My heart sank when you wrote that....

 

Really? Bloody hell! I've always liked the 106 Rallye, but last time I looked they were still pretty pricey.

My first car was a Peugeot 106 1.1 (2001, Zest 2 in metallic blue) Great fun to drive and very easy to throw around. Unfortunately (and in true Peugeot tradition), the head gasket went after I'd owned the car about 4 months. Cost a fortune to fix, but other than the engine malfunctions, it was a great little car to be in. It was only after I replaced it that I realised just how much fun it was.

As has been said, look after it, enjoy it and build up your confidence in it!

 

Yeah got it at a snip! They are quite pricey, a lot of young lads seem to think they're worth a packet on the Rallye Register!

As you said though, head gasket went on it. My brother in law works for peugeot so it was fixed up sharpish, then the project to drop a 16v in it lost steam and flogged it for 100 quid profit.

 

I've been seriously thinking about getting a small car once I've got my Subaru - that way I can keep the mileage on the Scoob down. I love the idea of getting a 106 again (though one with a bit more poke than a 1.1!): but I vowed I'd never deal with Peugeot again.

I made a lot of mistakes during the ownership of my 106 (I guess you have to learn these things), the biggest (and most expensive) of which was dealing with the main Peugeot dealer in South Croydon.

 

Try a 106 XSi 1600. Cheap as chips and can be made to absolutely fly! Some dealers are crap, others are good. Don't let their performance put you off a car.

TBH you can do everything on a 106 yourself, and the parts are cheap as.

 

Currently running a 106 gti as my daily driver. I bought one brand new back in 97 and decided it would make a decent runaround for the daily grind.

It only cost me 1200 and is showing signs of its age but for it's size it's got some serious poke and handles better than any standard subaru. I had 2 other subaru owners in it the other day and they couldn't believe how much fun it was for less than the price of the clutch on my type r.

 

for some unknown reason I actually bought a 106 in about 97, maybe 98. think I was doing lots of miles and short trips in crap parts of the city so needed an annoymous box.

made peugeot buy it back off me as I thought it was a total pile of poo.

tinny, tiny, crap in every respect.

repairs and faults on a 6 mth old car.

for starters the pedals were so damn close together I didn't think it was even that safe.

god knows why someone would want one 10 years on ?

 

Bit harsh considering the build quality of Subaru isn't that much better

I had a 106 diesel inbetween 2 Scoobs, and yes the pedals take some getting used too. Couldn't wear work boots with them, more like karate slippers were needed

Good reliable little car though. What is strange is that the 106 diesel was horrible and cramped with a terrible seating and gear stick position with the pedal issue, but my 21 year old 205 I currently own has excellent pedals, loads of room for a small car and a brilliant driving position/gear stick location. How could a company go backwards

 

French you see. It's a combination of cheese, garlic and wine. Sends them...funny.

 

This was one of my major gripes with the car: especially as I have big feet! I used to have to roll my foot off the side of the footwell to push the accelerator without hitting the brake and use the side of my foot to brake!

Guess its like any company; some dealer are going to be better than others. I remember when the car was in for service I looked up the dealer (Robins & Day) on google to find their phone number. The first match that came up was the BBC "Watchdog" site: thats when I knew I may be about to experience poor customer service...

 

You get that with some French cars: I noticed that the footwell on aftermarket RHD converted R5 Turbo 2's was over 10cm (4") narrower than on my LHD one, due to the original structure of the car. I borrowed an RHD one once when my LHD one was in for servicing: I found it very difficult to press one pedal, rather than two at a time.

 

cars still going fine after nearly 3000 miles done in 3 weeks !
Scoobyols69