Peugeot 205 GTI values

Thanks Isis und schlitzaugen,

I agree , buying on the mainland is a bit of a pain for us here in Tassie. Have experienced that when searching for a boat. You fly across, hire a car and step on board and within a few minutes you know you have wasted a thousand bucks or so coming across.

That is one reason why I am interested in this car. You are right that these cars are scarce in Tassie. Tomorrow I will "inspect" the car take it for a drive. Next step would be a pre-purchase-inspection by the French Car Care garage here in Tassie.

If this doesn't work out for some reason, I thought about the possibility of selecting on the web a car that appears to be in good condition without improvement or modifications. Than ask the owner to have a PPI done by someone who knows what he is doing before I have seen it in the flesh. If the report confirms a good condition, than pop over and probably buy the thing.

My price range is fairly flexible and 20k+ is not impossible.

Perhaps I should politely and respectfully approach Mr Keating with a suggestion he pass his 205 on to me. Yes.......yes, I am a dreamer!
 
Well, if you have that sort of money, I would say buy it, provided it checks out. You can easily spend another 2k to go inspect some other car on the mainland and come back home empty handed. It's not cheap, but not out there as most cars on the mainland.

Interior plastics are a pain the arse, but if you can live with it, I would leave as is. If you replace them, you won't drive it for fear of breaking something. Plus, any time the dash has to come out for some repair, it is almost certain some other plastic bit will break.

Check the plastic grille in front of the windshield. Has two screws at the extremities. Are the screw eyelets broken? If yes, the car may have been driven in anger. The body flexes and plastic can't keep up, so it cracks. The plastic also shrinks with time, so it is not a definitive diagnostic, but easy to check (eyelets line up with the screw holes in the body, but plastic is cracked). These cars really benefit from a strut bar. Another giveaway sign is a crack in the body shell just at the top of the B-pillar. Not always obvious, but if the paint shows something you might want to check further.

Like I said, I wouldn't be too fussy about mechanicals/electrics, as long as there is no sign of accident damage. Everything can be fixed even if it might take some effort/money. But if the body work is crappy and looks bad, it can be a real pain to put straight even a minor problem.
 
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schlitzaugen said:
Check the plastic grille in front of the windshield. Has two screws at the extremities. Are the screw eyelets broken? If yes, the car may have been driven in anger. The body flexes and plastic can't keep up, so it cracks. The plastic also shrinks with time, so it is not a definitive diagnostic, but easy to check (eyelets line up with the screw holes in the body, but plastic is cracked). These cars really benefit from a strut bar. Another giveaway sign is a crack in the body shell just at the top of the B-pillar. Not always obvious, but if the paint shows something you might want to check further.
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Just so you don't potentially reject a good car for no reason, it might be worth clarifying some of Shitsy's advice.

I have inspected many 205s and owned 8 including an immaculate one owner car with only 80k on it. Almost without exception any car you look at will ALL have cracks in the mounting holes at the extremities of the plenum (ie, in front of windscreen). I think the only car I have seen with no cracks was the proverbial driven only on Sundays low mileage Si. Any guidance here is only to be gained from looking at how badly the cover is cracked up. Just minor cracking would be consistent with a very good car.

Similarly, EVERY car will have some cracking heading back in the seam from the top of the B pillar. If it doesn't then it's been resprayed. Any guidance is to be gained from how long the crack is. Small crack one inch long suggests a very gentle life. Big cracks inches long suggest a flogging.
 
Thanks for all that. I am glad I put my question up on this site.
It's good to get things in perspective.

Just wondering whether the cracks on top of the B-pillar allow water to get in there causing rust. My understanding is that the body panels have been galvanized, but that would not help a lot when we are looking at cracks.
 
Pintail said:
Thanks for all that. I am glad I put my question up on this site.
It's good to get things in perspective.

