1989 Peugeot 405 21st birthday gift
Discussion
Before my 21st a couple of weeks ago I decided to find myself a car that wasn't a complete shed and that I could run longer than 2 months without scrapping. My plan initially was to take my Granvia to Spain for a month with the mountain bike but with yet another lockdown I realised that plan had died on the vine so I sold it and started looking at Imprezas but after the bottom end went on mine last year I decided against another, so I got looking at classics like a Cortina or another Sierra but couldn't justify the prices to drive something that would be my daily, then I decided on a car I always wanted, a phase 1 Peugeot 405. I saw a familiar 405 for sale. I tried to buy it back in 2019 with no MOT, I offered £400 but he insisted on £500 so I passed. It was then up at £1800 with an MOT which was just ridiculous, I've been watching the price drop since until I got down to £995 last month. I offered him £500 and he said £800 was his lowest, a day of negotiation later and we agreed on £500. It was 70 miles away so I arranged to have it collected. I left him a deposit and it arrived the next day sight unseen, it wasn't great on idle and the cosmetics needed attention but it looked a very good buy for £500.
It has a box with every single receipt and booklet from a radio replacement in 2001 at Halfords down to windscreen wash replacing in the mid 90's, I had a good read of all the Peugeot booklets including the range of velour on offer. I found the original Phillips stereo from 1989 in the boot tidy with a Halfords bottle from presumably the same period, the radio has been in the boot for the last 20 years, the bulbs and bottles I would guess have been in there quite a bit longer, potentially 25-30 years which is just insane that they were just in the boot for so long. There's something so weird about reading receipts that have existed longer than you have
Some actual details about the car, it's an F89 405 1.6 GL carb with a manual choke conversion. It's on around 8k with 2 long term owners and 2 short term owners, it's a non PAS model which really isn't heavy at all. Electric drivers window, manual passengers, electric mirrors and central locking so it's not badly equipped. So far I've only given it a quick vac out but I plan on giving it a proper machine polish and wet vac inside once I have it running right. The cold start is poor with the manual choke conversion and it's far too cold to bother working on it in the snow so I have it booked in with a local classic garage for them to properly set it up. I fitted the black boot trim to replace the red that was fitted at the dealer, I didn't like the red on red.
I planned to keep the car standard except for a set of 1.9 GTI alloys, the wheel trims and steelies will live in the garage until the day I decide to sell it, likely next autumn. I found this set for £125 and managed to get them for £80, the car isn't tidy enough to warrant a proper refurb so I decided to do them myself, I did my Subaru Speedlines and they came out well.
That's all so far. I suppose a good question would be why I'd want to buy myself a £500 late 80's rep mobile as a 21st present to myself, well I've always liked them and regret missing out on the £1200 1.9 SRi I could've bought and secondly is the fact that a 405 was the first car I ever rode in from 2000-2002 so they've always held a special place to me. The earliest memory I have is watching my dad fill the washer fluid up in his K reg GLDT, I also have a vague but specific memory of riding in it with Independent Woman on the radio
. It's going to be my daily and so far I absolutely love it, it's as comfortable and capable sitting at 77 on the motorway as it would've been 32 years ago, it's still a very easy car to daily and leagues ahead of the old Sierra I had. The 405 also has a very helpful owners club, I'm looking forward to enjoying it through spring and summertime. Hopefully a few PHers want to read about a 32 year old 1.6 Peugeot
It has a box with every single receipt and booklet from a radio replacement in 2001 at Halfords down to windscreen wash replacing in the mid 90's, I had a good read of all the Peugeot booklets including the range of velour on offer. I found the original Phillips stereo from 1989 in the boot tidy with a Halfords bottle from presumably the same period, the radio has been in the boot for the last 20 years, the bulbs and bottles I would guess have been in there quite a bit longer, potentially 25-30 years which is just insane that they were just in the boot for so long. There's something so weird about reading receipts that have existed longer than you have
Some actual details about the car, it's an F89 405 1.6 GL carb with a manual choke conversion. It's on around 8k with 2 long term owners and 2 short term owners, it's a non PAS model which really isn't heavy at all. Electric drivers window, manual passengers, electric mirrors and central locking so it's not badly equipped. So far I've only given it a quick vac out but I plan on giving it a proper machine polish and wet vac inside once I have it running right. The cold start is poor with the manual choke conversion and it's far too cold to bother working on it in the snow so I have it booked in with a local classic garage for them to properly set it up. I fitted the black boot trim to replace the red that was fitted at the dealer, I didn't like the red on red.
