Buying Advice

[Jeff64]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a 406 HDI estate, I'll have around £1000 to spend which I appreciate is not a lot. I was hoping to gt some buying advice from the forum.
Are their any particular problems to look out for?
What can I expect for MPG when used for commuting ( I do a 14 mile each way trip in heavy traffic)?
For the money I'm spending I'm hoping to get a good, reliable car without starship mileage, am I being realistic?
My current car is a '92 Volvo Torslanda which runs like a swiss watch but is heavy on fuel for my commute, I would love to get something with this degree of reliability.
I will have to sell my Torslanda first if anyone's interested.
Thanks in anticipation.
Jeff.

[sirwiggum]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a 406 HDI estate, I'll have around £1000 to spend which I appreciate is not a lot. I was hoping to gt some buying advice from the forum.
Are their any particular problems to look out for?
What can I expect for MPG when used for commuting ( I do a 14 mile each way trip in heavy traffic)?
For the money I'm spending I'm hoping to get a good, reliable car without starship mileage, am I being realistic?
My current car is a '92 Volvo Torslanda which runs like a swiss watch but is heavy on fuel for my commute, I would love to get something with this degree of reliability.
I will have to sell my Torslanda first if anyone's interested.
Thanks in anticipation.
Jeff.

Some of the guys on here are Volvo heads, but I've never heard of a Volvo Torslanda, and google just brings up info on the factory?

If I was buying another 406 HDi, I'd do the following checks:
- The usual bodywork for damage, interior condition matches mileage, it starts up ok.
- Head gasket, coolant
- Check all the electricals. I found the windows, mirrors etc. to be ok, though the drivers side window switch would need pressed a few times to get it to move, probably just a bad switch.
- Handbrakes aren't great, this could be used as a bargaining chip. Some 90s have drum-only rears, my 90 had drums and discs. Rear discs can be prone to binding brakes.
- Check for rust! My 406 had bad rust starting to bubble through the bottom of the passenger side doors because it had been ran with a bad seal. Also, leading edge of bonnets pick up stone chips, make sure this isn't starting to rust. Try and get a bit of a peek underneath, it has been known for the underside to rust on some examples.
- Take it a good drive, check on low speed that it isn't lurching. Give the engine a bit of a shake with the bonnet up. This can show if the mounts are banjaxed. The lower one is awkward, I found garages unwilling to try and change it, it causes the flexi pipe to break, which needs a whole cat unit to be replaced!
- Check for anti-pollution faults on the MFD. Any error messages can be bad news.
- Run it at approx. 1200 rpm, make sure there is no hesitation. This can be electricals (although a clutch switch is an easy fix)
- Run it right through the turbo range, there should be no hesitation here and shouldn't reek smoke.
- Check the indicator self-cancels. This can be the COM2000 if it doesn't, £300 part from dealer, about half that off the bay of e, an afternoons work to replace.
- Check the radio works. Mine gave up the ghost the day before we were taking a huge drive through England, left us without radio or traffic news. Refurbed unit coded to chassis VIN was about £50 off ebay.

There are plenty of examples out there, I think if I was buying another I would not settle for a shoddy one like I did last time.

[Doggy]

Some of the guys on here are Volvo heads, but .....

...they're probably having a nap at the moment.

I'd say £1000 should get you a fair choice of 406's these days, don't be too put off by mileage, many do 200k+ without many issues.

Check everything works, ask for evidence of when the cambelt was last done, (or negotiate for the cost of doing it, which is about £100 DIY or £250-ish at an independent), there's plenty about, so be choosy. I always go for the 'poshest' ones, they don't really cost any extra, so you might as wel have all the toys.

Get to know the range a bit - engines are 2.0 HDi 90, 2.0 HDi 110 & the rarer 2.2 HDi 136
Trim levels include LX, GLX, GTX, SRi, Executive, latterly replaced by Rapier, S, SE
Parkers has a fairly good guide too.

[waue1978]

Isn't the Torslanda the old 240 shape estate? Sure I've seen a few. Those old Volvos were proper tanks & are probably getting quite collectible now.

As for buying 406 HDis:

Check that all the lights come on in the dash before they go out - with the MOT changes next year there'll be a few people removing bulbs

Make sure all electric windows work & that the rear isolator switch on the driver's panel works - secondhand ones aren't cheap

Main place for rust would be on the bonnet - look at the front edge from under the bonnet. Mine looks clean outside, but it's started underneath.

If it comes up with a Brake Fluid message on the display when you put the handbrake on use it to knock some money off - the fix is a cheap part & can be changed yourself, but a garage would charge a lot for labour so it's a good bargaining point.

Stiff gearchange could be worn cables - don't know how much it is to fix, but a lot are at the age where it'll be wearing

If the air con isn't cold, don't instantly believe tales of "just needs a regas". Either get them to regas it a week before you collect (so that you'll know if it's leaked out already) or knock £300 off.

