Used buying checklist

Peugeot 106 reliability, common problems and used buying checks

A used Peugeot 106 looks worse than average for reliability in UK MOT data: 28.8% of 7,920 tests failed, compared with 18.7% across all indexed models. A good example should have a clean MOT history for corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering.

Sources used: DVSA MOT tests (Apr 2026); vehicle recalls (Apr 2026); MOT fault wording (May 2025). MOT data does not capture every reliability issue, especially intermittent engine, gearbox or infotainment faults that do not appear during the test.

• 28.8% MOT failure rate
• Median tested mileage 74,287 miles
• 2,280 failed MOT tests analysed

Most useful finding

Corrosion and structure is the clearest area to check

Corrosion and structure is the clearest named problem area in this model's MOT history (46.3 MOT notes per 100 tests). Example MOT phrases from this area include prescribed area is excessively corroded, prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength, and corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced.

Example MOT phrases to search in the car's history:

• prescribed area is excessively corroded
• prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength
• corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced
• excessively corroded
• leaking excessively from engine
• Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits
• has a major leak of exhaust gases
• emissions likely to be affected by an exhaust leak
• ball joint excessively worn
• across an axle

Before you view one

Focus on corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering

The model's recorded failure rate is 28.8%, +10.1 percentage points compared with the average across all models. Use the seller questions below to check whether repeat MOT notes have actually been repaired.

• MOT tests analysed7,920 tests
• Median tested mileage74,287 miles
• Failed MOT tests2,280

Used buyer verdict

Should you buy a used Peugeot 106?

71.2% of the MOT tests we analysed for this model passed. The model's recorded failure rate is 28.8%, +10.1 percentage points compared with the average across all models. This is a buying brief for the exact car in front of you: clean repeat history matters more than badge reputation.

Worse than average in our MOT data

Green light if The car has a tidy MOT pattern, recent repairs for corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering, matching tyres, and paperwork for service or recall work.

Renegotiate if The latest MOT mentions corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering, consumables are due together, or the seller cannot show what was fixed after advisories.

Walk away if Dangerous defects, corrosion near structural areas, warning lights, or the same component family keep returning without clear repair evidence.

• Repeat unresolved MOT notes for corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering
• corrosion and structure appearing across more than one MOT
• Any dangerous MOT failure on the exact car, especially if the same area appears again later
• No paperwork showing applicable recall work has been completed
• A seller who cannot explain MOT wording such as "prescribed area is excessively corroded"

What should I check first?

Start with corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, suspension and steering, and lights and electrical. The checklist on this page explains why each area is being recommended, what to inspect, and what to ask the seller. Each item shows whether it comes from MOT results, recall notices, or a standard used-car check.

• Corrosion and structure Seen in MOT results

  Corrosion and structure is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (46.2 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Inspect sills, subframes, mounting points, arches, and underside corrosion advisories.

  • Ask the seller: Has any sill, subframe, mounting-point, chassis, or structural corrosion advisory been repaired properly?
  • Example MOT wording: prescribed area is excessively corroded; prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength; corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Emissions, engine, and exhaust Seen in MOT results

  Emissions, engine, and exhaust is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (35.1 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check warning lights, smoke, exhaust leaks, recent emissions failures, and service history.

  • Ask the seller: Has the car had repeat emissions, smoke, exhaust, lambda, or engine-warning MOT failures?
  • Example MOT wording: leaking excessively from engine; Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits; has a major leak of exhaust gases
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Suspension and steering Seen in MOT results

  Suspension and steering is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (17.3 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Listen for knocks, check uneven tyre wear, and inspect steering play.

  • Ask the seller: Has any suspension, steering, ball-joint, spring, or wheel-bearing advisory been repaired?
  • Example MOT wording: ball joint excessively worn; across an axle; ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated
  • Where it shows up: seen across most mileage ranges
• Lights and electrical Seen in MOT results

  Lights and electrical is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (15.2 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check every lamp, warning light, horn, battery condition, and dashboard messages.

  • Ask the seller: Have any lighting, warning-light, horn, battery, or electrical MOT notes come back more than once?
  • Example MOT wording: adversely affected by the operation of another lamp; with a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning; inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 50-100k, 100-150k, 150-200k, and 200k+ miles
• Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors Seen in MOT results

  Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (10.3 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check windscreen damage, wiper operation, washers, mirrors, and demisting.

  • Ask the seller: Have windscreen, wiper, washer, mirror, or demisting faults appeared in recent MOT history?
  • Example MOT wording: does not clear the windscreen effectively; damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view; of the road through the swept area of the windscreen significantly affected by an obstruction
  • Where it shows up: most visible around 0-50k miles
• Tyres and wheels Seen in MOT results

  Tyres and wheels is one of the most common MOT problem areas for this model (4.5 MOT notes per 100 tests).

  What to check: Check tyre age, tread depth, sidewall damage, wheel condition, and alignment wear.

  • Ask the seller: Have uneven tyre wear, damaged tyres, wheel damage, or alignment issues been corrected?
  • Example MOT wording: Nail in tyre; effort inadequate at a wheel; Spare tyre defective

What changes with mileage?

Past 100k miles on the Peugeot 106, MOT records most often point to corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering.

Common MOT problem areas

7,920 MOT tests analysed for this model

5,740 Distinct vehicles represented

28.8% Recorded MOT test failure rate — +10.1 percentage points vs all models

Common faults: what usually fails on this model?

Corrosion and structure is the clearest named problem area in the MOT history (46.3 MOT notes per 100 tests). These counts are issue notes, not failure rates, because a single MOT can list several faults.

