Newbie here!

[drjonts]

Hi Everyone,

Been meaning to join for a good while having had my 406 LX estate for a few years and put many good miles under it's belt.

Had some plans for it until just after Christmas when a lad decided to park his Mini in the back of it and it's now a write-off

So, I may be looking for a replacement down here in sunny (sometimes) Devon and I'll have a couple of bits up for grabs if folks can use them as they were in the boot waiting to be fitted when the lad trashed it!

Thanks for having me join.

Jonty

EDIT - Oops - title should have read Newbie here (not even sure what a Nebie is!!!)

[Welly]

Oh dear, that'll be the quickest Hi and Bye! in the forum's history

Sorry fella, hope you find another soon and hope you find the site useful.

[sirwiggum]

Welcome, and unlucky Janty.

Hope you got a good payout and car shopping again!

What bits do you have btw? What colour and year is the rear nearside door?

[Gary406]

welcome Jonty

[drjonts]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the welcome!

Only have a few bits as they took the shell away ..... and the nearside door was trashed as the accident into the rear compressed and shifted the NS rear wing forward into the door... and that in particular was the death knell for the car.

I'm got some service items (front discs & pads, oil filter, tired Haynes manual, jack and brace kit) - should I post those details in the relevant for sale section? The car was on an S plate by the way and dark green but the shell is no longer with me I'm afraid.

Anyone want to recommend the best 406 estate model to seek out replace it with? Suggestions welcomed.

Cheers.

Jonty

[Doggy]

Hi Jonty & Welcome to the forum.

Anyone want to recommend the best 406 estate model to seek out replace it with? Suggestions welcomed.

Depends who you ask, (cos we've all got the best one)!

Are you a diesel fan?
Do you want to run it on veg oil?
Do you do a lot of miles?
What are you looking for, economy, lugging ability, performance?

[steve_earwig]

(not even sure what a Nebie is!!!)

Pfft, it's just stupid internet speak for "a new member/poster". Don't worry, we don't take that sort of crap seriously here (most of us pre-date the internet )

Oh yes, sorry, welcome

You might want to hang on to your bits until you get your next motor, perhaps you'll need some of them.

As for the replacement I'm with Dogslife above, we all have our opinions - here's mine: contributing factors will include how much you have to spend, how many miles you do, that sort of stuff. If you have a fair bit to spend and drive across England on a regular basis then an HDi is probably for you but if you're looking at cars more than 10 years old you'd be better off with a 2.1td - economy is about the same but parts are far cheaper. If it's mostly stop-start around town then you'd be better off in the long run with a petrol but then if you spend all your time loaded up a 1.8 is probably going to be too slow for your needs.

[Doggy]

You might want to hang on to your bits

I think you could have phrased that a little more, sensitively, Mr Earwig

[steve_earwig]

I thought that would be "less disco's signature-worthy" You think the guy has them in a little shrine with candles and photos?

[highlander]

Yeah, a 1.8 won't cut it; if you're going petrol then get at least a 2 litre. The 2.2 petrol isn't common but I can vouch for it being a great engine; good balance between power and economy, and certainly feels very sprightly (in the Coupe at least; no2lurch has a 2.2 SRi estate and can vouch for the engine in his car). The V6 is apparently a very nice engine but I've not had the pleasure of driving one (or even being driven in one) to comment.

Diesels are not my area of expertise, as I've never had one of them either - though I'd guess the 2.0 HDi 110 is likely to be the best of the HDi range (by which I mean there's no diesel particulate filter (FAP) to worry about like you do on the 2.2 HDi, but has more power than the HDi 90). You can remap the diesels to get more HP, higher torque, and better fuel economy. And if you're into using vegetable oil, you would need to use a Mk.1 406 with a 1.9 litre turbodiesel engine (though again, I can't give any advice on this approach).

Sorry to hear about your 406, if the car was that badly damaged, the Mini must have been going at some speed. What state was the Mini and its driver in when he'd finished "parking" it?

[teamster1975]

Welcome jonty!
I can't add much more to what the other chaps have said, I'll be looking for an estate some time this year as well
Sorry to hear your last car got crunched

[drjonts]

Cheers for all the help folks! I may hang onto my bits (thanks for the laugh - I did nearly spit my tea out!) but I feel that if someone can use 'em they might as well.

Thanks for the advice on options for another car. Never had a diesel either but am travelling increasingly far for work these days so I'll do the numbers and see what's available in the area. Agree on the petrol - my 2.0 was good and pulled well, so perhaps an upgrade to 2.2 or V6 might be nice. Otherwise it may be the diesel route for economy.

The Mini was...I repeat was... in quite good condition but was quite a bit shorter when he'd finished - it was a a write-off for sure and whilst the lad was OK his poor girlie had whiplash and cracked ribs apparently. The lovely semi-slick Yokohamas he had it shod with obviously weren't so great when face with the thawing conditions the day after Boxing Day were they!

I'll gather together the bits I still have and see what to do with them - brand new Pagid pro zinc-coated discs and pads, a set of rear shoes, oil filters etc!

Cheers for now.

Jonty

[Welly]

I use a fairly simple rule....Over 10,000 miles a year then consider a Diesel, less than that then go for petrol. Modern Common-Rail Diesel's get complicated as they get older and have very expensive bits and pieces bolted to them which'll empty your wallet in a flash. For the first 4 or 5 years though from new they will be spot-on.

Petrols use more fuel but are very simple in comparison so should save you money in repairs in later years. It used to be the other way around in the 1990's where if you bought an old skool Peugeot 1.9 D then it would plod on for ever and ever without trouble

[DiscoPol]

Im late to the party as usual but Hello and Welcome on in Jonty,

ignore the everybody else and just listen to me, grab a 90 hp HDi estate, cracking motor as long as you dont want to go too quickly

right that's my two zloty worth, Im off to hunt for new sigs

[sirwiggum]

My HDi 90 is surprisingly spritely for a big slow car. Especially in 3rd gear.

Certainly feels livelier than a 1.8i 16v Xantia!

I had a 150bhp GTV, but around town the performance just never gets used.