Faults:

Drive shafts replaced.

Front brake disks replaced several times.

Control box for diesel pre-heaters replaced twice.

Accelerator cable snapped (replaced as service item after this happened).

Rear hatch leaks.

Driver's seat a bit knackered.

Glove compartment held closed with velcro.

BUT: The engine's not been touched - and there's hardly any rust in the body!

General Comments:

Like a trusty old dog. Drives like a tractor. But will outlast the pyramids if you spend a bit of money on it from time to time.

Faults:

Alternator suddenly broke down in the middle of the motorway. I had to wait for help, and get the car towed to my local garage. Cost 60 euros to fix.

The horn doesn't always work (poor quality plastic button melts with summer heat).

Cassette player has never worked properly - radio goes OK.

Boot plastic seals worn away at around 140000, resulting in water leakages into the boot when it rains (not fixed).

Drivers' door lock won't work anymore (145000), so I have to open the right door, from the inside open up the driver's door, go round, and then get in the drivers' seat (I guess I'll have to fix that!)

Front left light bulb (H1) went out at 148000, and was fixed for no charge the last time I went to change oil.

General Comments:

I purchased this car for 800 euros.

It has served me loyally a year and a half and done about 30000 km.

Fuel consumption is ridiculously low: 6 litres every 100km.

Flat out top speed around 160kmh, but real motorway cruising maximum speed is around 120-130kmh.

Handles quite good; brakes quite good too.

Not good handling in the snow.

Tiny seats mean if you're tall (like me) you're back is gonna die on long journeys - but the little pug will get you there, while delivering better mpg than a brand new Ford Focus TDCi. The engine produces a lot of noise and vibrations, which make long motorway journeys quite uncomfortable.

All in all, if you've got a tight budget, then this is the car for you. But don't expect any comfort at all: at 120kmh the noise is so loud you can't even hear the radio. After a 300-mile trip you're sure to have a headache.

Repairs and running costs extremely cheap.

Faults:

Only things I have had to replace were, rear brake caliper and shoes and pads. General things id expect as throughout any cars life!

One thing I did do was swap the drivers and passengers seats over as the gentlemen I bought it off, was a little old and broad, so the seat had started to sag a bit!

No Rust!!

Slight water coming in to the boot area leaking around the lights, but can be fixed with some sealant.

General Comments:

Top Notch performance, starting is OK if you remember to use the accelerator to give it the gas before using the switch, not at the same time as I often do!

Handling is good! Always easy to know what the car is doing, doesn't just slide around like crazy, and can be very good at overtaking much newer cars and putting them to shame!!

All in all, one of those hidden gems that doesn't look like much, but will and can surprise!!