Just wondering whether the cracks on top of the B-pillar allow water to get in there causing rust. My understanding is that the body panels have been galvanized, but that would not help a lot when we are looking at cracks.
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I think the cracking occurs over a seam of caulking or sealant that can flex a little during exuberant driving, causing he hard paint over the top to crack a little. I don't think a crack in the paint there means that moisture can get through the seam of sealant to the metal. I think rust in that section behind the top of the B pillar is unusual and would worry me.

I'm not afraid to admit that my car gets cornered hard enough from time to time to have caused a little bit of cracking in that section!
 
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The road you describe as an alternative is the one I took. Found a car, had someone who understands what they are talking about look at it, then came down with a cheque in my hand. this saves me time, but most importantly takes emotions out of the first inspection... those emotions can be costly.
and I ended up with one of the best 205s in the country.
 
Pintail said:
Thanks for all that. I am glad I put my question up on this site.
It's good to get things in perspective.

Just wondering whether the cracks on top of the B-pillar allow water to get in there causing rust. My understanding is that the body panels have been galvanized, but that would not help a lot when we are looking at cracks.
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Yes they do rust in the b pillar upper and lower. The last gti I owned had rust in the upper seam. very hard to get it out and stop it from coming back
 
schlitzaugen said:
My car doesn't have any cracking and hasn't been resprayed.

Metal is not galvanised, so it will rust like any other car.
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The reason why I thought body panels were galvanized is something I read in Classic Car Reviews:-

"Rust isn’t a big problem as the shell is part galvanised but these cars are getting old now. B-pillar rust are more common in the majority of GTIs than in lesser 205s because the firmer suspension and higher cornering loads strain the rather flexible body shell more."

But that does not alter the fact that rust is rust when you get it.
 
I am not sure what part is galvanised, but I am not saying it is impossible. It may also be the case that some cars might have been galvanised due to requirements of the markets they were sold in, who knows? My car is definitely not galvanised or I haven't found the part that is.

Repairing rust is an act of despair akin to madness and I am not sure many people who do such desperate restorations drive their cars daily after that.
 
Have just returned from my inspection of the 205. It was my first time that I drove one of these. Beginning to understand why people rave about these cars. And I had just a short drive so I never did it justice. Certainly something nice to get used to. Very responsive. I liked driving this car.

On the flip-side I understand now why plastic parts are frequently mentioned. Room for improvement. Even replacement bits require replacing. But than I accept that you may best just ignore the plastic bits and enjoy the rest.

Had a good look at the B-pillar cracks. Left side two inches and right side four inches long. The goo in between panels appeared in good condition and looks water tight. Just the paintwork has been affected I think. Doesn't seem to be a problem to me.

My general impression was that this car has been used with enthusiasm and is now a little tired. I base that not just on the length of cracks!

Have decided not to have the PPI done at this stage and prefer to continue watching what else becomes available.

Although I will continue to watch this threat and site, I would like to thank everyone here for their advice and commentary. Been a good start for my learning curve. Thanks again.
 
djvu205 said:
Yes they do rust in the b pillar upper and lower. The last gti I owned had rust in the upper seam. very hard to get it out and stop it from coming back
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Same here. My latest GTI has a small crack but no rust yet. I rub lanolin grease into the cracks whenever I wash the car now and I would recommend everyone with cracks to do something preventative like this also. The rust penetrated deep into the seam on the last car and wasn't at all detectable until I chiseled away at the seam sealer.
 
I suspect this is the way they go.

I have found in my car rust in the driver's footwell, in the seam just below the pedals, where the brake fluid leaks from the master cylinder probably collect.

I would suggest silicone grease, the real stuff, which does not dissolve in anything.
 
For those who recently said the asking prices for the 205's on Carsales were " greedy" or "no 205 is worth that much" then check this out.
The Honda CRX in the 80's was the rival of the 205 GTi and magazines were full of comparisons between the two.

Check out Carsales and there is a 1989 CRX for $27k.

It has 460,000 klms on the odo.
Food for thought.
 
The CRX has a massive following in the US though, and they love their Hondas. If 205's were sold in the States I dare say they would be worth a lot more here today. All it takes is a Youtube video now and car prices shoot up.
 
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