I am now on my second 306. The reason I bought a 306 was because I had driven my friends around for the day and just decided that it was considerably more comfortable than the car I owned at the time. Being the inpatient man I am, I went out and bout one a week later. I first bought a 1995 1.4 306xl on a N. It had done 74,000. It being the poverty model it was obviously les comfortable than I had hoped. However it was a very lovely car to drive despite the lack of power steering. I owned the car for 6 months and the only fault I had was that the trust baring had worn out, so I paid 350 pounds to have that and the clutch replaced. Over all though it was worth the money as the car was a pleasure to own.
I then went a bit more upmarket and bought a 1995 306 1.4 XR on a N. I bought this one with 79.000 on the clock. I have owned her for 10 months now and the clock is showing 96,000. I am very impressed by the quality of the interior of the XR, the seats are lovely and soft, and it has a very welcoming homely feel I have decided. The exterior is very nice as well, its a very pretty car as they go, however I like my car to look like its just rolled out of the show room, and I feel this would be easier to do had Peugeot made the car from something that wasnt tin foil. Every time I leave a car part I come back with more dings, its infuriating. But despite this I do love the look and comfort of the car. Since owning the car I have had to have the thrust baring replaced (must be common on the petrols, I dont ride the clutch at all) and I have had to have a new fuse box, this was 30 pound from a scrappers and I followed instructions and fitted it my self, and I had a problem with the water pup and that cost me a lovely 140 pounds to fix,. Its MOT time soon and I know that I will require new read breaks, something at the front of the car that goes grumble grumble with turning left, and the fog light is going to need playing with. But I would say these are things to be expected of an older car, so im not criticising it. The only real problem I have other than the thickness of the body work is the rubbish way the engine is held in, it is just wobbly and naff in lower gears, you take your foot of the accelerator and the car just rocks you back and forth so much, its horrible, it was the same in my old one too. But once your cursing along its a dream.
All in all I love the things, and I may go for a diesel next, purely because people tell me that they are more reliable, and that I should be able to get over 200 thousand from it.
Comfortable, echonomical, reliable, pretty
rusbbish in lower gears, easy to ding
Reviewing a 1995 model.
306 XR 1.4 Petrol
Owned for 1 year.
306 2.0 xldt(P)5 door hatchback.... Got given this car in Jan 07,so shouldn't moan I guess. Even thow it's a load of Cr*p.... Had a replacement starter motor £35 then £55 to fit it. Brakes need doing as they clunk-strange banging sound coming from the passanger side when i drive over drains and bumps- boot lock doesn't work but string works well. Also a pinkish oil is pouring out from underneath somewhere.....and a odd tapping noise from the engine. what ever next...... "Do You Wonna Buy It??? Turbo works well if that matters???
maybe I just got a dogey one but have just sold my 306 1.6 lx after 2 years of complete stress. the main problem was going though 5 coil packs in 18 months. every time it rained the coil pack would give up the ghost, i'd get it replaced (luckily under warrenty) drive it for about 4 weeks it would rain and i'd be back at the garage. final straw was the mot. needed new brakes, new track end, struts, coil pack had gone again and head gasket was on its way out. got shot of it asap. would never look at again.
I bought a Peugeot 306 xldt hatchback new in 1997. I still have it and now has 185000 miles on the clock. This car has only ever seen the inside of a garage once - when I had to take the Roads Service to court over front suspension damage due to potholes in a road under repair - I carry out all servicing myself but needed official damage report and full costs for my claim. I use Motaquip semi-synthetic oil from new and it is not burning any oil - needs no topups between services and I get over 60 mpg. I owned a 205 xld before this one, kept it for over 10 years and got over 65 mpg from it. The engine is not the easiest to work on because of confined space especially when changing the timing belt but I have also owned a Citroen Xantia estate with the same engine and it was much more akward to work on. The only replacement parts that I have to get in almost 10 years, apart from the usual consumables, are a rere brake piston unit on the passenger side and the shoes on this side which were soaked in brake fluid, one handbrake cable - also passenger side, two anti-roll bar droplinks at the front and two front brake discs a few weeks ago. I hope to keep this car for another two years at least because it is a joy to drive and costs so little to run.
Economy, reliability, simplicity of servicing, suspension, pulling power for towing
Some rust now showing around radio aerial mounting and on hatch door
Reviewing a 1997 model.
xldt hatchback
Owned for more than 5 years.
We have bought a 306 XLDT in 1997 when it was 3 years old and I dread the day we have to part with it. It is the most fantastic and reliable car that has never once let us down. At nearly 12 years old there is not a scrap of rust appearing on the bodywork despite being outside all the time. Cheap insurance and consistently getting 50mpg. She drives like a dream and starts first time every time no matter what the weather. If only they were still being made!! Tows our Lunar Ultima caravan with no effort at all - very under-rated as a towcar - again she is brilliant.
