Faults:

Radiator leak, Solved with abit of Radweld.

Air Conditioning and Heating system not working resulting in lack useability in colder winter months.

Damper failure resulting in a £60 bill to put it right.

General Comments:

My car has a 1905cc Turbo Diesel engine in GTX trim. The engine is bomb proof and has never failed previous owners before.

It sees 125 off and then runs out of chuff, and is generally a very smooth car.

1st and 2nd are too short 3rd provides optimum boost from the engine.

The cabin is very practical and the car has a big boot making it suitable for a family.

Very good handling, this car isn't a 0-60 car. But cruises well and on long journeys is epic.

Faults:

Rear axle bearing went.

General Comments:

This is a good honest workhorse of a car. I am a small woman and find the seats very comfortable indeed since you can alter them to suit, up and down, back and forth and even lumbar support.

I have lots of animals and when the rear seats are folded down, it can hold 4 bales of hay easily. Mine has a tow bar fitted and tows very well. Even with a heavy livestock trailer behind it is gutsy. This is the second peugeot 405 diesel estate I have owned and will definately get another when this one dies. The last one had 248000 on the clock and still ran well. The only reason I scrapped it was that it started getting electrical faults and refused to start in winter. Once did DID start it ran very well.

I have had this one for just over a year now and it has proven as reliable as the last one. I wouldn't say it is a pretty car. Those interested in style and street cred' wouldn't want it. But for anyone who wants value for money, space and reliability I can highly recommend this car. I regularly get 55 mpg and this summer have been running it on pure vegetable oil and it has performed as well if not better than before.

If I cannot find another 405 diesel estate next time around, I will definately be looking at the 406 diesel estate.

Faults:

Lots of rattles from interior trim including a strange 'moaning' noise from the glovebox when undertaking tight left turns.

Starter motor sometimes does not engage - switch off, try again. Needs up to 5 goes to catch, but always eventually goes. I will be checking the wiring for breakages as it seems to be a common problem...

Wafer-thin Peugeot panels has led to lots of dents all over the bodywork.

Gearchange is hardly a model of 'rifle-bolt' precision, but given the miles this car has done that's not surprising.

Rear offside door no longer opens.

Remote control for the central locking broken. Central locking still works with the key though.

General Comments:

This car was seriously cheap - £150 including 8 months' MOT, 3 months' tax and a decent Sony stereo.

It's seen some use (it needed 3 hours of cleaning and polishing to get the white paint shining again), but apart from the usual Peugeot dents it hides the miles very well. Seat trim is still unmarked.

I understand the XUD engine was the catalyst for the change in perception towards diesel cars. Mind you, the engine was designed over 20 years ago and so compared to a new diesel it is noisy, rough and suffers from an 'all or nothing' power delivery. Once 4000rpm is reached, the power almost instantly disappears. Plus 45mpg average is good, but no match for today's direct-injection lumps which have a few hundred kg more to shift around.

Peugeot designed a great fwd chassis in those days. Despite the weight of the lump up front, it's still fluid and fun to drive. Nicely weighted steering and great handling. Brakes seem to have a lot of pedal travel before doing anything.

1994 Rep Man's equipment levels are matched by most basic superminis these days - electric front windows, central locking, and an electric sunroof. It's all still working which says something for our boys at Ryton. This was one of the last GL's before the GLX replaced it with standard aircon - although I think you'd struggle to find one of those with the a/c still working properly. Certainly not for £150!

Plenty of room front and back, really comfortable driver's seat, all controls fall relatively easily to hand. Big boot.

Perhaps the most impressive thing is despite it's starship mileage and 12 years on the planet, there's still not a spot of rust anywhere. Mind you, when did Peugeot last make a rust-prone design?