New (old) 406 GLX - embracing the velour
Discussion
MK3 Mondeo shed moved on to my aunt, still going along nicely enough but fancied a change, so I've decided to go back even further in time. Always liked the 406, and was in the mood to embrace a little waft into my life. Saw this one at the end of March.
Strong money at £1995, though everything is strong money now, so relative I guess, and it came with a full 12 months ticket. 148k, one previous owner, extremely well taken care of, all the books and a stack of paperwork. Only minor flies in the ointment are a bit of bubbling under the paint of the offside front wing and passenger side window only goes up not down using driver's side switch (the humanity!). Will be making a cambelt change a priority just for peace of mind. Always thought they were a handsome car, finding it pleasingly different amongst a sea of compact crossovers in the carpark.
1.9TD, so slow as arse and not quite as economical as the HDi, but simpler and cheaper to maintain so swings and roundabouts I suppose. I'm also not quite as impatient on the road anymore as I know I'm slower than pretty much everything anyway.
A few months in and I'm finding it quite a nice old stick to float about in, really. Velour, arm-rests, and a dab of fake wood are rather pleasing as it turns out...would anyone like a Werther's?
Strong money at £1995, though everything is strong money now, so relative I guess, and it came with a full 12 months ticket. 148k, one previous owner, extremely well taken care of, all the books and a stack of paperwork. Only minor flies in the ointment are a bit of bubbling under the paint of the offside front wing and passenger side window only goes up not down using driver's side switch (the humanity!). Will be making a cambelt change a priority just for peace of mind. Always thought they were a handsome car, finding it pleasingly different amongst a sea of compact crossovers in the carpark.
1.9TD, so slow as arse and not quite as economical as the HDi, but simpler and cheaper to maintain so swings and roundabouts I suppose. I'm also not quite as impatient on the road anymore as I know I'm slower than pretty much everything anyway.
A few months in and I'm finding it quite a nice old stick to float about in, really. Velour, arm-rests, and a dab of fake wood are rather pleasing as it turns out...would anyone like a Werther's?
Spinakerr said:
That is a fantastic car - one of the best from a period where Peugeot had a string of great looking vehicles.
I may be showing my age but my first thought was 'How much?!?' followed swiftly by - what else can you get, at this quality, for this money? Very little. The interior looks perfect!
Is there anythign that actually needs to be fixed? Perhaps a full underbody de-rust and underseal prior to winter?
Yes it's strong money, but I thought paying a bit more for a provably well looked after car would probably see me a bit better in the long run. Nothing broken that needs to be fixed, all the seats are in beautiful condition, there's no suspicious stains anywhere, no funny noises when driving aside from the tractor lump under the bonnet. I may be showing my age but my first thought was 'How much?!?' followed swiftly by - what else can you get, at this quality, for this money? Very little. The interior looks perfect!
Is there anythign that actually needs to be fixed? Perhaps a full underbody de-rust and underseal prior to winter?
But no squeaks and rattles, beautifully smooth, even the air con blows cold. As you say, the only thing in mind really is preventative maintenance.
austinsmirk said:
That’s strong money. My father in law sold one about 18 mths ago for a few hundred pounds. Couldn’t give it away !!!
Definitely strong money - but I thought a one owner car that demonstrably hadn't missed a service was worth the premium. "Worth it" is a relative term I know, but I still feel it's a lot of metal for the money. Just ticked over 150k, which I daresay means it's barely run in.
Offside front wing has a bubbling patch under the paint, reluctant to pick at it just in case - par for the course with a 20+ year old daily snotter. Otherwise a splendid, but sluggish, way to smoke about.
I'm coming to find XUD clatter to be rather comforting. Not sure the neighbours agree!
Offside front wing has a bubbling patch under the paint, reluctant to pick at it just in case - par for the course with a 20+ year old daily snotter. Otherwise a splendid, but sluggish, way to smoke about.
I'm coming to find XUD clatter to be rather comforting. Not sure the neighbours agree!
Spinakerr said:
Nice. - what oil are you using? I'm not too familiar with the XUD per se but a lot of diesel engines prefer a certain AwBB oil once 'over the hill' to keep things quiet. Perhaps 10W40 or even a 20? Any info on the Peugeot forums?
I think I'll be going the 10W40 route, and adopting the "more frequent changes with cheaper oil is better than fewer changes with premium stuff" approach. To be fair it's not making any noises it shouldn't, and is not at crazy miles so has plenty of life left, just reassuringly agricultural as is an old diesel's wont. Well. That didn't last long - driving home home from work Friday afternoon, woman didn't stop at a junction and ploughed her Yaris into my side.
As much as I loved the Pug, it has been a long few years and the hassle of fighting to get it repaired just wasn't something I was able to face, and nor did I particularly want to have it hanging around waiting for someone else who might want to save it.
Moved onto a Mk IV Mondeo now. Not really interesting enough for a thread of its own, though it's plenty pleasant (bloody huge though).
As much as I loved the Pug, it has been a long few years and the hassle of fighting to get it repaired just wasn't something I was able to face, and nor did I particularly want to have it hanging around waiting for someone else who might want to save it.
Moved onto a Mk IV Mondeo now. Not really interesting enough for a thread of its own, though it's plenty pleasant (bloody huge though).
Yes it's definitely a shame, it was a very good car - I just haven't the mechanical inclination, space, or the money to try and get it back to life. They always say these things happen at the worst times...and this really did. Just needed another car I could use to get back and forth work ASAP, so that's what the money went towards.
I still hold out hope someone might spot it at the scrappy before it's inevitably "recycled" and see its potential.
I still hold out hope someone might spot it at the scrappy before it's inevitably "recycled" and see its potential.
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