Yeah those idiot bumpers look great and how rotten would that thing beThere is a much nicer one in Kelowna BC (Canadian model naturally, so slightly less power) with 75,000 km that could be bought for probably $9000 CAD. That seems more like it. Plus our version looks better because all the tacky ABS trim is not there.View attachment 221769
Only from the bottom upYeah those idiot bumpers look great and how rotten would that thing be
I would love to hear the not so good. So often all we read about is nostalgia laden rose tinted prose about these older hero cars. Always good to get the balanced view.It's never been driven on salted roads, says the owner. Despite the snow in the photo, I believe him. Still, I wouldn't have another 405 under any circumstance - I drove one 366,000 km and it was enough. OK cars in many ways and very not OK in so many more.
- Rear suspension design was garbage. When the car was nearly new, the rear tire on the RR side was severely cupped, traced to the rear toe being off - either the rear beam was mounted slightly askew or production tolerances were atrocious.
Amazing write. All those negatives are things that regular motorists just don't tolerate, they don't know what is actually wrong with the car but it just doesn't work. No wonder then that they get a patchy reputation from the masses.OK, my 366K km 405 summary:
The good:
The bad:
- handled well, though a Dodge Diplomat with police package (not an actual cop car) would destroy it for absolute grip in a sweeping corner as I found out one day
- good ride
- roomy for a small car
- anodyne and yet decent looks though everyone thought it was either a Honda or a Nissan
- willing engine
- decent 5 speed gearbox
- decent rust protection for the most part
- quite robust driveshafts, I never had to change them
- I thought it had decent fuel economy, until I got the Mercedes B 200
The ugly:
- despite a new cylinder head under warranty at 22K km due to oil consumption, the car drank 0.35 L/1000 km like clockwork from new to the bitter end. In comparison, my Mercedes - now with similar km - uses no oil over 10,000+ km intervals.
- rear disc brakes are great unless you drive on salted roads. If you do, the calipers and handbrake mechanism are constantly seizing
- paper thin sheet metal, far too easily dented with gentle hand pressure
- garbage interior plastics, worse than nearly any other car I can think of
- electrical system from hell. Every and I do mean EVERY connector corroded prematurely and electrical gremlins were a regular feature of driving. Some were never solved, like the parasitic drain on alternator output.
- Rear suspension design was garbage. When the car was nearly new, the rear tire on the RR side was severely cupped, traced to the rear toe being off - either the rear beam was mounted slightly askew or production tolerances were atrocious. Either way, that was never resolved and only got worse with time as the needle bearings upon which the trailing arms pivot slowly rotted away due to water intrusion (seal, what seal?), leading to utterly uncontrolled rear suspension geometry around 200K km. New bearings cured most of it but the LR wheel late up tires prematurely for the car's entire life.
- Bosch MOTRONIC unit mounted in the front cowl right where all the water drains, well done, Peugeot. It drowned once and the car kakked but it was rescued with a subsequent drenching in MolySlip Combat, which reanimated the unit. Check engine lights were a regular feature of driving this car, especially in winter. Most were "ghost errors".
- Ignition switch is crap, died at 100K km due to cheap plastic actuator of the electrical part, had to re-key the car which wasn't difficult but was a pain.
- The most egregious of the electrical problems was the rapid fire twin cooling fans turning on and off as the car got false overheat signals thanks to corrosion in the wiring that I never could find. The dash would light up like a rapidly pulsing Christmas tree as this was going on.
- In sub-zero weather, the doors would open but then not re-latch so I'd have to drive to work holding the driver's door shut until the car warmed up a little.
Totally differentHi I have just sold our MY2008 308 HDi hatch that had the same problem with the LHR tyre wear, I suspect the same cause. I generally fitted the best tyre from a prior set onto this corner to consume it; as I would replace two tyres at a time.
Cheers.
A high strung 80s twin cam using oil between services compared to what Mercedes enginedespite a new cylinder head under warranty at 22K km due to oil consumption, the car drank 0.35 L/1000 km like clockwork from new to the bitter end. In comparison, my Mercedes - now with similar km - uses no oil over 10,000+ km intervals.
No, mine was an XU9J2A high strung 80s twin cam using oil between services compared to what Mercedes engine
So it wasn't even an Mi16?No, mine was an XU9J2