Pug 406 Estates - are french cars any good?

[Chewitt]

ok I'll admit to being very anti french cars (tis me dads fault)

but we need a big estate and 406's seem good VFM


any recommendations

oh and it would have to be diesel!

ta

[K87]

Dads got the xantia estate which is basically the same as the 405, and its been a bit of a trooper, never seriosuly let us down in the 100,000 miles he's covered, only been serviced once in that time too!

[Diablos-666]

simple answer... no

[WildCards]

My dad had the 2.0 HDi 90 406 Estate many moons ago, despite always wishing he'd bought the 110 HSi unit he loved it. Big, practical, decent ride, economical, reasonably safe. You'll look like a private hire taxi, but they are reliable in my experience.

[wrighty78]

My best mate picked up a low mileage 2.0 petrol 406 estate (S-plate, I think) last Autumn as his runaround. He finds it a comfortable way to do some long distances.

But... in true French style it has had numerous electrical and dashboard related issues, with speedo and fuel guages not working, heater packing up etc, etc.

[HellDiver]

Pug haven't made a decent car since the 80s.

[HereBeMonsters]

Brilliant VFM. Do it.

[Tyre Smoke]

HellDiver said:

Pug haven't made a decent car since the 80s.

And you base the pearl of wisdom on what, exactly?

We have a fleet consisting of 2 Citroens and 4 407s and a Merc Vito.

The French cars are popular for taxis for two reasons:

a) They have bullet proof engines - 200k easy with regular oil changes

b) They are supremely comfortable

We have never had a serious problem with them electronically or mechanically. It's not a coincidence that cabbies use 406s.

A cheaper alternative would be a Xantia/C5 estate, they are truly cavernous!

[HellDiver]

Tyre Smoke said:

HellDiver said:

Pug haven't made a decent car since the 80s.

And you base the pearl of wisdom on what, exactly?

The Pugs in the family from the 80s ran until their owners got fed up looking at them. Any since have been nothing but trouble. My 106 was bought new, and was in the dealers 25 times in the 18 months I had it, for example.

Tyre Smoke said:

The French cars are popular for taxis for two reasons:

a) They have bullet proof engines - 200k easy with regular oil changes

b) They are supremely comfortable

We have never had a serious problem with them electronically or mechanically. It's not a coincidence that cabbies use 406s.

Can't argue about those two points, but it's not the engine that dies. It's electrical failures, suspension gremlins, unreliable brakes (ABS on 406's are a nightmare). A comfortable car with a good engine isn't much good when you're stuck at the side of the road due to a brake caliper seizing solid, or a strut breaking, or some random electrical issue that stops you dead in your tracks.

But, I'm only going by my experience and the experience of my extended family. Obviously you have greater experience than we do.

[Deva Link]

Chewitt said:

ok I'll admit to being very anti french cars (tis me dads fault)

but we need a big estate and 406's seem good VFM


any recommendations

oh and it would have to be diesel!

ta

If you're not going to look after it yourself, then do you have a trusty and handy independant garage that you can take it to? For whatever car you buy, that's one of the biggest issues.

I ran several 406's as company cars, including a couple of estates. They were all petrols though, although I did have a 405 diesel (which was fine for 3yrs/90K miles). No huge problems, but as they got over 100K miles then servicing used to stretch to several days as they changed various brake and suspension components.

[Tyre Smoke]

HellDiver said:

Tyre Smoke said:

HellDiver said:

Pug haven't made a decent car since the 80s.

And you base the pearl of wisdom on what, exactly?

The Pugs in the family from the 80s ran until their owners got fed up looking at them. Any since have been nothing but trouble. My 106 was bought new, and was in the dealers 25 times in the 18 months I had it, for example.

Tyre Smoke said:

The French cars are popular for taxis for two reasons:

a) They have bullet proof engines - 200k easy with regular oil changes

b) They are supremely comfortable

We have never had a serious problem with them electronically or mechanically. It's not a coincidence that cabbies use 406s.

Can't argue about those two points, but it's not the engine that dies. It's electrical failures, suspension gremlins, unreliable brakes (ABS on 406's are a nightmare). A comfortable car with a good engine isn't much good when you're stuck at the side of the road due to a brake caliper seizing solid, or a strut breaking, or some random electrical issue that stops you dead in your tracks.

But, I'm only going by my experience and the experience of my extended family. Obviously you have greater experience than we do.

I suppose we do, our Peugeots do on averaqe 1500 miles a week. We need a set of brake pads every service and discs every other. Both are relatively cheap from the factors. My point was that they can easily do stellar mileage as long as you don't stint on the repairs when they are necessary. You won't get stranded with a seized caliper if you don't ignore the handbrake feeling a bit odd for a couple of weeks before, or the brakes pulling or smelling a bit hot. You get my drift? Having said all that, yes you do get the occasional shed, but that isn't specific to any particular badge!