Would you buy this car?

luiceur

I would like to buy a 2016 Peugeot 208 but I am concerned with what I see in the MOT history. Could experts please give me their advice? Price is £5000, 53,000 miles

CliveOfIndia

There's nothing much there that would give cause for immediate concern.  Brake discs and pads are consumable items.  Blown bulbs are neither here nor there.  CV boots are cheap as chips to replace.  Exhaust leaks are to be expected on an older car.

The only thing to consider is that someone who puts their car in for an MOT without taking 2 or 3 minutes to have a quick check of the most basic things like tyres and bulbs - how much care do they take of the car in general?

So, in themselves, those faults are nothing to be concerned about.  But I would suggest you give the car a really good test drive and a thorough inspection to see what sort of state it's in generally.

And don't forget the myriad of other things that aren't part of the MOT but which can be very annoying - radio/CD player, aircon, electric windows, etc.etc. etc.  All the stuff you kind of take for granted but which can be a right pain in the wotsit if they don't work.

The mileage is a little on the low side.  Not the end of the world, but it may indicate it's been used mainly round town - meaning more wear & tear on brakes, clutch, gearbox, steering, etc., than if it's been used primarily on the motorway.  And if it's a diesel, it might start to sulk a little bit.

Car_54

On the face of it, the three defects from the 1st August test must have been rectified for it to pass. You can see the new tyres for yourself, and ask for evidence that the CV boot has been replaced.

I wouldn't worry about the older stuff.

Mildly_Miffed

I presume there's more tests on the history before 2022...? Clean?

6yo car, average of 6,700 miles a year.

So...
2022 - 42.5k.
Exhaust getting manky. Needs front brakes, a couple of bulbs, and the driver has poor taste in dangly guff.

2023 - 47.2k (just under 5k from previous year)
Still needs front brakes and exhaust, now needs the handbrake adjusting. Driveshaft gaiter split.

2024 - 53.7k (6.5k from previous year)
Driveshaft gaiter obviously badly done last year. Front tyres.

Nothing terribly wrong with that lot. It could have done with a bit more TLC and general maintenance, but that's hardly unusual.

If it looks OK, and you think it's a fair price and you like it, there's nothing to run screaming from. The only thing out of that lot that might be an issue is if the driveshaft has been run dry, it might need a new shaft at some point. A shaft's not exactly hideously expensive - £80ish for a good brand, assuming manual 5spd 1.6HDi, £130ish for OK if it's 6spd - and not a huge job, hour or two labour.
https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/meyle/21906906
https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/febi-bilstein/20843886

400ixl

Doesn't look like the owner has proactively maintained it. Exhaust leak for multiple years. Drive shaft boot replaced, but looks like either failed again or was the one at the other end of the shaft that failed. So either a poor job or they didn't inspect the other one at the same time. Likely they went cheap and put a split boot on it.

Personally I'd look elsewhere as who knows what else has been neglected.

Baldytyke88

luiceur said:

I would like to buy a 2016 Peugeot 208 but I am concerned with what I see in the MOT history. Could experts please give me their advice? Price is £5000, 53,000 miles

Peugeot 2008 of that year range from £3-6k so I assume you are buying from a garage with warranty.

Not sure what can be assumed from that history. What makes good history, motorway miles perhaps, or maybe a careful driver?

Goudy

There's nothing out of the ordinary except perhaps the cars service history might be a bit flaky.

All the major, minors and advisories are all things that would be picked up on a service.
Some of these are for things like brakes, which is slightly worrying as the previous owner/s haven't been keeping on top of some of the really important aspects.

Most cars are due a yearly service and after three years an MOT. So from year three these would both fall about the same time.

By the MOT results, it doesn't look like that's happened, it appears to have been presented for it's MOT and then repaired when needed based on the results.

I wouldn't initially walk away but I would want to have a route through the paperwork first.
I would expect to see dealer services for a few years and then some evidence of perhaps independent servicing after that.
I'd be checking the dates of these later services, see when they have been done compared to the MOT dates.

I suspect there's probably very little service history after the first three years or so, perhaps just some oil and filter changes rather than inspections which would have picked up those faults.

If you're happy it's had the basics covered, like oil and filter changes, then it's a maybe in my book but not at top price.

I'd also see how they have sorted the issues of the last failed MOT.
Have they sorted the advisories for the tyres with new ones?
Have they fixed the CV boot with a full boot kit or used a cheap split boot that's just glued on?

If they've used part worns or cheap ditchfinders and a split boot, they are obviously maximising profit on it and it's perhaps not worth the price. 

ididgetwhereiamtoday

I had a pug 208 once and it was always blowing bulbs which was most inconvenient.
Ive never had any other car blowing bulbs like that did.

Mildly_Miffed

Goudy said:

Most cars are due a yearly service and after three years an MOT. So from year three these would both fall about the same time.

By the MOT results, it doesn't look like that's happened, it appears to have been presented for it's MOT and then repaired when needed based on the results.

"Service and MOT" is usually done as MOT first, then service, fix any fails and retest.

That way, any major fails that might get the owner to just shrug and scrap an older/cheaper car are picked up before money's spent on servicing - and it only needs to be put on the workshop ramp once.

baser999

Personally I think if I had £5k I’d be looking at Japanese which I believe tend to be more reliable - think you’d find more old Japanese cars on the road than French 🤔

daveyjp

What engine?  If its a wet belt 1.2 puretech petrol do some research and assess if its a risk you want to take.