Newbie - I need some advice on which model to buy please

[kiwifraser]

Hmmm...Now I might need to think again.
[img]http://thumbsnap.com/s/5E6dANJI.jp ... m/5E6dANJI

[highlander]

(I posted this on your topic over at the Coupe Club - thought I should post it here too)

Cat D write-offs aren't too bad, they're the lowest on the write-off scale.

Cat A = cannot be returned to road worthiness, total loss, no parts to be salvaged (burned out wreck)
Cat B = cannot be returned to road worthiness, parts can be salvaged for sale (scrapyard)
Cat C = can be returned to road worthiness; cost of repairs higher than value of the vehicle
Cat D = can be returned to road worthiness; cost of repairs lower than value of the vehicle but still deemed uneconomical by insurers

I've heard of someone whose car was written off as a Cat D - the car was a nearly-new convertible and he'd left the top down while he went into a shop, and some undesirable type thought it'd be funny to pour paint all over the interior.

Coupes with that all-too-common cracked bumper could be considered as Cat D write-offs owing to the high cost of a replacement unit in comparison to the total current value of the car (think £500 bumper for a £1400 car).

Use the Cat D write-off flag as a bargaining chip to get the car at a reduced price. Remember to check with your insurers before you buy the car that they are willing to insure it (most likely they will with a Cat D; if you had a Cat C then they may have more of an issue). If you come to sell the car at a later date, remember that you must also advertise it as a Cat D.

[kiwifraser]

I'm not worried about having a Cat D car, as long as the price reflects it's sale value. If a Cat D car only gets 2/3 of the price of a typical non cat D car, then this is overpriced at £1395 it would seem. There was no mention of the insurance status in the ad, or in 3 separate conversations with the dealer. It also has had 7 owners, and I can't help but think what else might they be hiding?

This one is 3 owners, no HPi issues, and a genuine service history for the 110k miles. At £1100 it looks the better value.
The down side is it has some body marks which I would like to see before going further.

http://motoring.friday-ad.co.uk/spaldin ... -YI125KFC7
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-PEUGEOT- ... 719wt_1139


Ideally I'd like to find someone in Peterborough/ Spalding/ Lincolnshire who doesn't mind dropping in to give it a quick once over, as it's a long round trip from Glasgow for me!

[iangt4]

the insurance catagories are ridiculous imho, i have bought a couple, a bought a toyota avensis, was about 10yrs old when i bought it, low mileage, great pre-accident damage, CAT C..... Wanted a bolt on wing & Headlamp. total cost of the repair was £45 !!!! (was lucky to get wing the same colour) the only reason it was a cat c rather than d was due to the age. When i collected it there was a 2 year old evo 9 in the same yard, every panel was damaged, the car had clearly been in a heavy roll.... all air bags deployed, in my opinion it should of been a cat B breaker, but because of the pre-accident value of the car it was only a cat d, The catagories are purely down to the value of the car, not down to the extent of the damage.
A mate has just bought a peugeot 306 Estate 2.0 HDi Meridian on a 2002 Cat C direct from the auctions, 88,000 miles, great condition, with a creased back bumper.
Hes dont nothing to it at all, not even a service, (only done 1000 miles since last main dealer stamp) for £780, he checked it over, (had it vic checked) washed it, then drove over to germany in it
didnt miss a beat

[omega]

I'm not worried about having a Cat D car, as long as the price reflects it's sale value. If a Cat D car only gets 2/3 of the price of a typical non cat D car, then this is overpriced at £1395 it would seem. There was no mention of the insurance status in the ad, or in 3 separate conversations with the dealer. It also has had 7 owners, and I can't help but think what else might they be hiding?

This one is 3 owners, no HPi issues, and a genuine service history for the 110k miles. At £1100 it looks the better value.
The down side is it has some body marks which I would like to see before going further.

http://motoring.friday-ad.co.uk/spaldin ... -YI125KFC7
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-PEUGEOT- ... 719wt_1139


Ideally I'd like to find someone in Peterborough/ Spalding/ Lincolnshire who doesn't mind dropping in to give it a quick once over, as it's a long round trip from Glasgow for me!

your best bet and to save all your running around and being dissapointed is to get down to wauves and buy his estate,you will be well pleased but you will need to get in quick before he works out he dosnt really like his bmw!

[DiscoPol]

I'm not worried about having a Cat D car, as long as the price reflects it's sale value. If a Cat D car only gets 2/3 of the price of a typical non cat D car, then this is overpriced at £1395 it would seem. There was no mention of the insurance status in the ad, or in 3 separate conversations with the dealer. It also has had 7 owners, and I can't help but think what else might they be hiding?

This one is 3 owners, no HPi issues, and a genuine service history for the 110k miles. At £1100 it looks the better value.
The down side is it has some body marks which I would like to see before going further.

http://motoring.friday-ad.co.uk/spaldin ... -YI125KFC7
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-PEUGEOT- ... 719wt_1139


Ideally I'd like to find someone in Peterborough/ Spalding/ Lincolnshire who doesn't mind dropping in to give it a quick once over, as it's a long round trip from Glasgow for me!

+1 Waues motor is lovely, very well looked after and has some fantastic individual touches that really make it something much better than the norm, i saw the car at our summer meet and it really is worth some serious consideration, it is worth the journey.
your best bet and to save all your running around and being dissapointed is to get down to wauves and buy his estate,you will be well pleased but you will need to get in quick before he works out he dosnt really like his bmw!

