Peugeot 406.. underrated?

maidhc

I am always hearing bad stories about Renaults, but Peugeot cars seem to fare better according to the wags in the pub.

The Peugeot 406 is a handsome looking car, is supposedly brilliant to drive, and has fine HDi engines. They are also quite cheap s/h. I know several people who own them, and no one has any great complaints. Are they a good car that just suffer because they are french?

Aquos76

maidhc wrote:

I am always hearing bad stories about Renaults, but Peugeot cars seem to fare better according to the wags in the pub.

"Wags" = wives and girlfriends

What would they know;)

Back OT, my brother in law has a 05 model it either a 1.8 or 2.0l petrol and he has had no problems with it except for that stupid bitch who ran into the back of him but thats another story. He was always a ford man but since switching to pueogeot he says he would never go back to Ford. He has also changed his wifes car from a fiesta to a 206.

Anan1

I bought a 96 2.0 one on 2002 with 54k miles and a FPSH, paid €3,300. I really liked it - very sharp steering, the suspension was in my opinion superb. On back roads, the suspension made it easily as quick as the Mercedes 320E I replaced it with. It was a little bit tail-happy on a trailing throttle, but I assume that goes with the sharp turn-in. The only weak link was the engine, while quite adequate, it was never inspiring. I ended up selling it to a friend a couple of years ago, he's putting up 30k a year and it's still going strong.

maidhc

Aquos76 wrote:

"Wags" = wives and girlfriends

I didn't know that!

Aquos76

maidhc wrote:

I didn't know that!

Nor did most people up until the world cup started.

The rags of newspapers across the water put that name on the English players wives and girlfriends.

AlanD

I owned a '00 406 2.0 HDi 110 bhp for 3 years and have driven them for years before (parents) and couldn't recommend them highly enough. The HDi engine is super and really problem free. The only issues really that were any way serious were injectors giving problems, but few of them suffered from this really. There were some recalls done on the rear suspension, but all minor things.

They drive well, 110bhp engine is definitely spritely and they are roomy and comfortable. I used to get about 50 mpg out of it too. If buying, search for an STDT spec. It has climate control which is nice to have.

For older pre-face lift 406s, the 1.9 turbo diesel can be modified slightly to make it fly. A little ball bearing place on the input pipe to the pollution system prevents the power sapping pullution system from working. The 2.1 TD 406 is powerful but I wouldn't bother with it.

My opinion: top car, would highly recommend.

BrianD3

Well it's quite an old design now, introduced circa 1995. It was widely praised on launch for having near Jaguar levels of comfort and smoothness while at the same time handling well. The Mk1 Mondeo and Peugeot 405 probably had slightly more involving handling but the 406 was still v. good.

As for reliability - I think it the same old story, a few abused lemons out there, a few cars that have done huge miles with no problems, lots of cars falling somewhere in the middle. I wouldn't have said that the 406 was any more or less reliable than a similar age Renault. Anyway most 406s are several years old now and are getting to the stage where how well the car has been treated/maintained is more important than the make and model.

IIRC one weak point with the 406 is the rear brakes. Can't remember what the exact issue is but I've heard of people having problems and paying out a lot to have them fixed.

BnA

Very much underrated in my opinion.

I'd agree with you RE handsome car... but that's a matter of opinion.

But comfortable car, decent drive, low running costs, very cheap to pick up... I don't think you can argue with any of these.

Some people do have there reservations RE french cars and reliability... They do have a poorish reputation, especially with electrics. But I wouldn't let it put me off. For the prices that you can pick them up at, I would take a chance.

mloc123

BrianD3 wrote:

IIRC one weak point with the 406 is the rear brakes. Can't remember what the exact issue is but I've heard of people having problems and paying out a lot to have them fixed.

The handbrake freezes on them in the cold weather from what I remember, not a huge issue as it usually thaws out quicly enough.

Aidan1

I bought a 96 2.0 one on 2002

Bought a similar car in 2001 (1996 model), sold it in 2003. Put 20k miles on it in that time, nothing went wrong (rear suspension bushings had just been replaced when I got it). Mine was the 2.0 SV model, handling was as reported. Nice car to drive quickly (but not a 'fast' car per se), with nice progressive steering and very good (independent) rear suspension. By comparison with the 318 model BMW of the same time (2003) it had a 'softer' ride though, and was therefore less precise in the turns. Extremely well balanced also, to the extent that you could four wheel drift the car around in safety. Push it too far and there was a very gradual transition from under to over steer. Very comfortable on long distances too. The engine was ok, 135bhp about, not great off the line, ideal in the 30-80mph (I hear), and got a bit ragged sounding after that.

It was my first car too.

Drove a (2001) Hdi for a while as well, an even better car.

unkel

FIL just imported his second one from the UK. Diesel and auto this time and very high spec. He swears by them and has had very little trouble with them

I quite like its classic lines, but it's starting to date a bit now imho. Grand to drive, better than a good few of the competitors of the same age. Personally found the clutch to be very heavy, but for sure an owner will get used to that