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 =A3500. 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)