307 HDi's, decent or not?

[andywhy]

A couple of you I know outside of the forum may know I have been fighting with the finance ombudsman for almost 9 months over rejecting my 05 VW Passat. Well, today I found out I lost the case, so I have a £5k piece of shit sat in the road that I want rid of before it dies completely.

I was thinking of perhaps a 307 HDi. My dad has one and besides an initial hiccup when he got it (timing belt causing issues, fixed when replaced), it's been rock solid for him.

Am I correct in thinking it has the same HDi block from the 306 HDi? If so is it reliable? Any common faults to go wrong on the engine or the car in general, things I should be aware of?

This is only a thought at the moment, I'm going to properly research what I buy this time instead of jumping in. Since you guys are all knowledgeable I thought I'd ask here.

I'm not looking for anything expensive this time, I'm done with finance companies and ombudsman's, I just want a car that works, no matter the size. Ideally nothing smaller than a 307 though.

Thanks all.

[lolsteve]

the 90 model is the same as the 306, the 110 is the same as the 406 iirc and the 136(?) is 16v and has dual mass flywheel

[darrenjlobb]

Sure you dont want another 306 andy ?

[declantg]

I heard the 307s had trouble with wiring, typically French then

[andywhy]

@darren, sure if I could get one that was decent, but there are none to be had around here unfortunately. I'd settle for something similar though like the 307. If it's the same engine as the 306 then at least I can come here for decent help!

I just don't want anything that has pointless crap to go wrong on it, like electronic parking brakes, injectors that fail all 4 instead of just the one when they fail, dual mass flywheels, and all that bollocks. I'm done with that stuff.

[ozonehostile]

my mum has a 307 hdi, engine wise it hasnt gone wrong yet, have issues with central locking and the electronic boot release playing up and the interior has a habit of randomly falling apart,, but apart from that its been alright.

strange driving position though

[Pugmarshall]

In my experience they have a lot of suspension faults, and a few electrical faults. Otherwise decent cars IMO.

[Hdiestate]

I sell a few at work they are nice cars apart from the
Bottom pully and the flywheel o and the abs sensors
Id go for a 90 then get it mapped.

Ill be getting a 307 estate when if my 306 blows up.

[Toms306]

Don't go for a 1.6 HDi...my mate had one at the same time I had the Golf.....he had even more faults with the HDi than I had with the PD!

Plus the electrics were shit, climate control broke, injectors/wiring broke, CD player broke, central locking was temperamental, fuel trip computer thing didn't work, also kept blowing fuses.

Must admit the seats were nice though, part leather XSi HDi seats....odd position though as already said.


I thought about a 307 when I was changing car, but the electrical issues put me off, I'd had enough of that with the 306s lol.

[Pete]

My mates ran a 307 HDI 110 for 3 years without any major issues TBH, Had some minor electrical niggles but it is french after all!

[darrenjlobb]

Certainly dont get the 1.4 1.6 hdi motor , these engines cause so many issues, just get a boggo 2.0 8v for simplicity..