Am I Going Mad With What I Am Considering - Whats The 205 Like As A Da

[frs3052 1]

Hi Everyone!

 

I'm new to the forum and have registered to get your opinions on what I currently think might be a rediculous plan.

 

I am a car nut and regularly trawl through the classifieds looking to see whats availalbe or what might be my next change of car. Lately I cant stop looking at 205 GTIs, I've had one before when I was younger and loved every minute of ownership. So much so that I really have a massive temptation to buy another one.

 

This is where I meet my dilema / problem..... justifying my purchase (to both the wife and myself ). Including hers, we are already a 3 car family as I have a company car and a mk2 focus rs as a weekend toy. So if I buy one it needs to be used, that would probably mean that I end up commuting in it!

 

My budget would be circa £2-2.5k. Questions I have are;

 

What kind of car would I be getting for that kind of money?

What would it actually be like to live with on a day to day basis?

 

I do around 20k commuting miles a year (I wouldnt expect the 205 to cover this mileage but would be nice if it could).

 

So is my idea barmy?

[Carbs4me 45]

Not bad if you get a good one!

 

Most have idle problems! if you doing mind playing with it yourself then its something you can work on, which you will both hate and love about it... But once their done right it can be rewarding!

 

Depends how lucky you are when looking for one. i got one and the engine went in 6month and i ended up paying 600quid for a fully rebuilt tracked used engine, which i have had running for 18month without a problem other than starter motors failing and burst water pipes and afew air leaks! which where eastily fixed.

[Anthony 1,003]

I used to do 20k a year in my old 205 so it is entirely plausable.

 

They are fairly old cars these days though, and hence you need to keep on top of them in terms of maintenance or they can quickly deteriorate and become unreliable. Also budget for bringing whatever you buy upto scratch in the first place, as many will have been neglected at some point in their lives and even if not, there are areas that will likely need an overhall such as the rear beam.

 

If you're not handy with a spanner yourself, a good local garage / specialist would be a good bet. Skip Brown Cars aren't far from you and are a well known and respected specialist.

[Tom Fenton 1,548]

Personal opinion, although the car is perfectly capable of it so long as it is in good order and maintained, my worry would be what type of commuting journey do you have? If it's flowing a and b roads with a decent speed then great, you'll love every trip. If it is stop start traffic personally I think you'll soon get fed up with it. My trip to work is 4 miles through town, I very rarely take the 205 as although it will do the trip till it is blue in the face, it just isn't really an enjoyable journey in anything, so instead I can happily drift along in my v6 auto shogun sat in a leather armchair with a coffee in the cupholder.

[frs3052 1]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

 

Originaly i started out lookibg for a track car but decided that i woukd rather have more use out of one

 

No I'm not handy with a spanner in the slightest but do have a friend who is very handy and owns his own garage.

 

My commute is around 120 miles a day. It may be long but thankfully it's on relatively clear a roads so no stop start traffic

[McDude 33]

I'm not sure you've come to the right place for 100% objective advice, but so far it's been level headed.

 

I wouldn't want to do 120miles a day in one every day, I found 60 miles a day in mine totally draining. Plus if you aren't handy with a spanner sooner or later it will get expensive (doing that sort of miles) or you'll fall out with your friend as he constantly has to nurture it for you.

 

Be realistic as well, the 205 would not sell well today, they are (by modern standards) rattley, harsh, noisy, flimsy, crap cars. Compared to your Focus RS, dog slow and poorly equiped. But look aside the lack of modern trappings and you are left with a car that allows a level of connection to the road you'd have to go to an Elise to rival. I personally think one of the best looking cars in recent times.

 

Have one for low miles, fun miles - not for commuting.

 

As for your budget, you could get a minter for that, but you could also get a total dog. Read as much as you can on this forum to find out the pitfalls and you could find yourself with a very nice car.

