RE: SOTW: Peugeot 406 Coupe
Discussion
muppet42 said:
Quite like the way these look and of course you've got the v6 noise to back it up. However, if I were getting a coupe from that era I'd go for the afore mentioned Fiat in 20v or 20v Turbo if I could afford the insurance. I just reckon they'd be a more characterful and entertaining car to own than the 406.
I did just that and have never regretted it. Still think the 406 is a great looking coupe, much better than its replacement.
That is the later 210 engine so fully multiplexed wiring. Much more of a pain if it goes wrong, but has the nicer dash and can be remapped.
Its a belt on them change between 75 and 96k depending on use iirc. They come in at £220 odd for parts but you can find them cheaper if you look for a renault laguna belt kit instead. Most around 100k are sold due to needing the belt doing. Apart from the clutch and belt parts are generally quite cheap, especially through the breakers on the 406 coupe forum.
Its a belt on them change between 75 and 96k depending on use iirc. They come in at £220 odd for parts but you can find them cheaper if you look for a renault laguna belt kit instead. Most around 100k are sold due to needing the belt doing. Apart from the clutch and belt parts are generally quite cheap, especially through the breakers on the 406 coupe forum.
ensignia said:
I remember lusting after one of these when they first came out. Along with the Fiat Bravo HGT. 
I've had both the Peugeot and the Bravo! 
My 406 Coupe was fairly tired when I bought it, with about 150k miles on the clock, but was still fairly swift and very comfortable on the motorway. The most interesting of all the faults was the power steering assistance which would suddenly increase without warning, often mid-corner!
Thanks to the 406 Coupe forum I was able to trace this to the unit that controlled the variable-assistance for the steering and implement a fairly reasonable, £30 fix.Peugeot, in their wisdom, also used the same door stays for the Coupe as for the saloon. Since the Coupe doors are so much heavier, these would break so that the door wouldn't stay open. I used to park on a slope at work everyday so this was a real pain but, again, easily fixed.
MrTappets said:
Always thought these looked the best of the small coupes by far, but I thought the V6 made 210bhp, not 194?
Definitely not small! One of the most impressive aspects was the amount of space on offer as the Coupe was based on the same floorpan as the saloon. It worked fine as a family car and I once managed to fit a small chest of drawers in the boot (impulse buy!) with the family in the car.IIRC, the power increased when they facelifted the models.
redstu said:
Does the engine have a belt or a chain?
The 3.0 is a quad cam with a massive belt. A cambelt change is a very expensive exercise when you factor in the cost of the belt and various tensioners plus the labour to work in the engine bay with zero available space!
0a said:
I don't understand them. I still see lots o 205s, I went in one the other day and what a great car. This was a perfect condition 1.1 5 door.
How did they end up producing their current crap?
It's a mystery to me - 205/306/405 era cars were brilliant to drive and they last better than almost any other car of their era.How did they end up producing their current crap?
My 405 has been a workhorse it's whole life - firstly as a taxi (140K miles over 4 years) and since as 3 people's daily drivers before finally becoming my dogvan and skip. 217,000 miles all on it's original clutch and turbo
The interior (leather) is still intact on all the seats (I've seen BMW leather more worn at 100K), the underbody is completely rust-free and it has one tiny oil seep which matters not 1 jot. The only rust is under the rubbing strip on one of the back doors - probably from the screwhole itself - but all 4 door bottoms are still solid. The rear hatch is the only non-original part in fact - changed because it had a better heated-rear-window and was the right colour
It's in it's 18th year and it's in better overall nick than some cars half that old with half the miles - and there's NO way the newer kit will do that (and some of the new Peugeots are nothing short of hideous to behold).
I had a 406 for 2 weeks recently - it was 6-7 years younger and it was rustier and had already had one MOT failure for corrosion!! Getting out of it and into the 405 was like getting out of a limo and into a sports car - the seat is lower and grips you tighter, the steering has weight (the 406 is a fingertip steer), the pedals feedback more and whole driving experience is un-muted (although both being old and smoky diesels makes that slightly academic!)
205s are similar - unless they've been abused they'll still be rock solid in the bodywork. The lad who fettled the 405 for me has a 205 sitting in his scrapyard awaiting a new engine - it's been there for at least 5 years and it's not rusting or rotted at all in that time - it's actually weird...
Now. 
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