Today i have mainly been ....

[iangt4]

Driving my 406 and loving it !!! Makes a change from the usual... broke, broke, broke Topics

[iangt4]

Driving my 406 and loving it !!! Makes a change from the usual... broke, broke, broke Topics

Do you really need a sence of humour labotomy to own a 406 ? Apart from a few... your a friendly bunch !

[sirwiggum]

In the 20 minutes you posted your original

They are a cracking car to drive when all is going well, a great blend of handling and comfort.

[iangt4]

yeah your right, just i see numerous views and no replies, i guess i shouldnt expect every forum to be the same as others i'm used to.... and i do kind of jump straight in with both feet, rather than slipping myself in gently

[Doggy]

Driving my 406 and loving it !!! Makes a change from the usual... broke, broke, broke Topics

It's a diesel, Jim - but not as we know it.

[iangt4]

my other car is a 620bhp 2.0 toyota celica... and i prefer the peugeot ! pmsl

[iangt4]

ok... to the forum moderators..... "hypatheticaly" i wanna buy a peugeot 406..... i come on here and all i see is, isssue, after issue, after issue, because no one posts just how bloody great for a 15/16 year old design these cars are, forget the electrics, forget the sticking rear calipers, or the bloody ridiculous multiplex'd system's peugeot tried to fit to these cars, engines....... Awesome (providing they dont overheat, 300,000+ servicing dependant), chassis !!! What a selling point, ive had a 2006 ford mondeo, a 2003 vx vectra estate (what a barge) !! a 2002 saab 9-3 (evil under acceleration due to poor chassis/ suspention........) a 2001 BMW 3 series (sh*t.... under powered, under spec'd, over badged) i currently own my pug, and a 1994 620 bhp Celica thats cost me 60k+ (not showing off, i hate it..!!!!) i am internationally known as the countries leading authority on the toyota celica GT4.... and i would rather drive a peugeot 406 estate !!! so dont hate me for loving my lill gold taxi, farmers car, family bus.......... love the car ! anything after 2002 forget it !! 406 rocks !

[Doggy]

I'm really pleased with mine - bought it to transport family & dogs with the odd foreign trip in mind. Expected to get a comfy, roomy, mile-eater with respectable performance. I knew the potential issues with the DPF, but assumed I'd find a solution, if I wanted to enough.

(The alternatives on my shopping list - mk3 mondeo TDCI 130, Mazda 6 2.2 diesel, E39 530D - all have their own issues).

Having eventually happened on how to defap & remap it for next to nowt, I'm now really pleased I settled on the 406. My game plan was to run it to 11 years / 200k then bin it. I will now probably aim to swap it for a lower mileage equivalent & get another couple of years of cheap motoring fun, before 406's are too old to handle a brisk run to southern Europe, (if I ever get the time).

[iangt4]

omg i do talk a load of S*** when ive had a drink even more than normal !

[DiscoPol]

omg i do talk a load of S*** when ive had a drink even more than normal !

I see a kindred spirit, like me you too should have a keyboard breathalyser fitted, since i gave up the vodka i have been much better

[DaiRees]

.....i come on here and all i see is, isssue, after issue, after issue, because no one posts just how bloody great for a 15/16 year old design these cars are.....

That's always the case on forums Ian, particularly forums for main stream cars like the 406. The vast majority of our members are average joes who own relatively old family cars, very few could be described as enthusiasts, so it's very rare to get a thread promoting the virtues of the car. Most people join up because they've got a problem and want to get it fixed as cheaply as possible, then once they've fixed it they disappear (until the next problem ). A handful of us enjoy the banter and stick around.

That said, I personally believe that the 406 is an awesome car which suffers very few problems, all you need is to look at a forum for a similar class car from another manufacturer and you'll see loads more issues. I've owned 406s for about 11 years and count the issues I've had on one hand, recently had my first ever really painful bill of 1K, but even that hasn't put me off. I've had my (2nd) 406 for over 9 years, I've been talking about changing it for the last few years but I just can't bring myself to do it . In my opinion the 406 rides and handles beautifully, OK it leans a bit in the corners but I hate the hard, non compliant suspension on most modern cars, I prefer the old magic carpet ride. It cruises with ease and eats up motorway miles, I never get out of it feeling fatigued. Pretty much everything else I drive or ride in (stuff I could afford anyway!) disappoints in some way.

[highlander]

the 406 rides and handles beautifully, OK it leans a bit in the corners

Two words: "Strut brace"

One of these lumps of metal will cut back on the leaning and sharpen up the front suspension, all without destroying the comfort and ride quality.

Mine didn't make much improvement to the Coupe as the Coupe seems to have a stiffer chassis and springs, but to the saloon it was like night & day. Probably the cheapest and best-value upgrade for the car.


On-topic - the 406 is awesome. I love my Coupe, it's an easy car to drive, it's very comfortable, it's surprisingly good in the snow, the 2.2 engine feels very sporty and has a great exhaust note (even better when you put a Powerflow on it as I have), and people stop to look at it as you drive past; it is quite simply the most beautiful item I have ever owned in my entire life.

It does have its problems; at the moment, I have a squeal coming from some suspension component on the back axle (probably a worn bush; getting that sorted this week), the handbrake is sh*t (par for the course), the "fuel cap open" warning is always on, and the driver's seat heater doesn't work. None of these things really matter because it starts great, drives great, stops great, and looks fantastic.

[iangt4]

omg i do talk a load of S*** when ive had a drink even more than normal !

I see a kindred spirit, like me you too should have a keyboard breathalyser fitted, since i gave up the vodka i have been much better

Pmsl

[Bailes1992]

I will take this moment to bring up Bernard who was a bag of bolts.
When I got rid of him he had a fairly large list of faults...
Glow plugs were nackered,
Fuel pump was leaking,
Airiel/Sunroof had a leak that NOBODY could find,
The interior heater would scream,
Indicator stalk started to deteriorate and prepare itself to catch fire (again),
Driveshaft was nackered on the drivers side,
Gearbox mount was like jelly,
Clutch was silly heavy,
Cat was rattling,
All the shocks were well gone ,
Rear windscreen wiper didn't work,
Central locking sometimes bounced back,
and the Immob failed to had to have swtiched live (which i took from the radio) sent to the stop solinoid


But it went on to do anohter 20k in 6 months with my Mum driving it, it started every day, in the coldest depths of winter, even running veg oil, through all the snow we had it got places most other cars struggled to!
You know that Toyota Hilux that was on top gear? It was like that! I should be working but it still did.

And if you check in the insurance database you will see it's still on the road somewhere too

But I still remain it was a better car than my Focus! It was a great car actually. Ok it let me down once or twice driving up North but then my Focus hasen't been a gem either? Only now after a year of owning it are all the problems fixed and I can trust it.
My 406 was great fun to drive, very comfy even with worn suspension and stupidly reliable when you consider what was wrong with it!
Can't wait to get another

[sirwiggum]

406 is a great cruiser. Took it from Belfast to Silverstone in one journey, straight down the M6, got out refreshed. Economical too, couldn't have asked for a better car for that journey.