general advice to a noob

k3v · Post by **k3v** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:17 pm

Hi, all

I need to buy a diesel because of my 70 mile a day drive to work, i currently have a mk3 vw golf vr6 which im slowly killing with the mileage being added.
I was looking through the autotrader website yesterday and i came across a 406 2.0 hdi with FSH and 90k on the clock fr ?2100. So here come a list of questions! I hope you dont mind answereing tem seeing as this is my first post!
I appreciate it wont handle like my koni coilover equipped golf but do they handle ok? All the travelling will be done on the M1 so its not as if ill be hammering it around back lanes. I see the spec sheet says they do 50mpg, is tis still achievable for the 110 bhp engine with 100k miles on the clock doing 90mph? Is there plenty of life left in a 100k hdi engine? will it be reliable? as long as the car has aircon im happy is ?2100 a reanable price? I apreciate ive not told you the spec but i think it was an lx

Thanks in advance, keep up the good work with the site

munfred · Post by **munfred** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:30 pm

what plate is it?
I picked up a v99 plate hdi 110 lx for ?2.6k about a month ago with 72k on the clock.

if it is mainly motorways then so far I have found that it is a really comfortable drive. got 42mpg on the 1st fill up and 46mpg on the second fill up.

youll find it wont be as fast as your golf, and I often forget that the handling isnt as good as the saxo as I often get the wheels squeeling going around roundabouts and corners that I usually take at double the speed in the saxo. But there is more torque then you know what to do with. Dump all your holiday stuff in it, and fully load it with your mates, and you hardly notice any difference to when it is just you in it.

I will probably be looking to keep the 406 for quite a while, as touch wood it seems to be a good solid car.

why would you need to do 90mph???

my 306td had nearly 200k on the clock, and still pulled all the way up to what it was supposed to ;)

Get one.

niz406 · Post by **niz406** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 10:14 pm

You cannot... compare a 406's handling to a saxo or a golf ! ! OMG.. theres like 5 foot difference in the saxo's wheelbase.... of course you can throw little sardine tin can cars around islands, theres not much to them to get moved....

If you must know... from most reviews of the 406 they are one of the best handling mid - ranged family saloon cars.

Now when you stick some comp lowered springs on there, the handling is better, so just imagine how good it would be with coilovers... ! !

and of course it wont be as fast as a VR6 its a diesel ! ! LOL

The 110hp jobbie will surprise you though with its torque, I think you would be better off visiting a dealers and test drving one first to truely get a feel for the 406! If its a high mpg crusier you want for your work commute, you could go alot worse than a 406 hdi.

I think you might even enjoy it...

We have some owners on here who's hdi's have done alot of miles, well it did used to be a taxi !

Edited *****

mjb · Post by **mjb** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:14 pm

Niz406 wrote:If its a low mpg crusier you want for your work commute, you could go alot worse than a 406 hdi.

I think you might even enjoy it...

We have some owners on here who's hdi's have done alot of miles, well it did used to be a taxi !

I think you mean *high* mpg?

Shockingly enough I can get 38mpg out of my 2.0 petrol turbo (supposed 28mpg extra-urban) on a daily basis, so I imagine you'd be able to obliterate the 50mpg barrier on a diesel by taking it easy. I do some 120 miles a day to work and back up the M6/M62 and find most days around rush hour there's only about 5 minutes to be gained by flooring it... And 5 minutes in a 406 is not a bad thing - it's one of the most comfortable cars on the road!

As for handling, it won't be as agile as your golf, but then again what do you expect for something twice as long and twice the weight?

It won't have any difficulty taking corners at speed though and it'll be a lot more comforable to do that behind the wheel than your golf!

As for milages, well, I'm up to 141k in my PETROL and it's still running sweetly. There's some people on here who've got their diesels up to quite rediculous figures. I hope to prove the petrol just as good though, even though I do like to take it out for a good countryside thrashing now and again

k3v · Post by **k3v** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 6:19 am

thanks for the replies, you will
I believe both cars were 98 or 99 year cars, but it seems both have been sold as they have been removed from the site.

120 miles in a petrol is worse than me, that must cost a fair bit in fuel! incidentally I get 32mpg out of my golf

how can you tell a 110 bhp car from a 90? is it on the log book?

the torque on all diesels is the only thing that is going to make driving one bearable. I've driven a few diesels of around 100 bhp and they are quite nippy

once again thanks for the replies.

Post by **Welly** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 7:30 am

Hi k3v.

I went from a V6 mazda MX6, a Honda Integra VTEC (fine handling) to get my HDi 110.

I can honestly say I don't miss my old petrols, the HDi can produce a surprising turn of speed, and will give impressive 60 to 90 acceleration on the motorway due to the torque, and the engine will be doing less than 3000 RPM mostly.

Drive one but don't be tempted to race the engine, you won't get anywhere, change gear before 3000 rpm and let the massive torque due all the work, it takes time to get used to but once you master it you will be pleased with the performance.

As for Handling, the 406 is incredible IMO, set it into a corner and you will get slight body roll but then it holds it there and really digs in. It is one of the most composed cars at speed on back roads I have ever driven, it doesn't 'track' along uneven surfaces or camber steers, it just irons everything out, it doesn't feel big and wollowey at all, as the others said the 406 is renowned for it's fine mix of ride and handling.

My advice would be to buy one, make sure it's had a Cambelt change, check the clutch, if it feels worn it is worn and you may need to factor in a new dual mass flywheel (allow around 450.00 for that stuff) TBH mine is worn but it is staying like it for now, if you get squeeking and chattering when engaging the clutch the flywheel dual mass dampers are worn (I wouldn't worry too much if the clutch isn't actually slipping but you can use it as a bargaining tool).

Make sure the engine sounds OK (for a Diesel) and it doesn't smoke (EGR Valve) check the condition of the water Rad along the bottom edge, make sure EVERYTHING electrical works including the air con (the condensers can fail) try and take a digital thermometer with you and you should get between 5 and 8 deg C from the face vents with the A/C on full cooling.

Honestly though there is not much to worry about, the car should pull well (not so well in 1st gear, waste of time trying), 80MPH should come up very easily, make sure the brakes, steering and gears are smooth all the usual stuff.

A good Service History is a VERY good indication of a decent 406, if you want you could allow for getting it serviced straight away (I did) and had Peugeot do Oil Flush, New Oil & Filter, Air, Pollen, Coolant flush and change with new T/stat, Fuel Filter, Injector Cleaner, Global Test (diagnosis) all for ?230.00 in VAT I'm just going to change the Oil myself from now on, not much else needs doing.

Generally, you should get 50 MPG with your sort of use, when I go on a long journey and reset the Computer I tend to get 53, then purely around town door to door it drops to about 38 in summer and 34 in winter but for me that is purely door to door, the Mazda used to do 17 to 22 MPG!

HDi 110's have an intercooler and all the piping, 90's do not.

Hope this helps you, and take your time choosing, you must really see a few others first, and try to get one without so many dings on the doors as this happens easily and can make it look a bit naff.