Corrosion and structure

• prescribed area is excessively corroded
• prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength

46.3 MOT notes per 100 tests

Emissions, engine, and exhaust

• leaking excessively from engine
• Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits

35.1 MOT notes per 100 tests

Suspension and steering

• ball joint excessively worn
• across an axle

17.3 MOT notes per 100 tests

Lights and electrical

• adversely affected by the operation of another lamp
• with a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

15.2 MOT notes per 100 tests

Windscreen, wipers, and mirrors

• does not clear the windscreen effectively
• damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view

10.3 MOT notes per 100 tests

Tyres and wheels

• Nail in tyre
• effort inadequate at a wheel

4.5 MOT notes per 100 tests

Brakes

• pivot worn to the extent that the brake may inadvertently release
• remains on when the brakes are released

0.1 MOT notes per 100 tests

Recall-related areas to verify

Official recall areas

Manufacturer recall notices for the Peugeot 106 mainly involve 3 areas: brakes, mixed recall notices, and suspension and steering. Treat each as something to verify on the specific car you are viewing; the recall table below shows the official notice text.

Brakes

• Brake pedal relay lever
• Possibility of loss of brake servo assistance

2 recalls · 20,550 vehicles

Mixed recall notices

• Front air bag(s) may not deploy.

1 recall · 86 vehicles

Suspension and steering

• Possible chafing of wiring harness

1 recall · 15,821 vehicles

Mileage and age checks

Mileage changes: what starts showing up after high mileage?

Past 100k miles on the Peugeot 106, MOT records most often point to corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering. On lower-mileage cars, the most common named areas are corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering.

Mileage range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median mileage
0-50k	1,656	1,228	25.5%+14.7 percentage points vs all models	37,913 miles
50-100k	4,249	3,098	29.8%+9.1 percentage points vs all models	73,081 miles
100-150k	1,565	1,142	30.2%+4.0 percentage points vs all models	117,761 miles
150-200k	270	199	31.9%+4.6 percentage points vs all models	163,416 miles
200k+	25	17	32.0%+5.4 percentage points vs all models	218,788 miles

Problem areas by mileage

Past 100k miles on the Peugeot 106, MOT records most often point to corrosion and structure, emissions, engine, and exhaust, and suspension and steering.

Mileage range	Car areas most often recorded	Specific MOT defect examples
0-50k	Corrosion and structure (26.9 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (24.8 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (11.7 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
50-100k	Corrosion and structure (46.3 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (36.6 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (17.2 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
100-150k	Corrosion and structure (60.3 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (40.7 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (20.7 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
150-200k	Corrosion and structure (89.3 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (40.4 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (31.1 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.
200k+	Corrosion and structure (76.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Emissions, engine, and exhaust (36.0 MOT notes per 100 tests) Suspension and steering (32.0 MOT notes per 100 tests)	No exact MOT wording is available for this mileage range.

Fair comparisons: is this problem normal for its age?

The MOT failure rate rises from 0.0% at 6-10 years to 28.8% at 15+ years. Compare the car with the nearest age range before treating a fault as normal wear or a warning sign. The average MOT failure rate across all models in the same dataset is 18.7%. The highest failure rate by age is 28.8% for 15+ years cars, based on 7,905 tests.

Age range	Tests	Vehicles	Failure rate (vs all models)	Median age
6-10 years 2016–2020 reg.	3	2	0.0%-16.6 percentage points vs all models	6.9 years
10-15 years 2011–2016 reg.	12	8	25.0%+1.5 percentage points vs all models	12.9 years
15+ years pre-2011 reg.	7,905	5,733	28.8%+2.9 percentage points vs all models	22.4 years

Recall records and data freshness

Recall context: are there safety notices to know about?

4 relevant recall notices appear for this model. Treat them as safety checks to verify for the exact car, not as normal MOT wear.

2002-02-28	FRONT AIR BAG(S) MAY NOT DEPLOY. The driver and where fitted passenger air bags may not deploy correctly in an accident due to a fault in the electronic control unit (ECU). Recall affected vehicles conduct a diagnostic check on the ECU and rectify or replace as appropriate.
2001-02-21	BRAKE PEDAL RELAY LEVER Brake pedal relay lever may fracture and adversely affect the operation of the braking system. Recall affected vehicles and fit a quality assured replacement relay lever.
2000-02-01	POSSIBILITY OF LOSS OF BRAKE SERVO ASSISTANCE There is a possibility that the brake servo valve may not function correctly resulting in loss of servo assistance to the braking system. Recall affected vehicles for the inspection and possible replacement of the brake servo valve.
1997-05-28	POSSIBLE CHAFING OF WIRING HARNESS It is possible for the ignition switch harness to foul on the steering column coupling. This could lead to short circuiting and electrical malfunction. The affected vehicles are being recalled for the harness to be repositioned.

Related searches

Common ways people look up the Peugeot 106. Each link runs the search and lands on the relevant section of this report.

• Peugeot 106 common problems
• Peugeot 106 reliability
• Peugeot 106 after 100k miles
• Peugeot 106 after 200k miles
• Peugeot 106 high mileage common problems
• Peugeot 106 age related problems
• Peugeot 106 MOT failures
• Peugeot 106 recalls

Related reliability guides

Sources used: DVSA MOT tests (Apr 2026); vehicle recalls (Apr 2026); MOT fault wording (May 2025). These are patterns from many MOT tests and recall notices. They help you decide what to inspect and what to ask; they do not certify the condition of one specific car.