I have just traded a 306 D Turbo L Plate (1994) for a 1999 HDi. When traded my D Turbo had 148000 on the clock and was still pleasantly quiet to drive! i could always get almost 500 miles from a tank, this along with decent acceleration, handling and overall performance; i fear to be a sad loss. the car was still good to drive this morning. 1st time starter EVERY DAY! the only problems i encountered were a leaky sump,worn synchro on 3rd gear though these were repaired. apart from this, just the anticipated wear and tear on things like c v jounts. A huge advantage to owning a diesel was the fact that it could run on vegetable oil, which is less harmfull to the environment and half the price per litre of diesel! this also helped to clean the engine and thus keep the car emission free for its most recent mot. Along with cheap insurance for such a willing car, an overall bargain. here's hoping my HDi treats me equally well!
I have owned a 2001 306 HDI 2.0 (90BHP) one of the last, for just over a year now. Overall, i am thoroughly pleased with the car. It is quick, very economical, yes i know it sounds too good to be true but it IS quick, by no means rapid, but quick. I'll have none of this nonsense about the old D-Turbo being quicker. Rubbish. I had a race with a old D-Turbo and i did him no probs. Plus the HDI is smoother, cool turbo whistle, and a LOT quiter and economical. Problems have been a loose oil sump plug which fell off 400 miles from home in Torridon scotland (back and beyond) but the STOP light informed me and stopped immediatley causing no damage, and the plug was caught by the under-cover, a lucky escape! Side-skirts and other peices of body work can be shabby, but not as bad as people make out. Handling is sublime but it caught me out once doing 60 round a tight bend, oversteered, and i lost it into a verge. Watch the oversteer! £750. OUCH. But seriously this car is great, brilliant motorway car, loads of torque, you can cruise up a hill at 40 in 5th and it will still pull well. And the car, in my view, is one of the best looking hatchbacks on the road, the 307 looks SHIT!
Great looking cars and usually great going cars! Had the car for 6 months and have had problems with the usual bushes and a wish bone then the electric windows stopped working, then a new fuel pump (HDi) cost £700 all in! Both front wheel bearings have both gone and air con has never worked! Apart from that the car has great power with very good mpg and handles amazingly down a quiet back road. Really happy with the car not so happy with all the niggling problems that seem to come one after the other!
absolutly cracking car, no prblems i have the 1.9DTurbo it is only insurance group 5 and does anywhere upto 500 mile to the tank, if driven well. i can always get 100 miles out of a £10, and performance wise it is awesome, especially in 3rd it pulls and pulls and pulls, it just never stops going, always a first time starter great oh and perfect for a first car!!!!!
I was very pleased with my 306 HDi Meridian when I first got it. I bought it at 3 years old and with 27000 miles on the clock. I must admit though that it soon started giving me problems. Just some of the things I've had to deal with are: a new clutch at 45,000 miles, suspension at 36,000 miles, a new pulley which drives the power steering etc., paintwork on the doors and front wing went rusty and has to be repaired... the list goes on. In terms of reliability and build quality it's the worst car I've ever had. It doesn't exactly have a hard life with me either. The previous owners got rid of it at exactly 3 years old (i.e. after the warranty and mot-exempt period had expired.) I wonder if they did this because they realised it was a lemon!?
That said, it's also the best car I've ever had in terms of handling and ride, and fuel economy. It's a joy to drive and this had made me reluctant to get rid of it, depsite the fact that it keeps costing me money (Peugeot parts are expensive and labour too, as they're apparently not the best cars to work on).
If you're going to get one, all I can say is, pray you get a good one or you'll end up shelling out lots of money for repairs.
I'm really glad to have found this site because I reckon I have made a discovery which I'm curious to see if anyone agrees with.
I admit I haven't driven the new Astra or new Golf which I think are both good cars, but I have tried everything in the 306 class including the fabled Ford Focus and I believe the 306 still has best ride/handling combination of any of them.
The ride for a car of this size is simply brilliant. The feel in the steering and driving down a country road even in my (X Reg China Blue 1.4LX) is great fun.
I had a Focus for one day. It handles very well but I honestly thought something was wrong and the tyres were over-inflated!!!!!. The ride was way way too hard and I found compared to my PUG really uncomfortable. I sometimes wonder what planet some of these motoring hacks are on.
Okay my 306 is not the last word in refinement, it does have its rattles and squeaks but somehow its flaws you can overlook because its so good to drive.
Its loaded with "toys" being one of the late plates and I have to agree with a Top Gear Reviewer who said of the latest version of the 306....Its such a good-looking car.
I have driven a 307. Peugeot!!!! what are you playing at lads.
You,ve gone from the 306 being the prettiest girl in the class who looks good without trying, to the 307 the bigger fatter lassie who is just trying too hard!!!!
