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total n00b here I've been pondering over what car to get (As my first!) and I am really sold on the idea of a 406. It would prob. be the 4 door as I need the space, and don't want to spend silly money.
I'd be using it mainly for city driving, so was thinkin maybe a diesel would be my best bet for saving on fuel, but i've also heard through 'pub' talk that the diesels aren't very good for motorway driving driving and lack power all round. But I take all pub chatter with huge amounts of salt! My budgets around £1k and insurance looks as if it's gonna eat my ass for anything which is over a "basic" engine spec. But if it's worth the extra couple hundred a year for a more powerful and more importantly reliable car... then I could hack it.
I'm totally new to the game of buying a car but... hints / tips and general pointers from you folk in the know would be more than helpful!
Thanks in advance, and from what I've been reading before posting it looks like a really helpful site!
Diesels are the best motorway cruisers because they run at lower revs making it quiet and economical. Turbo Diesels are excellent on the motorway as the low down power makes for quick overtaking in gear.
If you want to 'race around' then you need a petrol.
For that money I'd go for a P/R/S reg 2.1 turbo diesel. Executive is the top spec then GLX, LX. Don't shy away from a well kept estate as these look a lot more modern and stylish than the saloon. Don't rule out the 1.9 TD either as this might be less to insure but these can be tiresome to drive as they lack the power of the 2.1 (which is a bit of a dark horse TBH).
I think you might find the insurance not too bad, Peugeots allways seem a bit cheaper to insure for some reason.
Welly
Cars in my care:
2021 Kia Spottage 1.6 Pez Turbo Dual Clutch Gearbox Trickery
2013 Renner Twingo - donkey work
Haha, my pub is filled with Boy racer mates with various Subaru's, Modified BMW's and Mr2's But I can't stand that whole scene of spending pointless cash on making a car look like a toy.
So, Yeh I don't need to be racing about, as I say I just need a reliable car really. Something that won't break or need a lot of servicing (Other than general maintenance). Is a diesel a lot better at fuel economy? I would be doing quite a few miles a day in fairly busy city scenes... so anything to save some cash!
I've been browsing ebay and see there's loads of peugeots around the 1.5-2k mark... Do I need to spend that kind of cash to get something good? I'll keep an eye out for the 2.1 TD, I've heard they are the best engines in the 406 field.... again, pub chat! No idea.
You're best going for a really good 2.1 than a really cheap HDi. I've lost touch a bit with 2.1 prices but you should get a decent one for sub £1,500.00 ? see what the others say.
As for economy, a Petrol in City driving will do aout 25MPG but a Diesel will do at least 35MPG, more if you drive it economicaly.
Also don't but one that needs a Cambelt soon (£250.00) unless you can bargain that in the price.
Cars in my care:
2021 Kia Spottage 1.6 Pez Turbo Dual Clutch Gearbox Trickery
2013 Renner Twingo - donkey work
Nice one. I'll keep my eye out for a 2.1 Diesel around £1200 or so? I'll check ebay every so often and when it comes to buying it I'm sure I'll ask for any advice on certain ones. Need to save the pennies at the moment. I can afford the car but not the insurance/road tax just yet
And of course if anyone on here is selling... I'm all ears
Oh also, for a 10 year old 406, what's considered high mileage to the point where it's troublesome / best to avoid? And what are the main things to look out for when buying one of that age besides body work and interior condition. Things like towbars and as mentioned cambelts I am aware of to an extent, but there may be something you guys know I should check that is regularly problematic with 406s of that age?
I personally would'nt buy one with more than 170,000 miles unless it came with the mother of all service records and there's enough of them about with less mileage. Expect one with 130K to 150K realistically. I had the 2.1 engine in a 605 model which had 260,000 miles and it was still going very well until the fuel pump crapped out
The main problem with 406's is electrical things, speedos going funny, fan motors packing up etc. Mechanically the older 406's are strong apart from the handbrake/rear discs but we all suffer there. Just make sure you check EVERTHING works when you look at one.
That's an interesting Avatar there chap. Have you had bad experiences with door-to-door salesmen?
Cars in my care:
2021 Kia Spottage 1.6 Pez Turbo Dual Clutch Gearbox Trickery
2013 Renner Twingo - donkey work
Cool, I'll start having a look at autotrader. Mainly been skimming ebay and the local gumtree for ideas. What's D8 people mention? I haven't seen it on any sites etc.
As for the pic... yeh, don't take kindly to strangers around my parts
D8s are phase one, up until 1999 or there abouts. Easy to tell apart, they have a grill like a venitian blind, not a honeycomb like the D9. The downside is they're arguably not as pretty as a D9 and have slightly less efficient engines. The plus side of it is they're far far less complicated and have far less to go wrong with them.
I've been pondering over what car to get (As my first!) and I am really sold on the idea of a 406. It would prob. be the 4 door as I need the space, and don't want to spend silly money.
But I can't stand that whole scene of spending pointless cash on making a car look like a toy.
