When I got this car I was soooo impressed I said to the guy straight away: "ill have it" - he came down from scotland just to sell it to me!
At the time I noticed it had a few accidents - half the panels were slightly out but it all shut fine and seemed ok. Nothing recorded HPi wise. It was reasonably modified when I got it first and I havent done much to it but i certainly wouldnt call myself a "rude boy" and certainly wouldnt call the car suiting to one.
I have 17 inchalloy wheels, tinted windows, big back box, airfilter and used to have eyelids on it. The insides been treated to a dvd player neatly fitted to the dash with screens on both sunvisors and headrests for rear passengers. I installed my old Alpine headunit to replace the last Kenwood one but left the 12" twin Vibe subs n amp in the back.
When I bought it, it had full service history, spotless, nothing seemed wrong and the guy I got it from seemed a bit old to be a "boy racer" himself so I didnt worry much. And at 4500, at least 500 off any others Id seen, I was happy.
Since then, over a year or so ago, I have had a few problems.
1. Headlights were not fixed propperly after previous collision/repair so driving at night was highly illegal (and scarey on the M4 at 1am!!!) - cost nothing coz i fixed it myself and had them readjusted in the MOT
2. Roughly £10 for dvd player being replaced (the guy who i bought it off paid most of it)
3. Rear tyres, not a problem for standard im sure. Mind you, 17 inch tyres from a cheap but good place near by roughly £80 for yokos!
4. ABS unit - could have cost me £800+ from pug main dealer, I bought one from a scrappy for £30 and had pug fit it for £80! bar-gain. But made me wonder why this item went???
5. Engine management light - 2/3 trips to Pug dealer - a big list of problems and a headache. Everything from airfilter sensor to ECU. I later found out it was several fuses too high in the box! £1.99
6. Rear wiper relay - pug charged me £30
7. Now - recent problems - rear wiper switch faulty. Sometimes wont switch off. Majorly annoying esp in summer. Alternator needs chaging, lights are flashing. Cat has only just fallen off the car... let you know in 2 days how much thats gonna set me back! Wheels are rubbing on arches, cant be fixed so its shaving my tyres till I get lower profiles. Front left ball joint is banging around a lot. When cornering right, left hand wing whines?! Clutch is going, gearbox is going, driveshaft is leaking oil, handbrake cable needs replacing, discs and pads need replacing...
I should suppose no.7 doesnt count, mostly wear and tear. Nothing to moan about really.
Driving the car is great - its not as fast as most sporty cars out there, even the 1.9tdi golfs are quicker, but nothing is close to economy. It corners well, the suspensions stiff and beats most 1.6 or less.
Comfort is reasonable. Ford Focuses are better but seeing as they were designed to be sporty seats (in the dturbo) they do the job, low to the ground as well. Steering wheel position is acceptable and passenger comfort is fine.
Safety wise, its good. I had a crash a month ago and thought Id written the car off. I managed to hit a lady who failed to notice a junction so she just shot over it. Span her car and hit the front and left of mine. I had it covered on her insurance and they fixed my car up well. It was almost comforting to see the car had crumpled rather than staying in one peice - although the airbag didnt go off...? Once hit, though, I have to say, the panels wont match up ever again. I had at least 3 accident repair companys do it and none managed to sort everything out.
Generally a great car, I wouldnt buy another 306 Hdi but maybe a 307 or 406 110 hdi.
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May 7th, 2006
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