Hi Froggers,
First up, I'm a Renault guy so please go easy on me.
My son has his heart set on a 2002 manual V6 406 coupe with 180,000 km on it to use as a daily driver. We took a test drive this morning and met the owner, who is a Pug enthusiast. He has restored the car from a pretty diabolical state of neglect including a fully re-upholstered leather interior. He was very open about the pros and cons of the car in its current state. The car presented well and all the electrics and aircon seemed to work fine. The engine was strong and accelerated smoothly to high revs. My main reservations were:
I'm aware that older cars need some ongoing maintenance, but is there anything about these issues that screams 'money pit' and 'walk away'? Are these things easily fixable? BTW, I'm in Melbourne and Auto Paris and Alpine Affaire are my local repairers for the Renaults. The 406 has had most of its recent maintenance done at Bayside Peugeot.
Thanks for any insights.
First up, I'm a Renault guy so please go easy on me.

My son has his heart set on a 2002 manual V6 406 coupe with 180,000 km on it to use as a daily driver. We took a test drive this morning and met the owner, who is a Pug enthusiast. He has restored the car from a pretty diabolical state of neglect including a fully re-upholstered leather interior. He was very open about the pros and cons of the car in its current state. The car presented well and all the electrics and aircon seemed to work fine. The engine was strong and accelerated smoothly to high revs. My main reservations were:
- there is a small oil leak from the back of the engine that the owner has had a couple of attempts at having fixed, only for it to return after a few months. Oil leaks only get worse, not better, so this one bothered me a bit.
- the gear knob is loose and comes off in the hand. Not sure if there's an easy fix for this.
- the steering and road feedback felt kind of loose. It's not what I was expecting for a car that is famous for pin-sharp handling. The tyres were near new Michelins so I don't think tyres were the issue.
- it had never had a new clutch
I'm aware that older cars need some ongoing maintenance, but is there anything about these issues that screams 'money pit' and 'walk away'? Are these things easily fixable? BTW, I'm in Melbourne and Auto Paris and Alpine Affaire are my local repairers for the Renaults. The 406 has had most of its recent maintenance done at Bayside Peugeot.
Thanks for any insights.
