Faults:

Exhaust needed replacing.

Clutch cable connector snapped and was a pain to fix.

Dodgey ignition coil.

General Comments:

Great car for its price, cheap to buy, no rust, excellent shape and cheap insurance. I'm 19 and it's a quick car. Easily seats 5 and seats 4 in superb comfort.

Plenty of places to improve it and make it look even better.

Very large and solid feeling car.

Faults:

Exhausts seem to be eaten easily. The older models of the 405 do have primitive systems.

Clutch assembly clip snapped - £15 (supplied & fitted) to replace, but a pig when it goes.

Only other breakdown occurred when the battery & connectors gave up the ghost. That was down to a lack of maintainance though.

It does have an oil problem. Either it burns or leaks. The old dear has done 130,000 miles, so I can't complain.

Rear suspension doesn't rattle - it booms. Shocks/dampers etc are dead. It'll pass MOT's, but it sounds like a bad day in Bosnia.

Snapped handbrake cable. Again, probably my fault. Easy re-fit.

Complete braking system overhaul. Again, it is to be expected on an old car. Still dented the wallet though.

General Comments:

The car is fantastic. It's been so reliable, even if it does rattle like Fred West's loft insulation.

I've got the 1.9i, and the performance is fantastic (125bhp). It strips most hot hatches. The insurance is dirt cheap too as it's a Grandad wagon.

Only problem is the cred issue. I'm only 21, so a family runner doesn't do wonders in the passion stakes. I would like to have the Mi16, but the running costs are too high.

Faults:

Hesitation/cut-out on acceleration.

Binding brakes.

Knocking suspension.

Serious boot leak.

Starter motor failed.

Electric window jammed open.

Mirror glass tainted.

Water hoses split causing overheating.

Radiator fans failed causing overheating.

Electric sunroof failed.

3 x internal door cards falling off.

Locks intermittent.

Front fog lights failed.

Internal clock light failed.

Electric aerial failed.

Power steering noise.

Altenator belt loose (4 hours to fix!)

Drivers seat rocks over bumps.

Etc. etc. etc.

+ loads of trim rattles and creaks.

General Comments:

The 405 MI-16 looks very nice, especially with the 15 inch 5 spoke alloys fitted to post 1991 cars.

Performance is brisk rather than stunning - 130mph is fairly easily achieved but 0-60 is a bit sluggish.

The 1.9 twin cam 16v engine sounds delicious, but doesn't pull until 4-5000RPM which means it has to be pushed hard.

Overall it is a reasonable car with general build quality (typically Peugeot) being very poor indeed. Saying that for the money what do you expect - it is a quarter the price of a Cosworth, but by no means a quarter of the car!