The time has come for the Coupe and I to part company. More than six years and nearly 150,000 miles - I've spent months of my life in this car.
The aim of this post is to record a few of the good points about this car, and to be honest about the 'issues' that it has.
On the plus side, this has been, and still is, a great car. It's reliable, cheap to run and beautiful to look at. It's been very well looked after by Graham and the guys at Motor Vehicle Services sine I bought it in 2007. It runs well (see below!), and all the major systems work well. The air-con is better than that in my wife's Vauxhall, which has been re-gassed three times. The 2012 MOT was passed first time, and 2013's required the replacement of a corroded brake pipe. Not exactly major stuff.
To be fair to potential buyers, I should point out the faults on the car. I don't think the mileage is one of them; I'm replacing this with a company car, and if I wasn't then I'd expect it to go on for a long way yet, but I know it will be an issue for many buyers. What I would say is this - with LPG at 65.9p this week, and diesel at 135.9p, you're saving 10 pence for every mile you drive. At the asking price of £800, that's only 8,000 miles before the car is free.
So - bodywork: There is a rust spot on the bonnet, a little rusting and bubbled paint around the LPG port, an impact (bicycle!) mark on the left flank and a number of small stone-chips down to the primer across the bonnet. Photos of these are below.
 |
| Rust on bonnet - does not penetrate |
 |
| Rust stain around LPG port - some paint bubbling. |
 |
| Crease behind LH front wheel. No rust 2 years after occurring |
 |
| Scrape to LH rear wing |
 |
| Crease in front of LH rear wheel. |
The interior is in pretty good condition. We rarely use this car as a family, so the passenger and (surprisingly roomy - I'm 6'4") rear seats are in excellent condition. The leather steering wheel is a little worn, the driver's floor mat is wrecked and there's a little wear to the piping on the driver's seat - see picture. The electric windows and mirrors work, as does the central locking, but the alarm tends to go off if it's set. I have both keys, but the rubber button on one has perished.
From a cold start, there's a plasticy rattle for a minute or so that sounds like perhaps the battery cover is loose from where we jump-started my wife's car last month, but I've never investigated it properly as it goes away before I get to the end of the road.
The main issue that buyers need to be aware of is reported as a fault with (IIRC) the throttle body stepper motor. This means that if you accelerate hard in too low a gear (engine below around 2500rpm), the engine stops. It's slightly un-nerving, but can be avoided by driving sedately or by remembering to drop down a gear before overtaking. It's been happening for a few months now, but hasn't bothered me enough to have it fixed, or even to get an estimate.. I've driven 300 miles in the last two days without it happening at all, but YMMV. If the engine does cut out, I simply drop the clutch and re-engage to self-bump-start.
Other points - although the rear tyres (Continentals, of some sort) are in reasonable condition, the fronts are in definite need of replacement. I've been checking them regularly since this was flagged as an advisory on the MOT in April, and they're still legal. Front brake pads were also flagged as an advisory, and should probably be changed soon.
I've had the Pug serviced at 10,000 mile intervals for the last 150,000 miles, although the book calls for a 20,000 mile service interval with an oil top-up every 10,000. I clocked up 220,000 miles yesterday, but this service has not been carried out.
The Peugeot 406 Coupe is regularly voted as one of the best looking cars ever made, and certainly one of the very best to sell at a sensible price. It was reputedly designed for Ferrari, who then declined to build it. For £800, with an LPG conversion, I think it's a bargain. But I would say that, wouldn't I.
The Coupe is available via the Comments filed below, and is on Autotrader until July 9th, 2013. After that, you may have missed your chance.
*sniff*
