200k miles (320k km) surpassed

"duurtlang" (duurtlang) 01/07/2018 at 10:07 • Filed to: Peugeot 406 coupe

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Whoever said the French or the Italians (it was built by Pininfarina in Italy) can’t build reliable cars really has no idea. My Peugeot 406 coupe has surpassed the magical threshold of 200k miles. Serious issues during my ownership: none.

I’ve owned the car over 5 years now and bought it with 167k km on the odometer, so I’m responsible for almost half its kms.

Current issues the car can’t really help: paint damage on the hood, minor bubbling (early rust) on a rear wheel arch due to old improperly repaired damage and an engine and underside covered in oil. I refilled the oil recently (it burns through 1 L per 8000 km but doesn’t leak) and stupidly forgot to remount the oil cap. I ‘lost’ 2 liters that way, in 50 km. ‘lost’, because most of it is still sticking to the car. No damage done though.

Chronic (design) issue: mid and rear sections of the exhaust rust through in about 3-4 years. The car itself is utterly rust free though, excluding the poorly repaired rear wheel arch.

Secondary design issue: it does about 4500 rpm at my common cruising speed of 150 kmh (93 mph). Base engine, 5 speed manual.

Biggest expense in the last year not related to normal maintenance, like fluids or tires: I swapped both shift cables as it didn’t stay in reverse 2 out of 3 times and getting worse. It shifts as new now, total costs: €125.

This week, at a Belgian coastal town holiday home:

March 2017, at the oppositelock meet at the Nürburgring (less than 300k km on the odometer then):

E90M3 > duurtlang 01/07/2018 at 10:06

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Whoever said the French or the Italians (it was built by Pininfarina in Italy) can’t build reliable cars really has no idea.

As my dad would say, even a blind squirrel find a nut once in a while.

duurtlang > E90M3 01/07/2018 at 10:10

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That’s the thing though, this isn’t an exception. Peugeots and Citroëns from this generation are known to be reliable. As are modern Renaults and, yes, Fiats. Certainly better than VWs and other German cars.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > duurtlang 01/07/2018 at 10:12

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Yup...the mechanicals of the current FIAT 500 are known to be pretty robust. I think the build quality from the Mexican plant we get here in North America isn’t as good as in Europe, but a lot of the faults with them seem to be more niggly stuff.

duurtlang > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 01/07/2018 at 10:18

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Yes I should have added that disclaimer. European built Fiats. I’m excluding the recent batch of Alfas too, I don’t believe they’re as bad as they’re gossiped to be but I also doubt they’re as reliable as a Fiat Panda.

Flavien Vidal > duurtlang 01/07/2018 at 10:20

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Well, to be fair, the car was fairly underpowered and built to look good more than drive well... It was also built to remain reliable. And they are! Peugeot 406 weren’t used as Taxis all over Europe for no reason... 406 Coupe are the same, they just happen to look a lot better :)

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > duurtlang 01/07/2018 at 10:20

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I really wish they sold the Panda here....if they are OK vs. rust, I would DD a Panda Cross or Panda 4x4 in a heartbeat!

Even a last-gen Panda 4x4 would make a great daily for the snowy winters here in Nova Scotia! How bad are the last-gen Pandas for rust?

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > duurtlang 01/07/2018 at 10:25

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De Haan?

duurtlang > Out, but with a W - has found the answer 01/07/2018 at 10:28

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Yes!

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > duurtlang 01/07/2018 at 10:28

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True story: My 1992 Alfa Romeo 164-S had just over 400k miles on it when we parted ways. It had some issues with the power seat switches and the active suspension, but it never left me stranded. It was probably the 4th or 5th most reliable car I ever owned.

duurtlang > Flavien Vidal 01/07/2018 at 10:36

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It drives great, from the context of a sedan/wagon based fwd coupe. Contemporary reviews said the same. The 406 had one of the best chassis of its segment at the time. A sports car it is not though.

With the base engine it is underpowered. And desperately lacks a 6th gear for Autobahn usage.

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > duurtlang 01/07/2018 at 10:37

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Not a surprise, seeing how you’re practically German now. ;)

duurtlang > Out, but with a W - has found the answer 01/07/2018 at 10:39

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The little home is owned by the brother of the girlfriend of the father of my girlfriend. All of which are German. So great analysis ;)

DipodomysDeserti > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 01/07/2018 at 10:55

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The engines on the American bound 500s are built in Michigan and the rest of the car is assembled in Mexico. The manual transmission on my Abarth was from Italy. From the 500s I’ve seem in Europe, Mexican build quality seems to be on par with Polish built quality.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > DipodomysDeserti 01/07/2018 at 11:11

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Still considering one as my next car when the time comes!

duurtlang > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 01/07/2018 at 13:01

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First gen Pandas, the design from the 80s, are rather rust prone. I don’t believe the newer ones have rust issues. No optical rust issues I’ve witnessed from seeing them in traffic and parked, if the subframe or similar rusts out is something Google will be able to tell you I guess.

Nauraushaun > duurtlang 01/08/2018 at 05:47

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Always liked these. Very pretty. And 320 is a LOT!

Belgium is good too!

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > duurtlang 01/11/2018 at 08:31

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As much as I ramble about importing Twingos, I really hope I have the $$$ to import one of these when they are available to import to the US in a few years. One of my all time favorite designs even if it isn’t all that powerful. Hearing that they are reliable just makes me want to import one even more.

duurtlang > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 01/11/2018 at 08:44

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Have you seen this post I made? https://oppositelock.kinja.com/twingo-bros-its-time-here-is-your-perfect-import-cand-1821689446

I believe you can have a car like that in an American port for something like $3500, excluding the costs of American customs and bureaucracy. Hell, I think I could get you that specific one for that price. Depends on shipping costs mostly, I have shipped a car to the US before (once) but we’d have to talk to Flavien first.

About reliability: they’re 25 years old, so they won’t be perfect. Expect decent reliability from the perspective of something that’s 25 years old. Totally acceptable to live with but not perfect. The only downside for you would be having to import (dirt cheap) parts from Europe, which requires time and higher shipping costs. They were built for 14 years (newest ones about 10 years old) and they built 2.5 million mk1 Twingos so parts availability will not be a problem.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > duurtlang 01/11/2018 at 10:03

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Sorry wasn’t clear - I’m way more interested in a 406 Coupe than a Twingo. Specifically with the red interior and either a black or dark gray exterior. And I can throw a Twingo in the crate with it then :)

duurtlang > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 01/11/2018 at 10:05

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Oh! I misunderstood you then. There has been so much talk about Twingos here I just assumed... As you can see in the picture at the ‘Ring I have the red leather interior :)

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > duurtlang 01/11/2018 at 10:51

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Yeah yours is pretty much the exact color scheme I want. Although I do also like that light brown almost almost yellow leather with the bright blue exterior.

Amoore100 > duurtlang 03/16/2018 at 22:28

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That’s such a European problem—“my car revs too high when I’m exceeding the average American speed limit by half”—though, I must say, the XC70 cruises very, very quietly right around 3K doing 95 so I can understand your plight. The V50, on the other hand, is already angry spinning 3K doing 70—five speeds aren’t what they used to be, that’s for sure.

Spanfeller is a twat > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 05/03/2018 at 18:20

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You don’t even need to bring one from Europe, i think they were sold here, someone in my university has one!

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Spanfeller is a twat 05/03/2018 at 19:36

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Thanks this is good to know. For some reason thought Mexico never got the coupe, but a quick search shows several for sale. It looks like it might have been later in the model run that it came over, though as I didn’t see any older than 2001 for sale. So might have to wait a little longer to go that route.