Hshan's garage - my Toledo got hurt!

[Hshan]

Hello, this is my garage thread. Logically, here you’ll find info about my current and past cars. Enjoy!

List of cars

• 1997 Daewoo Lanos 1.5 S (2017-2017)
• 1999 Peugeot 406 Coupe 2.0 (2020-2022)
• 1999 Seat Toledo 2.3 VR5 20v (2026-)

Here is the original content of this post, about the 406

Here’s my second car, after 3 years of not having any. Though it’s actually the first one to have some sense and the first being bought with any use of my brain As the title says, a '99 406 Coupe, powered by the base engine (I think?), a petrol 2.0 making a bit odd 132 horsepower. I was looking for some interesting car that would still be within my reach when it comes to ownership costs, and this is right on point - a cool looking coupe, yet with pretty common and standard tech. It’s not in a perfect condition, but it’s good - it passed its MOT very recently, has a rather new valvetrain (few kkm), new exhaust and hardly any rust. It drives well and - quite unusually for a cheap 406 Coupe - has bumpers with no cracks.

So, what are the downsides?

• AC doesn’t work! that’s a big one, I don’t know what’s the cause
• LPG installation needs regulation and/or minor fixes - it works, and the engine works ok on LPG in general (definitely drivable), but it doesn’t always provide the correct air/fuel mixture
• driver’s window stops some 1,5-2 cm below the level it should - minor, but annoying
• oil gauge (temp, AFAIK) doesn’t work
• no radio
• and some tiny stuff: it needs two keys - one for the locks, the other for starting - I think the ignition was replaced, as the cabin light needs electricity to be turned on on the ignition to glow; I can lower both windows from the driver’s door switches, but I can raise only the driver’s one; rims are scratched here and there; both door limiters stop only on the first position.

The interior is covered in black leather - not my preferable choice, but ok, car’s coolness factor makes up for that At least it has heated seats, so I won’t freeze to the seat in winter. I was amazed by the amount of space in the rear - I can easily sit there, without being squeezed, behind the front seat set up for me - and I’m 187 cm (that’s 6 ft 1,5" for you 'Muricans). As for the rest of the equipment - the non-functioning AC is manual, there’s the cruise control and, I think standard, power mirrors. I don’t expect much in that regard, so as soon as the AC will be fixed and some radio with BT installed, I’ll be entirely content with that.

[phale]

406 Coupe! One of the most beautiful cars of the 90s

My BR:C submission was intended to be a direct copy of the 406 Coupe but ended up way more bland lol

[abg7]

The 406 Coupe hails from a time when nearly every manufacturer had a stylish coupe to sell in the European market - a consequence of high insurance rates killing off most hot hatches and forcing their target market to seek something else instead. As a Pininfarina design, the 406 Coupe reminds me of a Ferrari 456 from some angles - and while it’s nowhere near as fast, it’s much more attainable.

[Knugcab]

The 406 Coupé is probably the best looking of all the FWD Peugeots IMO.

[Hshan]

I’ve added photos and info in the first post

[Hshan]

Loooong overdue, big status update

Ugh, yeah, there were many things related to this car I could’ve shared, but I never quite remembered to take pics showing some of them until recently So, let’s go with the news!

Good news - a lot of things were fixed

(I know it’s cut, but this is what Google Photos’ sharing through link does, and I can’t be bothered with scaling all my 12 MP photos down manually)

As you might see on that photo, the left headlight was polished (my mom’s idea ). And no, I haven’t lost the little centre cap from the wheel, it just turned out when the tyres were changed (old ones were in a quite mediocre condition, and I needed winter ones anyway) that it was glued, as the clips that normally hold it in place were damaged. It wasn’t glued back, I still have it in the boot, but I’ll find a new one… eventually Anyway, those are the visible things, but others were more important. Of course I’ve got the AC fixed - it had a leak (replaced… don’t remember what, some pipe I think), and thus was empty (filled), and the control panel had broken links that connect it to all that ventilation inner stuff (panel with links replaced). Left window needed a new mechanism, since the old one had a broken tooth or in its gear, I’ve found a good used one. Some connections in power windows controls needed a little cleaning to actually connect, and that helped, but not ultimately - some day the right window started lowering randomly on its own, so it’s button was temporarily disconnected - sorta dumb, I know, but I’ll get that fixed properly before it gets actually warm outside. During all that window tinkering the door limiters were also adjusted (as I couldn’t find new ones then IIRC) but it helped only the left one. LPG system indeed needed fixes, namely new injectors and… reconnecting some little pipe (vacuum I guess) and now it runs as it should. Also front brakes were replaced.

Bad news - suspected coolant leak was an actual coolant leak

At first it seemed that the stain somewhere on the inner side of the bumper came from a bit of the coolant spilled when I wanted to check it a bit too soon (yes, it was hot). Then it didn’t disappear, so a leak was suspected, but there were no other symptoms nor an obvious spot of the leak. And soon after, when I drove just a few km, the coolant temp raised to over 100 °C, when it normally stays at 80+ °C. Ooops Driving to the mechanic as calmly as possible was a bit of a challenge. The radiator and the thermostat were replaced - yikes, that wasn’t cheap.

Good news - I’ve got a radio!

This little thing here. Very simple model, but it has what I wanted - Bluetooth. It was brand new, cheap and from a brand that I recognise, not some Chinese no-name, and that’s all I really cared about. Sound quality is not superb, but honestly it doesn’t really matter to me in a car, especially since this one isn’t some bubble of silence (welp, that’s short gearing an frameless doors for ya). I like it.

Bad news - rust! Also I’ve scraped it a tiny bit

Ouch. The previous owner warned me about some rust starting to appear on the sills, but since I didn’t see it when I wanted to check, I forgot about it a bit. Well, that’s what winter brought me for that. I’ll have to take it to some tinsmith rather soon.

Yeahhh… That was just before Christmas, I was buying some presents in a shopping centre. It was painfully slow, because due to covid each shop let in only a limited number of people, so there were long lines everywhere. I got somewhat annoyed by that and terrible traffic beforehand, and thus a bit less careful than I should be in the tight, underground parking. I’ve scraped it on a wall beside a tight turn just before the exit.

Good “news” - I really like this car

Its looks strike just the right balance between cool and elegant IMO, and even that common silver paint looks good as long as it’s clean - though I think about getting some nicer, an inch larger wheels. It’s really comfortable, I can actually go over normal speedbumps at a normal speed close to the local limit, not half of it, and not jump inside, and I can drive on some cobbled roads without everything shaking violently. And for my limited experience, it’s definitely dynamic enough. I just can’t miss taking a look at it when I go by

I’ll try to make next updates more in line with any events

[partario]

@Hshan

It was brand new, cheap and from a brand that I recognise, not some Chinese no-name, and that’s all I really cared about.

About that… After Blaupunkt went bankrupt, anything with their logo is just cheap Chinese no-name products with Blaupunkt tacked on.

But I guess if it’s cheap and it works, it works.

[Hshan]

Oh well At least mom’s radio at home and grandma’s TV - both from this “new” Blaupunkt I guess - are perfectly fine, so I hope my radio will be too.

[Hshan]

I’m so very damn terrible at maintaining those “my car” threads

Almost as much as I am at maintaining my cars. Erm, to the point - I’ve sold my nice coupe. The story behind it is simple and down to earth. At some occasion, I told the mechanic to check it out thoroughly, to see what needs to be done and oh boy, he did find things… Lemme just say that it all amounted to sth like 4500 zł (~1000 €), which was what I paid for the whole car - and most of it should have been done rather soon. Of course I wasn’t able to cough up such money, and seeing no real chances for that in near future I concluded that I’m simply unable to bring this thing up to “ok” condition I wished for - not for the money I expected. Oh, and that was excluding the whole rust issue. So, yeah, I thought selling it was a much wiser solution than dumping money in what was since the beginning in a rather dubious condition (but, well, I was naive, typically for me when it comes to used cars ). Yeah, I liked this car till the end, and it was sad to let it go, but I didn’t like its effect on my finances. Now I’m free! Until the nest year, that is, when I’m planning to find sth else with more money available, in much better condition for the start (and hopefully somewhat fancier config than a silver 2.0 with a black interior).

Those are the last pictures I have of it:

Farewell, silver lion

---

Oh, and a little forum thing - I’ve decided that I’ll keep this thread as a collective one for all my cars from now on - this Peugeot and anything I might buy in the future.

[Knugcab]

Hey, I always think of you as “The 406 coupé man” when I see your threads and posts. Am i supposed to rethink things and think of you as “the bicycle man” from now on or what?

[Hshan]

Oooh, that’s nice Well, I suppose you can still think of me as “the 406 coupe man” until I get sth else. But yeah, bicycle, Bolt/Uber, BlaBlaCar and public transport for now. On that note, my bicycle is around 20 years old too, and I’ll probably get a new one next year

[Knugcab]

Oh, nice. Myself I think that I need something better than the fairly regular 7 speed I stole from my brother. I guess that it is time to upgrade to something that is more motivating to pedal fast when you are starting to pass the cars but still are on studded winter tyres because you forgot that you threw the worn out tyres in the trash last autumn…

[Hshan]

Time for some forum necromancy, because I’ve bought something. Finally.

1999 Seat Toledo 2.3 VR5 20v

Ah, yes, a fine vintage.
I’ve been looking for a car for quite a long time by now, buuut I wasn’t really sure if I an afford something better than my last 406 in mostly terms of its condition, and a little bit in the specs. And I didn’t really know what to look for. So yeah, it was a mess of indecisiveness, but in the last few weeks I got to the conclusion that I indeed CAN afford getting something decent and not totally boring, and that I really, really WANT my own mode of long distance transport, because I’ve been more and more fed up with rare trains, slow and uncomfortable buses or chaotic Blablacar rides (sometimes they’re convenient, sometimes they’re not, and the same applies to comfort…). And so, I’ve started searching more regularly and with clearer goals. However…

I didn’t find this car. My colleague from Petrolheart.pl did, but I think it was mostly down to timing, because it was within the filters I’ve used. I had two other cars on my shortlist - a Saab 9-5 2.3t and a… Peugeot 406 Coupe V6. But the owner of the Sab didn’t answer when I asked him some questions on chat, and the Peugeot… well, probably the only two important things there that were in good condition were the engine and the gearbox. As I summed up on some Discord - “the Peugeot is 3 times cooler, the Seat is 3 times more sensible”. But since I’m a sucker for 5-pots, and I really didn’t want a repeat from my first 406 (“gib moar money for repairs” - “but I don’t have any more money…”), Seat it was.

Before I bought it I’ve checked it thoroughly (an expert friend, technical inspection, checking OBD errors etc.), and it really seems to be in an overall really good condition for a 27-year old car. Rust? None significant, some rather minor surface rust on a few chassis components, but virtually none on the body - the sills were replaced at some point, so they’re as new. There are those few small rusty dots on the bonnet. Mechanically it’s good too, but of course not perfect. There’s some camshaft position sensor error, but it very much seems to be caused by some wiring mess related to the LPG system (it gets saved when the fuel switches, and there are no other valvetrain symptoms or errors). The idle seems about 100-150 RPM too low, but I’m not yet sure why. The exhaust has some tiny holes, which need welding at some point I guess (it’s not really loud yet). The rear brakes will need replacement somewhat soon. The LPG system might need some adjustment. That’s all, I think? Oh, tyres need replacement, because the front ones are semi-slicks already, and rear ones are somewhat old (2018 IIRC).

Ok, so I’ve described the story, and the condition, now it’s time for the config! It’s somewhat interesting. First of all, it’s not the original engine. This Toledo came out of the factory with a… 2.3 VR5, but 10-valve. Only at some point later it got swapped to the newer 20-valve variant, which means that it has 170 PS, which is pretty nice. The wheels are also not from this car, they come from a Leon Cupra 1.8t, so the size is 225/45 R17. Other than that - it has really nice equipment for an old compact - automatic A/C, power controlled and heated front seats (with memory in the driver’s one), all 4 power windows, mirrors (with folding), leather/alcantara upholstery (well, not in the best shape after all those years), 6-CD changer, cruise control… And it all seems to be working! Well, the mirrors have some electrical gremlin - when I adjust the right one, it’s all normal, but when I adjust the left one… both move Oh, and none of the interior lights work for some reason, so I doubt it’s all 3 bulbs dead.

And how much was that fine piece of machinery? Mere 7800 zł, which in today’s rates is around 1840 € or 2170 $. Which is, if you ask me, pretty cheap for something this nice. I’m satisfied, it may not be the coolest cheap car out there, but manages to balance coolness (the engine! It really sounds good) and reason pretty well. And for a regular old compact drives quite neat.

[PanHubert]

I think the mirrors bug is actually a feature! My friend had the same trouble in his VW Touran, but he found out that it’s meant to be this way. Basically, you set the passenger side mirror to the furthermost position, and then by adjusting the driver side mirror the cars tries to predict and adjust the passenger side mirror accordingly.

[Hshan]

Huh That’s weird, but maybe there’s some logic in it.

[Hshan]

Uh oh

Not my fault though, fortunately, and the woman who did that admitted it was her fault straight away. And it seems to be almost all surface damage. Well, there was that idea to replace the driver’s door anyway, since there’s a patch where the paint peeled off, and it’s just provisionally painted over… We’ll see.

[Hilbert]

Just put black tape on top of the scratch, I think it’d look great