2003 Peugeot 206 1.4 gas from France

Summary:

Sucks

Faults:

First and foremost, the gas mileage is absolutely atrocious: 12 liters per 100 kilometer. We've had the car checked by two different Peugeot dealers and both say there's nothing wrong. This is an economy car?!

The wheels and brakes squeak. Again, the Peugeot garages say nothing is wrong.

The factory hubcaps keep coming loose.

The paint is badly applied and peeling in places. One of the garages said they would polish a spot and charged us for doing so, even though there was no visible difference in the imperfection. I had waxed the imperfection and water beaded up on it after it was supposedly polished by the mechanic. Conclusion: The mechanic lied, lied, lied.

General Comments:

This car is very squirrelly. It jumps instead of accelerates; the brakes lock at a touch; the car wanders all over the place.

The interior is very cramped. I'm not very tall (5' 8"), but my head hits the ceiling. There's no leg room in back. Also, the car stinks of cigarette smoke. We've done seemingly everything, even steamed the upholstery, but we can't get the stench out.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th October, 2005

5th Nov 2005, 16:36

If you are French why are you expressing your height in feet and inches?

If you are an English ex-pat why are you expressing your fuel consumption in metric units (which equates to about 34mpg, not excessive and close to Peugeot's claims)

29th Apr 2006, 19:29

I agree!

On the autobahn the car waves to all sides and is NOT stable at all!!! we can only go 110 km an hour, otherwise we feel unsafe because the car starts 'flying'!!! to the point that I am so afraid, that my hands start sweating----seriously!!! and clinging on to the steering wheel out of fear!!!it seems, as if the whole car is just being ripped away under our... seats. I told the car dealer ship about that, and they said: well, we NEVER heard that before!!!...I lived it and I KNOW it's true!

The plastic of the steering wheel is coming off, too!

Or would that be bad/cheap materials used...?

Also, we have had a bad wreck at an intersection, in second gear!!! - the front of the car was gone!!! it looked like a crumbled up coke-can, BUT the airbags NEVER went off!!!???

And now, after only 3 years the car won't drive anymore, because the handbrake BLOCKED the right, rear heel! and THAT, AFTER just having past the inspection last month!!! I will now have to have it loaded up and taken to a shop, since it can't be driven, nice, it??

5th Jul 2006, 03:04

The smell of smoke was not surely the fault of the car, but of the owner who smoked. I have had 2 206s and had no problems at all.

In reply to 5th Jul 2006, 03:04

30th Jul 2012, 23:25

Having the car for one month now, and I have to say that it is the most stable car on the road I have ever driven (had a Mercedes, Ford, Toyota), and yeah, it is the most solid driving I have ever experienced!

The problem with this car is misuse; people misuse it badly, and because it doesn't show signs of pain, they keep abusing the car.

I don't have anything to say, other than this car is really good if it has lower mileage.

2003 Peugeot 206 CC SE 2.0 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Style over not much substance

Faults:

The brakes have squealed constantly since new.

The windscreen wipers packed in after 2 months on the M8 in central Glasgow. This, as you can imagine, was not much fun.

The engine started to misfire after 12 months (15000 miles). This caused the engine management light to come on and the an anti pollution fault to be displayed. This message then turned to 'catalytic converter fault'. Numerous trips to the dealer failed to completely resolve the problem. It got to the stage where I wondered if the car would start or keep going at all.

The final straw came when my exhaust fell off after 2 years (34000 miles). Again on the M8 in central Glasgow. Luckily this was covered under warranty, but 2 weeks later the warranty would have expired. The catalytic converter was shot (surprise!!) The parts alone would have cost over £800.

I have now sold this car as I knew it was going to cost me a lot of money sooner or later now that the warranty has run out.

General Comments:

This was a fun car to drive when everything worked, but that was a rare occurrence.

I loved driving in the good weather with the roof down. (One of the few things that worked every time)

I hated being treated like a leper at the garage because the car was an import.

This was the second Peugeot I have owned and both have been very unreliable. (My other one was a 1995 306XLDT)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 10th September, 2005

26th Jan 2007, 02:51

I completely agree. I had it for 3 years and had about 80% of the problem you had. And I am not joking: my 1984 Honda Civic was more reliable and drove better!! Shame on Peugeot.

29th Mar 2007, 03:04

Hi, I thought I was alone! I have had my 206CC brand new since March 2005. The car was four months old when it had the same thing as you. Anti-air pollution and CAT faults. The dealership keeps claiming to fix the problem (5times now) but its still there. I wake up everyday thinking what will the car do today! Will I get to work 40miles away or not?? I have broken down 3 times yet "Customer Care" refuse to offer me any cash compensation unless I buy another Peugeot.. Please does anyone know why would I buy another Peugeot after all the grief and stress caused by this one???

The dealer says I must talk to customer care regarding a rejection, customer care say I should speak to the dealership...I'm going around in circles. No-one is prepared to say that they sold me a "bad-egg", surely not all their cars do this?

If there is anyone who could help with information regarding my rights please reply. I'm truly desperate now.

Thanks.

10th Aug 2007, 15:49

I bought an ex-demo 206cc HDi last June when it was 3 months old. This is my 7th Peugeot and my husband has had another 2. I've never quite had one like this though, faults are as follows...

Power Steering Pump failed at 2000 miles

Excessive rattling in door

Boot light broke

Trim in boot fell apart

Carpet: kept coming out of trim clips, dealer eventually fitted new carpets. The following day could not use passenger seat belt as they had carpeted over it!! A couple of weeks later I could'nt open the bonnet as they had carpeted over the bonnet release handle as well! (I think it's been back 8 times alone for the carpets)

2 faults with rubber seal round the roof

Roof handle / trim fell apart

Water leak from roof

Number plate fixings fell off

... that's all I can remember off the top of my head, but I think there's a few more.

Shame really, good car and fun to drive, but excessive trips to the dealer (which to be fair could have been a lot less if they werent so poor) have made me hate the car. Would still have another Pug though, I've had so many that I know this is not the norm.

21st Aug 2007, 15:41

The cars are rubbish - our 1.4 tiptronic is so poorly built Peugeot UK want nothing to do with it! (see 2003 models - 1.4 semi-automatic).