A Grand Monday: Peugeot 309 for £600

This week marks the Peugeot 309’s 30^th birthday, so to celebrate this momentous occasion here’s the perfect opportunity to treat yourself to a seemingly immaculate example of the British-built Ford Escort rival.

This is a somewhat quirky spec for a 309, too. Being a GLX, with added extras as well, it gets electric front windows, power steering and a sliding sunroof, plus an uprated radio-cassette (these things mattered in the Eighties, you know).

Most GLXs, by their very nature, came with one of Peugeot’s flagship engines – either a 1.6-litre XU petrol or 1.9-litre XUD unit. But this one is really quite odd, as it’s a 1.3 – yes, such a thing was available, but for anyone spending big on extras such as the high trim level and optional sliding sunroof, leaving the basic powerplant in there is an oddity, albeit one that has some appeal.

Under the bonnet, as it’s a pre-facelift 309, it will have the Simca-derived ‘Douvrin’ engine, chain-driven cam and all. Noisy, but tough and lively, it’s actually quite a hoot to drive in any 309, and it does, at least, have a five-speed gearbox.

Apart from the aftermarket wheeltrims (we’d seek out some genuine Peugeot ones as the first job on the list), the 309 appears to be 100 per cent original and in genuinely excellent condition. With two retired owners from new and a full service history, it has all the hallmarks of a car that’s had a cherished and easy life, and is only for sale because the current 81-year old driver is reducing the size of his vehicle fleet.

Yours for just £600 ono. At that price, we wouldn’t even bother to haggle – a great car for a young enthusiast looking for something retro, cool and inexpensive to run and insure.

• Read our Peugeot 309 review
• Find a Peugeot 309 for sale
• How many Peugeot 309s survive?