06-03-2015, 06:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-03-2015, 06:18 PM by powerandtorque.)
A little steam from hot coolant with the cap off wouldn't unduly concern me.
Something like a headgasket problem would typically show as excessive pressure in the cooling system and unexplained loss of coolant with no leaks, possibly together with an exhaust smell and occasionally mayo.
If the rest of the car is otherwise in good condition and you're handy with a spanner (or happy to pay someone who is) then that list of issues doesn't sound too bad. Unfortunately, most cars of this age and price bracket tend to need work doing particularly if they've had unsympathetic owners or ones that have maintained them on a shoestring, so sometimes it's better the devil you know rather than selling an replacing with something that might have other more serious issues lurking...
As Paul says, 105k miles is quite low for these cars - my last one was on 250k and still going strong.
Something like a headgasket problem would typically show as excessive pressure in the cooling system and unexplained loss of coolant with no leaks, possibly together with an exhaust smell and occasionally mayo.
If the rest of the car is otherwise in good condition and you're handy with a spanner (or happy to pay someone who is) then that list of issues doesn't sound too bad. Unfortunately, most cars of this age and price bracket tend to need work doing particularly if they've had unsympathetic owners or ones that have maintained them on a shoestring, so sometimes it's better the devil you know rather than selling an replacing with something that might have other more serious issues lurking...
As Paul says, 105k miles is quite low for these cars - my last one was on 250k and still going strong.
1990 Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 // 1991 Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 16v // 1992 Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9 // 1999 Peugeot 306 HDi Estate