Hello all

Just a quick question. There is no doubt that some of you have owned Peugeot 306s in the past (there seem to be so many of them around, especially in this part of the country).

My girlfriend has her driving test on the 2nd June and is looking for a cheap runabout. She's set her heart on a Peugeot 306, and I have to agree that were I to not have much money for a car I would probably be going for that one (I think it's one of the best looking cars Peugeot have ever made!)

I think that she has set her heart on a particular engine, too; the 1.4 petrol, though I have heard that the DTurbo version of the car was loved by pretty much everyone that owned one?

Are there any engines to avoid? Should we avoid the car all together? What kind of things should we be looking out for, aside from the usual used-car things to be cautious of? Does anyone know what the cambelt change intervals on the 1.4 petrol and DTurbo engines are?

Any help or advice about these cars would be greatly appreciated! The last thing I want is to have to keep dealing with car problems for her...

I used to own a Peugeot/Citroen Diesel Specialist Garage and found the best 306's were the DTurbos, great to drive, quick etc.The petrols are ok, but fairly thirsty and raucous.The only problems with 306's were build quality and plastics etc.

Cambelts I always used to change every 40,000 miles as a precautionary measure - better to spend £13 on a 'gates' belt and an hour to fit than £800+ on a recon engine.The cambelts on these XUD or HDi engines are so easy to change.

Hope this helps.

Citroen ZX 1.4 (same engine and chassis) close enough?

I wrote it off 7 years ago come October, and still sometimes miss it! The closest thing it had to a vice (other than the engines being noiser than the latest VAG units, but not than similar age VAGs) would be that the handling on 175/65R14s (standard on the model I had) was almost too good, which led to me losing it on tree sap when going too fast to recover (but still at a just legal pace).

The 306 should also be cheapish (relatively; there seems to be no such thing as cheap insurance for a new driver these days) to insure, since pretty much everything bar the "GT" models was IG5 back in the day!

I had a 2001 D-Turbo and loved it. The electrics were a bit ropey, plastics were very dated, slightly noisy, crap sound from stereo.... but the car was very enjoyable to drive, and was bulletproof (electrics excepted).

ZX, Xsara and 306 are all essentially the same cars.

Cheap to insure (Grp 5 for the DT) and imho cheap to fix.

I'd either get a straight XUD, much nicer than the 1.4 petrol IMHO and no turbo to go wrong, or a 1.9 XUDt, but make sure that the head gasket is in good nick and it's been regularly serviced.

Lovely car if you get a good example

I know of 2 people that own 306 DTurbo's. They're both still running with few problems. One has over 150k on the clock and needs some work (bearings etc not unexpected with the mileage) and the other has about 130k and is running quite nicely.

Door handles, trim, electrics, brakes will all come off in your hand (ooh er missus). I will not be buying anymore french cars - ever

Nothing wrong with the diesel engines - its the rest of the car thats sh+te

ZX, Xsara and 306 are all essentially the same cars.

Cheap to insure (Grp 5 for the DT) and imho cheap to fix.

I'd either get a straight XUD, much nicer than the 1.4 petrol IMHO and no turbo to go wrong, or a 1.9 XUDt, but make sure that the head gasket is in good nick and it's been regularly serviced.

Lovely car if you get a good example

Agreed; it was lack of funds for initial purchase that led to me getting the 1.4 petrol rather than an XUD19.

I ran an XUD BX to 250k with just 5k oil changes on semi and basic maintenance. The 306 XUDt took over 150k and the engine was as pretty much new internally this time servicing with mobile1 0w40.

They will just run and run if you look after them, I know some with 350k on. Just make sure you change the thermostat if you buy one second hand and have a flush and new coolant. Also make sure the cooling fans all come on.

I know of several taxied examples of XUD(T) engines that have run to more like 500k miles. I don't want to play "high mileage Top Trumps"; just saying that even 350k understates what's possible.

1.9 Turbo diesel one. Still miss the fuel economy of the thing but my only problems were the heater packing up.

Cracking engine though and the ride was ok too

Cheers

I know of several taxied examples of XUD(T) engines that have run to more like 500k miles. I don't want to play "high mileage Top Trumps"; just saying that even 350k understates what's possible.

Totally, just what i knew of personally. If looked after that engine will run and run and when things do go they don't tend to be expensive usually.

Totally, just what i knew of personally. If looked after that engine will run and run and when things do go they don't tend to be expensive usually.

Engine will run forever rest of car 3 weeks:)

Engine will run forever rest of car 3 weeks:)

I had no problem with the rest of the car, the standard passive four wheel wheel steering was just amazing too. The rear wheels tilt to enhance turn in

Door handles were fine, mirrors were fine, only electrical problem we had was a duffed wiper relay.

They can't be that bad as there are still loads on the road.

