Newbie - I need some advice on which model to buy please

[kiwifraser]

Hi,

First post, so please be gentle! I have decided to purchase a 406 in the next few weeks, and I'm looking for some considered insight into the models please, before I do.

Key things are comfort, economy, and reliability, and the budget around £1000. I plan to run it for high motorway miles to work (3000-4000 a month) for the next 6 months. If it was a pleasure to drive, then it would be a weekend car to enjoy early morning countryside runs around scotland as well

The cars I'm stuck in choosing between
406 Saloon: 2.0 HDi 110, or 2.2 HDi (I guess the 2.0HDi 90 is less enjoyable considering there is very little difference in cost between the 90 and 110's)
406 Coupe - 2.0 Petrol, or 2.2HDi if I stretch the budget?
406 Estate - How is the handling/ performance compared to the saloon? Purely looking at specifications it appears markedly slower, but 0-60 times can deceiving in a diesel ;)

I like the look of the coupes, but as they cost a premium over the saloon for the diesel, so they would need to be that much better to drive. Has anyone owned both saloon and coupe to give a direct comparison?


The most tempting finds are:
406 2.0 Petrol Coupe £500 http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

406 Saloon 2.0 HDi 110 £600 http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... i/85561385 . Could this have originally come with Steel Wheels?

406 Saloon 2.0 HDi 110 £675 http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... t/84820879

406 Saloon 2.0 HDi 110 £900 http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

406 Saloon 2.2 HDi £900 http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

406 Estate 2.2 HDi £1350 http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

406 Coupe 2.2HDi £1800 (but I believe has been on the market for quite a while) http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Cheers
Fraser

[kiwifraser]

I am also looking at a number of 3l V6 Coupes, if they are a great drive and actually do achieve 30mpg on a motorway cruise, then it could be worth the extra fuel cost so I can enjoy the weekends more

At 1k budget would it be best to look at the early V6, or the later 210HP one?

[iangt4]

The cars I'm stuck in choosing between

The most tempting finds are:
406 2.0 Petrol Coupe £500 http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

406 Saloon 2.0 HDi 110 £600 http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... i/85561385 . Could this have originally come with Steel Wheels?

406 Saloon 2.0 HDi 110 £675 http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... t/84820879

406 Saloon 2.0 HDi 110 £900 http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

406 Saloon 2.2 HDi £900 http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

406 Estate 2.2 HDi £1350 http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

406 Coupe 2.2HDi £1800 (but I believe has been on the market for quite a while) http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Cheers
Fraser

Hi Fraser

If it was my money then

No 1 = Petrol
No 2 = Sat on grass, and tired looking, sat on grass indicates to me moisture, so probally rotten & filthy.... mechanical is easier to fix than structual
No 3 = Normally you take a pic of "Your Best Side" well i would hate to see the other side
No 4 = Dead link
No 5 = My choice, in fact i was tempted to take the details to buy it myself, well spec'd advert, good pics, just ran in if serviced correctly
No 6 = Exterior doesnt look right for some reason, looks very tired, although the interior looks quite good.... but do you need an estate, lower MPG & slower ?
No 7 = Very pretty car ............ Stretch the budget ! almost double it

But then what do i know, i bought my 406 a week ago, and ive spent everyday so far trying to make it perfect again pmsl

[kiwifraser]

Thank you. 3 and 5 were my choices, helped by the fact that 3 is just around the corner from me.

Estate are out of the picture now. SWMBO isn't fussed on them (her verdict - saloon is ok, and coupe is lovely), and given the points you made about mpg, and performance, that made the decision easy.

[kiwifraser]

Number 7 is very nice, but for 800 quid less I could get a V6 and use that money towards fuel

[iangt4]

i love the colour as well i maybe be wrong here but i think you will find servicing costs, both in parts and labour would be considerably more for the 3.0 V6, and for what you said you neded the car for.... i would stick to diesel

[omega]

if you carry people in the back the coupe will be a pain!but it looks the nicest car to me ,id go and have a look check it out take some cash if it was okay offer them what you can afford and if they say no leave your number and walk away,you might get a call later.
if you going to be doing that sort of mileage service historey would be the first thing i would be looking at including when the cambelt was changed.
diesel will do mid 40s compared to 30s for a v6[dont forget the diffrence in road tax as well] so if you go with wallet its a no brainer
i would also look for a car with cruise control

[rwb]

Doing those sorts of motorway miles, you'll probably be best off with the 2.2 HDi because it has the longest final drive.

51-plate and new have cheaper road tax, but that will be irrelevant compared to what you'll be spending on fuel (or, rather, on fuel tax).

So that silver saloon X-plate looks like a no-brainer.

[highlander]

If you're shopping for a petrol Coupe, look for a 2.2 petrol over a 2.0 petrol. There's a good bit more grunt in the engine, and yet strangely it seems to have bloody good fuel economy. It's an excellent half-way house between the 2.0 petrol and the 3.0 V6 petrol.

My old 1.8 petrol saloon, when driven carefully, used to get me the same range out of each tank that my 2.2 petrol Coupe gets me now, when driven with enthusiasm

If you insist on a diesel, then you'll want to speak to the chaps over at the Coupe Club forums about removing the diesel particulate filter, also known as the "FAP", and remapping the ECU so that you can squeeze a full 180 HP out of the engine (up from the standard 136 HP). This is true for both the 2.2 HDi Coupe and the Saloon/Estate models, as it's the same engine and ECU set.

[OdinEidolon]

I love diesels, so I'd go for a 2.2HDi saloon or coupé. The saloon has respectable boot space, also the coupé does, but the latter is lacking in rear passenger space (4 passengers instead of 5 and worse access).
Depending on your needs I've always dreamed of a coupé, the drive seems to be a little better than a standard saloon, which drives very good already.
If you like petrol as HL says the best choiche would be the 2.2, the best mix between performance and economy.

