1994 Peugeot 405 GLXDT 1.9 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Most reliable and cheap to run car that I have ever owned. Wish they still made them
Faults:
Normal long wear items: Water pump at 120K miles.
Sun roof slide failed, passenger window guide failed, rear wiper intermittent due to earthing - all minor and non essential, and not related to motoring reliability.
Clutch has periods when it appears to be weak - but it's the original, and it's on 200K miles.
General Comments:
The most I have ever spent on maintenance was £180 for the water pump, timing belt and pulley. It's just SO reliable (the XUD engine is the key).
All other maintenance I have done myself (during 12 years); bottom ball joints, brake cylinders, discs, 1 exhaust, brake pipes etc. Annual servicing usually costs me £30 total.
Galvanised, so has never failed an MOT due to bodywork or need for welding etc.
Now past the 200K mark, I want this car to go on forever. It has a huge carry space and the rear springs can take it, even when filled with paving slabs! I bought an 07 BMW 318D to placate my wife and kids, as they worry about image and being in the 21st Century - but I continue to drive my old white, more fuel efficient, low running cost 405.
I got my older kids to buy 306's with the same XUD engine, but they have trouble with rear beams and drums, and front suspension components and disc wear (all replaced by me), but the engine on 170K (as expected) delivers no problems...
We rely so much on this car as a workhorse, and never bat an eyelid at the prospect of a 350 mile round trip to collect or deliver bulky items.
I wish they were still in production. It was so difficult trying to decide what to buy to replace it - I hope that won't happen for a good few years yet. To try to find a car with low cost maintenance and high end reliability is going to be a challenge. I worry about the fibre optics in the later Peugeot's, and overall they don't seem to have the same reliability tag. I indicated that I would buy from the manufacturer again, but at the moment, I would only buy another 405 XUD estate!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 6th January, 2012
10th Jul 2015, 19:06
My first 405 GLD estate was brilliant, as a friend's father got it delivered from the factory to the dealer in three days. Some kind of wax was then put into the sills so it lasted very well. I still have it, but it's off the road due to MOT nit picking.
Other higher technology cars used when the Pug was laid-up have been an absolute curse, so when I saw an ex-police 405 "Style" Turbo Diesel Estate on eBay, I snapped it up. Unfortunately the police and prison service mechanics were in my honest opinion incompetent, and this has cost me a lot of money. The problem was the spare wheel cage. Now on the Peugeot 405 MK1 the tyre option is normally 175/70 R14. On the MK2 it is normally 185/65 R14. The wider tyres WILL NOT FIT into the spare wheel cage unless they are deflated first or jacked into place, but there is a reason for this! There is a second set of captive nuts in the spare wheel cage brackets. If the lower nuts are used, the tyre sidewall will not be pinched and stressed, and the tyre will still be OK when it is needed. This faux-pas made by a long succession of previous owners cost me £161 when a tyre failed on the way to Gatwick, and the spare was found to be unserviceable. I had only had the car for a week! Take care!