When it comes to cars, I like weird stuff. The French have a reputation for building innovative and trend-setting designs and today’s Good Find Friday car, a 1978 Peugeot 504, is one of those vehicles. Its inherent qualities, including the fact it was sold here in the United States, may make it a great entry point to French classic car ownership.

The Peugeot 504 was launched in 1968 and quickly established itself as one of the brand’s most successful and enduring models, winning European Car of the Year the following year. Designed by Pininfarina, the sedan had clean, balanced lines that projected both elegance and strength, while the coupé and cabriolet versions carried a more refined, stylish character.

Beyond appearances, the 504 was engineered with resilience in mind. A torque-tube driveshaft, long-travel suspension, and high ground clearance made it well suited to a wide range of driving conditions. These qualities, paired with its sturdy construction, helped it gain a reputation for durability that cemented its place as a dependable family car in Europe and a long-lasting workhorse in markets across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

A wide choice of engines contributed to the 504’s versatility. Four-cylinder gasoline units were standard in most models, while later versions of the coupé and cabriolet were fitted with a 2.7-liter V6 for added performance. Diesel engines ranging from 1.9 to 2.3 liters were especially valued for their economy and ruggedness, often becoming the preferred option in export markets. They were panned as being slow and the noisiest diesels on the market, however. Buyers could choose between a four-speed manual gearbox or a three-speed automatic supplied by ZF, which was a notable feature for the era.

The suspension design further distinguished the 504: MacPherson struts at the front delivered a comfortable ride, while the rear setup varied by body style, with sedans and coupés using semi-trailing arms and wagons and pickups relying on heavy-duty live axles. Braking systems included front discs on all models, with either discs or drums at the rear, and some versions even offered a dashboard warning for brake pad wear. The 504 was produced until 1983 officially, but production continued outside Europe through as late as 2006 under various licensing agreements.

Today’s Good Find Friday car is a 1978 Peugeot 504 listed on Facebook Marketplace for $18,000. The car is located in Connecticut and is said to have 80,000 miles on the odometer.

The car is finished in blue over a blue cloth interior. Exterior features include 4 doors, rectangular headlights, c-pillar vents, brightwork around the windows. The 504 is a rather simple car, but is remarkably modern looking for a car designed in 1968. In many ways, it feels more like a car introduced in the 1970s which likely helped its longevity.

The exterior condition appears quite good for a 47-year old working-class car. The well-written ad copy admits the car is not perfect, and the front hood fit attests to that. Perhaps some adjustment is possible. The glass looks good and the brightwork also appears to be in good shape. I wouldn’t call the paint “glossy” at all, but it certainly looks pretty intact with no obvious signs of corrosion.

Moving to the interior, the appears to have worn well over the years, and I can’t help but love that it’s also blue. The seats include a pretty trick headrest that seamlessly blends with the backrest when in the down position. This is demonstrated in a video in the listing.

There appears to be a crack in the steering wheel, but the dashboard looks good with no obvious cracks. The gear lever for the 4-speed manual transmission looks like it has doubled as a chew toy for a previous owner’s poodle. The headliner is intact and appears unstained.

The car’s 4-cylinder engine is likely the carbureted 2.0-liter gas engine, but it’s not noted as such in the description. It’s not a great photo, but the engine compartment looks pretty tidy and clean.

Steel wheels with hubcaps in good condition are mounted on all four corners, and the tires look like they have decent tread, but no word on how old they might be.

The Peugeot 504 market is not something with which I am intimately familiar, yet I was surprised to see the average price is right around $21,000. The sales volume isn’t huge and many of those sales are coupes and not sedans. Diving deeper, Cabriolets seem to skew the average pretty significantly, with sedans bringing far less money.

Interestingly, a Peugeot 504 was just sold 3 days ago on Bring a Trailer for a final bid price of $13,800. This was a 1979 car and appears to be a US-spec sedan with the large (and a bit ungainly) rubber bumpers and quad headlights. Today’s car is a Spanish-built Peugeot and has much more attractive equipment.

If you’re worried about the French automotive experience being too soft and unsporting, the 504 might be a good way to sample the country’s cars. The car was positively compared to German sedans of the period, so its performance and driving feel may be less alien than something like a Citroën DS. 

The price for this car feels a touch high to me, but perhaps an offer close to $15,000 would put you in the driver’s seat of this blue-on-blue Peugeot.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!