A high mileage Peugeot 205 with an astonishing 236,668 miles on the clock has just gone under the hammer at Anglia Car Auctions, and this little convertible might be one of our favourite well-used classics of the year.
The 1990 Peugeot 205 CJ Junior wasn’t tucked away for decades or preserved by avoiding the open road. Quite the opposite.
Its previous owner said the car had been in regular use every year since they bought it in 1999, travelling both around the UK and across Europe.
And after all those miles, it was still going.
There’s something rather refreshing about seeing an old car with a genuinely big number on the odometer.
Low-mileage survivors understandably attract plenty of attention, but 236,668 miles tells a completely different story.
This Peugeot appears to have been used for exactly what it was built for.
First registered on 30th March 1990, the white 205 CJ Junior is powered by a 1,360cc petrol engine and came to auction with an MoT running until 23rd April 2027.
The vendor described it as running and driving well, although reverse could apparently become awkward to engage when hot.
Covering nearly a quarter of a million miles inevitably means looking after a car, and the Peugeot arrived with a large folder of maintenance receipts.
Work during its life has included a gearbox rebuild, rear suspension rebuild, refurbished carburettor, replacement canvas roof, stainless exhaust from the manifold back and new valve guides on two occasions.
It has also received a replacement front headlamp panel, a new CV joint and work to the driver’s seat upholstery, among other jobs.
There’s something we really like about that.
Rather than mileage being treated as something to fear, this is an old Peugeot that appears to have simply been repaired and maintained as necessary and then put back to work.
Perhaps the best detail in the auction description is how the previous owner described its life since buying the Peugeot in 1999.
It had apparently been used regularly every year, both at home and around Europe.
Just imagine how many journeys are represented by 236,668 miles.
Motorways, country roads, European road trips, summer days with the roof down and probably more than a few wet ones with it firmly up.
The car also came with a USB stick containing photographs, along with its sizeable maintenance history and a collection of useful spares.
Anglia Car Auctions offered the Peugeot 205 CJ Junior at its June classic car sale with no reserve.
We were there to film the bidding, and this was one where the mileage made the car particularly interesting to watch.
How do you value something like this?
It isn’t a pampered, ultra-low-mileage collector car. Instead, its appeal lies in having apparently survived an extraordinary amount of use while continuing to be maintained and enjoyed.
When the bidding was finished, the Peugeot had sold for £1,960 including buyer’s premium.
For a characterful open-top classic with this much history behind it, that’s certainly an interesting result.
Watch our video of the Peugeot 205 going under the hammer:
We’re always fascinated by cars like this, and this high mileage Peugeot 205 is a great example of why a big number on the odometer doesn’t necessarily make a classic less interesting.
There’s an understandable obsession with low mileage in the classic car world, but sometimes the cars at the opposite end of the scale have far better stories to tell.
A car doesn’t reach 236,668 miles by spending its life looking pretty in a garage.
This Peugeot was used.
Things wore out. They were repaired. Then the car went out and accumulated some more miles.
Now, 36 years after it was first registered, it’s found another owner.
That’s surely worth celebrating.
You can still see the full auction listing and photographs on the Anglia Car Auctions website.
View the 1990 Peugeot 205 CJ Junior at Anglia Car Auctions
Would a mileage approaching a quarter of a million put you off, or would you rather buy a classic that’s spent its life being used?
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