It's time to move on

[Doggy]

I'd rather have a 10 year old Petrol V8 than a 10 year old multi-cylinder diesel any day.

I think the only diesels you'll find that aren't multi-cylinder are old dumpers or a rather obscure Indian motorcycle.

[Captain Jack]

Saw the car today.... It's lovely. Just as it is in pictures. Looking pretty much new. Mot will be done on Monday. The brakes looked a little thin so that should get picked up. Nothing else wrong with. It's as tight as a drum. It wasn't as quick accelerating as I expected but was misleading. I was doing 80 very quickly indeed - very smooth. Nothing a remap won't solve! Needless to say, I bought it. Should be picking it up next Saturday with a new Mot and service.

[puggy]

Nice one CJ !! i'm sure you will enjoy it , piccies please as soon
as you settled with it

[GingerMagic]

Do we now need a ' 407 Corner ' too....?

[rapport25]

Regardless of my thoughts of 407's. Seems a good buy for the price. I hope you are pleased with it.

A full write up in a month please

[rwb]

I think doggy suggested we got a "406 survivors club".

Up to about 2500rpm its putting out the same power and torque as a 406 with the "180" map... as standard

[Captain Jack]

Saw the car today.... It's lovely. Just as it is in pictures. Looking pretty much new. Mot will be done on Monday. The brakes looked a little thin so that should get picked up. Nothing else wrong with. It's as tight as a drum. It wasn't as quick accelerating as I expected but was misleading. I was doing 80 very quickly indeed - very smooth. Nothing a remap won't solve! Needless to say, I bought it. Should be picking it up next Saturday with a new Mot and service.

Was quite drunk after a wedding reception when I wrote this on my phone.... So, here's a better review.

Arrived into a "private road" where the seller lives and immediately saw the car on the driveway. It rained hard earlier on so it was full of droplets - looked nice. The owner was very friendly and definitely into his cars. He had an R34 Skyline (as mentioned here already) which he sold and is waiting for the 370Z now. All the cars (including the Pug) had a private number plate and I'll have to drive with the private plate for a few weeks until it gets transferred over to an original 57 one.

I couldn't see many imperfections on the body work - only a few minor scratches on the front of the bonnet from stone chips. Having lots of water droplets didn't help as they appeared to mask any imperfections. In any case, the body work was in very good condition. The flap on the driver's side front wheel arch was missing - so will see if I can get a replacement. The tyres were in good condition but were of make I didn't recognise. Seemed quite noisy at 80mph...

Inside, it was pretty much new. Leather was in very good condition and everything was clean and shiny. The driving position seemed a bit odd and didn't have the old comfy shoe feel of the 405 or the 406 but I am sure I'll get used to it. Build quality seems much better than the 406, which feels like a woolly sheep in comparison. The car everything - everything, except the JBL amp, which, in my opinion, is quite a big omission. The radio thing had a hard drive built in, which can store music in there, though I didn't get to play around in it. The boot was large enough for my needs and the seller will throw in a set of roof-bars, which will be very useful for me as I lug around ladders on an occasion.

So... the test drive. Set off slowly as it was a residential area - the car felt tight. No odd squawks or bangs. The clutch pedal is heavier than in my 406 but it might because the clutch is only a year/20k miles old, courtesy of jasper5. Gear changes feel pretty much the same as they do in my car. Engine wise - well, it didn't feel fast. Certainly didn't feel that WHOA factor when pushing it, though I was being a bit gentle. But it was very smooth and got up to speed very quickly. In fact, it feels similar to the unmapped 2.2 HDI 406 - I test drove two of those and neither had the whoa factor on the turbo. It was more about smoothness. I kept forgetting there was a 6th gear there but only got a chance to use it twice over a period of 100 meters. I agree with Rich (rwb) that the dial looks a little cluttered as there's mileage marker every 10 miles as opposed to every 20 on the '6.

It was difficult to judge the drive-ability over a period of 5 minutes but it was a pleasant drive. Revs very easily! Mine sounds strained and noisy like a bag of spanners when asked to go over 3k rpm and this one doesn't seem to care.