I planned to keep the car standard except for a set of 1.9 GTI alloys, the wheel trims and steelies will live in the garage until the day I decide to sell it, likely next autumn. I found this set for £125 and managed to get them for £80, the car isn't tidy enough to warrant a proper refurb so I decided to do them myself, I did my Subaru Speedlines and they came out well.
That's all so far. I suppose a good question would be why I'd want to buy myself a £500 late 80's rep mobile as a 21st present to myself, well I've always liked them and regret missing out on the £1200 1.9 SRi I could've bought and secondly is the fact that a 405 was the first car I ever rode in from 2000-2002 so they've always held a special place to me. The earliest memory I have is watching my dad fill the washer fluid up in his K reg GLDT, I also have a vague but specific memory of riding in it with Independent Woman on the radio
. It's going to be my daily and so far I absolutely love it, it's as comfortable and capable sitting at 77 on the motorway as it would've been 32 years ago, it's still a very easy car to daily and leagues ahead of the old Sierra I had. The 405 also has a very helpful owners club, I'm looking forward to enjoying it through spring and summertime. Hopefully a few PHers want to read about a 32 year old 1.6 Peugeot Lovely jubbly!
Phase ones are great, I had estates myself as the boot access on the saloon is s
te.
Won't surprise me if you buy a higher spec model in time, they are about, just rare in the UK now.
Still squillions about in France, easy to maintain, refined for what they are, and definitely comfy.
Enjoy!
Phase ones are great, I had estates myself as the boot access on the saloon is s
te. Won't surprise me if you buy a higher spec model in time, they are about, just rare in the UK now.
Still squillions about in France, easy to maintain, refined for what they are, and definitely comfy.
Enjoy!
Macron said:
Lovely jubbly!
Phase ones are great, I had estates myself as the boot access on the saloon is ste.
Won't surprise me if you buy a higher spec model in time, they are about, just rare in the UK now.
Still squillions about in France, easy to maintain, refined for what they are, and definitely comfy.
Enjoy!
I'd love an MI16 if prices weren't into 5 figures for a phase 1 now, that's if they ever come up for sale Phase ones are great, I had estates myself as the boot access on the saloon is s
te. Won't surprise me if you buy a higher spec model in time, they are about, just rare in the UK now.
Still squillions about in France, easy to maintain, refined for what they are, and definitely comfy.
Enjoy!
DodgeeDave said:
Interested to see how you get on. I used to have a J reg 405 SRI many years ago.
J458UTH was the SRI I keep missing out on. It has a nasty habit of coming up for sale when I've already got my hands fullHad one of these back in 2005. A H plate 1.8grdt. It was an absolutely amazing car. Handled well, incredibly comfortable an went reasonably well for what it was. Genuinely loved the thing. It went to the scrap yard in the end as the rear suspension collapsed and all the interior door handles stopped working.
Would have another in a heartbeat if I could find one.
Would have another in a heartbeat if I could find one.
I had an SRI back in the mists of time, great car - way more composed and a much nicer drive than a lot in the same segment.
I also had a chance on an Mi16, but didn't take it up... not my finest financial decision ever!
Its a shame Peugeot never brought the T16 to these shores in RHD. Admittedly that was using the (in my eyes) uglier ph2 body, but it would have given the Sierra Sapphire Cosworth 4x4 a definite run for its money.
I also had a chance on an Mi16, but didn't take it up... not my finest financial decision ever!
Its a shame Peugeot never brought the T16 to these shores in RHD. Admittedly that was using the (in my eyes) uglier ph2 body, but it would have given the Sierra Sapphire Cosworth 4x4 a definite run for its money.
aaron_2000 said:
Macron said:
Lovely jubbly!
