Remster

I know, yet another 205 GTi thread.

I am looking at a 205 GTi 1.9 as a 3rd car for weekend fun and trackdays plus something to tinker with in the garage. As there are plenty on here who either own or have owned the marque I wonder if you could give me any pointers regarding what to pay for a reasonable project car.

There is such a diversity in prices which, in some cases, do not seem to be bourne out by the cars spec. & condition. Some £500 cars claim to have had the rear beam done, valve stem seals, tyres, brakes, long MOT etc. which are some of the major jobs. I know the ltd editions and rare colours command a premium, as do the no sunroof models.

To those of you that have viewed a few cars, is it wise to avoid the cheaper cars or are they worth a look? I don't mind a little work with the car but don't want to be spending lots of money as the wife will go spare.

Any views appreciated.

Senior_AP

2k gets a real corker.

Some look great but are ****. Some look a bit **** but are great.

Like any older car, take each car on it's own merit.

SeanT

I had a look at a few 1.9's and the cheap ones were quite rough, you could pick up a really nice one for between 2-3k that has been well looked after, I took the Mi16 conversion route in the end, got a really nice one for 2200 in the end and what a car!!!, miles of smiles!! and the insurance is still low....

Petem95

Its very difficult to find genuinely good ones now. Might take you a few months to find one.

Last 205 GTi I bought was 3years ago, and I looked at loads of (apparently) mint 1.9's, but they were not as described. Ended up getting a mint 1.6 GTi in the end, but that was a mistake.

Gutmann pug

I reckon a grand will get you a reasonable car, like everything it will just take time to find the right car for you. Prepare to see a few dogs, but realise the potential in everything. These cars are old now after all.

Gary

Dream Weaver

Just find one with decent bodywork and suspension and buy it - dont worry too much about the engine as they are easy to replace, and cheap if you stick with the 8V unit.

I paid over the odds for mine (£2k) with a duff Mi16 fitted, but it was worth it for the body/chassis condition, plus I got very rare black leather which is worth £500 on ebay, although thats now sat in the back bedroom.

Gutmann pug

Dont say that I sold my black leather for £30

Dream Weaver

Depends what black leather you had and what condition - mine's matt black std 205 with black stitching and they do go for approx £500 on ebay

Big Daz

Different view here, but perhaps I was just lucky,
I got a 1990 G off ebay for 250 quid. The only rust on the entire thing was a small amount along the bottom of the drivers door which was easily repaired.
A new driveshaft and away we went
As others have said, engines are easily replaced, so look for one with solid bodywork and a good nick rear beam. The rest is easily and cheaply replacable.
I now have a quick & "reliable" track car for about £750. This includes track springs & shocks / bucket seats / 6 point cage / slicks / Nos / full service & belts / spare rear beam / spare wheels with wets.
Enjoy
Daz

rb5_336

yeah i'd also say about £1k for a decent one, i.e. no rust and had a beam rebuild. There are some good buying guides over on 205gtidrivers, and always lots for sale over there.

nickwrxstiV2

1k would get you a decent track car project. Very good examples go for around the 2K mark!! I got rid of this one 6 months ago for £2050 on Ebay. I only bought it for £1900!!

Gutmann pug

Matt black leather with something stitched into the head rest, cant remember what?

Surplus to requirements and couldn't be bothered to muck about with them.......

Gary

Remster

Cheers guys.

I had a Graphite Grey 1.6GTi back in 1991 which I have fond memories of and hope that a 1.9 will still put a grin on my face after 15 years in the wilderness.

£1k is my self impossed budget for the car with £500 held back for year 1 running costs (not inc. fuel, tax & insurance)

Time to start listing the possibles.

Any pointers on where to look besides ebay, pistonheads & autotrader?

Thanks again.

Andy M3

http://www.justgtis.com/

These people seem to have some nice examples, although you do pay for it. No personal experience, maybe someone else has ?

Gutmann pug

My suggestion would be to search the local auto trader etc. Drive a couple, go with your instincts what feels tight, feels smooth, no dodgey noises, back end isnt wallowing. If you end up paying a few quid more for a cleaner better looked after example it willl see you right in the long run.

I bought mine 2 years ago, have thrashed it to within and inch of its life for probably 2500 miles on track since. Its now in for a much needed TLC and will be back for the same again starting next week. The TLC will cost me £600 tops including new brakes all round, clutch, starter motor, drive shaft oil seal, gearbox oil seal, battery, MOT, new harnesses and anything else which comes to mind ........

Cheap, damned exciting, loads of smiles per miles fun.

Dream Weaver

...just annoying when they go wrong and you cant find the problem

Deep Singh

As an aside; I've had two, a sorrento green 1.6 with PAS , and a graphite 1.9. Back then I remember people talking of turbo charged(after market) versions of these cars, anyone had experience of them?

Dave uk blue mica

you can get cheap good cars, i bought a H reg white 205 1.9 non sunroof last year for £250 and i've done over 10 road rallies in it and its been faultless, i've also got a H reg steel grey 205 1.9 non sunroof that i paid £400 for so bargains are about.

Remster

Dave uk blue mica,

Don't be so greedy wanna sell one of your beauties?

Gutmann pug

agh what the hell its a 205 thread, best post a couple of pics ....





Gary

Dream Weaver

Ooh, does that mean I can post some as well

rb5_336

205 pic bundle..............




P.s. you won't be able to even buy a 205 wheel from justgtis for £1k. Overpriced to the extreme those cars are

Petem95

Yeah I had one of these, it was a 1.9 GTi Turbo Technics conversion car - turbo conversion carried out from new. It went surprisingly well, and got quite a lot of confused looks off people when they heard the turbo whistle and dump valve chirp! Traction in the wet was pretty poor though, but overall the most fun car Ive ever owned so far.

Pic below;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/Pete95/205tt.jpg

Andy M3

I went to Santa Pod a while back now, and a bloke there had just had a Xantia 2.0 turbo lump fitted to his 205. I think he went with a few basic mods, MBC, decent exhaust / induction. Estimated 160/170 hp. And 1.9s were battering it all the way up the 1/4 - lol.

I have also seen a T16 205 FWD pull in to let a mk2 2.0 16v golf pass around Oulton park i think. .

Mi16 seems the best conversion, but i have had no personal experience.

robertdon777

Wouldn't let mone go for under £4k so looks like i'll have to keep
it forever had it 12 years though.

















and my daily drive MY2001


Rob

Gutmann pug

Thats quite clean that is .......fair play matey

robertdon777

especially for 123,000 miles

Been in the garage for the last 6 years though after an engine re-build, house move put the stoppers on running 2 cars. Hopefully will be running again sometime this summer (he says)!

Dream Weaver

Wow, ultra clean robert, surprised we've never seen this on the 205gtidrivers.com forum???

s33gav

205 pics, ok I'll join in

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a42...ewWheels06.jpg


http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a42...ewWheels07.jpg


The above car is for sale too

robertdon777

Just never got round to it, internet wasn't a big thing back when I started getting it modified, i just pop in here every now and again and also use detailingworld.co.uk. So many forums so little time!