Bangernomics Help Required (Pug 406?)

Sanchez

Sanchez

Sanchez

Soldato
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20 Oct 2002
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I'd typed out an essay with loads of useless information but decided against it. I'll keep this brief.

  • My car is possibly going to cost a lot to repair.
  • Bangernomics looks like a sound option
Considering the usual suspects: Mondeo, 406, Vectra

My milage is going up so I'm doing 15k or more of mostly motorway miles

  • Probably should be a diesel and 4 door
  • Some toys would be nice, even PAS and EW are a bonus
  • Can't be more than £600 really
  • Although it probably shouldn't, aesthetics do come into it
I'm guessing that I should be looking for overall condition and history rather than uber low miles, as much tax and ticket as possible and also funny grinding noises?

Seen this: http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...icleYearOfManufacture=1997&vehicleRegLetter=R

  • Cat D write off. Should I be scared?
  • Only 4 months MOT and 2 months tax
  • Is this a poor choice and why?
Looking for alternatives and other suggestions as well as some general tips when buying a nail. Oh is the Vectra really that bad?

Thanks.
 
Well I can't comment on the Cat D writeoff bit but we have a R-reg 2.1TD 406 and it's still going strong.

Done about 180,000 miles now, and has had a few faults, the biggest one being the coolant temperature sensor going weird and not turning the fans on at the right time and the engine subsequently overheating.

Few other minor niggles but basically it's been a pretty good workhorse for the last few years.
 
I haven't even looked at it but a 4 month mot is too short for bangernomics.

For the bangernomics route it needs to have a 12 month mot, 4 decent tyres and plenty of life left on other consumables. Everything else unless dangerous is secondary. You've also got to be prepared to bin it at any point if anything major breaks.

I did this last year with a cheap Mondeo estate. £450 for the car, £25 each for two 2nd hand struts when the front springs broke and £20 for a replacement spare after a puncture. It was scrapped after a year for £120 and as it was only ever intended to last that long I did nothing else other than top up eseential fluids as needed.
 
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2.1 TD 406? I'm not sure about these engines - the 1.9 XUDT engines were bullet proof but I seem to remember reading the 2.1 are not very good - but I might be wrong.

P11 Primera? Not sure it looks any good but the petrol lumps are reliable, plus thay are chain driven so less to go wrong or need preventative replacement. The diseasel versions however have a cambelt and I'm not too sure about their reliability. I don't think I've ever seen one out and about for that matter. The P11s are also very good to drive.
 
The old mechanical injection diesels have the advantage of being much more reliable and simple to fix than their modern CR counterparts, but the disadvantage that the fuel economy differential isnt as great.

Look for more information on what the write off was, and what was repaired. If its a good repair and something minor then the only concern is resale, which isnt an issue here.

Short tax is your own call - its pretty predictable. However, buying 6 months at a time makes sense with bangernomics.

I'd want as long an MOT as I could, but if you buy on condition primarily then it shouldnt be too much of a worry
 
It depends on you circumstances. If you can afford to maintain it and pay a bit here and there, fine, if not you need something with long MOT and reasonable tyres. A surprisingly good source for this is local dealers (higher end indy's) for trade-in's. I got a 2litre 2000X Mondeo Zetec-S with 100k miles for £500 from a dealer as trade in. 2 months down the line I serviced/fixed the odd bit for £50, we paid £200 out for a set of 4 spoke turbines with dunlop sport tyres and a new bonnet so £750 she has a really nice motor. She's done 5k in it over the 9 weeks she's had it and it's not missed a beat.
 
Hmmm, thanks for the info so far. I suspected that 4 months may be too short. This might be harder than it looks!

I not sure I could live with the looks of the Primera and I worry what they would be like on the inside. Still I'm willing to consider anything really so I'll look into them.

What about the Avensis? I believe it's about as interesting to drive as a milk float with flat tyres but I presume they're reliable?
 
Would plump for the mondeo if cost to run and likelyhood of breaking are important. Peugeots usually have more advanced diesel engines for the same MY cars though and it would be worth looking at fuel consumption as an extra 5 or 10mpg would pay off doing 15k a year. What about the woefully underpowered but sumpremely 1.6 astra diesel - 70mpg on long runs! 80 if you get the ECO model!
 
With bangernomics you cant be fussy about anything other than condition - so looks and interior trim cant come into it.

The avensis is dull, but very comfy - can you get them in this price bracket though?
 
The pug looks OK but I would want a lot of evidence it's only done 103K, plus find out if the cambelts have been done on old cars though my pug 405 ran for maybe 80k without a change no problems so ofter you can risk it and its OK.
 
energy said:
2.1 TD 406? I'm not sure about these engines - the 1.9 XUDT engines were bullet proof but I seem to remember reading the 2.1 are not very good - but I might be wrong.
Click to expand...

The only issue I know surrounding the 406 engines was the early 1.9 TD (DHX and DHY I think) which suffered from conrod failures and punching themselves through the cylinder block. As far as I know (I may also be wrong) there were no particular issues with the 2.1TD.

I believe the later 1.9TDs (post-facelift) were fine as the conrod issue was solved.
 
iaind said:
With bangernomics you cant be fussy about anything other than condition - so looks and interior trim cant come into it.

The avensis is dull, but very comfy - can you get them in this price bracket though?
Click to expand...
Yes. Just. (I say yes, there's one on PH).
 
GeForce said:
The only issue I know surrounding the 406 engines was the early 1.9 TD (DHX and DHY I think) which suffered from conrod failures and punching themselves through the cylinder block. As far as I know (I may also be wrong) there were no particular issues with the 2.1TD.

I believe the later 1.9TDs (post-facelift) were fine as the conrod issue was solved.
Click to expand...

Not heard of that mine was IDI I think they went DI shortly after 96
 
the PSA 1.9 D/TD engines were renowned for head gasket issues if the coolant level was not properly maintained and changed.

The 2.1 was essentially a test-bed between the "old" 1.9 and the new hdi engines - it's stil "old-tech" but computer controlled in more ways than even the later 1.9's. The Lucas pumps were sometimes questionable, but they were stock 110bhp vs 90bhp for the 1.9's.

The 1.9 BOSCH pumps could be run on veg oil, the 1.9 LUCAS and 2.1 ( which was LUCAS EPIC ) could NOT be run on veg oil.

having had a 405 and xantia 1.9TD, and the 406 2.1TD the 2.1 is definitely the engine to have - on paper the outputs are similar to the HDI, just the economy is more of the 1.9 level than HDi levels.

What do I have now ? I have a Vectra B 2.0 dti estate - "newer" tech than the PSA 1.9 / 2.1's but not "common rail".

What do I think ? Handling is awful, ride is ok, economy varies between 43 and 55mpg. VERY comfortable for a 6ft 6 driver, power is ok - quicker than the 1.9 but not as quick as the 2.1 psa unit ( mine being 10bhp lower ). Apart from £250 to pass the MOT, and tyres, no other major expense.

I intend to keep this one going - it has abs, cruise, aircon, sunroof - very nice for an £800 R-reg estate :D
 
There are lots of sources for help online about Xantia suspension. A fabulous ride, and I bet the HDi would be very nice, and economica too.

The suspension isn't that difficult, and by changing a sphere ( about £20 per corner for parts - can do DIY ) - you've effectively changed the equivalent of a spring and shock for that corner.
 
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