Peugoet 405 turbo diesel estate

[HillmanImp]

Just found one of these, 147k, 11 months MOT, £300.Will answer my practicality problems for mountain biking and is dirt cheap.Probably pointed towards Mr R.Welfare, but what do i need to look for on these. Going to cal tomorrow and arrange a viewing.

[Milford Cubicle]

Make sure the clutch and cooling system are top notch, otherwise you shouldn't have any problems. The suspension bushes can start clonking at this age, but again if they're OK you've found a good 'un.

[M'coli]

If this is the one on the Imp club forum, it's beige too - extra shite points!!!

[HillmanImp]

If this is the one on the Imp club forum, it's beige too - extra shite points!!!

Yes, the same one. Being Christmas i cant afford it however it looks like very good value for money and just what i want. Its pretty local too.

[r.welfare]

What year is it? You want a post-92 (K plate onwards) with the 1905cc engine ideally - best way to check is if the heater controls are sliders, and the radio aerial is on the roof, it's a Phase 2.Things to check for: rust on the inner front wings behind the headlights; behind the front shocks where the "chassis" legs meet the inner wheelarch; sills in the door shuts (on the treadplates) and around the rear shock mounts. You shouldn't find any rust on the upper bodywork at all - if you do, walk away quickly!Check that the electrics all work, this goes without saying really. Central locking remotes and door motors can get a bit iffy with age, otherwise everything else should be OK although window motors can get a bit slow as well.Cooling system - does the temperature gauge work properly? It should sit between 80 and 90 once warmed up (after the thermostat has opened). If you boot it hard, it should not move much, if at all - if it shoots up over 90, be suspicious. There should be a date stamp on top of the radiator - they need changing every 10 years or 100k. Also check the cabin heater works on all speeds and is toasty hot. Ask the seller when the coolant was last changed - needs to be done every 2 years - take a look at the colour in the rad.Suspension - shouldn't be any odd clonks or rattles. The radius arm bearings go on the back axle - check that the rear wheels are upright and don't show any noticeable camber.Engine - you should have a noticeable shove between about 1800 and 3500rpm, with little or no turbo whistle. If it's noisy or sluggish be wary. These aren't fast cars but the midrange grunt is pretty good on a sorted one. Find out how often the oil has been changed (good for the turbo), also be wary if the seller canes it from cold and shuts it straight off after a hard run. Excessive whistling from the turbo can often be a simple £3 rubber gasket between the intercooler and the manifold.Cambelts really need doing every 36k, I'd say the 72k recommended by Pug is too long. Metal tensioners though, so that's one less concern. Find out when it was last done, it's a 3.5 hour job to someone who knows what they are doing.Brakes - make sure the handbrake works! Front discs and pads are an easy DIY proposition, I personally don't touch drums which they all have at the rear. Also, the rear brake proportioning valve is quite exposed underneath and can seize up due to rust etc - this ain't cheap to fix. If it has ABS, make sure the light goes out and it works.Any squeaks or noise from the auxiliary belt? The tensioners do go - they aren't cheap either.Don't worry too much if the A/C doesn't work - most have the older (R12) gas that is expensive to replace anyway. You get better headroom without a sunroof and no drainage issues.Interiors are pretty hardy - the cloth can split it's seams on the "sports" seats (three horizontal panels on the front squab) but it's no biggie. Headlinings can droop a la Volvo 740/Saab 900 over time, not a big deal, I just stapled mine back up.In summary - a good one is a superbly useful tool, but a bad one can be a money pit; they tend to fall to cheapskate owners who are attracted to their OMG 60MPG (bollocks - I average 45) VEG OIL image, and then the regular maintenance falls by the wayside so that a future owner gets bitten in the arse when something big fails. These things aren't Toyotas when it comes to tolerating mechanical neglect, basically. That said, once the faults are fixed they tend to be hardy. 147k is nothing for one of these, but if it's not had the coolant/radiator/cambelt changed it's going to cost you a bit to get 'em done.If it's got evidence of caring previous ownership then I reckon it'll be a bit of a Billy Bargain.Let us know how you get on.

