I may be mad but.............

bigjl2 · Post by **bigjl2** » 12 May 2008, 17:47

Was thinking the other day that I fancy a 406 or 306, to replace my Xantia, as the Xantia has a genuine 103800miles and most 406/306 TD will have done load of miles my engine and box are mint. Also the Xantia is going to need a lot of money spent on it soon, ABS light on again, clutch on last legs, AC needs gassing, front discs and pad needed soon, leaky waterpump and the OSR wheel is slightly on the lean.
My plan was to find a bodily mint 406/306 with a snapped cambelt on seized engine,and put my engine in it, when engine is out fix waterpump, cambelt, clutch etc, whatdo you reckon? Good idea or sill idea.

Plumb bob · Post by **Plumb bob** » 12 May 2008, 22:01

A difficult choice, to which my advice would perhaps be, better the devil you know.
If you're gonna have to do the cklutch and water pump anyway, then it won't take much to do the other bits and have a good working Xantia.

A 406 is a heavier car and a 306 is a lighter car, and bothe will be different to the Xantia.

I have a 306, although it is a small car, it feels like a "propper" car when you drive it, It's good on the m/way, and has long legs, and still gives 45 + MPG.

I had a 1.9 litre 405 a number of years ago, and a 2.0 litre 406 a while after that, both were petrol engined, and handled well and loved the m/way, but were not very economical to run. the 405 blew a head gaskit, and the 406 burnt out a clutch at 70,000 miles as it's a heavy car, and only returned 22 MPG.

Personally, I'd stick with the Xantia, or go with the 306 TD as a cheaper to run option.

I'm sure someone with more experience will be along soon to give a wiser solution to your predicament.

Rob.

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 13 May 2008, 00:40

Why is it that most people ALWAYS wants something else - than they've got already

I cant for my life see the advantages in bodging with a complete drivetrain transplant - including all the minor unexpected tasks - instead of a timely downright one-by-one repair.

If you plan to do a transplant, then you are definately skilled to do all the repairs also. Would be much less a hassle - and cheapskate to do as DIY.

Before you even consider an engine transplant, the first task is to find an engine/car with EXACTLY the same type code as you've got. If not, the engine controller and wiring will for sure be different.

My pennies ...

lexi · Post by **lexi** » 13 May 2008, 18:51

Maybe just me but I`ve never got rid of a car cos it`s needed too many jobs done on it. As soon as I buy one I keep working on it one job at a time till I got it up to my own standard. Bodywork and chassis are more important as there`s nothing worse than welding and chasing rust round a car..........god knows I`ve done it.

Sometimes it`s maybe a case of being fed up looking over the same familiar bonnet

It`s a lot of work either way so good luck on whatever you decide

lolingram · Post by **lolingram** » 14 May 2008, 07:46

Couldn't agree more...

Personally, I'd stick with the Xantia, or go with the 306 TD as a cheaper to run option.

I'm sure someone with more experience will be along soon to give a wiser solution to your predicament.

Rob.

lolingram · Post by **lolingram** » 14 May 2008, 07:51

This is the crux of the matter.... rust virus is a never-ending nightmare IMHO, whereas with mechanical/electrical repairs, the items can be forgotten for yonks.

Pug 406 is a very nice set opf wheels, but still has 1066 suspension.

Bodywork and chassis are more important as there`s nothing worse than welding and chasing rust round a car..........god knows I`ve done it.

bigjl2 · Post by **bigjl2** » 15 May 2008, 11:32

The thinking behind it is, no matter how much I spend on the Xantia it's worthless, maybe £300/400, as it is a MK1 M plater, but if I can use the cars best asset, a good engine and box, and get a newer 306 or pref 406 estate back on the road then it will be a financially going concern, I would need to spend nearly £600 on the Xantia and even though I like the way it drives, I still find the lack of headroom a pain, I had thought about doing the same with a Xantia estate, but can't help but think a 406 is a better looking car, I wish I had kept my 2.016v estate,and put LPG on it, it was a S reg SX and I sold it to a family friend for £350, and yes he still has it and thinks it is the best car he has ever owned.

lolingram · Post by **lolingram** » 16 May 2008, 07:30

The thinking behind it is, no matter how much I spend on the Xantia it's worthless,

