PEUGEOT 205 GTI

WHAT TO PAY PROJECT £1500-3000 USABLE £3500-8000 GOOD £8500-13,000 CONCOURS £16,000-22,000

There’s a big opportunity with the 205 GTI because their prices are still, quite frankly, all over the place. Fully restored or low-mileage ones can top £25k, but the prices being asked and paid for anything else seem to be chosen almost at random. In the last year we’ve seen 205s sell for £10,000 at one auction that were no better than the £4000 car in a sale the previous week. It’s a similar story in the classifieds.

What isn’t in dispute is that this car, which probably deserves the crown for greatest hothatch of its era, remains a very good long-term bet – values will stabilise at some point and there will always be willing people who want the adrenaline rush that they provide.

The other thing to know is that most people are currently chasing the 1.9 model… and paying a fat premium for them. This is plain daft because the GTI 1.6 is almost as good in the real world – there really is next to nothing in it.

The good news about the 205 GTI is that they don’t tend to suffer badly from rust unless they have been crashed and repaired. The bad news is that quite a few have been crashed by those whose enjoyment exceeded their skill set. A sure giveaway that one has a bit of a past are poor panel gaps or alignment. It’s near impossible to achieve Peugeot’s pretty tight factory fit with the pattern panels currently available, so simply steer clear of any car that doesn’t look right when you examine it down the sides.

There are plenty of these about that are in need of mechanical and trim work and that’s what we’d be looking for. Most seat material has now been reproduced and freshly re-done front seats can transform a car’s value on their own. Do you feel like getting handy with a sewing machine for a change?

The 1.9 is most in demand, but the 1.6 is cheaper and just as talented. New seat covers are available to improve the 205 GTI’S famously fragile interior – and so its price.