I looked at a 1.4 306 whilst we were choosing something for the wife to learn in. Was put off by something I saw on Honest John about the propshaft bearing on the 1.4 gearbox having no race and just being pressed into the 'box casing. Could be an issue now all 306s are going to be getting on a bit...

I'd be tempted by a well maintained, tidy 306 with the 1.9TD yep.

I looked at a 1.4 306 whilst we were choosing something for the wife to learn in. Was put off by something I saw on Honest John about the propshaft bearing on the 1.4 gearbox having no race and just being pressed into the 'box casing. Could be an issue now all 306s are going to be getting on a bit...

Totally different gear box on the larger engines and all the dervs.

Lots of people tried to save here at one point, just as VW did for one of their boxes with a rivet that failed. :thumbdwn:

As per Tom, except if it's a first car I'd go for a 1.9D as opposed to 1.9DT.

Very cheap to pick up, very cheap to run, no turbo to go, no head gasket issues

My other halfs car is a 306.

Its the 1.9 XUD engine (non turbo) but pulls like a train.

Good car and ok to drive but i must admit i preferred my citroen zx (with the same engine in)!!!

Another nice thing about the XUD in a 306.

The air filter is easy to change regardless if square or round one.

The oil change is a breeze too. Warm it up, put a pan under the car and undo the sump plug with the correct tool (£3 for a square on a bar or just a socket). Oil filter is a tin can one, at the front of the engine which undoes then you screw the new one one with a smear of oil on the seal.

New copper sump plug washer (£2 for 50p) and do it up hand tight and then a bit more until tight with the tool.

Put in 4 and a bit litres of good oil in the nice wide easy to open easy spring clip filler by the dip stick.

I used Millers Semi Synth 10w40 but even the semi castrol GTD magnatec would be just fine and very cheap.

Check the level is between half and max, take it for a drive, let it cool and then check the level and top up if needed.

Jobs a goodun and nice and cheap too. Used to cost £15 for the lot but probably more like £30 now.

I had no problem with the rest of the car, the standard passive four wheel wheel steering was just amazing too. The rear wheels tilt to enhance turn in

Door handles were fine, mirrors were fine, only electrical problem we had was a duffed wiper relay.

They can't be that bad as there are still loads on the road.

Only joking - well partly- I've been badly affected by swmbo's 2 309 diesels:eek:

We have a 405 on an M reg plate still in Bournemouth with the XUD eng and its on 550,000 miles now and still sweet and responsive.

I ran an XUD BX to 250k with just 5k oil changes on semi and basic maintenance. The 306 XUDt took over 150k and the engine was as pretty much new internally this time servicing with mobile1 0w40.

They will just run and run if you look after them, I know some with 350k on. Just make sure you change the thermostat if you buy one second hand and have a flush and new coolant. Also make sure the cooling fans all come on.

I ran a couple of BX Diesels and both hit over 250K miles, one did 279,000 miles and i only scrapped it because all the microbore hydraulic pipes needed replacing and age of it didnt make it viable.The engine went in a 1992 J reg and last I knew about it, it had done 30K+ more miles in that.

Our 305 Diesel Van did 300K plus miles before it rusted away and we had 3 identical 504 Diesel pick-ups, one of which towed me, a mate and a caravan on a 2 week trip to Andorra and back without a hitch.It got totally filled with cheap beer when we got back to Calais too!The only thing with that one was the 2.3 D engine only had the 4 speed box fitted to it which I can still hear ringing in my ears at motorway speeds to this day!.Again, they all rotted away but the engines were all great still.

I agree, It is vital to check the cooling fans too, as head gaskets, although easy to do on non turbos, are a bit more tricky on turbos due to space etc, and overheating them can also lead to piston ring wear.

I always wanted the 306 dturbo but could never afford one so ended up buying the xsara 1.9td which I believe is the same as the 306dturbo. The xsara was fantastic, did best part of 60k in a couple of years and it never let me down. In my opinion it was much more fun to drive than the fabia vrs that we swapped it for.

Dturbo is a cracking wee car. my brother has one, really easy to maintain and nothing seems to go wrong with it.

And as said easy peasy to service, 30mins max..

Will also run forever, only real problems are door looms on early models + conrod failure on the DHY engine code ones (avoid) to reduce this chance you can unplug the EGR valve.

Im a big poster over on pug306.net - check it out.

I had a 306 hdi from 100k to 147k and it never missed a heatbeat

Thank you to everyone in this thread who gave sterling advice.

We bought an "s" reg Peugeot 306 LX TD yesterday with 140k on the clock for £1250. The interior of it is immaculate, and the exterior is immaculate too, bar a dent on the drivers side rear corner...

I had a brief drive in it and was v.impressed with the way it seemed to drive; very easy to get used to, etc.

I'll keep you updated with how it treats SWMBO over the next few months... and I'll also let you know if I ended up instructing her to buy a complete wreck when we get it back here on Monday, haha