[Closed] Pug 106 GTI, Any good?

I had one of these back in 99' They handle really, really well and It's the most fun Ive had whilst wearing clothes. I'd recommend one.

It is French though so give it a good check over first.

Thanks!

If you're going to get one, make sure its not been faffed about with and comes completely as std., wheels, exhaust etc. Less chance its been boy racer'd and therefore ****ed.

I have seen a few badly chaved examples but seems there are plenty around at good money.

Thanks

they did a basic rally'esq one didnt they?
Apparently thats a hoot

dont crash one either - they don't look like they have the best protection!

There was a rallye job, but I prefer the "extras" in the GTI. Can't go much over 50 on the Island so any crash will be small.....

Take it for a tootle and listen for twanging from the back end when you roll off a kerb or over bumps. The torsion bars at the rear often need replacing and it'll cost a fortune.
Great nippy go-karts, not as good as the 205's but it try's hard.

Island??? Which one?

Isle of Wight darnnnn saaarrrffffff

I had a white 1.3 Rallye. Great fun, but you don't see many now.

I had one, and it was pretty nippy, even as standard. Brilliant fun to drive! Watch out for leaky sunroofs, and general Peugeot electronics, other than that it should be fine.

Here's my old one.
[IMG] [/IMG]

Nice!

no good if you have big feet, tiny pedal box. I loved my 306 of that vintage, Peugeot went through a very good patch handling wise around then.

Great car to drive - when it didn't break down. I had one for 3 years from 1998. I swear it was built on a Friday afternoon. Great for B roads when it was on form though

I'm working my way through the peugeot family at the moment. You thought about a 205 GTI instead? Excluding the general peugeot bugs like leaks and electrical faults the only real issue I have is the pedal sizes - fine driving in work shoes or skinny trainers but boots and skate shoes are out. A fun drive though. For value for money though there was no beating my 306 as you could alter the boost for a little extra power with not much difference in consumption.

have look at an owners club forum on what to look out for if you can. the saxo vtr is pretty much the same car too i think.

Thanks Roblilly! Paid £50 for it. You should have seen it when I got it. 😀 Thankfully it was standard other than some 6x9 holes cut in the parcel shelf, eBay soon sorted that though. It's true, while the pedals are close, skate shoes are manageable. Close pedals are handy though if you want to drive fast and the road/track will allow.

I had one, back in the days when I used to drive too fast! Brilliant backroads car. The pedals would have been really good for heel and toe, but the brake bite was too low.

Ive had one for about 5 years now.Just not long in from a wee spin!

Torsion bars arent the problem,its the trailing arms.I bought mine and had a reconditioned rear beam fitted.It cost about 400 quid parts/labour.That beam has been fine for over 60 thousand miles now with one pair of wheel bearings fitted at the rear in that time. If you look at the angle the wheels sit at (tilted in towards the car at the top) then you want to ask the owner if you can jack it up and check for play.
Dont just grab the wheel and check for play at 12&6 oclock / 9&3oclock.. try it at all different points.I am fairly sure my old beam felt fine in some positions,bad in others.Have a good waggle! Wheels over the standard 14 inch will obviously help everything wear out quicker so ive stuck with 14s.Steer clear of cars fitted with 17s.If the car has been dropped 50mm+ it wont be fun as standard ride height.I had it -60mm at the front years ago and its a waste of time.I would be worried about driveshafts etc if the car has been dropped 60mm at the front.If you know its had new shafts recently with other known stuff around those areas replaced.. then no probs.Same goes with the rear beam.It will cost around 100-150 to get it raised back to standard if its been dropped too far.30-40mm drop front and rear is fine with quality springs and dampers. I have eibach and bilsteins.So planted.

The engine is tough.I dont hammer mine into the redline but with oil changes around 8k its been good upto 140k.The gearbox doesnt get hammered either and it too has done over 60k with me.

when you get in the car,press the clutch pedal down.If it feels notchy and a bit sticky,the release bearing could be a bit knacked.A new clutch (inc the release bearing) will cost about £100 for a valeo.£150 labour.

Brakes.. check discs all round.(both sides) as the rears could have a problem.One side might show as having no wear due to a problem(rusty on one side,fine on the other)

The boot.. open it and check at the bottom of the trunk lining for dampness.I would dab it with some kitchen roll to see if any rust shows up.My boot has a fair bit of rust around there so beware of any work carried out around the seams either side above the wheels.Also check for crumples in the floor.Its fairly thin so any probs should show up easily under the sound deadening mat.

Airbag warning light.. very common fault.Its not a big issue.you can alter the connection under the driver seat if it bugs you.They often flash then stop flashing all on their own.Worrying at first as you are expecting a mouthful of airbag! Dont worry about it failing an MOT if it starts flashing,it wont.

Test drive.. I would ask to drive it easy for around 5-10 miles to get it warmed up so the oil and water temps are around the mid way points.Then give it a bit of stick.Dont be shy upto and over 6k revs.If the owner drives it before you and he rags it from the off,walk away.

Exterior.. The trailing edges of the front bumper often drops down.Usually due to an accident.They should butt up nice and tight to the wing.Easily noticable in pictures on autotrader etc. Same goes for the rear bumper.The front problem isnt too hard a fix.Open both doors fully,if theres loud cracking noises then the checkstraps have reached the end of their life.I think they are about 20 each and a bit of a pain to fit.door linings off etc.check side skirts and all 4 arch trims to see if they are still firmly fixed.They often have a bit of a gap at the tops but not too much of a tricky prob to fix.The cost of new arches could easily cost 400 quid but can be found easily 2nd hand.

Exhaust/manifold.. listen for them blowing.If the standard manifold with heat shield is still on there,it could be rusted through in some areas.

Alarm/immob.. ask to see it working in all modes.Theres a red light on the dash.Ask if theres been any probs with it going off in the middle of the night or not.You wont be a happy bunny waking up at 3am the night after you buy it!

If it has an aftermarket ram air filter or something similar,ask when the foam filter was last replaced inside it,if at all.

Oil filters £6
Fuel filters £8
air filters £10

14inch tyres are cheap as chips even for quality stuff.Its a light car and easy to work on DIY in the garden.

*if you buy cheap,expect to maybe spend a bit on it.They can be money pits but because of the drive of them,you might get attatched and never let them go..

Back to back on a test drive - the saxo vts was a dog next to the 106.I tried about 4 106s after that,and the vts made me cringe after the test drive.same engine but never quite got it right like pug did.Its not as nice looking as the pug either.Just take a glance at the wheel arches and the front on view.No leather interior in it either.. although a slight change inside the gearbox will see the vts reach 60mph without going into 3rd gear.. apparently.

A 1.4xsi gearbox in the 106gti can be fun.

Great info, thanks Martin

Have a friend who got one as his first sporty hatch, loved it, was his life, all original, not a chaved-out bit of crap. It was very nice but he got a better job, bought a 54 civic type R and as fast as that is he says that he really does miss the 106.

I had one for about 5 years and loved it 🙂 electrics can be a bit dodgy but it's a cracking little car to drive, it's like driving a bloody go-kart 🙂 very very quick for a little old 1.6 !!! sadly got rid of mine and replaced it with a Renault Grand scenic (2 kids & dog to fit in), quite a bit different from the Gti.

Get one and enjoy.

update. 106gti is 16v and equal to saxo vts. Worth checking out insurance ratings for both as well as car prices as these may differ. And depending on where you live and your age etc, insurance may be quite high.

VTSs are minging inside, compared to the 106GTIs though.
Anyone on here got one to sell then?