A Peugeot 308 SW 1.6 e-HDI with half a million kilometers. The owner travels 75,000 km per year on diesel without any problems. Time for an inspection.
Different car, different fuel, but still more than 75,000 kilometers per year. Yes, chances are that you will end up in this category more than once. It all started in 2006, when Ron Hindriks saw the counter on his Civic go up to four tons. We are fifteen years old and many liters further. What happened in the meantime?
In 2006, Ron appears with his red 1997 Honda Civic 1.4 on LPG. There is then more than 400,000 on the counter. A piece of cake for a Honda. Six years later we receive another email from Ron. The counter is at 837,000. Welcome! The fifteen-year-old Civic does not know when to stop, even if the engine needed a different cylinder head. Not even a new one, just a salvage car. When we say goodbye, we agree that Ron will ring the bell when the counter goes back to zero. And so it happens. In 2014 we will be able to welcome the car and owner as a millionaire with cake and streamers. What an achievement! Not just from that car, also from Ron. Because 75K a year without air conditioning, without cruise control and on that seat: just go on. End of exercise? Don’t think so, Ron rolls on. Only in 2016, at 1,150,000 odometer reading, is it over for the Honda. The battle against rust turned out not to be successful. We have tried to crowdfund a bag of money for the restoration, without success. Time to say goodbye. Ron: “Well, it had also been nice and driving on was not an option.
We found a good replacement in a Peugeot 307 SW on LPG with a reasonable mileage. Shortly after purchase, it ran on three pips, it turned out that the valves of the first cylinder were worn out. Not a good start and lucky that we had a guarantee. Later the A / C condenser broke down. But the final blow came when Tanja hit a large piece of metal that fell off a truck. That destroyed the entire bottom of the engine and meant an early end for the 307. ” So back to square one. The Honda also got a little bit in all those years, but managed to survive all the damage, so the 307 did not.
MORE EXPENSIVE DRIVING
Ron, price conscious as always, had to search again. “Buying a LPG car with my budget mainly meant very high mileage. After that experience with the 307, that didn’t seem like such a good plan. Then automatically the diesel comes into the picture and price-wise, a Peugeot turned out to be very interesting. In Bunnik I found this 308 SW with two tons on the clock. Compared to the Civic, the Peugeot is a super luxurious car. Nice seats, lots of space, a quiet engine that runs low and all the trimmings. How have I been able to drive without cruise control all these years? I wouldn’t miss it for the world anymore. ” But it was as if the devil was playing with it: Ron also had to deal with an engine failure on the first cylinder with this Peugeot after a month. Fortunately, it turned out to be very bad and after mounting a new injector it ran perfectly again. And he does that to this day.
“In the past I sometimes had to refuel three times a day, now it is sometimes only once every three days. Especially with the speeds that we now drive, consumption is nice and low. Still, I’m more expensive than with the Honda. ” That already starts with the road tax, which is a lot higher. Ron also lost more fuel, albeit that he gets almost twice as far on a liter of diesel as on a liter of gas. “Anyway, there is a lot of comfort and safety in return and driving the Civic was really extremely cheap.” The soot-free exhaust of Rons 308 was allowed to blow out ten candles at the beginning of this year, with a mileage of more than 500,000 kilometers. With Emmen as his place of residence, Utrecht as the office address and just about the entire Benelux as his work area, Ron keeps the meter ticking.
BURNING LIGHTS
How is the French like so far, after almost a decade and a half driving a reliable Japanese? Ron: “Definitely good. A used car is always a big gamble, but so far it has worked out well. And luckily the car was finished just in time today. Yes, we come straight from the garage. The day before yesterday I was on my way home and near Zwolle I got the message ‘check charging current’. Fortunately, he just kept driving, but more and more lights on the dashboard came on and all kinds of functions fell off. But I have come home. ” Despite a full schedule, the men of Habo in Emmen, where Ron has been coming for almost twenty years, have been able to replace the dynamo. “The air conditioning pump was replaced during the major overhaul last summer. I didn’t have that with the Civic. ”
Joep is anything but disappointed after the test drive. “There is nothing to criticize about the engine and the chassis. But that tire noise … that would really drive me crazy. ” We see the cause when the Peugeot is on the bridge. All tires are quite worn out and suffer from cupping. These are small bites in the rubber that cause the noise. Ron still looks happy at the end of the inspection. “I think I bought a good car. On to the million. I will report when I am halfway through, in just over three years. ”
MAINTENANCE HISTORY
The Peugeot always gets its regular maintenance on time, with oil, filters, tires and brakes. Shortly after purchase, a diesel injector (€ 450) gave up the ghost, the SD card reader of the navigation system was replaced (second-hand) and last year it was the turn of the air conditioning pump (including a major overhaul of € 1,100) and the dynamo (€ 650). All that is not too bad, given the mileage.
WHAT’S ABOUT IT?
● At the front right, a chattering sound can be heard when driving over short bumps ● There is a bump in the drive during load change ● Extremely loud tire noise audible in the car ● Sometimes exhaust fumes can be smelled in the car, at the turbo it leaks a little ● The door catch front left is worn ● Engine is leaking oil, presumably from front crankshaft seal ● Leaking (or leaking) eolys (diesel particulate filter regeneration fluid) ● Front right rear wishbone rubber torn ● All tires cupped and nearly worn
CARREC TECHNOCENTER VIEW
“I didn’t expect a 308 with this diesel engine to get that far. Once under the hood I saw that it is the eight-valve engine, which is much better than the sixteen-valve. I have virtually nothing to say about the performance and handling. The biggest disturbance factor is the noise of the tires. I couldn’t bear that for a day. But otherwise it is a great car with a few minor defects. ”
THE OWNER: Ron Hindriks • YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION 1963 • RESIDENCE Emmen • PROFESSION IT service engineer • FIRST CAR Suzuki Alto • PREVIOUS CAR Peugeot 307 SW 1.6-16V • WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE CAR? “Nothing.” • THE LONGEST TRIP BY CAR? “Normandy.”