Secondhand 407 advice

I am putting up this post for the benefit of the poor soul who buys
the first generation 407 I am about to have replaced. As a company car
on contract hire, it will now end up at auction and later some suspect
second-hand dealer's forecourt. I want the next owner to have some
idea of the real history behind this car.

I will leave a note in the glove box, which I obviously expect will
disappear, so I put a very small piece of paper in the owner's manual
with instructions on how to find this post! It may be too late for the
buyer to back out of the purchase but it may give him/her a little
ammunition to reduce future bills. The search phrase I hope gets the
new owner here is "Peugeot marshmallow needs milking through stupid
gerfanukel". If that returns more than one entry on Google, I really
have underestimated the monkeys with typewriters and Shakespeare's
works concept...

Place and dealer names have been replaced with XXXXXX to preserve
anonymity. Here goes:

On first collection of this car (it has been driven by another rep for
the first year) I find that after getting to XXXXXX from XXXXXX I
realise both front tyres have less than 1mm tread and I have to drive
the car illegally a further 24hrs before tyres get changed (I am
personally liable to prosecution during this time). The car has only
just been returned from a major service at XXXXXX Peugeot and I have
signed for it as fit to drive. I inform XXXXXX, who is understandably
disturbed by my news. No feedback on consequences.

I complain about being unable to get into another gear after coming
out of fifth, particularly on the approach to roundabouts. No fault is
found by XXXXXX or XXXXXX dealers. I now modify my driving to allow
for this condition. I claim this condition as dangerous. When
descending from certain kerbs or some speed bumps, it sounds like the
shock absorbers hit a solid surface - an experienced mechanic suggests
the anti-roll bar is faulty but dealer insists there is nothing wrong.

After replacing the clutch when breaking down in the centre of XXXXXX
I collect the car to find the radiator coolant has not been properly
replaced and some screws are missing from the turbo shield. Warning
lights kick off less than a mile after leaving garage. I joke I would
like a fully assembled car when returning but no response given.

After complaining about sudden, sharp loss of power when driving in
heavy rain or lots of surface water conditions, both XXXXXX & XXXXXX
garages are unable to find anything wrong. XXXXXX keep the car for the
day and when I collect the car at the end of day, I reach the T
junction and find I cannot stop because the brake servo circuit has
not been reconnected. I mercifully just end on another trader's car
park free of traffic on opposing sides. Further dangerous driving
condition. I made sure the dealership knew how I felt about their
incompetence!

I continue to complain about the power loss as I have now had heavy
goods vehicles narrowly miss me after sharp drops in speed without
displaying break lights in heavy rain conditions. Another claim to
having my safety endangered. Do you see a pattern emerging? XXXXXX
garage claim nothing wrong and return the car to me with more loose
screws - some missing again.

Turbo fails while driving around XXXXXX and I waste almost four hours
between recovery and loan car puts me back on the road.

I complain about main & sidelights failing intermittently. No fault is
found but I discover a partially broken wire on each side of my front
lights. If there had been more play on the cables I would have
replaced or soldered the connectors myself. The garage insists that in
order to guarantee the repair work, both complete headlight assemblies
need replacing at a cost of nearly £500. Any competent auto
electrician could have made the repairs in under an hour with pence
worth of materials.

Among other faults rearing their heads from time to time are climate
control software crashing, windscreen wipers coming on when opening
doors (really!), CD player track-searching if no CD present, radio
coming on at full volume when unlocking the car, oh, so many little
things... Remember this is one of the first cars to roll off the
production line so couldn't be perfect, could it?

Spare parts are rarely in stock, tyres are unique to this car so
forget rolling into KwikFit and expecting to drive away 20mins later.
Make sure your warranty or service arrangement includes a courtesy car
or you plan well ahead.

On a positive note, the new 407s appear to be much better. The only
fly in the ointment is the dealer network. Given the number of
franchises I have used, I reckon their poor performance is driven by
the way Peugeot dictate standards and payments to them. If you get one
of these second-hand I suggest you search for an independent Pug
specialist of the "under the arches" type and buy the boss a bottle of
booze every time they do a good job. It worked wonders when I used to
get my own cars fixed.

If you read this while browsing messages, please feel free to respond
for the benefit of the intended recipient. I will return to this post
to see what you have to say.

Take care,

Trip

(proper, personal replies to my email address should have "Pug 407" in
the subject line or resign yourself to the SPAM bin)

 

I've had similar problems with mine, lights are still a problem with blowing
bulbs every couple of months, suspension feels a bit heavy when going down
speed humps and also DVD Sat Nav disc whizzing around when getting into the
car souding as though it's ready to shred the disc!