 

Personally (I'm saying that a lot in this post) I'd get something with a sound bodyshell and budget to sort out the rest because the mechanicals really are quite cheap. Once you've got it preventative maintainence is the key - some people on here will curse the poor reliability of their cars, but I've got one that never misses a beat and has never let me down. I've spent a sizeable sum getting it there and continue to spend cash to keep it mint.

 

Don't be put off, but do go in with open eyes.

[Batfink 201]

Best thing I ever did was stop using a 205 as a commuter car. When you get in you appreciate what it was designed to do best and its quirks and niggles add character rather than giving you a frustrating journey.

 

Saying that, i've never had the 'fun' roads to work that are clear of traffic.

[frs3052 1]

Thanks for your thoughts. I know that by modern standards it's going to be flimsy and rattle and compared to my rs will be slow (the RS has over 400bhp so it's no slouch) in fact I think it might not even feel quicker than the Honda accord I normally commute in but it still has massive appeal.

 

I can't justify one for short / low mileage fun as that's basically what my RS is for. Appreciate what your saying though about its practicalities or lack of ruining the commute.

 

Thanks to everyone for so far providing open minded feedback

[welshpug 1,666]

sod 120 miles a day in any car!

 

I use mine for 36 miles a day total to work and back, 2 miles of usually flowing town traffic and 16 of dual carriageway/motorway/roundabouts.

[88lp 0 1 Cars]

I wouldn't do 120 miles a day in mine that's for sure. It's just too noisy and unrefined to be comfortable on fast freeways and its heavy clutch and steering make hours of constant stop-start city traffic a PITA too.

 

120 miles of empty, winding backroads would be worth a shot...but I imagine you'd still end each day slightly frazzled.

[kyepan 291]

Two and a half half grand would get you a fully converted gti-6 engined 205 on throttle bodies. Circa 200bhp wont be a patch on the rs pace wise.. How much torque does it have?

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

I'm about to embark on a 2500mile round trip in mine.

Then for the rest of the year it will do very little.

[frs3052 1]

Two and a half half grand would get you a fully converted gti-6 engined 205 on throttle bodies. Circa 200bhp wont be a patch on the rs pace wise.. How much torque does it have?

 

Around 450 ftlb

[MiniGibbo 142]

205 as a daily.. no thanks.

[welshpug 1,666]

Around 450 ftlb

 

And a ton and a half, plus significantly lower MPG

[frs3052 1]

Ok so not the best idea considering one as a daily then. I might go back the original thought train of track biased.

 

Thanks for our help everyone

[frs3052 1]

 

 

And a ton and a half, plus significantly lower MPG

 

Yeah it's modern so light weight it certainly isn't and returns any where from 8 - 28mpg not exactly frugal

Edited July 14, 2012 by frs3052

[Baz 421]

Two and a half half grand would get you a fully converted gti-6 engined 205 on throttle bodies. Circa 200bhp wont be a patch on the rs pace wise.. How much torque does it have?

 

That's b*llocks. Unless you're buying a POS.

 

Otherwise, please tell me where these cars are...

Edited July 14, 2012 by Baz

[Baz 421]

Granted i don't do many miles, I've done around 50k in the last 3-4yrs in one of mine, reliably. Surprisingly to many for some reason despite the choices i have, my car of choice most of the time for many reasons when i go somewhere is a 205, even with a bucket seat & harness, every journey is fun, it's comfortable enough, if a little tiresome if getting in & out a lot(seat/belts), is cheap to run, small, nimble and pokey enough to avoid most ditherers on anything other than very busy roads and that would be the only reason i would find it frustrating, in stop-start traffic etc.

[309jazzpanda 41]

Had mine for 2 years done nearly 20k in it I use it everyday for every journey and still prefer it to a modern car, rattles is my only complaint

[e8_pack 4]

Why to you need to justify it, get it bought and enjoy the good times you had with the last one!

[boldy205 75]

Buy one, 2k will get you a tidy one, run it for a while, if you dont like it, you can prob sell it on and not loose anything. Easy!

[Batfink 201]

Whats the company car? How much are you paying for the privilege for something you are simply not going to use?