My New Car.

[scoopeydiesel]

My new car, well new to me. It’s a 2001 406 Executive in mint condition inside and with two small marks outside. I bought the car from a very honest guy outside London before Christmas over the phone. Paid for car and got it collected and delivered to Ireland. I checked the mileage on the MOT checker and had a look at it outside his house on Google Maps. There were some pictures up on Gumtree with the advertisement. Well I got the car last Monday and describe it as follows:
1. The car is so clean inside; I can’t imagine how you would keep it so.
2. 81k miles with documented stamps in book to 38k and MOT certs thereafter to confirm mileage.
3. Cambelt and waterpump in 2012 at 70k.
4. Full size spare never used, brand new.
5. Full tool kit like new.
6. Engine bay spotless.
7. Engine undertray in perfect condition,
8. Load of service receipts inc. full exhaust in 2008 and still like new.
9. Tyres in very good condition and loads of miles left in them.
10.Same owner since 2002 and one previous to that.

Now a few issues but not many:
1. A crack on lower part of front bumper which i will try and fix as its down low.
2. Small dent in nearside back panel.
3. The speedo is intermittent.
4. Temperature gauge is intermittent.
5, The red hazard warning light seems to very slightly illuminated when the car is locked, sort of a low light flicker.
I was advised of the first 4 issues above.

I am really delighted with the car as everything is there like new and no major issues. I am indebted to the previous owner for how well he kept the car and the honest and genuine transaction over the phone as I never saw the car until it arrived over here. There are definitely very genuine and honest people out there.

There was a small snag on the car transporters behalf, guess what - he lost the only key and he had to get a new one cut but it’s not a genuine one as it will not operate the remote locking. I was a bit peed off but sh*t happens and I will look at getting a genuine one from main dealer, I know it will cost.

I will try and post some pictures over the weekend. I can definitely say without this site I wouldn't be able to sort out the issues that crop up and would be long gone from the 406's. So to everyone - keep up the good work

[scoopeydiesel]

By the way it's a 110 HDI before someone asks. Good night as it's time for bed

[PeterN]

Well you got the one with the right engine . Sounds very nice, pity about the key, the one I just bought had two new keys with it, its not an Executive but it does have electric seats, I would have like one but they were to few and to dear, this one was very cheap and everything works.

You have just about the best value for money car on the market, I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Peter

[lozz]

You probably know this already but :

Check the drivers footwell for damp..
Its been known ..to be the cause of electrical gremlins..

*if you bought it with a remote key and the delivery chap lost it and gave u a basic key
I'd be asking for them to cough up towards the cost of a remote key:

[jasper5]

Agreed! I would check the footwell for damp first!

[scoopeydiesel]

I have checked the footwell and there is more than damp there. There is water, not alot of it but the whitefoam backing is saturated. I have dried as much as i can and I will be getting the hair drier out later. Has anyone ever cut the carpet neatly under the floor mats for easy removal, re-fitting and easy to check again. Not that I like doing that but easy to check periodically. I have disconnected the plugs which I assume you can do without shutting down the BSI. Is the water coming in through the sunroof.

[highlander]

You need to check the usual water ingress points:

- tail light lens seals (check the spare wheel well for water)
- check the scuttle is not full of leaves, and clear it if it is
- check the sunroof's drainage channels are not blocked, and that its rubber seals haven't perished
- check the door and window seals haven't perished

[scoopeydiesel]

I know the boot where the spare wheel is dry, is the scuttle the area at the bottom of the front windscreen inside where wiper motors are. I will check the others. Could the water be coming from a leaking front windscreen as it was replaced a few years ago and on Thursday when I was driving in cold weather there was a loud bang which I thought was a stone from a lorry but the same thing happened again on a single lane road and it was from the front windscreen area on the driver’s side.

Lozz:
Car did come with a remote key which he lost. I know the rubber button was missing but unsure if the small microchip inside was there. The previous owner had said that the rubber button was missing and remote not working. I recon it was good except for rubber button but you will never know. I didn't want to make a big fuss as the guy was very helpful getting the car collected

[highlander]

I know the boot where the spare wheel is dry

Good, that's the most common one, I think

is the scuttle the area at the bottom of the front windscreen inside where wiper motors are

That's it, yes. The cabin filter is located under an access panel in the scuttle; it's worth removing the filter (change it if it's foul), and clearing out any leaves and crap you find in there as it just traps moisture and leads to bad smells and rust, if not outright water ingress.

Could the water be coming from a leaking front windscreen as it was replaced a few years ago

Possible, I guess, but I believe 406 windscreens are bonded - the autoglaziers would presumably have to do a really TERRIBLE job for a replacement screen to leak, and I think you'd probably hear/feel air whistling in through it as you drive.

Another thing you could try - dry out the carpets as much as you can overnight (hopefully you'll have no rain overnight), then lay down newspaper all over the carpets in the front and rear wheel wells. Sit inside the car, while someone else hoses the car down with a hosepipe. See if you can find where the water is coming in from. It'll at least give you a clue. But at this point I would think you're looking at the sunroof drainage channels or the door/window seals as the most likely points of ingress.

[lozz]

If the carpet is abeit ..soggy.
You might best getting the carpet up..or at least folding it back some how so fresh air can get behind it.
They sell plastic box things in some stores with stuff in the bottom to draw up damp.
Maybe a couple of them in the car might help.(iforget what they're called)
They're meant for damp houses.

[Doggy]

I'd check out the suroof drains first, every 406 we've had has had this problem at least once.

Looky here: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8446

[PeterN]

I think water can get in if the sill drains get blocked, they fill up and overflow into the car, on the estate anyway.

Peter

[scoopeydiesel]

Exactly as you guys had predicted, the sunroof drains were blocked. I cleaned them out as shown in the topic so hopefully that’s the end of the water for now. Previously to the drying out the hazard warning light button was showing a very low flickering light when the car was locked but that’s all off now. I dried mat as best I could and then put in some dry carpet underneath to soak up and will remove in a few days. It will be interesting to see if the speedo and temperature gauge work tomorrow. Thanks Guys

[scoopeydiesel]

The speedo and temperature gauge is still playing up but I did notice some of the contacts in the footwell plugs were corroded a little bit so that's a job for the weekend which might cure the problem. Need to order a towbar, was looking at a Witter. I was doing a bit of research on the wiring and was wondering if I can tap directly into the wires in the boot. There are some kits available with relays but the motor factors guy said they were only for newer cars. What are your thoughts on this one?

[lozz]

If your towing a caravan and you want to run the fridge
Or charge the caravan battery..no

If not doing the above u can just go into the cars wiring.
I'd use solder and 'heat shrink.

Them scotchlock things are nasty