Rusty But Trusty

“Are we there yet?” is a phrase that’s most often associated with family road trips, preferably in a floaty-boat of a station wagon with two three-seat benches and the vis-a-vis rear seat, all upholstered in vinyl. But the phrase only gets real meaning when the car you’re in is not powered by a hulking V8 with somewhere between 200 and 400 hp, but a 2.3-liter diesel engine with a mere 70hp. But wait, there’s more – add the weight of impact bumpers and other malaise-era safety equipment, and then strangle the whole lot with une transmission automatique. “You want ze automatique? You can ‘ahve eet, but eet weel be slower zan continental drift. And shut up about your aire conditionee.” You can find this 1980 Peugeot 504 Diesel Wagon Automatique for sale for $4000 in Yuba, CA.

This is one of the best colors for a 504. And this car seems to be in immaculate condition, showing a mere 47,095 miles – was that as far as they could get it to go in 34 years?? Wisecracks aside, this seems to be a top-spec wagon, with alloy wheels, automatic transmission, roof rack, front power windows, and that great tobacco interior color that the French and Italians do so well.

With a mid-1990s California license plate, and the low mileage, this car has most likely spent a significant amount of time off the road. That’s fine, as long as it’s accumulated some recent miles to make sure all the systems are working properly, and any problem areas have been exposed. If you can get over the diesel/automatic combination, these cars are as well-known for their longevity as Mercedes diesels, so you can probably expect this car to outlive you, given good care. How hard would it be to change to a later Peugeot turbodiesel, perhaps from a 505, and possibly paired with a 5-speed? It’s almost a shame to spoil the originality, but at least that way it would be driven more.

Even the trunk is spotless – was it covered, or did grandma and grandpa never haul any loads? No pictures of the interior or engine are provided, but what is visible in the pictures does give hope the rest of the car is just as tidy. One 504 wagon languished for sale for at least a couple of years at 2-3 times the price, so make sure you swoop this one up if you’re at all interested – it’s definitely a great alternative to a Mercedes 300TD.

Tags: 504, automatique, break, diesel, Feature, french, peugeot, wagon

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