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406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:27 am
by omega
not sure if this is the right section so please move if wrong place

been after a 406 exec for a long time and just been ofered a cheap one[well i think its cheap i welcome comments]
its blue on a r plate 2.1 diesel 10 mot 3 monthes tax done 150 k looks tidy in blue small laquer peel in places all electrics work apart from heated seat drivers side and the aircon works as well
he says the power steering belt came off and manage to wrap itself round the cam belt [is this possible?] bending the valves and hes had the work done and now the engine runs fine driven it and it goes okay
weve had a chat and its mine for 550 pounds
bad pointsfor me is that it doesnt have a towbar
any comments on anything to watch for on anything mentioned welcome

ps its a saloon

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:36 am
by Welly
Seems ok really. Basically with the 2.1 if it sounds well and goes well then all's well :)

The aux belt can rip through the cambelt cover and cause trouble. I'd maybe get to speak to the place who repaired it if you can to make sure they had the head skimmed after they removed it and that they used a genuine head gasket etc.

At least if it's been doen well then you don't need to get the cambelt done etc (which can cost nearly £200.00).

If you're not sure about anything then leave it (there's loads out there) having said that, £500.00 aint really a big risk these days and if all went belly up you'd probably make the money back by breaking it for spares.

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 6:15 pm
by omega
Welly wrote:Seems ok really. Basically with the 2.1 if it sounds well and goes well then all's well :)

The aux belt can rip through the cambelt cover and cause trouble. I'd maybe get to speak to the place who repaired it if you can to make sure they had the head skimmed after they removed it and that they used a genuine head gasket etc.

At least if it's been doen well then you don't need to get the cambelt done etc (which can cost nearly £200.00).

If you're not sure about anything then leave it (there's loads out there) having said that, £500.00 aint really a big risk these days and if all went belly up you'd probably make the money back by breaking it for spares.
thanks for that so ive bought it
faults now found

dodgey fuel flap
cant work out radio
heated seats dont work
oil temp gauge comes on with ignition then doesnt work

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 9:13 pm
by teamster1975
omega wrote:oil temp gauge comes on with ignition then doesnt work
That's normal behaviour :)

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 12:10 am
by omega
teamster1975 wrote:
omega wrote:oil temp gauge comes on with ignition then doesnt work
That's normal behaviour :)
as in none of them work,or this is the way it works?

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:05 am
by Leopold
teamster1975 wrote:
omega wrote:oil temp gauge comes on with ignition then doesnt work
That's normal behaviour :)
Yeah, normally it tells you the oil level when you first switch the ignition on, then it acts as the Oil Temp, so it takes a while for the oil to reach it normal temp...

You got any pictures of the car mate?

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:47 am
by DaiRees
Yup, what he said :arrowu:

What's dodgy about the fuel flap? Have you seen the clothes peg spring mod?
What can't you work out about the radio?
Heated seats can be repaired, a few people on here have done it.

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:10 am
by omega
DaiRees wrote:Yup, what he said :arrowu:

What's dodgy about the fuel flap? Have you seen the clothes peg spring mod?
What can't you work out about the radio?
Heated seats can be repaired, a few people on here have done it.
fuel flap has the common fault from reading on here[flap lever has to be wedged] cant work out where the spring goes have asked on one of the threads
think ive got the hang of the radio now but still have not found am
heated seats the switches light up but nothing happens[not to fussed about this at the moment just one of theses jobs to do

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 7:20 pm
by poddack
Also check the accessory belt tensioner, idler and crankshft pulley. If the crankshaft pulley comes loose or has a nick in it then yum yum belt etc. I had this problem a few months ago when the pulley worked loose, then again when the professional garage who re-attached the pulley forgot to tell me about a nick in it. Munch munch belt, I then replaced pulley, belt, idler and tensioner for good luck.

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 8:45 pm
by mjb
teamster1975 wrote:
omega wrote:oil temp gauge comes on with ignition then doesnt work
That's normal behaviour :)
Ah, depends if it's an oil temp gauge or not... A lot of models just have the oil level indicator which works for the first 15s after ignition on, it's only a few that have a temp gauge...

Omega, does the gauge have numbers on it, or just a white+red scale?

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:48 pm
by totaleclipse
Leopold wrote:
teamster1975 wrote:
omega wrote:oil temp gauge comes on with ignition then doesnt work
That's normal behaviour :)
Yeah, normally it tells you the oil level when you first switch the ignition on, then it acts as the Oil Temp, so it takes a while for the oil to reach it normal temp...

You got any pictures of the car mate?
its meant to read oil temp?

mine aint working either then.

lights up at 1st and tells me the level, then just goes off.

at 1st when i bought the car i thought it was to do with the glow plugs, lol.

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:05 pm
by mjb
totaleclipse wrote:its meant to read oil temp?

mine aint working either then.

lights up at 1st and tells me the level, then just goes off.
Read my reply above - only a few models show oil temperature

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:16 am
by omega
mjb wrote:
teamster1975 wrote:
omega wrote:oil temp gauge comes on with ignition then doesnt work
That's normal behaviour :)
Ah, depends if it's an oil temp gauge or not... A lot of models just have the oil level indicator which works for the first 15s after ignition on, it's only a few that have a temp gauge...

Omega, does the gauge have numbers on it, or just a white+red scale?

no its not got any numbers on it but says min/max marks and onley comes on when the key is inserted then flicks up to max then stops.did 200 miles in her yesterday and the gauge never moved up
have now found am on the radio
not yet figured the heater /aircon yet,still hoping to get a owners manual from my wanted advert

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:38 am
by mjb
omega wrote:no its not got any numbers on it but says min/max marks and onley comes on when the key is inserted then flicks up to max then stops
If it doesn't have any numbers on it, then it's only an oil level gauge, NOT temperature.

Re: 406 buying is this worth it

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:40 pm
by omega
mjb wrote:
omega wrote:no its not got any numbers on it but says min/max marks and onley comes on when the key is inserted then flicks up to max then stops
If it doesn't have any numbers on it, then it's only an oil level gauge, NOT temperature.
so if its a oil level gauge[as it has no numbers] it only comes on when you start the car then goes of, so it is working as it should then?