The Joy of 306. Donkey found sanctuary

[MrGTI6]

5 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Still remember the sheer level of WTF that happened in my brain the first time I drove a DTurbo one we had in through the garage - first ever diesel proper hot hatch?  My main memory was that it just felt biblically quick, probably because of the way being a somewhat old school turbo diesel ALL of the torque arrived in one big lump once the turbo spooled up.

I bought an N-reg 306 D Turbo when I was 19 and put about 55k miles on it over the following couple of years. It was my first turbo-diesel and I remember it feeling unbelievably fast at the time, even though in reality it probably wasn't!

The power delivery was like nothing else I'd driven before. It also had an uncanny ability to remain utterly composed on even the most potholed, undulating roads. A far quicker point-to-point car than an old diesel had any right to be.

It was also the car that taught me what lift-off oversteer was!

[artdjones]

14 hours ago, MrGTI6 said:

and I remember it feeling unbelievably fast at the time, even though in reality it probably wasn't

The thing that makes a car feel fast in normal day to day use is acceleration from 30-75 in top gear, and older turbo diesels are fantastic at that.

[RobT]

On 12/03/2025 at 17:32, Zelandeth said:

Being a facelift car the fit and finish was impeccable as well, I don't remember there being a single squeak or rattle in the cabin.

Pretty much the same goes for the facelift 406 I've got.  On certain surfaces there's one rattle that I've yet to trace.  But that's one rattle after 188k miles.  My old Xedos, dependable old thing that it was, had a whole suite of rattles after 70k or so.  Most of those were from the poxy sunroof blind.  Despite that it was another car from the peak era that I'd have again if it wasn't for ULEZ.  Not that there's many left of course.

[RoadworkUK]

On 09/03/2025 at 21:01, RobT said:

Great car this, a cornerstone of AS.

Indeed. And you could now own it.

It was MOT time last week, and although my head gasket job saw the 306 comfortably through the 200k barrier, an MOT failure has stopped play. Shamefully, it's the kind of stuff that I could probably do myself.

But my wife, not altogether unreasonably, thinks that after buying a car at age 18, keeping it for 20 years is probably enough. On that basis, I'm not going to break out the spanners this time. 

So. The gory details:

In all honesty, the dangerous defects aren't too drastic. The sub-frame attachment bracket/mountings are indeed shagged (which accounts for the loud rear end clonks over certain bumps), but the bodywork and subframes to which said brackets are attached are, I believe, absolutely fine. I'm pretty sure it's a case of dropping the subframe for clearance and replacing the brackets. The garage who issued the fail said it's not a huge job. 

And were it not for the emissions, I'd probably have a go.

But Donkey is  burning oil. It seems to come and go; on its final drive home, a bootful of accelerator in third didn't elicit so much of a fart of the blue stuff, but there's generally a fair puff on start-up and when idling after action.

My guess is that it's still head gasket related. When I did the gasket last year, I noted that the head was ever so slightly distorted; a straight edge didn't quite sit 100% level. I rather hoped that a new gasket and proper torquing would put things right, and, for a while, it did. But not any more. 

EDIT: Further thought, and as mentioned further downthread, the burning oil is likely a valve sealing issue, so not the very worst job in the world.

The 1.4 TU engine is now on just under 205K miles, and runs beautifully (other than the obvious). I don't think there are any bottom end problems, and it's still as revvy as ever. Starts on the button, sounds good, no aparrent compression issues, but uses a bit of oil and water. 

So, we just nipped out to grab some photos in case somebody on here would like to  take over. 

Photos taken this afternoon, with every intention of showing the car in absolutely its true light.

Still bearing the grey primer tramp stamp as a badge of honour from when it was written off by a badly driven Corsa in 2016 and then rose like the probverbial phoenix to live on for another 9 years.

Just a ridiculously pretty car. 

The sills are pretty good; the trailing ends might need a bit of work in a few years, but this is no rust bucket . A few years ago, corrosion around the front chassis legs was sorted (a known water trap either side of the firewall), and drain holes were added to prevent the same happening again. 

I had a go at inspecting for galloping rot behind the side panels in the boot, but none was visible in those places that were easy to see, and I didn't feel like completely stripping the rear half of the passenger compartment to look further. If there is any, it's certainly nowhere an MOT tester would look.

BUT NO WARRANTY PROVIDED OR IMPLIED

Inside is a mixed bag:

Dashboard is nigh-on perfect, including a period-appropriate JVC CD player, and an indicator stalk from a 405; this works fine, including the horn button, but doesn't self-cancel. The original, er, caught fire.

Wider angle isn't so complimentary:

The driver's seat looks like Edward Scissorhands has used it to practice his valeting efforts, and the passenger seat is following suit.  The stains aren't too pretty, either, but you get our personal promise that they're not actually toxic or from a person.

I have had regular looks on Facebook to try and find a replacement pair from another three-door 306 XN, and if it was staying with us, I'd redouble my efforts. But anyway, a pair of cheapo seat covers would probably bring a reasonable improvement.

Rest of the interior is near mint!

Rear seats have barely been used, headlining is gorgeous.