Pug have said that they know about the headlamps and that i have to use
genuine Pug parts when motorquip are peugeot owned argh. When taking my
vehicle to the garage most times the problems do not occur and advised no
fault found. I got some new front tyres and at 70mph the steering is well
shaky, had them rebalanced and still the same don't know what's up now!
Other than that the car has been fantastic for me.

I don't think I'll be getting another 407 tho even though it was new and we
do expect a couple of minor problems.

I am putting up this post for the benefit of the poor soul who buys
the first generation 407 I am about to have replaced. As a company car
on contract hire, it will now end up at auction and later some suspect
second-hand dealer's forecourt. I want the next owner to have some
idea of the real history behind this car.

I will leave a note in the glove box, which I obviously expect will
disappear, so I put a very small piece of paper in the owner's manual
with instructions on how to find this post! It may be too late for the
buyer to back out of the purchase but it may give him/her a little
ammunition to reduce future bills. The search phrase I hope gets the
new owner here is "Peugeot marshmallow needs milking through stupid
gerfanukel". If that returns more than one entry on Google, I really
have underestimated the monkeys with typewriters and Shakespeare's
works concept...

Place and dealer names have been replaced with XXXXXX to preserve
anonymity. Here goes:

On first collection of this car (it has been driven by another rep for
the first year) I find that after getting to XXXXXX from XXXXXX I
realise both front tyres have less than 1mm tread and I have to drive
the car illegally a further 24hrs before tyres get changed (I am
personally liable to prosecution during this time). The car has only
just been returned from a major service at XXXXXX Peugeot and I have
signed for it as fit to drive. I inform XXXXXX, who is understandably
disturbed by my news. No feedback on consequences.

I complain about being unable to get into another gear after coming
out of fifth, particularly on the approach to roundabouts. No fault is
found by XXXXXX or XXXXXX dealers. I now modify my driving to allow
for this condition. I claim this condition as dangerous. When
descending from certain kerbs or some speed bumps, it sounds like the
shock absorbers hit a solid surface - an experienced mechanic suggests
the anti-roll bar is faulty but dealer insists there is nothing wrong.

After replacing the clutch when breaking down in the centre of XXXXXX
I collect the car to find the radiator coolant has not been properly
replaced and some screws are missing from the turbo shield. Warning
lights kick off less than a mile after leaving garage. I joke I would
like a fully assembled car when returning but no response given.

After complaining about sudden, sharp loss of power when driving in
heavy rain or lots of surface water conditions, both XXXXXX & XXXXXX
garages are unable to find anything wrong. XXXXXX keep the car for the
day and when I collect the car at the end of day, I reach the T
junction and find I cannot stop because the brake servo circuit has
not been reconnected. I mercifully just end on another trader's car
park free of traffic on opposing sides. Further dangerous driving
condition. I made sure the dealership knew how I felt about their
incompetence!

I continue to complain about the power loss as I have now had heavy
goods vehicles narrowly miss me after sharp drops in speed without
displaying break lights in heavy rain conditions. Another claim to
having my safety endangered. Do you see a pattern emerging? XXXXXX
garage claim nothing wrong and return the car to me with more loose
screws - some missing again.

Turbo fails while driving around XXXXXX and I waste almost four hours
between recovery and loan car puts me back on the road.

I complain about main & sidelights failing intermittently. No fault is
found but I discover a partially broken wire on each side of my front
lights. If there had been more play on the cables I would have
replaced or soldered the connectors myself. The garage insists that in
order to guarantee the repair work, both complete headlight assemblies
need replacing at a cost of nearly £500. Any competent auto
electrician could have made the repairs in under an hour with pence
worth of materials.

Among other faults rearing their heads from time to time are climate
control software crashing, windscreen wipers coming on when opening
doors (really!), CD player track-searching if no CD present, radio
coming on at full volume when unlocking the car, oh, so many little
things... Remember this is one of the first cars to roll off the
production line so couldn't be perfect, could it?

Spare parts are rarely in stock, tyres are unique to this car so
forget rolling into KwikFit and expecting to drive away 20mins later.
Make sure your warranty or service arrangement includes a courtesy car
or you plan well ahead.

On a positive note, the new 407s appear to be much better. The only
fly in the ointment is the dealer network. Given the number of
franchises I have used, I reckon their poor performance is driven by
the way Peugeot dictate standards and payments to them. If you get one
of these second-hand I suggest you search for an independent Pug
specialist of the "under the arches" type and buy the boss a bottle of
booze every time they do a good job. It worked wonders when I used to
get my own cars fixed.

If you read this while browsing messages, please feel free to respond
for the benefit of the intended recipient. I will return to this post
to see what you have to say.

Take care,

Trip

(proper, personal replies to my email address should have "Pug 407" in
the subject line or resign yourself to the SPAM bin)