Buying a 106

[turbolag]

I don't suppose your brothers car was by any means new, was it? It could've easily been previously cooked etc, making the HGF inevitable, sooner or later.

Now, when the HG failed on my 9,000 mile old 207 which I had owned from new, I think I was pretty justified in being a teensy bit unhappy. But Had I been the 2nd owner, even if it were still a low miler, you can never blame the car with impunity, because you simply don't know what went before.

[Welly]

We've all become a bit safety obsessed in this country (hence all the big 4x4's on the school run) but there's all sorts of pro's and con's to it all. A little 1.1 will mostly stay the right side of 70mph so if all went wrong you're not going mega-fast beforehand and the skinny tyres will tell you in plenty of time if you're cornering too fast - in fact the ubber body roll of the 106 puts you off high speed cornering.

We had this engine in a Citroen AX and it took a lot of abuse (yes the downpipe fell off) it seemed to enjoy popping-off the CV boots too, maybe the 106 is different here.

On another note, Ford KA's seem a good first'er and don't slosh about like a boat, they seem to be around £1K to buy and insurance is low (my Mum's had three now and never any bother).

[turbolag]

Early Ka's rot badly. Was resolved something like 2002ish, but the first 5 or 6 years were appalling. They're a pain to service too - I'm 6'3" with long gorilla like arms, and can barely reach the oil filter way up the back of the motor (you have to get it from underneath), which makes it almost impossible for the home DIYer of normal proportions. Plugs rust into the head - never buy a Ka unless the seller is willing to remove the plugs and prove they're not rotted in. This afflicts a good half or more of the original version 1.3s and is so bad that many Ford dealers won't change the plugs during a service unless the punter signs a disclaimer first.

That said, they drive okish, so find one that's not ferrous, and has the plugs proven to not be rotted into position, and if you don't mind paying for garage servicing then it's not a bad machine, but don't pay a grand for a decade old small hatch when tidy metal from others goes for less than half that.

[sirwiggum]

Second that about Kas, rust badly. They hoped the plastic nonsense would hide the rusting arches, as visible in mk3 Fiestas.

Regarding small cars, I've always been a fan of the Skoda Felicia. Passed my test in one, so biased.

Low insurance, fairly reliable, easy to work on, the estates are usefully large.

Bigger than the Felicia, I would be looking at Citroen ZXs always lower insurance than their 306 sisters. Had a hatch and an estate, reliable and the estate boot was huge
Just not the best image-wise, those 2.

[trem1]

well we bought it got it for the princely sum of £425 so think that was reasonable,it didnt have a headunit so i fitted one this aftrenoon,and the only fault we can find on it is the washer motor isnt working other than that the 30 mile home trip showed up no other issues.If i can get her to keep it still long enough tomorrrow i'll sort the washer,but theres no guarantee it'll be still that long

[Welly]

Oh yes, she'll be looking for any excuse to drive somewhere/anywhere (untill she see's how much the petrol's costing )

Hope it goes ok and tell her to be careful out there.

[FarmerPug]

Here is my review of a 106:
I had a 106 for a while it was a 1995 post facelift 5 door 1.5 diesel, it had a problem when i bought it, it turned out to be something to do with shims, or valves or somehting mechanical related to the compression ratio, but once it was fixed for £80 it went like a clock, until the head gasket went, which happened when it was drove with a bust radiator, but that was fixed at £300 after that the car gave no mechanical trouble the engine sounded like a tractor, and it wasnt the quickest machine, but it was so damm economical, £5 of diesel would do about a weeks driving, there was no power steering in it, but although it made parking hard, it ensured good steering feedback, gearchange was actually quite slick and precise, the clutch was quite light and being a diesel it was an easy car to drive, ie stalling didnt happen much. The brakes were absolute crap, i might as well have put my foot out the door to stop it better, but it was that slow it didnt matter. The interior was spartain, there was a radio casette, and that was the height of the luxuries, there was no air con, electric windows, or even rev counter. The door latches failed on the front doors but it cost £10 to get a pair of new ones, and working on a 106 is easy. The floor of the boot and left rear footwell suffered severe corrorsion, but i cut the same parts of the car out of another 106 and welded them in, and with paint it was unnoticeable. To summarise then it was a cheap car to buy just £300 3 years ago, and even though i spent its value on maintanence, i had it for 2 years and sold it for £500 (and it sold quick) it was a very basic car, but i think that was part of its charm, being french it still was comfortable though i would recommend the diesel 106, provided you get one that doesnt need its head gasket done, its a very cheap car to bring fuel to, and tax, and insure. I would not recomend buying a petrol just from the amount of people i know who had one that gave bother from petrol peugeots, their diesels are better especially on a low budjet.
Alternativley if your buying a car for a first time driver, i had a new shape panda for a while which replaced the 106, it was a great car to drive, fantastic free revving engine, good steering it was light but had plenty of feel and well built, but being petrol it never matched the economy of the 106.
Heres a good picture of the 106 when i was selling it, it was a nice tidy looking car:

[STALLED]

Congrats on the purchase! We never got the 106's here - so can't really comment!

Friends sister has a KA 1.3 - Has around 180,000 miles on the clock! Can't kill the bastard of a thing - wheezy engine, but it's meant to be a blast to drive (think 205 Si)...

[Bailes1992]

One of my mates has a 1.5XND with a GTi bodykit and it's lowered (were planning on chucking an xud9te lump in it soonish) and other mate has a 106 Quicksilver with a GTi lump in it. Had ago at both, the GTi engines one goes like stink, but they are horrible to drive Interiors are all plasticy, they feel very unstable even when lowered and you feel like your driving in a tin shed.

[CountryPug]

One of my mates has a 1.5XND with a GTi bodykit and it's lowered (were planning on chucking an xud9te lump in it soonish) and other mate has a 106 Quicksilver with a GTi lump in it. Had ago at both, the GTi engines one goes like stink, but they are horrible to drive Interiors are all plasticy, they feel very unstable even when lowered and you feel like your driving in a tin shed.

I have to say I totally disagree, my mate has a 106 GTI lowered 40mm and totally standard otherwise. Its one of the best handling little cars out there and filled me with confidence when pushing it hard. I had a 1.4 xl myself which was standard apart from a k&n and a de-cat, it was a bit roley poley in the corners but still a great handling car even on 3 wheels, wouldn't let go unless you were being a complete knob.lol

[turbolag]

Lowering makes them worse. The spring rate is pretty good as standard, it's the feeble damping that makes them feel unstable. Lowering just uses up suspension travel on these and makes them even more likely to get in a slapper on the limit. Plus it looks chav.

I did test drive a GTi and wish I'd bought the damn thing. With a few simple mods that wee lump can make a genuine 140bhp. Remarkable little unit.