This 306 being the rather puritanically specced XN, you get an hilariously optimistic 140mph speedometer and an enormous clock, but no rev counter. Fuel gauge is a bit dicky and shouldn't be relied on; we usually fill up when the trip meter hits 400 miles; there is some pez in the tank, but we can't say how much because we've only been putting £30 in at a time of late.

Other than the natty grey highlight at the rear end, the other cosmetic cockroach in the ointment is the lacquer peel, which is advanced on all horizontal surfaces.

Bonnet actually looks quite a lot like a satellite view of icy regions of the North Atlantic.

 

And the roof.... well:

.... Some years ago, when the peel took hold (to a similar extent as it now has the bonnet), i actually removed all the defective lacquer with a view to repainting it. Which, of course, never happened.

But in a way, to treat the lacquer peel would diminish the underlying honesty of the car. 

There's a bleb of rust on the tailgate, too.

In my opinion, its cosmetic shortcomings made it seem all the more at home in its appearance at the FOTU in 2021. (https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/events-articles/festival-of-the-unexceptional/my-unexceptional-story/)

Whoever takes the 306 on will also receive a treasure trove of rare parts:

You get a spare sump gasket (I was going to replace it, but the bit of oil that was leaking seemed to slow down somewhat, so I never did). You get a spare correct XN-spec steering wheel, and you get the three remaining spare XN hubcaps (the fourth is already fitted) that came courtesy of @loserone and @320touring, as part of one of the most gallant displays of Scotch/Anglian generosity to have ever swept this sceptered isle.

Also three  spray cans of professionally mixed Bermuda Blue paint.

With Nicola having had Donkey for 20 years (of which we've been together for 17), we've both come to be horribly attached to it, and we can't bear the idea of scrapping it. Especially since it still runs and drives (superbly) and is just so damn pretty.

So please, somebody, give Donkey a home.

With a write-off marker,  MOT fail status and lacquer flaking off like dandruff, Donkey is worth no more than scrap. But with a bit of sympathy, it could go on forever. If you were brave, you could probably pre-book an MOT locally and drive it home with some degree of legitimacy. As I say, it starts on the button, the battery is terrific, and there's a fair bit of pez in the tank.

It's a three-door Peugeot 306 (actually, with no sunroof, the shell would possibly be of interest to the 306 S16 / Rallye  / clubman rallying posse), and it's in one of the best colours ever to squirt forth from a paint factory.

Donkey needs love. Come and save it.

We'd like somebody to put £100 in our hands for it – the better to drown our sorrows and have a slap-up dinner in Donkey's honour – but payment isn't obligatory. We just don't want somebody to take it and immediately weigh it in for £££; we want it to survive. And it needs to. We'd love to see it again at a FOTU or similar in the future.

Location Essex CO11, midway between Colchester and Ipswich. Handy for the A12.

(I'll put a "For Sale" post up in the appropriate section so as to comply with rules. Edit: it's here https://autoshite.com/topic/65075-the-little-306-that-could-now-needs-a-home-£pennies/#comment-3345537).

[loserone]

Oh man.

[MrGTI6]

Very sad to see you'll be moving the 306 on. You've both done a remarkable job of keeping it going for so many years.

I may have missed in your last post, but whereabouts are you? I'm hoping hundreds of miles away from me, because I really mustn't...

[Imhotep]

Payday yesterday and I said I’d not spend it. The world is testing me today. 

Hopefully this does find a good home, after that many miles and that many years on the road, it deserves to survive. 

[N Dentressangle]

306 is such a great looking car. No need to design another hatch after that IMO.

Plus this is about as base as you can get. I had the 5 dr Xnd version, because I live high on the hog.

[RoadworkUK]

10 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

Very sad to see you'll be moving the 306 on. You've both done a remarkable job of keeping it going for so many years.

I may have missed in your last post, but whereabouts are you? I'm hoping hundreds of miles away from me, because I really mustn't...

Whoops! An essay like that and I forgot the location. Now added. Thank you.

We're just past Colchester, in Essex .... which is quite near Kent. Just sayin'.

[loserone]

@MrGTI6 tag you're it

[AxWomble]

Urgh. Even being ULEZ-unfriendly doesn’t put me off at that price. Fortunately, 3dr with a baby seat (and another in the near future) is a dealbreaker I think. A beautiful car that will live on, hopefully within this parish! A real credit to what a ‘normal’ car can do if you look after it. 

[Surface Rust]

If it's not belching blue smoke on acceleration, but after idling then it might be as simple* as stem seals?  Are they still the originals?

It's a great story, whatever happens next.

[Imhotep]

I do have a 1.4 TU head gasket kit here if the new owner goes via Birmingham to get home at all. It’s for an AX GT, but I can’t imagine they’re any different. 
 

I’m trying very very hard not to buy this myself and I’m very thankful you’re quite far away from me!

[RoadworkUK]

If it's not belching blue smoke on acceleration, but after idling then it might be as simple* as stem seals?  Are they still the originals?

Yep, they're the originals. I daresay the fix is pretty straightforward in the right hands.

Come and get it, please!

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[MrGTI6]

14 hours ago, RoadworkUK said:

Whoops! An essay like that and I forgot the location. Now added. Thank you.