All in all, I was pleased with it and have agreed to buy it for the asking price if he threw in an oil and filter service during the MOT tomorrow. Oh.. yes, the brakes seemed a little on the thin side but were very sharp and quiet. They *should* get picked up at MOT as an advisory at least. But the discs were perfect so it's a matter of changing the pads over.

[Sonia406]

Not another person leaving the 406

[rapport25]

**Update**Passat is going. Just in the process of sorting a deal on a brand new Golf Gtd. Cant decide on dsg or manual.

[STALLED]

Congrats on the 407!

**Update**Passat is going. Just in the process of sorting a deal on a brand new Golf Gtd. Cant decide on dsg or manual.

Manual. Driven a DSG at parking speeds? Horrid.

[Welly]

Sounds good CJ, I would have thought the power would come on quite urgently? that said I remember test driving my 110HDi and thinking it felt a bit flat......until I saw the speedo and was doing 80mph I suppose it's the way the power's delivered.

[Doggy]

The first 2.2 406 I drove gave a similar impression after an HDi 90 Xsara, no real impression of speed, but very smooth and quiet. I did the same thing, wound it up to what felt like 70, but was nudging 90.

I remember driving Disco's C5 at Gaydon a few years ago and it was kind the same again. The low end pull came in a bit earlier than a remapped 406 and also was more progressive. More like a large hand shoving you firmly between the shoulder blades, (rather than being grabbed by the scruff of the neck and thrown at the horizon).

The top end power rwb's made on the rollers is impressive, it will no doubt have a 140+ top speed. While that's not relevant day to day, it's an indication of how far up the rev range it will still perform well. It'll be another awesome overtaking machine, (which is just what you need when faced with half a dozen vehicles trailing a truck at 40 mph).

[Captain Jack]

Not another person leaving the 406

Sorry, Sonia, but needs must. With pretty much all the cars I owned, I was, in one way or another "nudged" to sell them.

1997 - my first F reg MK3 Fiesta was stolen from my parents' house while I was at uni. Recovered by police but never driven again.
2008 - my S reg 406 2.1TD snapped its front suspension springs after 4.5 years of ownership at 145k miles. As it was getting on a bit and smaller things have been going wrong (rattles etc.), I thought it was time to cut loose. Replaced the springs and sold it for £950.
2009 - 54 reg Honda Accord CDTI blew its turbo after just 9 months of ownership, which would cost nearly £2000 to fix. As I also replaced the slipping clutch, the clicking master clutch cylinder and a cracked exhaust manifold (all thankfully under warranty), it was time to throw it away. Insurance took the car and gave me enough cash to buy my current 406. (It's still on the road today according to VOSA )
2013 - I am back into 406 ownership and you all know the story here.

So, as you can see, I never got rid of my cars because I was bored with them. I got rid of them because there were far too many reliability issues and I was losing trust in them. OK, so I'll replace the injector and it will fix the starting issue but what next? It's developing a little bit of bonnet lip rust and I am just waiting for the springs to break even though they seem in decent condition. Could be anything at this age and mileage and as I travel a lot for work, I need a reliable, dependable car.

I think I am getting a good deal on the 407 here, which is costing me only £1000 more than what the 406 cost me 4.5 years ago and it has lots more toys - the thing is bursting with buttons. If only it made my morning coffee as well... It's certainly the lowest mileage car I will have owned.

Yes, I could have bought a 406 coupe that I hankered for forever but... they are also old now and you just never know what will break. A good example one will set me back a good £2-3k and do I really want to spend that much on a 10 year old car?

It's still a Peugeot, though, and I'll still be a four-oh owner - surely that counts for something?

[Doggy]

Relax CJ. After two 406's and over 5 years on the forum, you qualify for life membership.

* Besides, this way we get to find out all about twin turbo 407's without spending any money *

[mjb]

Oh and tax costs due to CO2 malarkey. My girlfriend's 59 plate Suzuki Swift 1.5 petrol costs just as much to tax as it does my Peugeot. I certainly have far more fun in mine. A V6 petrol tax is astronomical....

My V6 pugs, and the I6 530i all cost the same as the missus' hdi90 to tax - £225/yr. My '52 plate V8 misses the March 2001 cutoff so costs the top emissions-based rate for pre-2006 cars, which is still only £280/yr