Purchasing a 306

[FarmerPug]

My aunt needs a car, her crappy corsa failed the MOT a while back and she needs something for round £700, she almost bought a 1997 petrol vauxhall vectra 1.8 which i strongly recommended against because its crap, and it would drink fuel. She also has 2 young uns going to drive the car one 17, the other 18 so low insurance is essential. The 306 is really all i can think of at that price with a diesel or ZX which is the same car. Im advising she gets a 1.9 non turbo, is there any particular checks for an old 306 that id need to do before buying one apart from making sure it doesnt need a head gasket done.

[Bailes1992]

Rear beam! If it's got a camber run away or you'll be replacing it. 1.9D's are bullet proof but sluggish, get a bosch pumped one and run it opn veg oil ;)
Rust behind the left hand side pillar in the boot.
Make sure all electrics work.
Air Con WILL NOT WORK! Fact! Ever So don't try
1.9D of that age will probably havbe a rough idle when started from cold! This is fine and just a 'feature'

What I will say is this, XUD's are bomb proof! Change the oil every 3-6k with the cheapest and nastiest fresh 10w40 oil you can find! This can be done for less than £20 yourself if you shop around for oil! I used Asda oil at £14 for 5 litres! The engines don't look for expensives oils, any oil will do, aslong as it's changed regularly! If you change the oil every 3-6k it will love you for life!
Can't really think of much else for the 306?
Rear beam was always my biggest concern!

What about a 406 1.9D or 1.9TD? Insurance wasen't much difference and driving around in a 306 from a 406 feels like being dragged around in a cardboard box!

[sirwiggum]

Obviously on a 306 make sure it hasn't been "screwed" down by some felt-spec wannabe in a baseball cap

I had 2 ZXs, no HG issues though I serviced mine every 6 months. Suspension bushes are worth a check, the ZX has passive rear steer but puts a bit of extra strain on the rear. try and get it round in circles, bounce it if possible.

Glow plugs too, if possible turn up to the seller unannounced and if it is a fairly nippy night make sure it starts no prob.

Alternator went on my ZX so again, if unannounced make sure it starts under it's own power, doesn't need a boost start "it's been sittin about for a while....."

ZX outer bodyshells are very prone to picking up dents, so don't get too put off by the odd carpark trolley ding.

Non-turbo ZXs are *very* slow, mine would struggle to stop 85mph (certainly useless as a time machine )

The spare tyre holder is below the floor, check this isn't rusted in place.

The usual checks apply, engine, exhaust, interior etc.

Other than that good cars, the ZX estates have a huge boot too!

[Bailes1992]

Oh and expect a stiff clutch! It's perfectly fine. And a little bit of blue smoke on startup is normal!

[FarmerPug]

shes come from a farm so she had years of driving old diesel 305's, bluebirds etc so the blue smoke and cold start clatter will bring back old memories for her, her old corsa was phenominally slow, but she never cared so non turbo 306 will do her ok, cant be as slow, or as noisy as my grampas polo sdi.
Im hoping the baseball capists dont like the non turbo 306s thats why i think they are a safe bet, but ive seen a few mint 306 hdi merdians but they are out of her budjet.
There is a big difference in insurance the na 306 is group 4, the 406 is 12
this is what ive seen, proper no frills motoring, but still anythings better than driving a clapped out vauxhall:
http://belfast.gumtree.com/belfast/22/68917622.html

[sirwiggum]

What about a Felicia?

Small basic bulletproof engine - low insurance, decent MPG.

http://belfast.gumtree.com/belfast/83/68164583.html

[FarmerPug]

Is that a skoda skoda, or a vw skoda.
needs to be a diesel, if i was going for a petrol any old nissan primera would do the trick just fine, and i wouldnt like having to go searching for old skoda parts
that engine is it the same as in the favorit because my mums old favorit drank more fuel than a hummer

[GeordieBoy]

Try and get 1 with a Bosch fuel pump, then wack in some veg oil.

[Doggy]

Unfortunately, I think you'll struggle to find a bosch-equiped 1.9TD 306, unless it's ancient. If you're not bothered about running it on veg oil, get an HDi, or better still, a 206 HDi (1.4 = 70mpg, 2.0 = 58mpg + huge grin).

[FarmerPug]

after a bit of negotiating i persuaded her to get a hdi saying its the same engine im my car so thats convinced her to up the budjet for a nice 2001 silver merdian hdi with 100k and just £1100 haggled down to £1000.

[Doggy]

There you go then - just 'saved' more than half the price of that Lexia interface you're now twice as likely to need.

Every silver lining has its cloud

[FarmerPug]

Some mechanic friend said when we told him about the 306 'make sure none of them D**kheads havent been f**king round with the suspension or the pump

[sirwiggum]

Some mechanic friend said when we told him about the 306 'make sure none of them D**kheads havent been f**king round with the suspension or the pump

A light spray mist on the windows will show the ghostly square outline of the dreaded R plates

Hope it's a nice car, looking forward to pics!

[GeordieBoy]

Some mechanic friend said when we told him about the 306 'make sure none of them D**kheads havent been f**king round with the suspension or the pump

Lowered Suspension ok, Cut Springs might have turned the fuel pump up = more power

[FarmerPug]

So we went to buy the car, first of all although it was a 2001, said hdi on the back there was the unmistakable sound of an xud, up the bonnet went and hey presto a xud non turbo in a car badged as hdi something a bit odd here, then i noticed the back one end was lower than the other indeed it was i could get 3 fingers in between the wheel and arch on the left and only 1 on the right and there also seemed to be a case of the back axle being twisted forward because the right wheel was closer to the front than the left one by a considerable margain. So thats one passed. Other than that the interior was quite nice.