Hi All,
Thinking of buying my wife's company car as the leasing company is getting a bit sniffy about its age.
Wondered if anybody could give me some advice regarding things which might need attention in a car of this age. We'll try to get as much fixed as possible (within reason) in the car's last, company funded service.
This Pug is amazingly clean, no rust at all, anywhere, even the exhaust won't die. Much better than my Dad's L-reg 3-Series.
Cam belt changed at 45K (now done 53K).
Only obvious problems are a leaking sump, tried to get this fixed on numerous occasions, but leak reappears after a few months. Also, suspension is slightly lower (about 1-2") on the off-side. Is this just aged shocks or something more insidious? oh yes and an alarm that's less than useless - now I'm getting churlish.
Thanks in advance.
Tom
PS.
Of course, ditching it while the going's good is the other option, but for £3K it seems a reasonable risk.
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If the radiator hasn't fallen apart yet, it probably will very soon. Worth checking - the core just seems to rot away and the whole thing disintegrates. A friend had this happen at high speed in his 306, and the loss of coolant was so sudden that the engine seized before he had the chance to realise what had happened. Apart from that, he had no problems with the car in 70,000 miles.
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Agreed, I have had leaking radiators in Pugs 309 and 405, the water flow is horizontal and my theory is that sludge builds up in the lower half if it is not used daily with a good corrosion inhibitor problems ensue.
Otherwise bodywork corrosion resistance seems to be good, reliability excellent, engine tough.
OE parts can be pricey e.g. window winder motors, heater fans etc..
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Hi Tom - At 53000miles I wouldn't hesitate to buy. The car's got years of life in it if the engine is looked after. Oil and filter changes at no more than 6000 mile intervals will give you in excess of 200K and a working turbo for as long. A change of half strength antifreeze every two years will ensure that you keep clear of head gasket troubles and sludged up radiator. Pug/Cit diesel exhausts last for years without trouble. Try to have a second opinion on the 'lean' in the suspension. - Cheers!
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Tom,
Used to look after a P.106 which suffered this type of lean from 60,000 miles on. Took a new set of front springs to cure it.
The car was used by a substantial driver over bumpy roads.
David
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As the ex-owner of two 306 DTs I confirm the previous replies. The best thing about your M-reg is that your engine will be the 'original' XUD before the cat-converter ECU doubled the turbo-lag. My M-reg was a lot nippier than my P-reg - local Peugeot dealer called it 'a belter'. (Not as good as the later HDi though).
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Thanks for the replies everyone.
I would have responded before but my browser's gone a bit strange.
As "luck" would have it the car did have a water leak about 18 months ago. The local garage, put on a new radiator. I was a bit sceptical at the time, but looks like he was probably right and it wasn't just a dodgey jubilee clip.
Can't wait to tell the wife that her excessive weight might have caused the suspension lean - perhaps not. I will try to get the garage to take a look at this next week. I have mentioned the problem to the local main dealer in the past, but they fobbed us off, saying that they didn't have the equipment to check the suspension height - some garage eh?
Thanks again
Tom.
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Tom
I've just had a thought about the lean. I had a Citroen AX where I had the same problem - when I parked it on flat ground it was visibly leaning. I took it to a Citroen garage to have it looked at. When I parked it outside the lean was very obvious. A mechanic came out, looked at it for a moment, reached in and released the handbrake - at which point the drivers side rose a couple of inches, leaving me with a level car. Apparently this is quite common on French cars with softish, long travel suspension. The car will lean anyway if it is just you sitting in it, and when you put the handbrake on, this holds the rear suspension in its 'leaning' position even when you get out. Worth looking at.
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Hi Richard,
Took the handbreak off in the garage last night. No difference I'm afraid. What a pity, it would have been a wonderfully elegant solution - cheap too.
Cheers
Tom.
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