Nostalgia is something special. It can sometimes prompt you to take actions that can hardly or cannot be explained rationally. This also applies to a certain extent to what editors Jan Lemkes and Joas van Wingerden have done. In ‘Old Love’ they will explain themselves in more detail in the coming weeks. Joas is the first to introduce his ‘new’ old love: a Peugeot 205.
Awkward decisions, we all make them from time to time. In the automotive field, my last clumsy decision was exactly one year ago. Then I didn’t buy the Peugeot 205 you see here, but a black Audi A4 Avant from 2008. A diesel, with a decent mileage and a reliable maintenance history. The thought behind it was that ‘corona was over after the summer’ and that a lot of commuting kilometers were waiting again. In my previous weblog, from November 2020, I already explained how I wanted to get rid of the A4 five months after purchasing it. It was a great thing, but the big bad ‘C’ had other plans than me. I had a money guzzler in front of the door that was barely used. Time for something different, maybe something ‘crazy and old’. My mind wandered to the least obvious possibilities, including a Ford Escort Mk4.
In the end I came to the conclusion that low mileage was not necessarily a justification for buying a cheap car that I really wouldn’t do myself any favors with. Call it risk-averse behaviour, but in my opinion it would be better to come up with something that I knew I could handle well if necessary. One car floated to the surface time and again in my mind: the Peugeot 205. It met the requirements: it costs almost nothing every month, is relatively economical, can still keep up with current traffic, drives nice, is comfortable enough and in addition, with the back seat flat, secretly also quite full to stow (yes, I know, all relatively natural). How did I know that for sure? I had one ten years ago, my second car, which I sold on to my parents after a year and which only left the family last year. That little thing is still driving around, even though I bought it in 2011 for €250.
I was looking forward to driving a 205 again. It would of course be a huge step back from the A4 and the TT I rode before, but for nostalgia reasons I pushed that aside. Thus began the targeted quest in January. It had to be a 1.4, with that block a 205 can simply be called smooth, and a five-door seemed so practical to me. Furthermore, it would be nice if it was really a current example, because to drive now in a worn-out 205, was a bit too far for me. If he had some small things, then I could tinker with them myself.
So in February my eye fell on the car you see in the photo above. A 205 1.4 Génération from 1997. Bright red, five-door, just over 120,000 km on the odometer and, based on the photos and advertisement, also very neat. A test drive at the private provider showed that everything was fine and especially the overall optical condition of the car was remarkably good. My previous 205 was also a red one and, even though it was only two years older than this 97, it was already typically discolored. Red had turned orange and the clear coat was peeling off the tailgate. Nothing like that with this 205: it is still almost as red on the outside as on the inside and the paint is also neatly even and covered under the clear coat. “The first owner had it until 2019 and it was inside her house,” was the story. Of course you have to assume that, although the condition of the car supports the story.
Slightly shocked at what had to be ticked off for the 205 even after haggling (those things in excellent condition cost a lot more than they cost ten years ago), I drove home satisfied with it. Equally a good ride of about 100 km, where the 205 also on the highway was allowed to show how he keeps there again. In my memory, my previous one was a bit more restless and noisier, although it was a 1.1. The ‘new’ 205 surprised me in a positive way, even though I still had the way there in my A4 fresh in my memory. However, it was mainly enjoyable on the back roads. It is a wonderful throw-and-throw car and suddenly I felt again why my previous 205 had left such a nice impression on me. Certainly with the 1.4, the playful comes to life a bit more than with the 1.1. The A4 was out of my mind before I sold it two weeks later.
And so I suddenly drive the oldest car I’ve ever owned. I’ve left things I was used to for years like air conditioning, cruise control, decent soundproofing, at least 150 horsepower and power steering. He still has electric windows and central locking and it is funnily enough my first car with a towbar. Another detachable one too, what a wealth. Every ride is a nostalgic experience, it even smells exactly like my old 205. I drive it all over the country, so much as the idea that I’m ‘low mileage’. For now, the 205 will remain, even if we go back to the office more often. Perhaps something more modern will come along in the long run and the 205 will remain as a hobby car for years to come. Because in addition to driving it is also wonderful to ‘tinker with’, more about that in a later episode of ‘Old Love’. First, colleague Jan Lemkes will tell you next week in episode 2 what he recently parked in his driveway, because that is quite a similar story!