Advice on HDi please

[Glyn406]

Hello

I'm new to this forum, and hope that some of the old hands can give me advice.

I've been driving a petrol engined LX 406 estate for the last 13 years, from nearly new (17K miles) to pretty worn out (150K and counting). It's now living on borrowed time, but I really do like the 406 estate and am not keen to change to a different car, so I've been advised to consider a diesel 110 HDi ("They go on forever") as a replacement for the current car.

If I could find the right specimen, this would allow me to have a much-missed sunroof (not available as a retrofit option, as I discovered after signing the purchase forms for my present car), electric mirrors (parking is not my strong suit), parking sensors (ditto), and possibly adjustable lumbar support which my wife (a non-driving sufferer from arthritis) might find very helpful.

However, so far I've found that the few cars I've seen advertised as having a sunroof tend to be the Executive models, with leather upholstery, and I really would prefer fabric if possible; and I haven't seen a car with sunroof and lumbar support seats - even the Executive models seem not have this latter feature.

So what I'd like to know is whether there were models with the cocktail of features that I'd like, or am I wasting my time looking for one; and whether anyone who owns a car with lumbar support seats and also has a dicky back finds the l/s helpful, or would we be better off sticking with the Halfords accessory cushion that my wife uses at present ?

The other thing that I'd be glad to have advice about is things to look out for in the service history. Presumably the diesel models need the same water pump and cam belt changes that are necessary on the petrol version, but are there specifically diesel features that I need to be wary of - particulate filter for example?

The truth is that I'm a very and mechanical person, and the thought of buying a car far away from the comforting reassurance of my local garage, which would give the once-over to any car available locally, makes me very uneasy!Needless to say, if any member of the list could point me at a car that he or she thinks would suit my purposes and won't break the bank, I'd be very grateful.

[Glyn406]

Sorry! 'and mechanical' should have been 'unmechanical'. VR software!

[Doggy]

Hi Glyn & welcome to the forum.

Received wisdom states they all go on for ever, petrol or diesel, XUD, or HDi.
For lowest running costs, you want a post 2001, (for lower road tax), HDi 110. The 90 is marginally less efficient, the 2.2 HDi 136 is thirstier, smoother & quicker, but is the only 406 with a particle filter. (These can now be removed & the ecu re-programmed to work without very cheaply).

Servicing is virtually the same, HDi's have 12,500 mile service intervals, timing belt intervals recommendations vary, but the lowest I've seen is 72k, 80 or 90k seems more common.

Electric mirrors are common, (& if you have an exec, it'll put them back automatically too), but parking sensors were never fitted as standard, (though a few people have added them fairly easily).

I think sunroofs are relatively rare as almost all have aircon / few have both, (my exec has). If you're not keen on leather, (which I wasn't but it's 'grown' on me), the pick of earlier cars is the GTX, which has just about everything except leather & memory seats, or if you can run to a 2003/4, go for an SE which has nice half-leather seats.

I don't think any of them have adjustable lumbar support, (but could be wrong).

As you're probably aware 406's are becoming less fashionable & so cheaper, but as always, diesel estate values will hold up longest of all. Even so, you can get a lot of car for relatively little money. I'm very happy with mine, (which is now approaching 170k) and plan to run it for another year or so, than probably replace it with an identical car with lower mileage.

[Welly]

I can't really add to was Doggy has put except I know none of the 406's came with Lumbar Supports but then again in Leather form I didn't think they were needed. The leather seats are very comfortable and make for easy gliding in/out of the car, although as our member steve_earwig has found recently the 406 is not that easy to use if you struggle to bend (being almost 'low' compared to newer cars).

I think the 90bhp HDi makes the most sense for reliability as it is more simple overall but ALWAYS go for something with lots of service evidence (not necessarily with the main dealer).

Cambelts are every 96,000 or 5 years.

Sunroofs are very rare and you could miss out on numerous tidy motors trying to find one with a SR.

Parking sensors were never fitted as standard but the Estate is quite handy having a 'flat' back end for parking.