The drive is rotten and so un-Peugeot like. A Pug dealer confessed to me he so wished Peugeot still made the 306 and many of his customers have said likewise.
Sorry Peugeot we don't all have 2.4 kids and want to drive a pseudo-MPV.
Anyway sorry for that rant. Apart from new brakes and pads I have had to renew an ignition coil.
It happened on the snowiest night of the year in Scotland, two months after the warrenty expired and my 306 left me stranded.
It wasn't the nicest of experiences but is it not always to easier to forgive the prettiest girls when you have to.
I bought my 306 Xrdt in may 2002 after i had to get rid of my beloved 205 xs (which was more fun than the 306, but less modern day feat) It had a reasonable level of equipment as far as N reg 1995 cars go....valour intorior, PAS, electric sun roof, looking glove box, Rcl, ventalated front disc brake, and air bag. (basically everthing my 1984 pug 305 gtx had except air bag.....11 yrs later and thats all you get) My car was a silver grey, and was very tidy in and outside but none D-turbo, xs, xsi, gti are more for older people are people that just want a car for a-b. I have to say i did have a loveable side for the car It ran on diesel like vapour(infact i'd says it was more econmical than my current hdi and more lively) good interior, and it would take all the hard work i put it's way. cheap insurance is worth it for the d turbo especially as it delivers 92bhp and i used to bet most people off the traffic lights even with the slight turbo lag, still i gave boy racers a good run for there money. The car was comfortable handled and gripped well tho like a bag of saggy spuds round tight bends if only body roll was less. Operationally the car is very heavy steering, clutch(your'll need the gym to operate this baby)heavy acclerate and steering, fanatastic breaks. Me car did cost me with these seemingly commmon faults, excessive tyre wear, bushes front and back, drive shaft, radiator, power steering pump, leaking rear cylinders, no side lights workiing and dodgy rcl, heater matrix leaked. These cars do need to be serviced every 6k for thr diesels to jeep in optimal condition, this can be costly if your a high miler, but pug owners sacriface this problems for the love of the cars when are fantastic when all goes well. If ya wan't my advice stick to ya 205 unless you intend to get a 306 '99' model which is what i recommend. This have just another features to cut it in today's world...with most features standard on 99 models i.e air con, abs, rain sensitive wippers. The 99 models are much preetier. Remember good 306 sell well, crap ones get nothing. The 306 still has a huge follwing 3yrs after the final one rolling out, with supply and demand high of 306 make sure you negiatate a realistic price. Good luck hope this helps, from a loyal peugoet customer
Purchased a 97 P plate 306 1.6 XS and im well chuffed. Interior is classy, semi-buket seats are sooo comfy, engine has some pull about it and it looks nice. The only gripe i have is the RCL keys are both broken!
It has 93,000 miles on the clock yet still runs a dream.
The sunroof rattles for some reason but i solved this by wedging a bit of paper in and hey presto, no rattle!
I have been getting intermittent problems starting my car. Sometimes the auto diagonistic sign does not come on and it is at this stage the core wont start although the engine turns over. I have also noticed that the remote locking wont work recently. when this happens I get in the car any try turning the key in the ignition a few times until the auto diagonistics sign come on.
Also when I first bought it it tended to cut out after taking up drive. This does not happen now.
There are some message numbers that come up with a spanner sign, These numbers mainly tend to be 7000, 7010, 7050.
I've just got rid of my P reg 306 1.6 XT which I owned for 4 years and, overall, I'd say it was a good buy. Fun to drive with a comfortable interior, it generally performed well for me, although a few things did go wrong - rear brake cylinders, cooling system and frequent tyre wear were the main things. I probably spent £700/800 on faults over the four years, which is probably about par for the course for a car with 60k on its clock. I've now got a nwewr 306 1.9 diesel estate (more room needed) and its not as much fun to drive.
I have had a 306 HDi estate for 3 years now it was given to me by work with 230 miles on the clock, it is now 3 years old with 105,000 miles on it, all it has had has been regular servicing and a wiper motor it still has original clutch!! I enjoy driving it, it doesn't mind being flogged from one day the other and the engine performs better now than when I got it. It does have a few rattles now but what do you expect after so many miles, it is looking a little tired now with a cracked front bumper and chipped windscreen but apart from that I am thinking of keeping it for a run about for the wife when I choose a new car in June! Excellent car! but must be diesel and Turbo!!!!
I've just bought a 1997 R geg 306 1.4 LX. I've had a few problems with it so far. The first is the engine tends to cut out shortly after taking up drive. The other is the air bag light comes on intermittently (has now stopped since I raised the driver seat). and the third is that there tends to be some rattling noise coming prom the passenger side (front suspension - passenger compartment area).
Has anyone else experienced these problems and know hot to fix them?
