Faults:

Bought this car, and there were a few minor flaws.

The indicator bulbs were blemishing (why they couldn't keep the orange indicator plastic chassis I'll never know).

The handbrake needed tightening (easy job).

The clock didn't work (bulbs blown).

The air con rattled on full blast (wasn't screwed down correctly).

General Comments:

This car is amazing. So much so that this is the 4th 306 1.9 turbo diesel I've owned in 10 years. I love them, but this one is far the best.

Half leather seats, air con, electric windows, and for me the best thing about the 306 is the seats; who cares how fast you can go, who cares what the car looks like; all that matters to me is do I get a sore ass after 5 hours of driving, and this doesn't do that.

OK, the cars I owned before, the reason I sold them was because I blew the head gasket (common fault), but make sure you change the cambelt when suggested; think it's 75,000 miles, and keep it topped up with oil and water. Remember, it is a diesel, so it is going to burn a bit of oil as well.

Don't expect high performance. After all, it is a DIESEL. What you need to expect is 50-70 mpg. The turbo is just there for when you need that extra ummpphh for overtaking or for pulling away.

All in all, I love these cars, cheap to run, cheap to insure, and as these are very popular cars, if you do end up hitting something or needing a spare, they are relatively cheap to find, specially if you go to a scrap yard.

Faults:

Usual things such as shocks/cambelt/bushes replaced. However handbrake mechanism was faulty, and in the end, engine electricals went into meltdown. Apparently later cars have VERY poor wiring.

Some exterior trim is very weak and easily broken.

General Comments:

A great looking Pininfarina styled car, which handles very well, and with the HDI engine, has plenty of torque.

Let down by poor electrics, some weak trim and uncomfortable seats. Also poor pedal positioning and lack of driver footroom.

Suspension on estate isn't up to load carrying, although the engine can cope with anything. Typically French!

Faults:

My, what hasn't gone wrong with the heap of crap?

Could fill a bog roll with the list of problems. Good lord.

Central locking.

Electrics.

Cambelt.

Windows.

Lights

Tracking.

Brakes.

Tailgate.

Glow plugs.

Exhaust.

Windscreen wipers.

Washer jets.

Interior.

Front suspension.

Rear suspension.

Radio.

CBA anymore, I'd be here all day.

General Comments:

Bought this V reg diesel for 700 at an auction, thinking bargain! How wrong was I.

Every single morning, I had to suffer with the multiple times of trying to start it. When it decided to work, there was a massive plume of black smoke.

It gave a rattly noisy unpleasant ride.

I hated every second of being in its miserable existence. I swear to God it was made to especially wind me up. It's like it was possessed; should have christened it Damien.

Performance, if you would even class the movement of this object as 'performance'; trying to overtake was as stressful as it was scary. I would no longer try to keep up with cars, the only thing I could race were wagons. I was screwed though if they weren't towing a trailer. 5000rpms, chewing precious diesel like no tomorrow, and giving an unbearable din; painful was the only word.

Handling, turn the wheel and the car would say b****cks and carry on in a straight line, into whatever; it's up to you to decide what you want to hit, go for soft things, for instance hedges. If you're in the wet, you had no hope; if you managed to get the front to grip, the ass end would fly out in an attempt to murder you.

Brakes, ahh yes, the absence of ABS, even though it did have it, the front would happily lock up, leaving you enough time to remember your insurance details as you plow into the poor sod in front of you. Brake on a corner? You have just signed your death certificate.

Interior and comfort, well the interior didn't work, so the sponge on the seats was only thing that didn't go wrong, amazingly.

Exterior, further inspection of the 'vehicle'; I thought it had been in a massive accident at one time, and never put back together properly. Not even Peugeot themselves could have messed this one up as-well as the repair job on this. Just gets better.

Central locking, the creme de la creme. The Peugeot's party trick was to lock every single door, then open it again; you must them decide which door to lock the other doors with, however if you went through the wrong door, you were back to square 1. The rear driver's door was the usually the one you could get away with, but sometimes it would like to play a little game and choose the other side. This was always amusing, especially at places like petrol stations, posh restaurants, Tescos, and when you're in a rush. Oh it loves to challenge you when you're in a hurry.

In November 2009, I bought a Rover 400, the best decision I have ever made; older, more miles, but hey it works.

I have never come across a car like the Peugeot; how could the manufacturer get away with making a car so unsafe and rubbish?

I worked on this car a lot; peel back the sturdy looking exterior and covers; you may as-well use paper mache; the metal is so thin and so poor quality. God help anyone who crashes one of these things.

Eventually fixed the central locking by unplugging it all, and sold it for 900 quid. Many painful man hours went into it, countless times the interior was stripped out trying to find wires. It was just a constant chore.

Do yourself a favour, think twice about buying anything french, even croissants.