The last of the 406's came out in basic 'S', 'SE' and Exec form and the SE spec is very nice (half leathers and some of the exec features) with a modern-looking dash/interior.

[highlander]

Coupe seats have lumbar support, I think. They are designed and made by Recaro, and are very comfortable.

[waue1978]

I'm sure I've seen a few Execs with the lumbar support in too. Next time I see it I'll make a note of what year it was. From the sounds of what you're looking for, I reckon an Exec is probably the best bet as they're the only ones I've seen with a sunroof (apart from the rare non air con models in the first couple of years the 406 was out).

[mjb]

I've been driving a petrol engined LX 406 estate for the last 13 years, from nearly new (17K miles) to pretty worn out (150K and counting). It's now living on borrowed time,

150k is nowhere near past it!

[Glyn406]

Hello all

Thanks for your helpful comments. Lumbar support certainly was available as an option (on some trim levels anyway) as the illustration of the seats and their adjustment in the handbook to my 1987 car shows the knob which activates and adjusts it, with the comment 'according to specification'.

I think though that the comment that Welly made about whether it was necessary in a car with leather seats, given that one slides in and out more easily on leather, perhaps misses the point. It's not a question of ease of access as such (and I take the point about leather making it easier) but rather the extra comfort some people with back problems get from having such support, whether its inbuilt in the seat or comes from an accessory cushion such as my wife uses at present.

As for whether 150K is 'worn out', well my garage seems to think that the engine is heading that way, and the body work is rather shabby, especially where I misjudged a tricky manoeuvre in a narrow Peak District lane last summer. Drystone walls are very unforgiving! Still, if anyone fancies bringing the car back to its former glories, they're welcome to get in touch with me. Once I find the right HDi, I imagine my present 406 will end up post-auction being broken up for spares, which seems rather sad. If you're interested in having a look at it, I'm in Bristol.

[Welly]

Sorry I should have explained, I meant that in my opinion the leather seats didn't need Lumbar adjustment because they are very well shaped in that region anyway.

Having had a slipped disc myself, the comfort of the seats is a priority and I could never complain at the 406's leather in that department, unlike my Volvo seats which are not so pleasant

[mjb]

Seconded. I have a very bad back, and the non-coupé leather seats are absolutely brilliant, even on 12+ hour drives, despite the fact there's no lumbar adjustment. It's just not needed!

[Glyn406]

Well, I took the plunge and went for a 110 Executive with leather seats, which my wife says are the most comfortable that she's ever known - sufficient to say that the Halfords accessory back cushion has gone to the bin; the heating in the seats has helped in this respect too.

The car I bought was registered in 2001 and run for the first 11 months or so by Peugeot management, clocking up about 17K; it was then bought by a Sassenach living in Scotland who did another 60K before parting with it. It's the same colour as its predecessor (which has been taken over by my son and now potters around in Cornwall) so it wasn't immediately obvious to everyone that I had changed the car. Bodywork is in lovely condition; full service history, and done by the book. Tyres and brake discs will need replacing in due course; the only (minor) problems are the not-unknown broken filler flap spring, for which a lanyard looped around the lever in the front footwell proves an effective if inelegant fix; and a fuel gauge which is erratic; it drops quite rapidly to about half-full and then reverts to a more realistic level, proceeding normally from there.

Interestingly, the reason that the previous owner (much taller than me at 6'3" to my 5'7") changed the car (for a VW Touran) was that he has a young grandson who he looks after regularly, and he found the business of fitting the child seat into the 406 each time was playing havoc with his back, rather supporting the point that Welly made in his reply to my original post.

[rwb]

I love a happy ending

For the record: they took lumbar support out in order to fit the seat side airbags. My 1998 LX had lumbar support (it was useless) but my 2002 GLX hasn't.

How are you finding the HDi compared to the sparker?

[Glyn406]

I wish that I'd changed it before spending the last grand and a half on the petrol model! Seriously, it's great.

Incidentally, I tried to fit a 'Dieselhead' no-petrol-allowed device on the fuel tank inlet, but despite what it said on their website I found that it prevented the flap from closing. Pity, though; it's a well-made and potentially very useful device.