Buy My16: 1991 Peugeot 405 Mi16
The fleet here at Scuderia Matt has gotten way out of hand and something needs to go. The recently procured Baja bug friend-group project seems to have been the tipping point and I’m in full on freakout mode to get some space so that my garage door will actually swing open again. Logically, it should be my daily driver, a dependable but somewhat ratty 1991 Peugeot 405 Mi16. Find it for sale right here, right now for somewhere around $1,000.
Because I’m an idiot, I begged and begged a friend of mine in Michigan for this car, finally getting it about a year ago in non-running condition and 800 miles away. The ECU turned out to be full of water and a bunch of resistors rusted off the board. Naturally I didn’t figure this out until I had replaced the plugs, wires, crank sensor, distributor cap and rotor, and a whole lot of other things that might be related to not having sparkles. While I was waiting for my ECU to show up from Zagreb, Croatia, (along with a bag of cookies, thanks Karlo!) I converted it to EV14 Bosch injectors, put manifold gaskets on it and all new vacuum lines. The car now runs perfectly and sounds super classy through a straight pipe that I just had to add. The car is fun and loud but generally overshadowed in obnoxiousness by the driver, so you may have a different experience.
The body of the car does show some evidence of spending about 8 years in the Great White North with some rust bubbles on the rockers and in the inner front fender wells. I did also have to make a pretty large patch in the driver’s side floor support, thanks to a leaky master cylinder. Someone at some point slammed into another car and did some paint matching to the code and not to the orange-y red-y hue the car currently has – the painters conundrum. The paint in general is pretty faded and looks like it’s been through a car wash every day of its life with more swirlies than your younger brother got in middle school. However, this is likely this is the reason the body has fared pretty well over the years. And look how great it still looks surrounded by contemporaries.
The interior is quite swanky and in pretty nice shape, aside from a tear in the drivers seat. The driver’s side window has a snapped cable rare one-touch-down feature that you may or may not want to retrofit. You can forget about the moonroof going back and forth but rest assured that its moon viewing functionality is retained. The system that turns the lung blanching, foggy swamp gas into breathable air is non-op due to a busted condenser but (summer’s-end spoiler alert) that issue will fix itself in about a month or two. With any 1980’s luxury sedan, I can’t vouch for all of the electronics, only the ones I use regularly like the lights, Frenchy horn stalk, and blinkers. Heated seats? Fog lights? Think of it like a lottery every time you press a button. A direct result of its Alpine heritage, this car has the ski bag that extends forward into the cabin from the trunk, which, also glamorously, fits 8′ pine boards and metal stock…nearly.
Turned off yet? No? Email matt@dailyturismo.com with your worst lowball.
See a sketchier car from a less reputable seller? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Hahahaha, Scuderia Matt…
I blatantly ripped this temporary name from my buddy Al Taylor of Scuderia Gonzo Alonzo. Maybe a DT garage naming poll is in order.
Quit sugar coating it Matt, tell us what is wrong with the car!
Really great Ad, where is the car located?
The AC is cactus and it's a little rusty in a few places, mainly the front inner fenders. I put in a patch at the floor support. So there's nothing really concerning but it'll never be a pristine car!
And thanks! I'll cut you a super sweet deal.
I was just kidding, I thought your ad wad very transparent and honest
*was
A super sweet deal, Sean. Charleston, SC. You know you want it!
i like your car – i like your house there too, with that big arch and your own crosswalk – i like the inscription, which i think means "psst, did you know you sat on something? – shrimp and grits, maybe?" although my greek may be as rusty as your bubbles
Thanks! But I wish…That's actually at the College of Charleston. I had to take photos there, lest I get my iPhone stolen while photographing in my neighborhood. I do, however, devour shrimp and grits, both separately and together. Your greek is spot on.
It says "know thyself," the motto of the oracle of Delphi made famous by the Apology of Socrates. I always wanted one of these "back in the day," but settled for a VW instead.
Two questions:
1) Why must you be on the opposite coast? Dagnabbit! If this was out west I'd be your buyer. A scruffy Pug for $1K? Sign me up!
2) What is that white 4-door parked next to you in the third photo posted above? Anyone know? Some sort of RHD Japanese import?
1) What's not to love about a road trip?!
2) I'll leave this open to guesses and divulge shortly. It'll be taking daily driver duties from the Pug.
1) Road trips are great, but I'm certain that trip would cost me way more than the car itself. And that's assuming it will make the trip fuss-free. A big ask. Don't get me wrong, the car is nice and I love it, but no one chooses a Peugeot as the first pick, go-to road trip car.
2) I'm going to take an uneducated stab at this… I'm guessing by the boxiness that it's mid- to late-80s era and it doesn't look like a Honda, Toyota, Mazda, or Nissan (that I've seen). I'm guessing it's an off-brand JDM car that never officially sold vehicles in the US. Like Daihatsu, except they did sell cars here for a few minutes. Or maybe I'm off target and it's European, but my gut says no.
1) You're absolutely right. If you drove it to Cali, you'd definitely end up with some good stories. Like how you got blisters all over your legs from the scalding hot leather seats while hallucinating from dehydration.
2) Good guess, but no. It does have a lot of Japanese parts, like the engine and trans…
Is it one of those captive import/factory re-badge deals? Like a Dodge that's actually a Mitsubishi in mild disguise?
Nope, but the original platform started in 1977 as something else.
It's a Holden VL Commodore
Aaaah, I see. I was stuck on Europe and Japan driving RHD and forgot about Australia. But at least I was correct on the era and, in a way, correct on the factory re-badging (because it's a GM/Opel). Aussie-built Euro car with Japanese guts. That's a truly "global" car. Now the question is, how did you end up with a Holden in the US?
Do you know the story of how it ended up in the US?
Yeah, perhaps I'll write that up. I was in Melbourne last year for work for 6 weeks and picked one up for transportation. Well, it got stolen and never recovered. Then I bought this one and shipped it home with me.
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