Would you buy a peugeot 206 (1998) 1.4 if the head gasket has gone in the past and has now been repaired?

Question

or would you avoid buying a car in which the head gasket has gone in the past?

Answer 1

I would check out who carried out the repair and if it had been repaired by a proper garage and to high standard. If it all seemed ok then I would buy it. If you think about it, it is better to buy one that has already been repaired as this is a fault that may occour on any car .so if it has been repaired it is not likely to rear its ugly head for another 100k or so.  

Answer 2

I LOVE peugeots 206's myself and plan on getting one in the future BUT i would go for a newer model, say 2001-2004. If you look around you can find cheap ones in their 2000's for around £1000

Answer 3

I don't agree with all these answers saying headgasket failure is inevitable. There are plenty of cars that will run to the end of their working life without a headgasket failure.

All of the proper checks to make are as follows if you want to guarantee that the repair was done properly.  I would not trust a repair just because it was done at the Peugeot dealership - Every professional knows how to do the job but some are less skilled than others and some like to cut corners... this is where the problems come from.

1. Compression test.  Should be even numbers across all cylinders. But loss of compression on one or two cylinders is not necessarily the headgasket... but is still reason enough not to buy the car without expecting to have to do work on the engine.

2. Check the paperwork related to the repair. The head should have been properly processed.  It is not good enough just to replace the gasket when doing the repair. The gasket failed for a reason. The cylinderhead needs to be checked for flatness (overheating can warp the cylinderhead and cause the failure) Then it needs to be crack checked and pressure tested. If the cylinderhead is cracked then a pressure test will show a leak and the cylinderhead is scrapped. You need to see the paperwork from the machine shop to proove that all of the proper checks were done to the cylinderhead before it was refitted to the car.

3. Receipt for the new gasket. Genunine parts are best.

4. As mentioned above... the car should've completed a few hundred miles with the new gasket before accepting it as in good order.  

Answer 4

If the job was done by a Peugeot dealership - ok. If not, I would not buy the car. The procedure is quite involved, especially the cylinder head bolt tightening part. A garage that 'thought they knew' is not the same as factory trained technicians.  

Answer 5

most every car made blows one sooner or later... buying any used car you shoul dtake it out before.. either you check everything the on the car or you have someone check it.. worse one would be any low fluids or leaks,,, good sign of bad things to come... so check the car out.. and never buy one knowing it needs work

Answer 6

Hi Naomi,The truth is that if you drive any sort of car long enough the Head gasket will"blow",You need to take the car  to a Reputable garage or auto organization like Roadside assist and ask for a Compression Test to be done on the motor,also if and or when the timing belt was changed,on a diesel motor it is between 80,000 to a 100,000 kilometers or 50,000 to 60,000 miles.A good starting point is to see if the service logbooks are with the car,if not Might  be better to look elsewhere,I say might.Are the repair bills with the car?Is it an Itemized account of all work done on the car?This is the type of thing I recommend to every single person who wants to buy a second hand or used vehicle

Answer 7

It wouldn't bother me in the slightest to be honest.

Answer 8

corse not,buy it...

chanses are its also had a new timming belt fitted at the same time,save the cost of doing it down the road.

Answer 9

Wouldn't buy a Peugeot full stop maybe a Subaru Impreza.

Answer 10

I might, as long as the repair was done properly, by a reputable dealer. Check to see how long ago the repair was done.  If it was a while ago, any problems would have shown up by now.  If it was done a few weeks ago, I'd probably walk away.