Bangernomics
Jerry finds a perfect daily driver for his second child
Cost-neutral motoring the Practical Classics way… this month we offer up a Peugeot 106 and a Saab 9-3.
Find son number two his very first car. That was the task. Simple? Well maybe. What he really wanted was a Renault 5 (I have tutored him well) but if he couldn’t have that then it at least had to be cool and have some classic potential. Cheap-ish insurance would be a must for me, too. No pressure then! Little really ticked the boxes until a dealer internet auction site (accessed thanks to my motor dealer brother) turned up a 2001 Peugeot 106 Independence.
Offered via a Leicester main dealer as an end of the line part-exchange the 106 looked pretty good at first glance, the exterior was smart and although it wasn’t mentioned in the advert text, it also had a factory sunroof (I could just make it out in the pictures). The interior impressed, too, although judging from the terrier hairs it had not been cleaned – but still it was very smart and had no nasty rips or worn patches. Even the ordinarily oh-so-cool boy appeared impressed. Ha… dad may just have pulled one out of the bag.
The somewhat major downside was the dealer declaring it as having no service history available, although a quick DVLA MOT check online showed it as having had the past 10 years of tests with the same garage, the mileage climbing steadily and modestly to its current recorded
total of 93,000 with no suspicious glitches and with nothing major noted and with the only fails being for bulbs it made for reassuring reading.
My gut said that this was a well looked after car, which was somewhat at odds with it having no service history at all. Perhaps bravely therefore I banged in a maximum bid of £350 and hoped that the apparent lack of service records would put other potential purchasers off. It seems it did, meaning the little Peugeot was knocked down to me at a paltry £200.
Bro was co-opted for the collection trip and as he dipped and viewed the merely light brown engine oil he remarked: ‘That’s got more service history than you think.’ He was right, as had the dealer looked in the glovebox they too would have found the fully stamped service book, including cambelt replacement – result!
What a little belter! Yes, it wants a radio as currently the ‘ICE’ is a little on the non-existent side, but I’ve already cured the usual 106/Saxo wobbly gearchange with a new roll pin. A pair of fresh Toyo tyres on the front has transformed the previously over-heavy steering and it is now a delight to drive. Apart from the issues already noted I was struggling to find anything else wrong with it, which sadly meant that my fun came to an end and I had to hand it over. The baby Pug is now well on its way to the first 1000 miles in the boy’s hands with no water or oil used, so the signs are good.
The 106 is a secret driver’s gem. It is lighter than the venerable 205 and it handles very well – no surprise because it was based on the Citroen AX platform (the Saxo was, in turn, based on the 106).