406oc.co.uk

Mine just locked up yesterday, completely locking the right rear wheel as I was turning at an intersection. I left a nice skid mark all the way across. Had it picked up (1 hour and 20 minutes wait, while I was blocking traffic!), now I'm waiting for the mechanic's verdict. 99% sure it's the handbrake.

So if you drive a 406 with rear disc brakes, make sure you take real good care of the handbrake drum+shoes! From what I gather, it's a weak point on the 406, but I thought it was just related to how ineffective the handbrake is. I'm just glad it didn't happen on the motorway.

Luckily, my car was supposed to go in tomorrow to have some bumper damage fixed, so I can pick up a courtesy car this afternoon. I hope it's a 208 GTI

More than likely is that the brake lining material has come away from the actual shoe and has jammed solid.

+1 happened to my old one too, (though not so dramatically).

That looks like it could cause some damage at speed.

Luckily, I was going less than 20km/h. I hope the damage is minimal.

I talked to the mechanic as I was picking up my courtesy car (206 1.4 HDI) and he confirmed from a quick look that it was absolutely and completely stuck, wouldn't budge a millimetre. They'll start working on it proper tomorrow and give me a call when they know how extensive the damage is and how expensive they reckon it'll be.

Even if they tell me it's too expensive for the insurance company, I don't care. My stance is that there's no such thing as too expensive when it comes to my 406, I don't care if I have to pay for it 100% out of pocket. I've finally found the right car for me, and I'm sticking with it!

I must say that the 206 is surprisingly nice, despite being severely down on power compared to my own car.

Should be a relatively cheap fix, as once the disc is off you can see whats what. I hope its just the shoes jammed against the disc or the hub/bearing and nothing more sinister....

jasper5 wrote:More than likely is that the brake lining material has come away from the actual shoe and has jammed solid.

Quite happy that was my first thought too (about the only thing that could cause a 406 handbrake to actually grip...)

KozmoNaut wrote:Even if they tell me it's too expensive for the insurance company, I don't care. My stance is that there's no such thing as too expensive when it comes to my 406, I don't care if I have to pay for it 100% out of pocket. I've finally found the right car for me, and I'm sticking with it!

It shouldn't be expensive. Worst case will be cutting the disc off, then replacing the discs+shoes on both sides, although you might need a new tyre if you've put a flat spot on it...

It was indeed the brake shoes, so it needs to have those replaced, luckily nothing else was damaged. The mechanic asked me if they should go ahead and replace the discs+pads as well, as the backside of the discs was looking pretty bad, I told them to go ahead while they had everything apart anyway. Caliper sliding pins were nasty as well, so figure in a repair kit as well for both sides.

Total cost will be ~£760.

I forgot that insurance doesn't cover it since it wasn't a crash or an accident, just mechanical damage. So it's all out of my pocket. Oh well, at least now the rear brakes will be in great shape.

As for the tyre, I only skidded for about 5 meters or so, I hope that's not enough to flatspot it too badly.

KozmoNaut wrote: Total cost will be ~£760.

HOW MUCH?!?!?

I paid less than that for discs and pads all round, handbrake shoes, and an oil change. And that was at silly southern prices.

Remember that this is Denmark, and at a stealership garage. It's not just the taxes on our cars that are extremely high, it's everything related to car ownership. I bought the car last year for ~£6450 and that's a low price for a 2.2 SRI/TS4 406, especially one in as good a shape as mine, with such low mileage. Add at least 25% if you want a diesel.

I would have gone with my usual very fairly-priced garage if not for the fact that I live 150km away from it. There is also the fact that the car was scheduled in for insurance-paid accident repair at the dealership garage the next day. Obviously, I chose an expensive, well-reviewed main dealership for that kind of thing ;-)

There's a free courtesy car for as long as my car is at the garage, figure 8-10 days or so. Though that's mostly because of the insurance work.

KozmoNaut wrote:Remember that this is Denmark, and at a stealership garage. It's not just the taxes on our cars that are extremely high, it's everything related to car ownership. I bought the car last year for ~£6450 and that's a low price for a 2.2 SRI/TS4 406, especially one in as good a shape as mine, with such low mileage. Add at least 25% if you want a diesel.

I would have gone with my usual very fairly-priced garage if not for the fact that I live 150km away from it. There is also the fact that the car was scheduled in for insurance-paid accident repair at the dealership garage the next day. Obviously, I chose an expensive, well-reviewed main dealership for that kind of thing ;-)

There's a free courtesy car for as long as my car is at the garage, figure 8-10 days or so. Though that's mostly because of the insurance work.

So that's Euro's not pounds but it's still very expensive

dirtydirtydiesel wrote:

KozmoNaut wrote:Remember that this is Denmark, and at a stealership garage. It's not just the taxes on our cars that are extremely high, it's everything related to car ownership. I bought the car last year for ~£6450 and that's a low price for a 2.2 SRI/TS4 406, especially one in as good a shape as mine, with such low mileage. Add at least 25% if you want a diesel.

I would have gone with my usual very fairly-priced garage if not for the fact that I live 150km away from it. There is also the fact that the car was scheduled in for insurance-paid accident repair at the dealership garage the next day. Obviously, I chose an expensive, well-reviewed main dealership for that kind of thing ;-)

There's a free courtesy car for as long as my car is at the garage, figure 8-10 days or so. Though that's mostly because of the insurance work.

So that's Euro's not pounds but it's still very expensive

No, it's pounds. I converted from DKK (we hate the Euro over here).

The car cost me 55000DKK, the brake repair around 6500DKK.