Peugeot 309 owners/fans

Sofa Spud    on 7 July 2006

We had a 309 for some years - it was a 1988 1.3 model, so not as exciting as the GTI !!!!

But it was a nice car and handled particularly well. It was replaced by a Mk 3 VW Golf which was much better built but sloppier to drive.

blue_haddock    on 7 July 2006

I loved my old 309 GTi Goodwood and if i could find a decent 3dr version for sensible money i would have another in a shot.

The slightly longer wheelbase and wider track meant the 309 being a little more forgiving in the handling stakes than the twitchier 205. The looks may not be to everyones taste but i prefered the extra space in the 309 over the 205.

The second link here is to a picture of a 309 Goodwood that last weekend won the standard vehicle category in the Peugeot Sport Club Show and Shine competition - very very clean!

i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/blue_haddock/309-00...g
i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/blue_haddock/Pugfes...g

Robin Reliant    on 8 July 2006

Myself and SWMBO had one each about 15 years ago. Loved them, a very much underated car and so much better than the Escorts we had beforehand.

My 309's sunroof had a peculiar habit of dumping rainwater on my lap after the car had been left standing overnight, yet it would not leak at all while it was actually raining, no matter how hard it was comming down.

Sofa Spud    on 8 July 2006

Our fondly remembered 309, mentioned above, had two freak breadown incidents within 700 miles of each other. First, the metal casing of the distributor came apart after being 'machined' away from the inside by the rotating bob-weights. I bought a secondhand replacement distributor from a scrapyard, which was from an alternative manufacturer (309 distributors were dual-sourced). And the same thing happened to that. unbelievable!

Another problem in its later years was that the engine would stop for no reason. Garage could find no problem. In the end I discovered that the extra lobe on the camshaft for operatting the mechanical fuel pump was worn, so it wasn't operating the pump sufficiently. So I rempoved the thick gasket that went between the pump and the block and it worked fine! (this was the pushrod 1.3 engine)