It's quirks just add character!

[Easy]

Hi all!
Five years ago I bought a 2011 Peugeot 308 SR 1.6HDI, a great price at less than a grand. It had a few scratches and an airbag light in the rearview mirror console was on, but it ran and drove well. I checked the usual causes but no joy. A code reader said that the fault was the light itself, so it simply got disconnected as a simple remedy. The pop-up media unit still flashes up a couple of BS fault warnings when the ignition is first switched on.
It's second battery did surprisingly well to last 11 years before winter killed it. We went abroad for 3 months without the car, 6 weeks later a neighbour messaged to say that a back light had come on, how very odd! The 4 year old battery was knackered after being drained completely flat, then sitting for another 8 weeks in winter before our return. Water had got into the vents behind the back bumper, and the sun had created a humid micro climate which was not at all to the liking of the canbus electrics. It was actually a tail light and a fog light bulb that had illuminated and I had to leave them out for another two weeks until things settled back to normal.
To be fair, when I first got the car the spare wheel was sitting in a few inches of water in the boot bottom, so I drilled a drainage hole - but I just didn't know how the rain was getting in. I removed the back bumper and resealed around the vents, and all is good again.
The car has always liked to play 'guess how much fuel is in the tank'. The guage sat mostly around a quarter without moving even on a fill up, other times it will suddenly drop to zero with the fuel light on, likewise the remaining mileage was really hit and miss too. But after all this time I recently found the cause, by accident, after checking a glovebox fuse - just a poor connection there.
The sat-nav is a pain not using full post codes, but it can be quite interesting using the original 2010 map when driving on new roads!
No actual breakdowns at all but there were occasions of driving power loss. It's really no fun when you pull out to overtake a truck then have to pull back in behind it! The culprit was the turbo which became totally sooted up to the point that it finally could not even turn. I replaced the core with a cheap Chinese one, I also got rid of the DPF and the car then ran just brilliant now it can breath unrestricted - it's even better on fuel too.
For about a year it has had a noisy wheel bearing when turning left, was no play there - but Mot time soon.
It's a cheap reliable and economical workhorse with 130k on the clock. I'll drive it until it is just not viable to repair, then get something else pre 2017 but tidier - but just what a character it has been, and still is. It's a good job that I can problem solve and fix stuff!

My very first car was a 1976 Opal Kadett 1L - very basic but good. Then a 1.6L Ford Escort which was not great. The Nissan Sunny Coupe was a great looker. Then I discovered what great all-rounders Peugeots were. I had a diesel Peugeot 405 estate, 2L HDI 406's x 3, a Citroën Despatch 2L HDI, and now the 308.
I very briefly had a Citroën C4 which a friend was going to scrap because the dash display was going crazy. I replaced the alternator for £15 which completely fixed the issue, sold it and split half with him.
My other car is a 2005 German motorhome.
Cheers,
Easy

[mickthemaverick]

Hi and
Have a good look round the forum from the Home link under the main banner above and you'll be amazed at the variety of things under discussion, especially in the Off Topic Chat Lounge (OTCL)