[waue1978]

I'm not worried about having a Cat D car, as long as the price reflects it's sale value. If a Cat D car only gets 2/3 of the price of a typical non cat D car, then this is overpriced at £1395 it would seem. There was no mention of the insurance status in the ad, or in 3 separate conversations with the dealer. It also has had 7 owners, and I can't help but think what else might they be hiding?

This one is 3 owners, no HPi issues, and a genuine service history for the 110k miles. At £1100 it looks the better value.
The down side is it has some body marks which I would like to see before going further.

http://motoring.friday-ad.co.uk/spaldin ... -YI125KFC7
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-PEUGEOT- ... 719wt_1139


Ideally I'd like to find someone in Peterborough/ Spalding/ Lincolnshire who doesn't mind dropping in to give it a quick once over, as it's a long round trip from Glasgow for me!

your best bet and to save all your running around and being dissapointed is to get down to wauves and buy his estate,you will be well pleased but you will need to get in quick before he works out he dosnt really like his bmw!

& the award for salesman of the year goes to...

[omega]

& the award for salesman of the year goes to...[/quote]

mr 10%

[kiwifraser]

I have spoken to the owners of the car in Bath a few times today, seen photos, and agreed a price to buy it. Picking up Wednesday evening .

Peugeot 406 Coupe, Black , S&B edition, 69k miles, 2.2L, 12 Months MOT, 6 months tax, Clutch and Cam Belt and service just been done, Single family owned since new, full history and all receipts... Paid £1380

[kiwifraser]

A big thank you to all for your help and advice in my car hunt!

I'm officially a Peugeot owner

[OdinEidolon]

Seems lovely!
Well done.

[kiwifraser]

I have spoken to the owners of the car in Bath a few times today, seen photos, and agreed a price to buy it. Picking up Wednesday evening .

Peugeot 406 Coupe, Black , S&B edition, 69k miles, 2.2L, 12 Months MOT, 6 months tax, Clutch and Cam Belt and service just been done, Single family owned since new, full history and all receipts... £1380

Well that 'somewhat' went as planned...

The owner was obviously a bit blind when I had asked them to describe the condition It has a few light scrapes/ scratches on the paintwork, one panel dent which will be an easy job for the local scratch and dent man, the CD changer is missing from the boot, a couple of cheap tyres are on the back, and one rear speaker is blown. The history is there as described above, and the car runs and drives really well (An 80 mile A and B road blast completed very soon after picking it up tonight!).

I wasn't too happy about what they described as almost perfect, but they needed it out of the garage it was stored in, so the good news is that we agreed on a final price of £850.

Bottom line: A lot of car for that money



Edited to add photos of the car exactly as I picked it up, and in need of a good clean!

[highlander]

Well done on your purchase! Cracking cars, aren't they

As for your broken speaker - I would wholeheartedly recommend buying a pair of JBL GTO938 6x9 3-way speakers; you can get them for £40 on Amazon. They work very well, are basically a straight-fit replacement for the JBL speakers in the S&B or SE cars, and have a crisper, cleaner, punchier sound.

Speak to ade1122 over on the Coupe Club for a CD autochanger (I'm assuming that the wiring is there for it on the S&B; I would think the S&B had the autochanger as standard, especially if it has the JBL amp, but this is by no means a guarantee!).

[kiwifraser]

Well done on your purchase! Cracking cars, aren't they

As for your broken speaker - I would wholeheartedly recommend buying a pair of JBL GTO938 6x9 3-way speakers; you can get them for £40 on Amazon. They work very well, are basically a straight-fit replacement for the JBL speakers in the S&B or SE cars, and have a crisper, cleaner, punchier sound.

Speak to ade1122 over on the Coupe Club for a CD autochanger (I'm assuming that the wiring is there for it on the S&B; I would think the S&B had the autochanger as standard, especially if it has the JBL amp, but this is by no means a guarantee!).

It felt really at home on quick a and b roads. I'm yet to do any motorway miles in it, but have 300 of those to cover tomorrow. It was very dark tonight with no moon out, but even so I think the headlight bulbs might need an upgrade.

Thanks for the advice on the speakers, I'll be on Amazon tomorrow The JBL amp is there, along with the wiring for the autochanger, so I assume the changer broke at some stage and was removed.

There is a whistling from the passenger side window at 60+ mph, which disappears with it open slightly. Given my high motorway miles for work, it could get annoying if the radio is off. Is this a common thing to happen, with a known forum fix?

[highlander]

Might be something as simple as replacing the rubber door seal. Although, when you open the passenger-side door, does the window drop by about 1cm?

Motorway cruising is a doddle; like all 406s, the Coupe eats motorway miles for breakfast. Set the cruise control on, then just let the car handle it - you should find decent-enough mileage by doing that.

For headlight bulbs, I know a lot of people swear by HIDs (either 4300K or 6000K units) - they do make a hell of a difference, but I won't touch them until I know for sure what the new MOT rules say about after-market HID fitments. To keep me going, I fitted Osram NightBreakerPlus H7 bulbs. The same bulb fits both the dipped and main beam bulbs, so order three packs of two (never hurts to have spares).