jonsowman wrote:I believe the stock Sagem coils on the ES9J4S (later V6) are a problem, but there are Delphi ones available which are much more reliable.
I think the main issue with the ES9J4S engine is the pre-cats - there's lots of info on the Coupe forums about this.
Both V6 flavours are pretty reliable engines on the whole.
Go for a 2001 V6 Coupe if you want one with the ES9J4S engine but without the COM2000 unit. If COM2000 doesn't bother you (mine is absolutely fine and hasn't given me an ounce of trouble) then go for a 2002 model. COM2000 cars have the advantage of having drive-by-wire cruise control; I think pre-COM2000 models had a more complex, weighty, and potentially troublesome setup for the cruise control option.
If you get an ES9J4S, and it doesn't already have the white-topped Delphi ignition coils, then you should go to your Peugeot or Citroen dealership and see if you can get a set of them. The original ES9J4 had a coil pack, rather than individual pencil coils - so if the coil pack goes, you're dead in the water, whereas if a pencil coil goes, then your engine fires on 5 cylinders rather than 6, so while it'll run rough, you can still limp home.
If you get one from 2003 then the "remote total closure" feature (which rolls up the windows and then locks the doors - all from the keyfob, for if you've had the windows down and forgot to close them before getting the keys out of the ignition) will have been disabled by default. But given how rarely I use this function, it's probably not worth worrying about.
Definitely go for either the Silver & Black special edition or the SE spec Coupe. The S spec Coupe has cloth seats, doesn't look right to me, and it also lacks all the toys. The S&B seats are half-leather and look very classy, despite being 11 years old now - though they are manual, rather than electric - though this means they're a lot lighter than the full-leather seats. S&B doesn't have headlamp washers, which may or may not bother you. S&B also has the JBL sound system. SE has all of the fancy features, but make sure all of the seat electrics work, and especially that the seats move forward when you fold them for rear seat access.
The pre-cat issue on the ES9J4S is a bit of a bugger, though. This is where the sensors on either side of the set of pre-cats detect higher-than-acceptable levels of harmful gases, indicating that the pre-cats aren't doing their job properly. This is commonly thought to be caused by fuel not being completely burned by the time it gets to the pre-cats, and blame for this typically falls on the spark plugs and ignition coils. If you do get this issue, give the engine a good service, ensuring good quality spark plugs are fitted and if you haven't changed out the Sagem coils for Delphi ones by this point, do that. If that still doesn't cure it, then a solution is currently being designed which replaces the sensors, and just feeds values to the ECU that it will find acceptable. The range of tolerance of pollutants built into the ECU seems to be very low, and it is much more sensitive than the MOT test is - even if the rear cats have been removed, a car with the "ageing pre-cats" warning will still pass its MOT.
And regarding the cambelt - this is a costly job because there's basically bugger-all room inside the engine bay once the huge V6 lump has been squeezed in there. I think it's worth looking for a car where the belt has already (recently) been changed, and they have the receipt to prove it. If you buy one from a used car dealership and the belt hasn't been changed, then you can use that as a bargaining chip - "I'll buy this car if you change the belts first", but make sure they can show you the old belt, tensioners, and water pump.
Good colour choices (in my opinion):
Granite Black with Amarante Red interior
Aegean Blue with either Tungsten Black or Chestnut interior
Polaris Blue with either Tungsten Black or Chestnut interior
Scarlet Red with either Tungsten Black or Chestnut interior
Diablo Red with either Tungsten Black or Chestnut interior
Cosmos Grey with Amarante Red interior
not bothered if its a coupe or a 4 door.
