Used Peugeot 207 CC review and buying guide (2007 to 2015): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Peugeot 207 CC should you buy?

Buy the 207 CC with the healthiest roof you can find, because the folding top and its seals are where most of the reported trouble sits. There's only one generation, sold from 2007 to 2015, and nothing on record splits early cars from late ones, so the roof, the engine and the gearbox decide it rather than the year.

The 1.6 THP turbo petrol is the one engine with a High known fault: its timing chain stretches and the tensioner fails between 40,000 and 80,000 miles, and the timing can jump. Don't buy one without a receipt for that work. The AL4 four-speed automatic and the 16-valve 1.6 HDi diesel on 2007 to 2010 cars each carry a Medium fault, so they need paperwork and a careful drive too.

Don't treat the non-turbo 1.6 petrol as the safe pick by default. It escapes the known faults above, but there's little on record about it either way, and one owner's was burning oil heavily, so check the level on the dipstick and ask how often it's been topped up between services.

Which 207 CC engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

None of the engines has a clean bill of health, and the 1.6 THP turbo petrol is the one with a High known fault. Its timing chain can stretch and its hydraulic tensioner fail between 40,000 and 80,000 miles, giving a loud metallic rattle on a cold start, an engine warning light and limp mode before the timing jumps.

The THP has a second weak spot. It's direct injection, so fuel never washes over the inlet valves, and oil vapour fed back from the crankcase breather can bake carbon onto them. One owner's THP had exactly that. Sticky valves upset the timing and can bring hesitant pick-up, a poor idle when cold, stalling and misfires under load.

Treat the AL4 four-speed automatic with care if the car you're viewing has one. Dirty, overheated or never-changed fluid wears its pressure solenoids, and between 60,000 and 100,000 miles it can thump into gear, flash its Sport and Snow lights with a gearbox warning, and stick in third. Don't buy one without proof the fluid's been changed and a test drive with no harsh shifts.

The 16-valve 1.6 HDi diesel on 2007 to 2010 cars has a Medium known fault: oil carbonises inside the thin pipe feeding the turbo bearings, starving them until they wear out. A new turbo alone won't fix it, because the feed pipe needs renewing too. The HDi's plastic dipstick can also snap at the end and drop into the sump, which then has to come off. On the non-turbo 1.6, one owner's used 6 litres of oil in about 15,000 miles.

What should you check when viewing a used 207 CC?

Put the roof through several full cycles, down and back up, and watch that it moves smoothly and locks at both ends without hesitating. One owner's hydraulic roof mechanism failed completely, and one report from 2016 said folding roof failures were turning up more and more often. With the top up, drive over rough roads and listen for rattles from the back, a complaint lots of these cars share.

Look for damp carpets, water marks on the headlining and tired rubber around the roof and windows. Individual owners have had leaks from the front edges of the door window seals, a roof seal that failed badly and a side window seal that couldn't be cured. Seeing the car after rain, or running a hose over it, is the quickest way to find out what you're buying.

On a THP, insist on starting it from stone cold: a metallic rattle in the first seconds, an engine light or limp mode means the timing chain and tensioner need attention, so ask for the receipt if they've been done. A lumpy idle, stalling or hesitation pulling away points to carbon on the valves instead. On an automatic, check for flashing Sport and Snow lights, thumps into gear or a box stuck in third, and ask for fluid change receipts.

On a 2007 to 2010 HDi, listen for a turbo whine or growl as it pulls, blue or grey smoke under load or a sudden loss of power, and if the turbo's been changed, ask for a receipt showing the oil feed pipe was renewed too. Ask for proof of the 207's recall work as well: a driver's side air-con duct that could drop onto the pedals on 2008 to 2011 cars, and a battery earth cable that could snap and cut the engine on 2010 and 2011 cars.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.

What does a used Peugeot 207 CC cost to run?