Hi from New Zealand

[himynameisandy]

Hi guys, My name is Andrew, and I live at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand http://g.co/maps/t975g I am 23 years old, and am in the beginning stages of finding a 406 to buy.
My Dad owns 3 405 SRDT models, which he raves about, so after getting sick to death of not being able to afford to drive anywhere in my current car (Toyota Altezza - thirsty 2l) I have come across to the Pug side.

I have been doing endless research into the different kinds of 406's and a lot of the info has come from this forum and the related wiki. So I thought it would be good to ask you guys some of my quick questions, even though you're not from my 'area'

I basically want a reliable, efficient, with a bit of 'go' 406. From what I gather an HDi 110 may be the way to go. I drove one of these today from a car sales yard, well I believe it was one since it had the (small) inter-cooler pipe work. Please tell me if I am wrong in thinking this is the 110?


(the pipe work I believe shows this is the 110 engine? Is there any other way to tell?

In New Zealand there are not a lot of 406's around, and the main place to look for them is on a nationwide Auction site where there are currently about 7 HDi models for sale, mainly asking approx $8-12,000 NZD. I have had my eye caught by one of them a 2001 sedan with 109,000Km on the clock, a new cambelt, the perfect leather colour (creamy)...

...But it is an Auto. I really wanted a manual, so just wanted to ask what you cars are, and how you find their gearbox? I guess one of my other main questions is, How much does the auto lower the fuel efficiency?

Thanks for any info you can give me, this is a great forum by the look of it
Andy

[Doggy]

Hi Andrew & welocme to the forum.

Your picture definitely shows a 110 HDi, as you say it has the intercooler which the HDi 90 lacks, both have the black acoustic engine cover. The 2.2 HDi 136, (if you get them in your part of the world), has a silver two-piece engine cover.

There are very few diesel auto 406's in the UK and they are not highly regarded here, the effiiciency suffers and I think the 'box they use isn't the best.

HTH

[DaiRees]

Hi Andrew, welcome to the forum.

[Welly]

Hello Andy!

We call the Auto box the 'slushmatic' over here. They are very very rare on the diesel but the petrols ones we've heard about have been troublesome. I wouldn't want to live where you do with a broken slushy box needing attention. The manual gearboxes are very tough and need no maintenance (change the oil if you feel like it etc..).

The 110's can suffer with slipping clutches and worn rear engine mounts (the engine mount is important to change early as it leads to other issues if you leave it, like I did ).

In the UK the air con condenser fails at around 7 years but that is mainly due to our wet weather and road salts etc. it might not be so much of a problem for you.

The 406 is generally very reliable, they far outlive the Fords and GM's of the same era over here.

Good luck with finding one!

[rwb]

Hello

HDi 110 manual seems like a no-brainer.

The 110 has a lot more (like 50% more) power and torque at low revs. At the top of the rev range where the 90 and 110 are measured -- and which you never use -- the difference is more slight. It's unclear (to me) how this translates into economy, or what it feels like, since I haven't driven a 110.

The 90 is shorter geared in 5th, has a solid (not dual mass) flywheel and the ones with the Siemens injection system (identified by a priming bulb on the left hand side of the engine) don't have the in-tank fuel pump that can be troublesome. It's fast enough for me, and if you keep it above 2000RPM (turbo boost starts at about 1800) then it's really quite quick. (I just thought of this: is it the slowness of getting from a standing start to 1800rpm in first that pulls down the 0--60 time? Cos I'm sure my 406 goes faster than my mate's Megane that has a lower 0--60 time.)

That said, if (when) my 406 dies I'll be having another and it'll be an XUD 1.9 (again)

[teamster1975]

Welcome Andy!
As the other chaps have mentioned the 110HDi is definitely the way to go!

[himynameisandy]

Wow, Thank you Doggy, DaiRees, Welly, rwb and teamster1975 for your in depth replies!

By the sound of it, I really should get a manual. So will cut the autos from my list straight away! I don't know how many 406's are available to you at any point in time where you come from, but Diesel 406's are quite rare here. There are currently only 8 or so on our main sale website, and 3 of those are autos. and of the 5 or so manuals, they are mainly HDi 90's so I might just have to keep looking around for the perfect car to come up.

Quick question, how rare are Leather, manual 406 HDi 110 where you come from?

[Doggy]

Over here, almost all 110's are manual. Only our 'Executive' model has full leather, the runout SE and very rare SRi have half-leather. At a guess, 'execs' represent about 20-25% of all diesel 406's and only come with the 110 or 136 engines.