Peugeot 207cc - Reject or Repair?

paulpud

I bought a Peugeot 207cc just before Christmas from a dealer around 60 miles from where I live.

The engine cut out as I waited to leave a petrol station just after collecting the car, but I put it down to me not being used to the clutch and stalling it.

Shortly after arriving home, the engine management light illuminated with a Depollution System Faulty message displayed and I found that the car was sometimes revving unevenly and would cut out once or twice. I contacted the dealer, who initially asked me to go through the supplied AA warranty but when I contacted them they advised me that, with this kind of fault, it would require diagnostics and possibly some dismantling and I would be responsible for those charges should the warranty not cover any defective items found. On explaining to the dealer that I was unwilling to take the risk of ending up liable for these charges I agreed to take the car to his local repair garage where the diagnostics would be carried out free of charge. Although this meant a 130 mile round trip, with my partner also making the journey twice in her car to provide alternative transport, I did have leave from work at the time and just wanted to get the faults sorted. My concerns were justified when the components replaced weren't covered by the warranty, and the dealer bore the costs of this and the diagnostics.

The car has been used sparingly through the winter with less than 230 miles driven since the completed repairs and I have found that, although the warning lights have gone, the engine doesn't seem too happy - there occasionally seems a lack of power, it still often revs unevenly after warming up, still cuts out usually once per journey, and the car seems to shake slightly when ticking over despite the rev counter indicating around 700 rpm. It's due an MOT at the end of May and I had intended to get it looked at then but yesterday I drove it and the engine management/Depollution System problem happened again.

I've been in touch with the dealer and I now have 3 options - reject the car, take it to his repair garage again for diagnostics, or go through the AA warranty.

Other than this engine issue, the car seems fine and I would prefer to keep it but the repair options concern me. If i take it to his repair garage again for diagnostics it's another £50 of fuel and a lot of driving involving 2 cars which would be difficult to arrange around my work hours now, and we could be back where we started. If I go through the AA warranty I think there is a good chance that it won't be covered again, and I'll have to pay out for diagnostics at the very least.

If a reject the car I will be charged 40p per mile and a £60 restocking fee, which will cost me about £250 by the time I get it back up there.

I really don't know what to do for the best and would welcome the opinion of others.

AdrianC

We're talking about a car that could be anywhere between 4 and 13 years old - what age is it? Just 230 miles of use in three months is never ideal for any car, and could well be contributing to the issues. 700rpm is low for idle speed - that probably would cause the engine to shake, and may well affect emissions. Paying for diagnostics if no fault is found is far from unusual - it's a cover-all warning.

The distance from your home to the supplier is your problem, not the supplier's - after all, you knew where they were when you decided to buy, right...?

Jackmydad

Makes me wonder if a good 50 mile run might be worth a try. Get it properly fully warmed up, battery fully charged, etc. etc.
Every car I've left for any length of time has always been a PITA to start and has run rough until it's been given a proper run.

wgl2014

What components were replaced first time round?
Is the engine petrol or diesel?

Bear in mind that lack of use is bad for cars, if it's not been used much a long run at highish revs may be all that's needed to clear things out. Also when was it last serviced?

jimbo6977

Typical sort of second/third car that will suffer terribly from very low usage. A relative has gone through the same. The only solution is to take it on a driving holiday to somewhere hilly, or Germany (or best of all - hilly bits of Germany!)

paulpud

Thanks for all the replies and I'll do my best to answer all that has been raised.

The car is 11 years old and has done 58000 miles, I assume mostly as a second car. The reason it has only covered 230 miles is because I was away for the whole of February and at the moment it does one journey per week, a round trip of 20 miles which is mostly rural A roads. When not out on a journey the car is garaged.

Of course, I accept that the distance is not the fault of the supplying dealer and that is why I took the car back to him when the fault first appeared but as it seems the underlying engine problems remained and the repair was unsuccessful I'm not too keen on doing the same thing again, especially as another car has to make the round trip twice. When I bought the car I believed the 6 month nationwide warranty included might give me some safeguard but, having read the T&Cs, unless it is an obvious fault definitely included in the cover I don't think it does.

Starting the car is never an issue, even after it cuts out, and from cold it runs ok. It's after it has warmed up that the engine misbehaves and I do feel that acceleration is lacking, although I can't be certain about that. I have driven 60+ mile motorway/A road runs on 4 occasions, but the idling issue was still there at the end of them.

It is a 1.6 petrol engine, and it had the catalytic converter and lambda sensors replaced a couple of years ago. It was last serviced a few months ago and seems to have a comprehensive service history. All I know about the repair carried out was that, after a diagnostic check, a valve mounted on the engine and a brake light switch was replaced.

Ideally I'd like to get it repaired at little or no cost to me but it's difficult to see how I can achieve that with the choices I have at the moment, especially as I'm working 6 days per week.

MEM62

paulpud wrote: »

The car has been used sparingly through the winter with less than 230 miles driven

That's probably your problem. At the very least it is likely to be a contributory factor.

paulpud

MEM62 wrote: »

That's probably your problem. At the very least it is likely to be a contributory factor.

Is it likely that using a car for one 20 mile round trip per week will cause engine faults?

Although I'm sure it's not ideal, and I'll add that I am not particularly mechanically minded, for years we've had a second car that has done this through the winter months without ever having suffered any kind of engine problem and the first time this fault showed itself was at the end of driving around 70 miles.

worried_jim

Jackmydad wrote: »

Makes me wonder if a good 50 mile run might be worth a try. Get it properly fully warmed up, battery fully charged, etc. etc.
Every car I've left for any length of time has always been a PITA to start and has run rough until it's been given a proper run.

A good Italian tune up.

AdrianC

paulpud wrote: »

The car is 11 years old

Reasonable expectations for age...

When I bought the car I believed the 6 month nationwide warranty included might give me some safeguard but, having read the T&Cs, unless it is an obvious fault definitely included in the cover I don't think it does.

About standard for an aftermarket used-car warranty.

angrycrow

1.6 207cc so most likely the vti Prince engine. They love to burn oil which then kills the catalytic converter. Peugeot will tell you up to 1l of oil every 1000 miles is acceptable oil consumption. As you have done less than 300 miles you may not know if it is burning oil yet.

They can also have issues with the timing chains. Symptoms you describe would be consistent with the timing chain being worn out. Any rattling from the engine on start up.

I suspect the valve they replaced was the vanos solenoid. There are two so you could have been unlucky and had both fail separately but my moneys on the chain.