Potential new 406

[eoin27]

Guys. I could be buying a new coupe tomorrow if all goes well. I intend to trade my one for it and pay......nothing. I don't see the need when mine is in perfect condition. The bloke on the phone told me to bring out my car and he would have a looky at it and decide. Its a great price for Ireland. Here it is

Any tips on what to look for in the coupe when buying?

[teamster1975]

Looks very tidy Eoin!
I'd have a flick through mjb's posts to get an idea what to look out for!

[Welly]

I'd be wanting to know what he would gain out of the 'swap' ?

Not being funny like but why would you swap a coupe for a saloon for nothing?

Makes me wonder if the car's got some issues maybe?

[highlander]

Maybe the insurance is higher for the Coupe, or maybe they need a more spacious car (growing family, need a 5-door model), or maybe they're looking for something with a bit better fuel economy.

General rule of thumb for buying used cars is to take someone with you who is mechanically-minded, if you're not, or to take the car to a garage for them to give a quick once-over.

[eoin27]

Maybe the insurance is higher for the Coupe, or maybe they need a more spacious car (growing family, need a 5-door model), or maybe they're looking for something with a bit better fuel economy.

General rule of thumb for buying used cars is to take someone with you who is mechanically-minded, if you're not, or to take the car to a garage for them to give a quick once-over.

Totally agree. Diesels sell way better here and i'm sure he'd shift my saloon quicker than the coupe. I also agree with the mechanic thing. I'm on a shoestring budget so i'll have to go with my own feeble skills. I'm going out to have a look at it in an hour and i'll check back with you all then

[mjb]

There's lots of things that can be wrong with it that you won't notice until you've spent time with it :/

One thing that strikes me with that car is the high idle. That could be something bad.
Another is the 80,000 miles. It's likely in need of a cambelt change (££££)
Check the clutch. Best way is to bend the speed limit "slightly" and take it to around 5500-6000rpm in 3rd. Change into 4th quickly while keeping the revs at the red line. If it stays on the red line then it's going to need a new clutch (££££)
Check the exhaust. You're looking at a powerful car, but the exhaust should be quiet at idle and when driving normally, snarling a bit under load
Check the throttle response. In 2nd gear around 3000rpm, STAB the throttle. It should break your neck with sudden acceleration then snap it off with engine braking
Handling should blow you away compared to the saloon/estate

Check the condition of the tyres too. The coupe doesn't like cheap tat, and rubber with the W speed rating ain't cheap!

All the other usual 406isms apply such as checking everything electrical (although being a D8 repair's usually easy)

[Welly]

m- It's a 2.0 petrol

[mjb]

Crud. It's too early. I'm not caffeinated enough...

Still probably going to need a cambelt change though, but at least it's not as expensive, and tyres are a lot cheaper too

[eoin27]

Well guys, just got back there from looking at the car. I din't get a chance to drive it as it was stuck behind a load of other cars and i would have to know i have a deal going for a swap with mine before i did drive it. The bloke looked for a couple of hundred quid for it with mine but i flatly refused saying that i simply cannot afford it as my insurance will be increasing by that amount if i purchase it. He had a good look around mine and was very happy with it and agreed that i won't even need a wash to sell it. I had a good looky loo around the coupe and heres what i found:

Good Points:
Very tidy interior
Service History to 80k
Starts fairly fast
All the bells and whistles work fine
Newish tyres
Timing belt is done. Its says at 91k on the chassis but 111k on the timing belt cover

Bad Points:
Bodywork not that tidy (about €400 work to be done)
Clutch is not hydraulic so its horrible to push down
The drivers window is stuck halfway down. Sounds like the regulator is wanked.
The remote locking works intermittenly Very annoying
The mileage is actually 131k. He entered 131k for kilometres and that converted to 89k miles.

Thats all i can think of right now. The bloke said he would get back to me soon if he decides he wants to swap. I think that if it does need repairing its gonna cost me €1k in total but it is a really cheap car. I'm thinking to just get the car and repair it in the summer when i won't be a student anymore

[Welly]

I'm amazed that this Dealer? will accept a straight swap as there's not much in it for him

[eoin27]

Most likely he'd have to do a lot of work with the coupe to make it saleable and it looks like its just taking up space in the lot.

[Welly]

Yeah, I suppose so.

I think a few more of the guys on here will change to Coupe's this year now the prices are cheap cheap.

See what you've done mjb?

[steve_earwig]

Can you get three golden retrievers in the boot?

cheap cheap.

[mjb]

I think a few more of the guys on here will change to Coupe's this year now the prices are cheap cheap.

Yeah, and I think I've proven that a cheap coupe can be a right can of worms

Dunno if I've mentioned the latest one... the auto-dimming mirror doesn't dim apart from a tiny 1" patch getting mildly darker. That's another £50 if I can get a used one or £112 from the dealer (which I'll probably end up having to pay because these things are in high demand)

To quote Jeremy Clarkson "Yes, you can buy a supercar for less than £10,000, but for the love of God, don't."

[nutski]

Dunno if I've mentioned the latest one... the auto-dimming mirror doesn't dim apart from a tiny 1" patch getting mildly darker. That's another £50 if I can get a used one or £112 from the dealer (which I'll probably end up having to pay because these things are in high demand)

To quote Jeremy Clarkson "Yes, you can buy a supercar for less than £10,000, but for the love of God, don't."

I'm sure last time i went to my local scrappy there was a 406 with one in, might be popping down there on Saturday, want me to find out how much they want for it? (If its still there)