buying a peugeot 806

[dadsferry]

hi all i am thinkig of buying a diesel 806 i dont know a great deal about these cars so could someone tell me what to look for in the way of known faults and weeknesses
do these car handle high miles. thanks

[christi]

I have an 806 HDI with 180,000 miles on it.
The basic engine and transmission are fine, but I've had lots of hassles with ancilliaries.

It's been through two power steering pumps, a set of injectors (£1000 a set) and the second dual mass flywheel is on its ways out (which means changing the whole flywheel and clutch assembly).

The interior and bodywork are quite tough, provided you keep on top of the odd bit of trim that can go missing.

Lastly at higher mileages the instrument clusters can give trouble when the stepper motors that drive the needles start to stick.

If you look at an HDI then take it for a long road test and get the engine good and hot. If it starts to sound like a pinking petrol engine when you accelerate, then walk away as it needs new injectors. The injectors seem to last as little as 100,000 miles, but I'm convinced that it depends on the quality of the fuel that's been used.

Also make sure that the power steering works with the engine hot and the the car not moving. Make sure that you can still easily turn the wheel.

The 1.9TD is a simpler beast but pretty slow. The 2.1TD will have similar performance to the HDI but will use more fuel.

If this doesn't sound pretty, then remember that equivalent Galaxy / Sharan also seem to suffer from trouble too, and that maintaining an Espace looks like a nightmare. The 806 is also the only one with potentially 8 seats, sliding doors, and the dash mount gear stick. It has a superb ride and is a great long distance motorway vehicle, but not much fun to corner fast.

If I had to do it all again I'd think long and hard about a Toyota Previa though (the 2000 onwards model). The reliability is on a different planet and it also has the sliding doors.