Weblog Joas – I bought my old Peugeot 205 back

Everyone remembers their first car. In my case, it was a 1994 Fiat Tipo that was on the brink of death and that I could take over from an acquaintance for the symbolic amount of one euro. A special story in itself, but it is not the car that is deepest in my heart. That is the car that I bought afterwards, when the Tipo had gone to the scrapyard. With a very limited budget, I was only 19 and had a simple job, I started looking for a replacement. Peugeots 205 have always been nice cars, so when I saw a red 1995 1.1 Forever at someone’s door with a note ‘For sale: €250’ behind the rear window, my interest was aroused. Took a test drive and I was sold. There I went, in my here and there somewhat worn-out, but wonderfully driving ‘Peutje’.

The 205 when I just bought it

A year of enjoyment followed. I took it to work, took pleasure rides with friends and finally another week of vacation in the Eifel followed. Everything the 205 did without a murmur. However, the clutch was clearly in a terminal phase and it was also very questionable when the timing belt was replaced, but hey, for that price I guessed it. Then it was time for further education and with a student budget even a 205 was too expensive to keep driving. However, my parents could use a second car at that time and took over the 205 from me, so the goodbye was postponed for a while. Who would have guessed then that my parents would drive it for another eight years!

Loyal family member

Over the years, my father and I became so attached to the cart that we felt it deserved some outer love. The tailgate had clear coat scurf, so we decided to repaint it ourselves. After a lot of fiddling to get to the right color, the end result was finally nice. We also replaced the damaged rear bumper and installed a ‘ribbed plate’ on the tailgate to hide the dents in the lower part of the tailgate. In our opinion, that also looked very nice, especially on the red. Later in Belgium, my father bought a set of Gentry wheels again, to give it a little more ‘face’ and we also made all the plastic accents neatly black again.

The 205 was joined in my parents’ driveway by three different “head cars” over the years. Never before has one car been in the family for so long, because my parents often want to switch cars. Yet in 2020 the moment came that I had secretly feared all those years: they no longer needed the 205 and sold it. For a moment I hesitated to buy back ‘my’ 205, but I decided that it was of little use to me at the time. A rational decision, I just pushed the sentimental thoughts away. I just wanted to be there when the new owner came to get the car, to say goodbye. That hit me harder than expected and I got really grumpy at the thought that I might never see the NB-FN-68 again.

The blood creeps where it can’t go and that’s how I came to the conclusion (partly because of the continued working at home) in 2021 that there could be another 205. Filled with regret that I had let the old 205 go, I bought another red 205. A much nicer one, a 1.4 moreover and a five-door. Last year I wrote two blogs about it. It was a joy to drive around in that thing because it brought back so many memories. Just like the old 205, it was a reliable companion, taking me from A to B without a fuss and with the same typical somewhat old-French comfort. But still, every so often I thought behind the wheel of that car back to the ‘real’ one. The 205. The car that started it all. I found myself retrieving the license plate number fairly regularly to see if it was still alive. Also at the beginning of March of this year, because I knew that the MOT was coming.

Gone for good?

To my horror, the car was rejected and sold. That’s it, I thought. I was waiting for a demolition notice. After some research I came across the (now expired) sale advertisement, so there was still some hope that it was not bought by a demolition company but by an enthusiastic private person who still wanted to provide it with a new MOT. But yes, where? Who bought it? He was sold thirty kilometers away from me, now he could just as well be on the other side of the country. Just as I was giving up hope of tracking down the car, the totally unexpected happened. I drove through my hometown in my ‘new’ 205 and suddenly spotted a red 205 in my rear-view mirror. Not behind me on the road, but in a driveway. In fact, in the driveway of someone I know. It was the NB-FN-68. I recognized him immediately.

Stunned, I walked around the car and texted that acquaintance (he wasn’t home at the time) to tell him that he had bought my old 205. He did indeed want to have the car taken care of and arrange a new MOT on it. If that was successful, I could come and drive around. That’s how it happened. It only took me a few kilometers to know for sure: I’m going to buy it back. It still drove fine, albeit with some new noises. However, the self-repainted tailgate had become ugly again, the block was wetter than the Scottish Highlands and there was a vicious crack in the front suspension. However, the nostalgic feeling dominated everything and was of course decisive. So a few days later I parked it in front of my door. He was home again.

Shortly after the reunion (Picture: Jurian Hannewijk)

And now?

The much better red 1.4 has now been sold and now I have my faulty old 205 in its place. A trade that no one would make on a rational basis. In fact, if I hadn’t bought the car back, it probably wouldn’t have been there in a year. As mentioned, the block was soaked and the appearance is not really anything to write home about. First go up the bridge, that thing. To be honest, that was not too bad for me: the car is still completely hard, over the years everything has been replaced that for the time being can still last a long time and the block still runs well. Anyway, those oil leaks… So go on, replace all gaskets, immediately put a new timing belt and water pump on it. First make sure that safe sit. No sooner said than done.

The creaking in the suspension then? That turns out to be a very old strut. It is still being replaced, so it will soon be allowed to go back on the bridge. Then of course we are not there yet, because with the technical story in order, the attention shifts to the outside. The red paint has faded orange (that was when I bought it). Not dull, but discolored. Hopefully a polisher can do that, although it won’t be as ‘easy’ as with a dull pink car. When that’s done, I want to have the tailgate professionally sprayed in a color that matches as well as possible and also have some ‘spot repairs’ done here and there. Then there are the wheels. Nice things in themselves, but I wouldn’t have chosen it myself. Also, all hub caps are now missing and they are either impossible to find, or shockingly expensive. So there has to be another set, although I’m not sure yet whether I’m going for the original samples or other 205 wheels. Tips are welcome!

Although there is still a long way to go to bring my old love into the best condition in which I have ever experienced it, the money meter has of course already started running well with the first technical refresh. The purchase price has already been added. Maybe it makes no sense at all, it is of course not rationally justifiable, but with this car I have now abandoned every rational argument. I can’t let go of this 205 and apparently it won’t let go of me either. Otherwise he wouldn’t have come back to me by accident just when I missed him the most. Welcome back, Peutje, hopefully there will be a lot of beautiful new memories!