Phase ones are great, I had estates myself as the boot access on the saloon is ste.
Won't surprise me if you buy a higher spec model in time, they are about, just rare in the UK now.
Still squillions about in France, easy to maintain, refined for what they are, and definitely comfy.
Enjoy!
I'd love an MI16 if prices weren't into 5 figures for a phase 1 now, that's if they ever come up for sale Phase ones are great, I had estates myself as the boot access on the saloon is s
te. Won't surprise me if you buy a higher spec model in time, they are about, just rare in the UK now.
Still squillions about in France, easy to maintain, refined for what they are, and definitely comfy.
Enjoy!
DodgeeDave said:
Interested to see how you get on. I used to have a J reg 405 SRI many years ago.
J458UTH was the SRI I keep missing out on. It has a nasty habit of coming up for sale when I've already got my hands fullYou're not missing much. Mine clearly had a crush on Skip Brown's...given the amount of times its numerous failures required a visit.
Looks tidy nice one! If it were mine, i'd be giving it a really good polish and protection, followed by a long lasting back to black on all the plastics.
I'd also recommend getting the seats professionally cleaned - I spent £45 on my cheap Astra that had mud and paint stains and they looked brand new, the amount of crap that came out was insane and i reckon those seats would look much nicer knowing they are free of 30 years of use!
I'd also recommend getting the seats professionally cleaned - I spent £45 on my cheap Astra that had mud and paint stains and they looked brand new, the amount of crap that came out was insane and i reckon those seats would look much nicer knowing they are free of 30 years of use!
joropug said:
Phase 2 of the clean is complete!
Totally recommend thecarseatcleaningcompany.com, my seats are transformed with a deep anti bacterial clean and wet vac. It was insane how much grime came out of them he went over it 3 times to get it all out !! I also had the carpets and headlining deodorised with anti bacterial solution for good measure. All in it cost £45 an absolute bargain and what a difference.
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Totally recommend thecarseatcleaningcompany.com, my seats are transformed with a deep anti bacterial clean and wet vac. It was insane how much grime came out of them he went over it 3 times to get it all out !! I also had the carpets and headlining deodorised with anti bacterial solution for good measure. All in it cost £45 an absolute bargain and what a difference.
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Top man, or chapeau as they would say in France "hat tip".
The 2 litre 405 estate I owned was perhaps the finest all round car I've ever had.
As others have said, still not uncommon in France, saw a late phase 2 in a lovely shade of dark metallic green/blue only the other day.
Is it really 8,000 miles or was that a mistake? I traded mine in at 4 years old on 110,000...
The 2 litre 405 estate I owned was perhaps the finest all round car I've ever had.
As others have said, still not uncommon in France, saw a late phase 2 in a lovely shade of dark metallic green/blue only the other day.
Is it really 8,000 miles or was that a mistake? I traded mine in at 4 years old on 110,000...
Interesting choice...
I had an H reg GTDT 1.8 around 2003 / 2004 which I bought with 140k on the clock. Paid £100 for it iirc. The heater mechanism was broken so I had to get my hand around the back to adjust from warm to cool air, the drive shafts knocked, head liner was sagging in the rear and had small water leak into the cabin (the inside froze over in winter), but it served me well and everything else worked fine. Could run it on under £20 a week doing 300 miles. I replaced it with a 605 SRDT 2.1. Saved my life that car.
I had an H reg GTDT 1.8 around 2003 / 2004 which I bought with 140k on the clock. Paid £100 for it iirc. The heater mechanism was broken so I had to get my hand around the back to adjust from warm to cool air, the drive shafts knocked, head liner was sagging in the rear and had small water leak into the cabin (the inside froze over in winter), but it served me well and everything else worked fine. Could run it on under £20 a week doing 300 miles. I replaced it with a 605 SRDT 2.1. Saved my life that car.
Glad it's got some interest, it goes into the garage today for the carb and choke sorting so hopefully I can really get into it this week Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff