A few years ago, I would have been all over this rare Peugeot wagon that’s an 8-seater and equipped with the rare 5-speed manual. The SW8 version of the classic 505 is known for being good at several desirable functions: first, it can carry 8 passengers; second, it has a significant load-carrying capacity, especially for a passenger vehicle; and third, it is known to be incredibly long-lived in terms of the mileage it is capable of racking up. The seller has owned this 505 listed here on eBay for almost three decades but has decided it’s time to move on.
I briefly owned a 505 wagon when I was on the hunt for one of these, and settled for a bit of an mongrel. It was originally a 505 Turbo, but a previous owner – who happened to be a Peugeot technician when the company was still selling vehicles here – swapped in a PRV V6 from an Eagle Medallion sedan, paired with the original 5-speed manual transmission. The idea was the PRV was a bit less fiddly to work with compared to the turbocharged engine, and with parts shared between the Eagle and Peugeot (and the DeLorean!), it was a bit easier to repair. That was the logic, anyhow; I still grew nervous about some random part failing I couldn’t track down and eventually sold it.
However, the 505 is enormously charming and the owners that love them are passionate about keeping them on the road. The seller even notes that he had the original engine replaced by a service facility in California that was previously a Peugeot shop before shifting to general European repair when the company departed the U.S. market. However, the business, known as DuBarr Peugeot, still works on these funky French vehicles, and the seller estimates that he’s put about 60,000 miles on the replacement 2.2 ZDJL gas engine. The 5-speed is a big deal for obvious reasons, but especially with the 8-person seating configuration.
Most of the SW8s were automatics, and you couldn’t get the third row in a turbo 505. These wagons had additional structural reinforcements that gave them a tremendous 1,265 pound load capacity, and with the seats folded down, almost 70 cubic feet of space. This was amazing in the late 80s and still impressive today; in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this 505 end up overseas or in Africa where they still provide reliable service as taxis and cheap livery vehicles. The seller isn’t asking much – just $2,900 – and while the body has some dings, it’s still a rust-free California wagon. Have any of you ever owned an SW8?
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