Used Peugeot 407 review and buying guide (2004 to 2011): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Peugeot 407 should you buy?

Buy the 407 with proof of front suspension and steering joint work, whatever its year, because that's the weakness several notes agree on: the joints can be worn out by 30,000 miles on early saloons and estates, and on the Coupe (2006 to 2011) too. Later cars got redesigned lower front hub bearings after the first ones wore badly, but nothing says the joints were improved, so a newer car isn't automatically a safer one.

Among the diesels, the 16-valve 1.6 HDi built from 2004 to 2010 has a known turbo oil starvation fault, and both it and the 2.0 16v can drop into limp-home mode when the throttle sticks. The 2.2 diesel is the one that's been called excellent, though that's a single note. There's next to nothing on record about the petrols, good or bad, so a petrol isn't a proven safe pick, just a less documented one.

Avoid any diesel with the six-speed automatic, which has been flagged for an unexplained fault that cuts the engine out, pinned on its electronics. The Coupe shares the corroding tyre pressure sensors and worn front joints; one owner who ran a V6 diesel version liked it a lot, though he found it heavy and its satnav slow.

Which Peugeot 407 engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

The 16-valve 1.6 HDi built from 2004 to 2010 is the engine with a known fault: carbon builds up in the thin oil line feeding the turbo bearings, which starve and wear out. A new turbo on its own won't cure it, because the feed pipe has to be renewed as well. Its plastic dipstick tip can also snap off into the sump, which then has to come off, and one owner's 2008 car cut out at speed because of a corroded fuel pressure sensor.

The 2.0 HDi has a record of its EGR valve failing again and again, and one explanation offered is that the cars were driven at too few revs. Both the 1.6 and the 2.0 16v diesels can drop into limp-home mode when the throttle butterflies stick or their spindles wear; the position sensor spots it and the engine management cuts the power.

The 2.2 diesel gets the only outright praise, but that's one note, not a proven record. It still carries the diesel wear items, a dual mass flywheel that can be finished by 50,000 miles and a particulate filter by 80,000, and nothing says whether it escapes the EGR and throttle troubles of the smaller diesels. Buy one on its receipts, not on that single good word.

The manual gearbox has a thin record: one owner's 2009 HDi needed a new clutch at 29,700 miles, and there's little else either way. That still makes it a better bet than the diesel six-speed automatic, where the engine can cut out, a fault pinned on the electronics.

What should you check when viewing a used Peugeot 407?

Listen for clonks from the front over bumps: a pin in each front ball joint corrodes and the joint wears quickly, and the suspension and steering joints can be worn out by 30,000 miles. Look behind the front offside wheel for power steering fluid, because the hose can rust through and drip onto the tyre, again from around 30,000 miles.

With the engine running, open the bonnet and watch the power steering reservoir; one owner had fluid bubbling out of it, caused by a failed valve. Try the dual climate control on both sides, hot and cold, since one owner found a fault there that wasn't worth repairing. Check the central dash display works, and that there's no tyre pressure warning, as the sensors corrode.

On the test drive, watch for the engine cutting out, a depollution system warning or a sudden loss of power into limp-home mode. A gong from the dash meant a battery that couldn't hold its charge on one owner's car. Leave the satnav running: one owner's screen went blank after 20 to 30 minutes of every journey and stayed dead for the day.

Ask for receipts for a dual mass flywheel, particulate filter or clutch on any diesel, and for front ball joint or hub bearing work. On a 1.6 HDi, a turbo that whines or growls as it pulls, or blue or grey smoke under load, points to oil starvation, and a replaced turbo needs a receipt showing the feed pipe was done too. One owner's 2006 car had its brake servo replaced under a recall in 2008 and saw it fail again, so press the brakes firmly.

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

What does a used Peugeot 407 cost to run?