Stepdaughter wrote her Golf off. Grr rant on another thread.

Anyway she is (shock horror) buying her own car. She's looking at a Peugot 106, 5 door 1.1. R reg 70,000 miles. Looks in decent condition. got 12 months MOT. Bearing in mind her extremely limited budget, and the usual things to look for in an old car, does anyone know anything specific to that model I should look out for?

There not a bad little car to be honest,bit flimsy & not the strongest built but generally ok,id get the cambelt done if no proof of a recent change as failure results in bent valves,the rear axle bearings can wear,check rear wheels arent tilting in at top.Easy to repair & service,not a bad choice as a 1st car/cheap runaround.

Stepdaughter wrote her Golf off. Grr rant on another thread.

Anyway she is (shock horror) buying her own car. She's looking at a Peugot 106, 5 door 1.1. R reg 70,000 miles. Looks in decent condition. got 12 months MOT. Bearing in mind her extremely limited budget, and the usual things to look for in an old car, does anyone know anything specific to that model I should look out for?

I used to have a 1.1 106, R reg as my first car. I didn't have any issues with mine at all

I had 3. A diesel, an XSI and a GTI.

Great little cars, my 2 new ones were fantastically reliable.

I got the XSI as an ex-demo, and the poor thing was a right dog, having been hammered by multiple salesman :(

As mentioned get the cam belt checked. I had one go on the GTI, and it took out 15 of the 16 valves, and various other bits. Cost like £2k to repair :( Even worse, the cam belt had been changed 2k miles before by Peugeot, and they wouldn't put a penny towards the repair costs :(

Not as such, but a friend had a Citroen Saxo (AX before that, and now a C3).

Everything's been covered except that these cars don't absorb miles the way VAG machines seem to. My friend got rid of the Saxo because it was about to need new CVs joints (all 4) at about 100_000 miles.

Seen many a pug and citroen run to 250k without a problem, so they are not that bad on the miles.

Worth checking that there is no mayo in the oil and also that the header tank (on the side of the radiator) isn't full of gunge.

If it's the latter, then you'll need to flush it all through and put in fresh coolant.

As above cambelt is important and they are a lot happier if you do regular oil changes (but these are easy to DIY).

If you can get a XUD derv, these run and run, although the 1.4 a bit less so than the 1.7 and 1.9.

Good cheap cars, but bear in mind the basic design is based on an 80's starting point, she won't want to be crashing it hard.

Seen many a pug and citroen run to 250k without a problem, so they are not that bad on the miles.

Likewise, but normally 40N, BX, and Xantia models, not superminis.

Check the thermostat is working - don't want to cook the engine.

The rocker cover gasket goes hard/cracks leading to oil running down block - easy & cheap to replace.

Rubberised seal around oil flow/return on headgasket can perish, leading to headgasket issues. -Again cheap to fix, & if not overheated then no skimming required, and being a 8V refitting/replacing cambelt etc not too difficult.

Clutch quite easy to change and parts cheap.

Engine light will most likely be the lambda sensor.

Yes, the rear suspension beams can sieze. This is a big issue on 205 GTi's and even a friends yr 2000 Xsara beam was knackered. You can jack the rear of the car up and look to see that the wheels moves down before lifting off the ground. On my 205, I noticed the wheel stayed in the arch during an MOT!!

Considering her past "accidents" is it wise for her to get a car with as much protection as a tin can?!

It's a fair point. But she can only get what she can afford now financial assistance has been withdrawn. She's not going to get much for £600.

There's a few Rover 214's in her price range, but I briefly had one of those and the build quality was on a par with my 7 old's efforts with lego.

I had a 106 Quiksilver, was less than 2 years old when I bought it so can't comment on it's mechanical soundness. Loved it to pieces, would probably have kept it longer if it had air con, but as mentioned, it's an old design. Although when I see them on the roads now, I can't believe how small they are!

She's not going to get much for £600.

Big old Volvo, or an Audi 80. I'm quite sure that should there be a nuclear holocaust, cockroaches won't be the only things to survive...old Volvos and Audi 80's will be there too

Although, I suppose insurance is the big question mark.

Mark II Punto isn't far above that if you want a newer, safer car. . .

My mate had a 106 - N reg 1.1 and it went well. Quite reliable too from what I remember.

Have you considered a cheap Felicia or Furby? They are quite strong and power wise the 1.3 or 1.2 would hold her back in terms of speeding. I crashed one of my Felicia's twice and it held up well. Insurance wise I think they are group 5 and under.

Well, I guess almost against my better judgement, we bought an S reg Rover 214. 86,000 miles, tyres only 6 months old, cam belt replaced, new battery and head gasket. 12 months MOT, drives well. £495. Fingers crossed it doesn't break down :wonder:

The 106's we looked at in her price range had been thrashed. But thanks for everyone's advice.

Well, I guess almost against my better judgement, we bought an S reg Rover 214. 86,000 miles, tyres only 6 months old, cam belt replaced, new battery and head gasket. 12 months MOT, drives well. £495. Fingers crossed it doesn't break down :wonder:

The 106's we looked at in her price range had been thrashed. But thanks for everyone's advice.

The Rover 214 is on the Top Gear "Cool Wall" as "Ice Cool", but only because they started walking "stage left" at "uncool", and and finished up going right rount the World before they reached anywhere uncool enough!

I have a S1 106 Rallye and not had much problems... Just wear and tear as its a 16 year old car! Ball joints bushes etc.

Rear axles are common on 106's and 206's as they are torsion bars. If they go you are about £400 for a garage to source one and fit it. Gearboxes are quiet soft of too but only if your heavy on it.

My partner has a 206 and needed a rear axle for MOT in 2009 and I recently checked it for her as she said the car feels like its wobbling jacked the car up and there was far too much play! Its not getting repaired as I think its pointless because you cant guarantee that the 2nd hand axle is decent or not, so trying to give her the Rallye but shes not wanting it.

Hence my garage is full of French car parts including axles!

I use to have a 106 1600 XSi track car, never had any problems with it when i owned it.

Freind of mine had a 1.0 106 and lasted ages. The TU engine's are bullet proof.

The Rover 214 is on the Top Gear "Cool Wall" as "Ice Cool", but only because they started walking "stage left" at "uncool", and and finished up going right rount the World before they reached anywhere uncool enough!

Quite agree. But is it less cool than shanks' pony and/or the bus?