Peugeot 308 T7

The first-generation Peugeot 308, built on project code T7, arrived in October 2007 and ran to 2013, with a facelift launched in May 2011 that reworked the front end. It was sold as a three- and five-door hatchback, as the SW estate and as the CC retractable-hardtop coupe-cabriolet, and every version drives the front wheels. The petrol side is built around the PSA-BMW Prince family: the 1.4 VTi 95 (EP3), the naturally aspirated 1.6 VTi 120 (EP6), and the direct-injection turbo THP engines - 150 (EP6DT), 175 (EP6DTS), the Euro 5 156 (EP6CDT) and the 200 of the GTi (EP6CDTX). The diesels run from the 1.6 HDi 90 (DV6ATED4) and 1.6 HDi 110 (DV6TED4) through the later 1.6 e-HDi 112 (DV6C) to the 2.0 HDi 136/140 (DW10BTED4). Gearboxes span five- and six-speed manuals, the BMP6 and EGS6 automated manuals, and four- and six-speed torque-converter automatics.

Which checks matter depends almost entirely on which engine is under the bonnet, so identify it before you plan the inspection. On the Prince petrol engines the timing drive is the thing to listen for: arrange a genuinely cold first start of the day and pay attention to the first five to ten seconds at the timing end of the engine, because a hot restart hides the symptom entirely. On the direct-injection THP cars, add per-cylinder misfire data from a scan tool and a look at the state of the intake tract, and on the 156 watch requested-versus-actual fuel-rail pressure during cranking and under load. On the 1.6 HDi diesels the priority is the turbocharger's oil supply - the feed pipe, its banjo union and the general cleanliness of the oil system. On the 2.0 HDi, plan a test drive long enough to reach genuine full load in a high gear, since short town driving will not reveal a car that cuts power when the exhaust-gas and particulate systems are struggling. On the 1.4 VTi, check that the brake pedal has proper servo assistance with the engine running.

Judging an individual car comes down to evidence you gather yourself rather than reputation. Get a full fault-code read across all modules, stored and pending, and take the printout with you. Put the car on a lift and look for oil leaks and sludgy deposits, particularly around the sump and, on diesels, the turbocharger and its pipework. Read the service history for what was actually done to this car - timing-drive work on the petrols, turbocharger and oil-system work on the diesels - and treat undocumented major repairs as an open question. Finally, have a franchised dealer run the VIN so you know whether any manufacturer actions are still outstanding.