Peugeot's of that era are easy to work on (a suffering 106 owner here!), if you're a reasonable amateur mechanic many jobs can easily be accomplished. Even if you have to resort to a garage they tend to be cheapish because parts are dirty cheap. Things to check particularly on the 306 are the rear beam condition and carefully scrutinise for any oil leaks, especially round the alternator end of the block (indicating head gasket failure).
By rear beam do you mean the rear axle? With this engine I've got the advantage that my dad has owned 3 of them before, and rebuilt one a few years ago. I'm a very amateur mechanic, but if I need help, he's pretty accomplished Alloy wise I'd be tempted to get some just to satisfy my vanity . And its not as if i frequent any places where I'd be scared of them being stolen. Standard 306 alloys are dirt cheap anyway, and i'd be using them as I couldn't afford insurance if I put an aftermarket set on.
Yes - it's a torsion beam rear end, watch out for any squeaks or clunks from the rear end. They can be a bit of a pain to rebuild. Genuine Peugeot alloys are lying around all over the place waiting to be picked up for bargain prices, the XSi ones look good on a Phase 1 306.
Well, that just fell through massively. Basically I'd decided to buy it. It needed some work for the MOT which would cost a bit at a garage, but would be relatively easy to do at home. It needed a new wishbone and the handbrake adjusting, my dad even has a good wishbone as a spare for his car. Went to collect it this evening (it's 35 miles away, so 70 mile round trip), and were just finalising it all (no money exchanged yet) when he says, "right, here's the dealer receipt, and I'll get you the logbook in a week or so... " Wait.. WHA?? The back story is that the guy selling it is Iranian and runs a car wash. He has had it for the last 8 months or so, and he bought it off the car dealer next to his car wash. According to him the dealer kept the logbook as he never needed it. right... whatever Call up the number on the car dealership... get a slightly different story. He got the car as a part-ex about a week ago and still hasn't got the logbook from the previous owner. As it was worth nothing to him offered it to the guy at a car wash for basically nothing. Sooo... I'm not getting that. Time to start looking again :/ What a waste of an evening and 70 miles worth of fuel.
Sorry for the double post... but I've finally got a car Another 306 - they are by far the cheapest. This time a phase 2, and very cheap - £400 (Since finding that other car, i started looking in a lower price range). It's an R reg 1.9 DT, and again, mechanics are solid, but the interior was quite rough - it used to be a farmers car, so loads of mud. It cleaned up surprisingly well, and I've spent today at the scrapyard stripping another 306 for nice seats (£60 for a set of half-leather seats in very good condition ), door panels and other bits and bobs. (I actually found a car in very good condition with very little damage that seemed to have just had a service... new break discs and drums, new h.break cables, new pads with the discs etc. I didn't leave much on it.) Also the paint is a bit scratched up - sorta looks like someone's tried to polish it with a scourer (ok, that's an exaggeration). T-Cut works wonders though. I'll get some pics up once it's fixed up and polished
Sounds like a bargain for a mechanically sound Ph2. Welcome to French club - my car's eaten a coilpack today.
Sounds like a bargain! Hope it has a clean bill of health. Having your own car is great, expensive, but great.
Thanks guys A couple of pics of the final thing, as promised. (I really should have taken the pics before driving it up and down a 1 mile dusty track) Spent £550 on it in total, but that includes spare break discs, break drums, pads all round, and a decent radio. Pretty good deal I think The only think left to change is the steering wheel. The old one is quite rough, and I've got a nice one to replace it, but can't get the old one off for love nor money! I'm gona have a go at making something to lever it off tomorrow.
I'd say thats a damn good deal. I'd be chuffed if I were you. And if ketteh approves, then thats even better.
Looks very nice, £550 is a bargain for that. For the steering wheel get a bit of wood for cushioning and give it a good few whacks with a hammer. Careful you don't pull it off into your face, that's embarassing! Don't forget to either use a new bolt or some locktite when you put it back on too, don't want it coming loose.
Teh kitteh approves. And my new seats are covered in fur... Tried that. Its had plenty of knocks from a lump hammer, and a good soaking in WD40, all to no effect. The wheel I took of the car in the scrapyard pulled straight off after a gentle thump... I think i'll try putting long self tapping screws in place of the airbag screws, and screw them into a block of wood with a hole in the middle that touches the centre steering wheel bolt, then i can unscrew the bolt through the wood, and hopefully it will pull the wheel with it, if that makes any sense. Oh, and I've had the bolt screwed in a couple of turns before trying to pull the wheel off (learnt my lesson with the car in the scrapyard ) Judging by this, there's no need for locktite, but I'll pop some on anyway. Cheers.
Pretty tidy for a first car Originated from Cornwall too (all plates ending in AF, RL or CV are Cornish on the old format letter prefix)
Really? In that case its been around a bit, because it says Essex on the plates, and now its in Wales My flatmate has just bought a ph1 306... it looks so much cooler than this one (his p reg Golf massively failed its MOT about a week ago) Ah well
You tend to find dealers will change the plates on cars if they are cracked or broken as that will fail the MOT. More often than not the dealer will also put their details on the plates too.