Only to a prospective sale... the car is good running order has a value to each of us, far and above any notion of the market worth... a nice Xantia is a treasure IMHO

bigjl2 · Post by **bigjl2** » 16 May 2008, 16:00

My opinion may be influenced because this is my first Xantia with a sunroof and the couple of inches of headroom that it robs the car of makes it uncomfortable for me, since I hurt my neck in an accident. I noticed the same problem in the Renault 19s and Renault 21s I have owned, you lose lot of headroom with a sunroof fitted, on a positive note the polish builder next door wants to buy it , he offered £200 and I said £200 and I keep the roadtax, might be better gettng rid and trying to find a mk2 wthout a sunroof. Maybe with an LPG conversion.

lolingram · Post by **lolingram** » 16 May 2008, 16:31

he offered £200 and I said £200 and I keep the roadtax, might be better gettng rid and trying to find a mk2 wthout a sunroof. Maybe with an LPG conversion

That's better...

ACTIVE8 · Post by **ACTIVE8** » 29 May 2008, 16:51

lolingram wrote:This is the crux of the matter.... rust virus is a never-ending nightmare IMHO, whereas with mechanical/electrical repairs, the items can be forgotten for yonks.

Pug 406 is a very nice set opf wheels, but still has 1066 suspension.
Bodywork and chassis are more important as there`s nothing worse than welding and chasing rust round a car..........god knows I`ve done it.

Ah the 1066 suspension, designed and manufactured in Hastings !

r.welfare · Post by **r.welfare** » 30 May 2008, 09:50

I think Citrojim put it best when he said that these cars often go through "phases" of expenditure, but once the work is done you end up having a good run of reliability with only standard maintenance costs.

My 405 saloon is a case in point. I bought it (for the second time!) for £50 as the MOT had expired 5 months previously and it had just sat on someone's driveway. To get an MOT, it only needed a headlight bulb, but I then found that I could move the car with the handbrake on when tightening up the wheelnuts...so I spent £1000 having a full brake (shoes, cylinder, drums and flexihoses on the rear; discs and pads on the front) and suspension (every bush and 4 new shocks) overhaul, new glowplugs and a small amount of welding on the "chassis" leg near the n/s front strut. I had the cambelt and waterpump done during my 1st ownership period, and the rad done recently.

So the car stands me at £1500 for all maintenance and capital costs so far, but I have done nearly 20,000 miles in it and it has never failed to proceed. Call it 25p per mile when fuel, insurance and road tax costs are also included. I also know (touch wood!) that the next "expense" (i.e. work I cannot do myself) will be in 16,000 miles for another cambelt. What would I get back if I sold it? Probably £400 at the absolute most...

It's not about the paper value of your current car, but what it will cost to replace it, if you see what I mean - better the devil you know etc. If the rest of the car is good - and I assume it is if you have all the history to support it - then I'd get the cambelt, waterpump and clutch done. You're then good for at least another 36k miles on the cambelt side - and probably 100k on the clutch side! If you do change it, then detective work to find a "cherised" example is the only way to go. If my Hunter is anything to go by, finding a mid-90s Xantia/405 with fully-working A/C is a tough job, anyway!

Mind you, if it's a question of comfort I wonder if you could take some padding out of the seat base? Sunroofs do eat headroom - I'm only 5'10" but long in the torso (to the extent I need to move the seat forward again if my 5'8" wife has been driving the car) and my head just touches the headlining beading around the sunroof aperture on my saloon with the seat on it's lowest setting - my estate (without a sunroof) is much better; now I've stapled the drooping headlining up, anyway!

lolingram · Post by **lolingram** » 30 May 2008, 10:11

I think Citrojim put it best when he said that these cars often go through "phases" of expenditure, but once the work is done you end up having a good run of reliability with only standard maintenance costs.

My 405 saloon is a case in point. I bought it (for the second time!) for £50 as the MOT had expired 5 months previously and it had just sat on someone's driveway. To get an MOT, it only needed a headlight bulb, but I then found that I could move the car with the handbrake on when tightening up the wheelnuts...so I spent £1000 having a full brake (shoes, cylinder, drums and flexihoses on the rear; discs and pads on the front) and suspension (every bush and 4 new shocks) overhaul, new glowplugs and a small amount of welding on the "chassis" leg near the n/s front strut. I had the cambelt and waterpump done during my 1st ownership period, and the rad done recently.

So the car stands me at £1500 for all maintenance and capital costs so far, but I have done nearly 20,000 miles in it and it has never failed to proceed. I also know (touch wood!) that the next "expense" (i.e. work I cannot do myself) will be in 16,000 miles for another cambelt.

This says it in a nutshell IMHO