110bhp & 2.2 have dual mass flywheels which means if you're going to get caught for the clutch, you could be looking at nearly £1000!


I've had my 110 for 18months since 79k (now 88k) & had to do the following:

New centre exhaust - £100
Temperature sender - £25 DIY 30mins
Handbrake switch (to fix the message mentioned earlier) - less than £10 DIY 1hr
1 rear caliper - £200
Air Con Condensor - £300
Cambelt, water pump, aux belt & bottom pulley - £450

[Busman]

Just been talking to our friendly mot tester at work. Beware pulloing bulbs on the dash to hide warning lights, the tester will know how many should come on with the ignition on. Our chap had a book with pictures telling him what to look for.

[sirwiggum]

My costs were:

- COM2000 £140
- Side door seal £16
- Fuel Filter housing £50
- Flexi + Cat exhaust section £300
- Handbrake shoes fitted £300
- Upper mount £150

£££s spent trying to rustproof and match paint on the rusty bits of the doors, still looked a bit of a dogs dinner.

[Captain Jack]

- Flexi + Cat exhaust section £300
- Upper mount £150

Flexi + Cat around £140 off eBay or £90 for a "non type-approved" one
Upper engine mounts are about £30 from eBay (unless you're talking about some other mount?)

Both very easy to replace yourself. Handbrake shoes are a pain. I managed one side myself but didn't bother with the other side - £90 labour to get them fitted.

Also, check if lower engine mount has been replaced. A knackered lower engine mount means a knackered flexi, which comes in one piece with the cat = expensive (see above). The lower mount itself is a pig to replace on HDi's and most garages will charge around £120 for the privilege.

[sirwiggum]

- Flexi + Cat exhaust section £300
- Upper mount £150

Flexi + Cat around £140 off eBay or £90 for a "non type-approved" one
Upper engine mounts are about £30 from eBay (unless you're talking about some other mount?)

Both very easy to replace yourself.

Maybe for you.

But every job I touched on the 406 turned into a complete balls up.

I ended up with the soldering iron out when replacing the COM2000.

I ended up draining the gearbox on a simple oil change.

Handbrake shoes are a pain. I managed one side myself but didn't bother with the other side - £90 labour to get them fitted.

Also, check if lower engine mount has been replaced. A knackered lower engine mount means a knackered flexi, which comes in one piece with the cat = expensive (see above). The lower mount itself is a pig to replace on HDi's and most garages will charge around £120 for the privilege.

The garage I went to wouldn't even acknowledge the lower mount, the frustration at trying to get a car that didn't lurch about in stop-start traffic was one of the reasons why I just wanted to sell mine.

[Jeff64]

Thanks for the all the advice chaps, to answer a question yes a Torslanda is basically a 240 Estate. From reading the variuos postings I'm begining to wonder wether a 406 is the best option, my Torslanda has cost me nothing over the 13000 miles I've done (only fuel!) and I'm sure it will continue to be reliable.
I'm looking for an economical, reliable and spaciuos estate car, it seems there are lots of potential issues with 406's. Any further thoughtd or advice would be appreciated.
Jeff.

[highlander]

There are hundreds of potential issues with any car, including those that have the much-hyped "German build quality".

My old 406 saloon was bullet-proof. I owned it for two years and basically nothing went wrong (got a new aux belt, new brake discs and pads, and a new handbrake cable, and that's it). The car was 9 years old when I bought it and was 11 years old when we discovered that, unfortunately, it wasn't van-proof (there's not many cars that can claim that feat). If it hadn't been hit by a van, it'd still be on the roads today.

406 is a good car - maintain it well and it will last forever.

[rwb]

For commuting in heavy traffic you might be better off with a 90 than a 110: lower power, lower torque, and less fuel. (Unless its hilly.) The aim will be to dribble round on under 1500rpm.

Whatever you get, however much you pay, and however careful you are, you'll end up with some unforeseen problems of some sort. So keep some of the £1k to fix the inevitable.

[Jeff64]

Once again thanks, i'm now a bit confused as to what do for the best, I don't think £1000 buys much in the way of reliability but maybe 406 will be a bridge too far???????

[FarmerPug]

with £1000 you could consider getting an lpg kit in your volvo

[rwb]

I think a 406 is a good idea, but I'm biassed

Here are some candidates. Let's see what the more knowledgeable members make of them:

A: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 3410399542 Don't know what's gone on with the plastic on the centre console. Looks well kept otherwise. This is my first choice.
B: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 2409948248 Can't tell much about this.
C: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 8402508921 looks bad to me
D: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 4411092064 this is crazy (in a very bad way)
E: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 3410736376 my second choice, though engine cover has gone missing which is suspicious.
F: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 9403352685 another to avoid.
G: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 8386399133 poverty trim but looks very clean

Any catch your eye?

BTW: Road tax is £130 for HDis on 51-plate or newer, but £230 for Y-plate and older.

[Jeff64]

The thougt had ocurred to me but the initial cost would take a long time to re-cap.