We're just past Colchester, in Essex .... which is quite near Kent. Just sayin'.

Having slept on it - tempting though it is - I think I'm going to have to pass on this. Too much going on over the next few weeks and the mere suggestion of it hasn't gone down well with 'er indoors.

Happy to chuck a few quid into the pot for whoever takes it on though, or indeed if you do both decide to keep it. This thing is a proper little survivor and really deserves to live on.

[RoadworkUK]

1 hour ago, MrGTI6 said:

Having slept on it - tempting though it is - I think I'm going to have to pass on this. Too much going on over the next few weeks and the mere suggestion of it hasn't gone down well with 'er indoors.
Happy to chuck a few quid into the pot for whoever takes it on though, or indeed if you do both decide to keep it. This thing is a proper little survivor and really deserves to live on.

Cheers for mulling it over MrGTI6

Incidentally, if the price is scaring anybody off, it's in no way obligatory that you give us £100 or bring us wine or a takeaway. We're on a diet, and all we want is for it to not be taken by somebody only to be immediately weighed in. 

And the more I think about it, the more likely it seems that valve seals are the culprit, as mentioned above. So not the hardest job in the world, but I don't have the time or space.
 

[New POD]

On 12/03/2025 at 17:32, Zelandeth said:

Being a facelift car the fit and finish was impeccable as well, I don't remember there being a single squeak or rattle in the cabin.  

A lad on my course was sponsored by Peugeot in Ryton, and during one of his industrial placements he was part of a small team trying to fix the squeaks. I know he had a selection of foam rubbing pads which he then cured all the squeaks on his 205 with. A lot of the fixes were changing how much molding flash was removed or putting extra spacers in a various trim mounting points. He once said he'd spent days driving another engineer around who was wearing headphones, with a very sensitive microphone. 

[carlo]

Shame you can't keep that somewhere if you had the room, is a part of your life!

[RoadworkUK]

2 hours ago, carlo said:

Shame you can't keep that somewhere if you had the room, is a part of your life!

100% this. Were we not in the middle of a housing estate, I'd stash it away somewhere and do the necessary. 

When I've been tooling around in a Porsche Taycan or a GR Yaris or whatever, squirting the 306 down a country lane is such a glorious palate cleanser. It's as analogue as modernish cars get.

Anyway, the geography of our house and drive meant that it made sense for "the car that doesn't drive anywhere" to be out of the way of those that potentially can. 

So that means the 306 is now in the garage for the first time ever since we moved into this place.

Something of a joy to have a car small enough to walk around in there. 

Of course, that meant having to evict the Rover from its usual quarters. 

So....

... being that it's still taxed and insured, I might as well take it out for a bit of a drive.

[comfortablynumb]

So, the little pug is tucked away safe and dry in a suitable storage....

Looks to me as though you might have sorted your problem 😆👍

[RoadworkUK]

17 hours ago, comfortablynumb said:

So, the little pug is tucked away safe and dry in a suitable storage....
Looks to me as though you might have sorted your problem

Would be nice if I could stash it away and worry about it later.

But no. It has to go, and hopefully somebody on here can benefit from our situation.

[RoadworkUK]

Facebook has just reminded me that, sixteen years ago tomorrow, Nicola and I set off in the 306 on our European Road Trip.

Please find attached pics of it in assorted bits of Europe, including the Stelvio Pass, a German rastplatz and somewhere unidentified in France.

Note somewhat younger me in some of the images.

That was one of the very best weeks in my life; we spent 10 days solid in the car, no tent, no hotels, just sleeping in laybys, rest areas, service stations etc, washing in public bathrooms and eating wherever. Including, often, using a camping stove on the roof.  306 didn't miss a beat.

Still needs a home. Replacement vehicle arrives on Friday.

No money asked, just trailer away, or drive to a pre-booked MOT if you're cunning and brave (I promise it'll make the journey.... or your money back).

[RoadworkUK]

So, final shot of Donkey in its usual spot on the drive...

... because this afternoon a very nice man from far, far away came with locomotive and trailer to take Donkey to sanctuary.

I thank him very much indeed for his patience; tears were shed. Wasn't quite ready for how affected I'd be, with us parting with the only car Nicola's ever owned, and had done so for 20 years. 

Anyway. Parting was made easier knowing that the plan is for it to continue making tappety noises around the South of England for years to come, and perhaps our paths will cross once again.

So. Donkey's "replacement"?

It's...

Yeah.

BMW i3 rEX. Just pre-facelift, with the 33kWh battery and diddy little scooter engine to top the battery up if caught short.

I've always liked them, and it turns out Nicola did, too. There were loads of "an car" possibilities for life after 306 (I mean, the 306 was close to "an car" when Nicola bought it just after passing her test), but she wanted something just about as radically offbeat as possible. There's no way we could have gone for something boring. I think it and the i8 were the final BMWs that were designed to be progressive rather than merely aggressive.

And it makes sense for Nicola's 30-mile daily round trip. 

I might start a thread on it over in the moderns' section.

Cheers Donkey; thanks for everything... see you around sometime. Take care.

Chris and Nicola. X