Peugeot 205
Registered from 1990 to 1996.
About this model
The Peugeot 205 is a supermini (B-segment) car manufactured and marketed by Peugeot from 1983 to 1999 over a single generation. Developed from Projet M24 and introduced on 25 February 1983, the 205 replaced the Peugeot 104 and the Talbot Samba, using some elements from their design. It won What Car?'s Car of the Year for 1984. It was also declared "car of the decade" by CAR Magazine in 1990. Peugeot stopped marketing the 205 in 1999 in favor of its new front-engined 206. The 106, which was introduced in 1991, effectively took over as Peugeot's smaller front-engined model in their lineup. The latter was developed as a close sibling of the Citroën AX, sharing many components and a platform that later evolved into the Citroën Saxo.
From the Wikipedia article Peugeot 205, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 1990 1.6 petrol. 47 of 248 tests failed, 19%.
Better than 67% of 1990 cars. The typical one fails 21%, across 86 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Lights and electrics | 47% | 22 |
| Brakes | 45% | 21 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 28% | 13 |
| Suspension | 28% | 13 |
| Body and structure | 19% | 9 |
| Visibility | 17% | 8 |
The defects inspectors cite
- The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements
- Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle.
- Emissions levels exceed default limits
- Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Brakes — 45% of its failures
- Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
- Exhaust and emissions — 28% of its failures
- Emissions levels exceed default limits
- Suspension — 28% of its failures
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- Lights and electrics — 47% of its failures
- A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- Body and structure — 19% of its failures
- Visibility — 17% of its failures
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
When it starts failing
At 80–100k miles this one fails 19% of its inspections, against the 20% an ordinary car of the same age fails.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40–60k miles | 32% | — | 31 | |
| 80–100k miles | 19% | 20% | 42 | |
| 100–120k miles | 15% | — | 46 | |
| 120–140k miles | 17% | — | 48 |
167 British inspections, grouped by the odometer reading recorded at the test.
Half of these have more than 100k miles on them. That is how far people drive this car, not how long it lasts.