[HillmanImp]

Ta for the detailed response Mr Welfare. Have e-mailed the chap selling it and will hopefully go and look at it in the next day or so.

 

It is a L reg 1905cc.

 

 

Its for sale due to a berevement. Looks like a proper bargain. Will suit my current needs perfectly.

 

Will need to sell the Scirocco mind if i do buy it, which will be a shame but needs must.

[Volksy]

Looks tidy that, if you need a second opinion, you know where I am.

[r.welfare]

Hey, that looks OK! I seem to recall that beige ones got a beige dashboard as well, mmm Caramac. GLDT according to my search, 5 previous owners. Not bad - pretty simple spec for a Turbo (windy rear windows but electric fronts, manual mirrors, PAS, electric roof, remote locking, but no A/C or ABS to cause problems). At least you get a rev counter which is critical to getting the best out of one of these! The seats are simpler too so you don't have to worry about the fabric seams splitting - but they do wear on the vinyl side bolster. Unusual that a GL has roof rails - but useful. Mine didn't, wonder if they were an option on the lower model? A pair of crossrails is about £30 on the Bay.A couple of other things as well - starting from cold can sometimes be fun. Glow plugs need doing every couple of years, best that decent brands (e.g. Beru) are used. The 4th one, behind the fuel pump, is a real pain to get to, so most people don't - so if it starts roughly from cold with a fair bit of grey smoke, that will be the issue generally. It shouldn't smoke for more than 10 seconds really. Sometimes diesel can run back into the tank overnight due to air leaks in the line - the primer bulb next to the cambelt cover is the usual suspect.A good plan would be to get the seller to start it from dead cold if/when you view so you can see how it starts, and also whether it heats up very quickly - another sign of head gasket issues. A 1.9TD needs about 20 years to open the thermostat from cold if it's just idling.Oh, and oil leaks - sometimes these occur from the rocker cover gasket, but an Exxon Valdez type of effort may indicate the HG has gone across the main oil feed between the block and head. Worth checking underneath to see if there are any drips or puddles - or if the seller has moved it very recently...These are dead easy to service by the way, takes me about 45 mins all told to do oil, air and fuel filters and you can get the lot off the Bay for about £15 delivered. I do 'em every 5k miles. You can happily bung in Lidl W5 15W40 as well, £10 for 5 litres, job done.

[Milford Cubicle]

My last oil change cost just under £13. They are the cheapest car evar to service! I got the Lidl oil r.welf recommends and the oil filter from the motor factor was something like £2.75.

I think it will have a caramac dashboard, judging from the beige ones I've seen on eBay the odd time.

[trigger]

I sold this last year, It was my wife's uncle's 1.9 GLDT, Originally it was my father in laws from new until he sold to his bother in law in 1997 who kept it since.

It drove really nice, quick and smooth, very impressive car really, It had only done about 115k with full history, long tax and mot as well and need nothing doing to it apart from the headlining restuck which i done.

 

He offered it to me for £200 but i had no need for it at the time so i sold it for him through my work notice board to some old boy who wanted it for his fishing trips for £350, It was a proper bargain at that.

 

 

 

 

[HillmanImp]

Sold this evening, dammit. My own fault for larging it* over the weekend. I should have gone to look at it yesterday.

 

Will wait and see if something else crops up as want an estate for moving about mountain bikes and equipment. There is a nice Volvo on e-bay, buts its a bit far away and also really want a diesel.

 

Again ta for the advice. a 405 is still quite high on my shopping list. Very gutted to have missed out on that one though as it looked a bargain.

 

 

* as large as i can realistically go these days, was in bed by 9 on Sat but still a bit hardcore in comparison to my normal antics.

[trigger]

If your quick there is a N Reg GLXDT Estate that's just been posted on RR for £295