The 2.2HDi can be boosted, as sad, to provide better driving AND economy by defapping and remapping. The expert about this is dogslife on this forum, but it seems also that iangt4 is aiming to become one

Don't fear for poor economy for the HDi, it can grant you 50+ MPG, especially on the motorway, as you can see from my signature.

Try to buy one high-specced. The cruise control really helps saving fuel. Active rearview mirror and tinted side mirrors also are really a nice addition if you drive in the night often. Automatic wipers and headlights are a nice touch.
Don't bother with the satnav as it's mostly crap.
The JBL amp provides better sound over the crappy stock radio but is more difficult to replace if you want to put in an aftermarket radio.

When buying a saloon, look for water in boot under the carpet. User Gary406 has found where it comes from but it may be a PITA to fix and needs bumper to be removed. Peugeot techs still don't know how to fix it, even though you'll find a really nice guide in the HOW-TO section.

Look for front radiator leaks and air conditioning leaks on the left side of the engine (sitting inside the car).
Of course look for rust, even though the 406 seems to be mostly rust-free.

[kiwifraser]

Doing those sorts of motorway miles, you'll probably be best off with the 2.2 HDi because it has the longest final drive.

51-plate and new have cheaper road tax, but that will be irrelevant compared to what you'll be spending on fuel (or, rather, on fuel tax).

So that silver saloon X-plate looks like a no-brainer.

Thank you. Is the final drive in the coupe 2.2HDi the same as the saloon 2.2HDi ?

[kiwifraser]

I love diesels, so I'd go for a 2.2HDi saloon or coupé. The saloon has respectable boot space, also the coupé does, but the latter is lacking in rear passenger space (4 passengers instead of 5 and worse access).
Depending on your needs I've always dreamed of a coupé, the drive seems to be a little better than a standard saloon, which drives very good already.
If you like petrol as HL says the best choiche would be the 2.2, the best mix between performance and economy.

The 2.2HDi can be boosted, as sad, to provide better driving AND economy by defapping and remapping. The expert about this is dogslife on this forum, but it seems also that iangt4 is aiming to become one

Don't fear for poor economy for the HDi, it can grant you 50+ MPG, especially on the motorway, as you can see from my signature.

Try to buy one high-specced. The cruise control really helps saving fuel. Active rearview mirror and tinted side mirrors also are really a nice addition if you drive in the night often. Automatic wipers and headlights are a nice touch.
Don't bother with the satnav as it's mostly crap.
The JBL amp provides better sound over the crappy stock radio but is more difficult to replace if you want to put in an aftermarket radio.

When buying a saloon, look for water in boot under the carpet. User Gary406 has found where it comes from but it may be a PITA to fix and needs bumper to be removed. Peugeot techs still don't know how to fix it, even though you'll find a really nice guide in the HOW-TO section.

Look for front radiator leaks and air conditioning leaks on the left side of the engine (sitting inside the car).
Of course look for rust, even though the 406 seems to be mostly rust-free.

Cheers for this. It sounds as though the 2.2 HDi is worth the extra few hundred pounds over an equivalent spec'd 2.0HDi?

The access to the back is not of great concern as it will only occassionally be used by my kids in the weekend (aged 3 and 5).

If I go for a coupe, I have been put off the 2.0l petrol. With what seems not a huge amount of difference between the 2.2 and 3.0 in mpg and running costs (if anything the 2.2 purchase price is more) I'd probably go for more power

Purchase price/ service and running costs are important, but fuel costs less so as the company pays a token mileage amount which increases depending on the size of engine. It won't quite cover 30mpg, but it will be close. In an ideal world the diesel is the obvious choice, but an HDi costs around twice the original outlay... which buys a lot of fuel!

[OdinEidolon]

Cheers for this. It sounds as though the 2.2 HDi is worth the extra few hundred pounds over an equivalent spec'd 2.0HDi?

No problem. When bought my car I didn't think so, but now I do: the 2.2 is a great step forward from the 2.0HDi.

The access to the back is not of great concern as it will only occassionally be used by my kids in the weekend (aged 3 and 5).

Then a coupé seems a reasonable choiche. Try to subscribe to the coupé forums too to get some advice maybe. EDIT: I see you already did.

If I go for a coupe, I have been put off the 2.0l petrol. With what seems not a huge amount of difference between the 2.2 and 3.0 in mpg and running costs (if anything the 2.2 purchase price is more) I'd probably go for more power

Purchase price/ service and running costs are important, but fuel costs less so as the company pays a token mileage amount which increases depending on the size of engine. It won't quite cover 30mpg, but it will be close. In an ideal world the diesel is the obvious choice, but an HDi costs around twice the original outlay... which buys a lot of fuel!

A petrol seems to be the best choiche then... now you just need to test drive some. You may just like the quiteness and refinement of the diesels on the motorway, or the "sporty" feel the petrol can give you.

[OdinEidolon]

you may find a translator and have a look at this:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http ... _achat.pdf

[sirwiggum]

My old 406 had badly rusting nearside doors (I think because the lower seal was buggered and never replaced) and I've seen a few with bubbling/rusting leading edge of the bonnets.

If you were nipping round town, petrol would be fine. Factor in lower servicing costs, and petrol engines now are less pernickity than modern diesels.

For motorway runs, definitely a diesel. For resale value at the other end, diesels will be easier and more profitable to sell.

The coupe is gorgeous, I'm a fan of coupes (even though I bought the saloon). They'll not be to everyones taste, not exactly a family car, but good for normal 1 or 2 person journeys, with the occasional rear seats.