A few months back, the girlfriend comes to me and says that her friend has £3K to spend and is looking for a car.

Well immediately I start thinking "Focus, Fiesta" as she's a new driver and I don't think she would be able to handle something like a Mondeo, so a hatch should be right up her street.

So I spend a couple of days on the internet with this friend looking at various cars - I give her some good pointers off AT and PH and leave her to it.

A couple of weeks later, she rolls up in a Seat Altea. I swear to god I died a little inside. And the icing? She spent the whole three thousand on it. Every last penny for a ten year old Seat.

I despair, I really do.
 
My cousins 206 kept cutting out whilst he was outon a motorway or dual carriage way. Dealer did loads of plugging it test equipment but kept saying nothing was wrong.

Not fun by all accounts when this happens.
 
That's the thing with Women, they don't care how it drives, it's what they like the look of..

The 206 is a crap drive, it is a little unreliable, and you could do better for the money, although a 1.4 fiesta is also exceedingly plasticky and dire on the inside, it is passable to drive, and more reliable..

When my missus wanted a 206, I did the research, and found a lot of niggly problems where common, but no major issues, it was all suspension bushes, electrics etc, but the engines seemed reasonably OK. But do expect little issues to crop up, and parts ain't that cheap.

I think sometimes you need to get them a car that may have a few niggles, it seems the only way they learn that form shouldn't be put over function..
 
I owned a 1.4glx and really quite enjoyed it :) Only thing that bugged me were the pedals were too close together and there was nowhere very comfortable to rest my clutch foot.

Ant :cool:
 
If I wanted a pretty small hatch and didnt care about reliability, I'd get a 147.

Instead of a bit pretty and a bit unreliable, its very pretty and very unreliable :D - if you're going to do something, do it properly...
 
I bought my 2001 1.4 8v Quicksilver with 15k 4 years ago and I ended up giving it to my girlfriend who then wrote it off at 50k (YEAH!).

During that ownership it had alternator failure, head gasket failure, new CV boots on the front, new injectors, new radiator, new drop-links, new exhaust, and it was getting to the point it needed the gear linkages changing (amazingly made of plastic!).

Horrible gearbox, engine became very noisy, drivers seat kept working itself loose, it rattled like a metal cereal box. I just could never reccomend the car to anyone, it was pretty much a friday afternoon car. The ABS had a stange fault the casued two accidents what would have been ohterwise aboidable if it worked properly (kicked in too early or for no reason which Peugeot said was fine).
 
I'm so glad my missus wants either my Mitsubishi Legnum VR-4 or a Mitsubishi GTO twin-turbo as her next car rather than one of these hateful little hatchbacks!
 
At that budget your pretty limited in trying to buy something reliable that doesnt look like a dogs dinner. Have you tried suggesting a ford KA or an old MX5. Both look half decent for a girls car and shouldnt fall apart like the 206.
 
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