Used Peugeot 406 review and buying guide (1997 to 2003): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Peugeot 406 should you buy?

There's no 406 version the evidence marks out as the safe one, so buy on condition rather than engine. The one fault that's known across the range hits the 8-valve 2.0 HDi 90 and 110 diesel from 1999: the rubber in its crankshaft pulley perishes with age, and the auxiliary belt then gets thrown or chewed up.

Most of the other warnings come from the Coupe, so don't take them as true of every saloon or estate. The worst is the 2.2 HDi Coupe from 2002, which can shred its cambelt when water gets in under the cover, and if the valves then hit the pistons the engine's scrap. Coupes can also lose coolant from the hoses or radiator, and some burn quite a lot of oil.

Which 406 engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

Buy a 2.0 HDi 90 or 110 diesel only if its crankshaft pulley's healthy or has already been replaced. When the rubber layer separates, the outer ring wobbles or slips, the auxiliary belt comes off or frays and the alternator stops charging, so a knock from the front of the engine isn't something to shrug off.

Treat a 2.2 HDi Coupe with more caution. Water getting in under its cambelt cover can ruin the belt and, with it, the engine. Its injectors are also said to be next to impossible to get out of the head, so don't expect any injector job on one to be straightforward.

In a Coupe, the 2.0 and 2.2 16-valve petrols steer and handle more sharply than the 3.0 V6, and that's the reason to choose one. It's about how they drive, not proof they're tougher: there's little on the petrols either way, and the coolant and oil warnings cover the Coupe as a whole.

On a 3.0 V6 automatic Coupe, check for warped brake discs, which come from drivers holding it in gear on the footbrake at a standstill. Feel for a judder through the pedal when you brake from speed; if it's there, the discs need replacing and that's worth raising before you agree a deal.

What should you check when viewing a used 406?

Get under the car with a torch and look for weeping fluid, since the Coupe can leak engine oil, gearbox oil, coolant and steering fluid. Coolant escaping from the hoses or radiator matters most, since letting the engine overheat can damage it, so check the level with the engine cold and ask how often it's topped up.

On a 2.0 HDi, listen at idle for a hard rattle or knock from the crankshaft pulley, and check the auxiliary belt for fraying, squealing or running off line. A battery light means the belt's stopped turning the alternator. Ask for the receipt if the pulley's been changed, and on a 2.2 HDi Coupe ask whether anyone's looked for water under the cambelt cover.

On a Coupe, look for stress cracks in the door skins below the mirrors, and don't force the indicator stalks: on cars from May 2001 they can break if they're pushed too hard, and a free fix was offered in the UK from January 2003. A late Coupe also needs paperwork showing the September 2003 recall for wrongly wired side airbags was done.

Check the air conditioning blows properly cold on a Coupe, which can suffer the same aircon faults as the saloon and estate. One owner found that a gong sound from the car meant the battery wasn't holding enough charge and needed replacing, so ask how old the battery is and whether it's been changed.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.