I made a number of calculations and budgets, and all in all I concluded I was better off to stay with my 207 – it is still in an excellent condition. Of course, 5 years and 110.000 km does not pass without tear and wear – a few scratches, but the interior still looks very new. A minor complaint is a little rattling sounds from the air vent in low revs or stumbled roads – pushing it hard will keep it quiet for a couple of weeks…

My bank account was reduced by approx. € 1.725,- (ughh…) so I will postpone the otherwise planned anti-corrosion treatment this year, I can’t afford spending another € 500,- this year. My 207 had one treatment already two years ago, so I guess it’s reasonable to wait one more year.

While my 207 was at the Peugeot shop I borrowed an almost new 207 1.6 HDi – it is a really, really nice car, and I was almost regretting that I didn’t decide for a new car – I was in temptation! Surprised though to see the exact same model radio/cd-player. Nice thing was the glass roof, it does make the cabin feel lighter and more spacey.

But – I am definitely going to stay with my 207 for at least 4 more years…. And – after all – when I picked up my own 207, it felt like a better fit. I am used to driving it everyday and it has been a reliable car. It is kind of like puttin’ on an old pair of shoes – a little worn, but still the most comfortable!

Soon I will need to change the tyres – I will update you on that later.

And the mileage? Still very good, approx 4.7  l/100 km – or 21 km/l. Managed 4.0 l/100 km one time for a complete tank of diesel!

This was a 4-year basic service, and the car was also taken to the mandatory government vehicle inspection. Inspection must be performed when the car is 4 years old, and every 2nd year after that.

The service and inspection was troublefree, no problems found. The cruise control problem was also resolved, this time it was a switch associated with the clutch which caused the intermittent shut off of the cruise control. Luckily, this was not an expensive repair.

The complete service and inspection, including repair of the cruise control, was € 500,- including VAT. If this is once a year (which it is in my case), I think it is a fair cost.

Been a while since I wrote an update on fuel economy; currently I reach 22 km/l (4.5l/100km if you prefer it this way…). I find this very satisfactory since I do most of the driving in quite heavy traffic on the highway.

It is also time for the first mandatory government vehicle inspection, but at 4 years of age I certainly don’t foresee any problems in getting the approval. Peugeot who is performing the service will also take the car for vehicle inspection.

I will let you know about the results in a couple of weeks!

And dammit! When I drove to the recycling dump I got too close to the steel pole holding the magnetic card reader for access! The left mirror was hit.

Got my 207 again – I don’t know what they did at the workshop, but they obviously fixed the problem.

What did I learn? Next time, I will definitely not take the car to Peugeot for windscreen replacement, but rather use one of the workshops that specialize in windscreen repairs and replacements!

BTW – in a month or so I will take the car for a 4-year service, and I will update you on this. Besides service, I have noticed that occasionally the cruise control fails – suddenly, it just switches off. It had a repair nearly two years ago, something about a brake light switch. The workshop offers a 2-year warranty on all repairs so I am going to claim this if it is indeed the brake light switch once again.

I have had numerous stones hitting the windscreen and it was really scratched a lot from all the highway driving so I think it will be a very nice experience to enjoy the fresh view through a new windscreen.

The replacement will be performed by Peugeot – I know there are alternatives but I prefer to have the replacement done at the authorized workshop. Anyway, insurance will pay so it’s going to set me back “only” some € 180.

I decided to take the car on the highway, going 120 km/h in 4th gear @ approx. 3.500 RPM. I drove about 10 km this way, then stopped the car at a gas station. When I started the car, the error message was gone! Since this is a 1.4 HDi there is no particle filter (FAP) to clean, so why this error occurred I don’t really know (and this worries me somewhat – I like to know the root cause of problems).

This week I had a vacation, so I drove only very short trips where the car really didn’t warm up completely. Tomorrow I am going back to work, and I will do my usual highway pendling trip. I hope I don’t see this error again, but I will let you know.

In addition to the regular service, there was a few minor problems and one major problem to handle:

• The handle in the roof above the passenger’s seat was loose; no repair required, just fixed.
• Generator drive belt replacement (again); it was making loud noises in cold and wet weather until after warmup.
• Brakes: Discs and pads replacement (I could actually sense some vibration when braking).
• Windscreen wipers replacement.
• And the major one: ESP/ASR system fault (actually showed up the day before the service, at least it was good timing).

The ESP/ASR fault was the exact same fault which I reported about in an earlier post two years ago, but now the official 2-year warranty period was over, uh oh. But to my satisfaction (and a little surprise), Peugeot suggested that this was really their problem and made the repair at no cost! The cause of the problem was, once again, some ABS hydraulic thingy… (I’m not a car tech expert). I think it was a fair decision, such problems shouldn’t show up in a car only 3 years old. I believe that no new car should ever be sold with less than a 3-year warranty! Unfortunately, Peugeot warranty is only 2 years.

In addition to the service I had requested a complete anti-corrosion protection with Dinitrol products. Where I live, rain, ice and salt is the worst enemy of cars during winter. And I plan to keep this car for 200.000 km, which is about 9 or 10 years, so I don’t want to see rust and corrosion. Maybe my daughter will be taking over the car then; she is probably going to have her driver’s license in 2016 at age 18.

So – the service was € 1000,- and the anti-corrosion was another € 500,- hmmmm cars are expensive to maintain. Lucky I didn’t also have to pay for the ESP/ASR problem.

The manual reads: “Insert a thin screwdriver in one of the exterior holes of the lens. Push it towards the outside to unclip it.” – well, I fiddled around and I couldn’t find out how to remove the glass. How should one interpret “push it towards the outside”? Also, I didn’t want to break the glass. I found out that inserting a torx 10 screwdriver in the outer hole (nearer the side of the car) and slightly bending the screwdriver in the opposite direction made it pop off easily. Replacing the bulbs and refitting the lens was very easy.

Next month the car is in for regular service, 3 years old. Mileage is 61.500 km. I will report here the results and findings of this service.

My Peugeot dealer had the car for service then but couldn’t find anything. Luckily they wrote down my complaint because it was just before expiry of the warranty so I hope to claim this fault to be diagnosed and corrected by Peugeot. We’ll see…