Faults:

Persistent water leaks into the boot - I consider that there is a basic design fault with the rear hatch - any water that finds its way inside the hatch drains into the boot.

Head gasket failed at ~35000 miles.

Air in fuel line from filter to fuel pump cured by fitting later type (horizontal) pipe run from filter head.

Outer drive shaft gaiters have failed 3 times.

Vacuum pump failed at ~70000 miles - emitted high pitched whistle, although still worked the brakes.

Persistent problems with front brake pistons sticking - need regular servicing.

One rear brake shoe delaminated - brakes still worked (!)

Most of the glow plugs failed at ~83000 miles.

One of the front wheel bearings is in the process of failing at the moment - it's on the 'to do' list.

Speedometer needle fell off a while back, glued it back on...

Interior mirror has fallen off several times...

Offside rear door window winder mechanism has partially rusted away.

Rust hole under rear seat squab - there's a bit of a mud trap underneath.

Rust appearing in the front doors between the hinges and in the rear lower corners.

Headlight dipping switch failed.

Stitching on seats now needs regular mending - probably a UV (sunlight) problem as the car is kept outside all the time.

General Comments:

Comfortable, economical (54mpg), and reliable (never stranded - yet!).

Excellent, precise handling (I was brought up on oversteer...) and torquey engine make it a delight to drive.

Now getting a bit noisy, with various trim rattles and squeaks.

Steering effort high at parking speeds - but only if you are used to power steering - and clutch heavy, but a new cable might improve this (based on our other 205GRD).

Ease of maintenance not its strongest suite - probably related to Group 8 insurance rating.

Faults:

A few small electrical problems.

The glow plugs needed replacing.

The front brakes needed replacing after I brought it as the left side pad had seized up and got totally worn away.

General Comments:

The car has been fantastic since I only paid £400 for it.

It's quite fast, has plenty of power and the engine is fantastic. It starts first time and now messing about with the choke in winter.

It's an ideal cheap car.

Faults:

Almost every part of the car needed attention at one point or another, probably because it was in a right state when I bought it and I thrashed it mercilessly. As far as I remember:

Gearchange linkage broke, stuck in 3rd gear.

Front wash/wipe packed up.

Stereo speakers are crap and got progressively worse.

Brake pads wore down VERY quickly.

The car would sometimes run on three cylinders, etc etc etc.

General Comments:

When it ran properly, it was a very, very quick front wheel drive hatchback. Considering the abuse it had obviously endured from day one it was doing very well indeed, it never actually let me down while driving it.

The engine is one of the best I've ever driven, very smooth and lots of power (115 BHP), even more impressive considering they were all 8 valve motors, not that peaky either.

As with most main dealers, the service sucked - charged lots of money for bugger all work. Peugeot are quite expensive, compared to Ford, Vauxhall etc.

It is suprisingly comfortable and roomy.

If you're gonna buy one, make sure you get a nice clean one that's been looked after, the majority have been thrashed, crashed or generally trashed. Oh, and it's possible to buy/run one on a budget, just don't expect it to give its best!

The biggest problem you'll have is getting a reasonable insurance quote, any car now with GTi in its name gets stung big time.