406

Fireblade

Fireblade

Active member
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Mar 22, 2012
Messages
562
Location
Melbourne
Hi,

First time in this forum, so be gentle with me. I am quite active in the Renault forum, having owned and driven more Renaults than I've had hot dinners.

But contemplating jumping in to the Peugeot Pond, with an impending purchase of a 406 coupe. Not interested in an auto, only going for a manual. Could someone please enlighten me as to the common pitfalls and problems with this model, and what I should look out for. I am familiar with the engine, currently owning a Laguna 2 V6. I am basically after a similar car but in manual form, and without the Laguna niggles (Renault really butchered the can-bus implementation). Any advice would be much appreciated.

George :)
 
I have a coupe manual, so might be biased…
Common problems vary slightly between D8 and D9, but below is common to both.
So, concentrating on the non mechanical issues:
Front bumpers are almost impossible to get, so if you find one with a broken bumper you’ll need to get it repaired
Roof lining will be sagging, or just about to unless already done. Not too daunting, but a bit time consuming
Electric seats were better put together on earlier models than later models. Again all fixable if you are a bit handy
Engines can become a bit wet particularly around the top, but this is easily identified at time of purchase
Sunroofs can become a bit unresponsive, with some functions refusing to play ball
Parts are a little difficult to come by, but as a laguna owner this will not be unfamiliar for you
Body Paint clear coat is typical for the era, and often starts to breakdown
BUT…a good coupe is a fabulous car to drive and most definitely is currently at the bottom of its value, but is starting to rise fairly steadily, so my advice…get in now!
cheers
Glenn
 
Thanks -

Some comfort there!. So are there no deal breakers? Like "check for a clunk in the transmission" or "engine mounts always fail" or "Don't buy one that has..." No capricious behaviour with the control systems like I have with the Laguna?
 
Fireblade said:
Thanks -

Some comfort there!. So are there no deal breakers? Like "check for a clunk in the transmission" or "engine mounts always fail" or "Don't buy one that has..." No capricious behaviour with the control systems like I have with the Laguna?
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Hi Fireblade,

There was a bit of discussion of these things on a thread I put up a month or so back.

Cheers,
Andrew
 
There is a manual 406 coupe advertised in NSW on car sales at the moment. It has been gone through by a very knowledgeable Peugeot expert and has all of the know issues rectified. It is his personnel car.

It is a very nice example and well worth checking out.

I have seen it in person and can vouch for the work done.
 
I have an auto and after an initial scare (which turned out to be the XYZ switch) it has been brilliant. Everything Glenn said is spot on - I am trying to get some 'eyes on' some fibreglass bumpers which are supposed to be of excellent quality at the moment. Cars are great to drive, they are quiet, handle well and relaxing to drive. My wife uses it as her daily when she has to go on campus and we have used it on three trips into country Victoria. I love it. It has been completely gone over by Salman who picked up a number of issues which were missed by a very well known specialist we paid to do the pre purchase check as well as the roadworthy guy - I suspect the roadworthy person didn't even bother looking at it (his hourly rate is much healthier if all he has to do is fill in the form)
 
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Adrian Wuillemi said:
There is a manual 406 coupe advertised in NSW on car sales at the moment. It has been gone through by a very knowledgeable Peugeot expert and has all of the know issues rectified. It is his personnel car.

It is a very nice example and well worth checking out.

I have seen it in person and can vouch for the work done.
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Yes, I have been following this car on Carsales - and I appreciate, it does look well sorted and the new paint would seem to resolve any dodgy 20yr old clear coat issues. But put simply - it is outside my budget. I have a hard stop at $10K - and at this price, there would seem to be a number of 407's available if I was prepared to go there and go auto - but I would prefer a classic 406 manual.
 
Fireblade said:
Yes, I have been following this car on Carsales - and I appreciate, it does look well sorted and the new paint would seem to resolve any dodgy 20yr old clear coat issues. But put simply - it is outside my budget. I have a hard stop at $10K - and at this price, there would seem to be a number of 407's available if I was prepared to go there and go auto - but I would prefer a classic 406 manual.
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Sometimes its better to stretch as a $10,000 might need a few thousand to sort. I have returned to Peugeot after a long absence and if I had $1000 to spent I couldn't bring myself to buy of 407 Coupe :)
 
Stephen Murray said:
Sometimes its better to stretch as a $10,000 might need a few thousand to sort. I have returned to Peugeot after a long absence and if I had $1000 to spent I couldn't bring myself to buy of 407 Coupe :)
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Exactly this. Simple repairs or just getting up to scratch, even a decent set of tyres will blow that hard budget. I've finally learnt to spend more initially on the better car rather than fix up a poorer example. I have no interest in the coupe on car sales so just a honest opinion.
 
Been saying that to myself for years and failed miserably every time. I admire your resolve.
 
Drive.com give a very complimentary long term review, saying amongst other things:

"Often lauded as the poor man’s prancing horse, to some its styling seems more relevant and timeless than Maranello’s front-engined 456 Grand Tourer, which was released in the same decade.

Ownership has been relatively smooth, and fuel consumption is easy to live with, sitting comfortably on 7L/100kms with the cruise control activated on the highway – to 11.9L/100kms in the urban commute. In our 17 years together, she’s had the regular servicing undertaken and has seen no break downs."
 
A friend has a Maranello with 30,000K on the clock and its always breaking down.
 
I remember driving a V6 manual coupe in my late 20's with the intention to buy. It was beautiful, smooth, quiet and very nice. But back then I thought it was boring. Obviously I was wrong... Thinking about it now it would make the perfect weekend car for me. How our opinions and attitudes change!

However, I can't imagine there's a properly good one out there for under 10k.
 
I did the same in 02. Loved the look loved the way it drove but it was too boring - I bought a new CV8 Monaro instead. 20 years later I have both. Its crazy that now the 406 is as cheap as chips and the Monaro is almost the same price as when I bought it.
 
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