For the last show of this series of Wheeler Dealers, Mike headed to Portugal to track down a brilliant Peugeot, and with some clever work it would make a big profit. It was time for the boys to enjoy some fun in the sun.
To find the last car in this series of Wheeler Dealers, Mike headed off to Portugal where a brilliant performance saloon was waiting – the Peugeot 405 Mi16. Owned by dealer, Bruno, it had been in the country for 20 years and had barely moved in all that time, and not having passed their equivalent of the MOT test would it be too much of a challenge?
It certainly looked good, with rust-free bodywork and a great interior but it wasn’t without its problems. A damaged front bumper and dodgy starter motor weren’t too much of a worry, but the potential for head gasket issues was another matter. The answer? Get Elvis on a plane out to Porto to take a closer look.
His first job was to check that head gasket, and he began by carrying out a test that would reveal the presence of exhaust gases in the coolant. That was fine, so things were looking good, but a compression test was needed to be certain. That was fine, too. Phew!
In the meantime Mike had rented a villa with a big garage, so Elvis could carry on with getting the desirable Peugeot back to its best. A dip in the swimming pool would have to wait! And he started by giving the brakes a thorough overhaul, fitting new discs and pads and changing the brake fluid.
Then it was time to tackle the temperamental starter motor, and rather than replacing it Elvis stripped it down for a thorough check. There was just one part that needed replacing, and after giving the unit a good clean it was working properly once again. Now Mike could head off to see a specialist that could repair the damaged front bumper.
It took some skilled work to make it look like new again, and it was great to watch as a new headlamp washer cover was made from scratch. And the best part was that it cost just £70. The cracking saloon was almost finished, but Elvis had one more thing to do before the car could be presented for its test. A full engine service included fresh oil, filters and spark plugs and the fuel system was drained.
It was a tense moment waiting to see if all of the work had been worth it, but once the engineer had finished his inspection the boys were rewarded with a pass certificate. They’d done it, and now they could enjoy the superb performance and handling on the twisty Portuguese roads.
So how much had it all cost? Well, Mike had paid €6500 for the car – about £5700 – and when he added up all of the parts, the travel and villa rental, and the cost of importing to the UK it left a grand total of £7662. All that remained was to sell the car in an online auction, and this rare Peugeot fetched an amazing £20,000!
This had been the perfect end to a great series, and we can’t wait to see what Wheeler Dealers has in store next time. But for now it was goodbye from sunny Portugal. Did Elvis ever get to enjoy that lovely swimming pool…?
Mike said: “Finding cars abroad layed up and forgotten is every restorer’s dream. Ours come true with the incredible Peugeot 405 Mi16 that was left in Portugal still on UK plates.There was a genuine risk to this car, if the head gasket had failed we might of had to skim the head and that then leads on to other things. The costs could have spiralled.
“However, the car somehow had been protected in the Portuguese sunshine and it needed just light refurbishment. There was genuine question on if it would pass the Portuguese MOT but thankfully it did and Elvis celebrated by bombing the Villa swimming pool!”
Find more info:
Wheeler Dealers
Join the club:
Club Peugeot UK
If you found this article of interest, you may also enjoy…
It’s a sporty French supermini for Wheeler Dealers
Me and my car: Chris Tolman and his Peugeot 205 GTI restomod
