You gotta love an automobile listing that goes like this, “I purchased the car in 2020 on a whim, and– believe it or not– it was actually quite reliable! But the car, being French, decided reliability was overrated, so it decided to shred its steering belt after six months and devour numerous other parts faster than its home country goes through baguettes on a weekly basis.” The car in question is a 1989 Peugeot 405 Mi 16 and since I wrote up this 1990 Peugeot 205 a few days ago, so I figured, “Why not, try covering another.” This French four-door sedan is located in East Hanover, New Jersey and is available, here on craigslist for $2,800. Henry R. gets a tip of the hat for this discovery!
Peugeot offered the 405, in Europe, and for a while in North America, for eleven years (’87 to ’97). Since then, it has been available in other parts of the world in two different body styles, a four-door sedan and a five-door estate, aka a station wagon. The seller tells us, “Aesthetically, it’s nearly immaculate. No exterior rust, no paint fade.” Yeah, it looks pretty good all-in-all. As with the 205, this one too, is a Pininfarina design but the back half doesn’t look so overly French. I’d suggest that it’s a non-descript, compact, four-door sedan look that was ubiquitous in the late ’80s through ’90s time frame. Unfortunately, there are no listing images of the driver’s side.
Interestingly, this example is an Mi 16 edition which is a 150 HP, sixteen-valve hot rod version of Peugeot’s 1.9 liter, four-cylinder engine. The seller suggests, “Trailer or tow method is advised” due to:
• Radiator mount is corroded
• Starter solenoid/motor need replacing (a bypass was recently installed; it also does not work)
• Power steering bracket is rust-welded & missing belt
• Fuel hose needs replacing
• Oil temp sensor is faulty
• Fuel pump relay was repositioned by a previous owner for suspected modification plans
Check the listing as there are other less pressing needs that this 137K mile sedan will require. This is a front-wheel-driver, utilizing a five-speed manual transaxle. The seller does add, “When in driving order, the ride, handling, and performance are all excellent.”
Considered surprisingly great for its age, the black vinyl upholstery, and interior environment in general, looks very sound. The dash features the angular, hard-edged design that was so prevalent in this era. Some may consider it to be a dated design but I believe that it has survived the test of time quite well. This is an A/C-equipped car but, unfortunately, the compressor is inoperative. The seller quips, “Even the battery and most of the electrical systems work, which is unheard of for a French car of this age.”
There you have it, not exactly a ringing endorsement of automotive promotion. Likely buyers? Search me fish, a true died-in-the-wool Francofile would be my guess. Might one of you want to take on this cultured automotive challenge?
As always the French give up, until one of us comes to the rescue. Does the car include the optional switch for the white flag?
Time for a new joke book. That went out of style in the GW Bush administration.
Had one in the mid 90s in Europe. Out of many hundreds of cars I’ve had over the past 6 decades, I had more fun driving this car on country roads than most anything I can remember. The engine is a jewel.
I DID buy one in ‘89. Loved it! It was a great driver but procuring parts became an issue after the dealers went away
This is one of those “if I had garage space and the energy/funds to chase parts…” cars. I’ve driven 405 MI 16s and absolutely loved them. The engines are screamers (I tended to drive around in one gear lower than normal just to listen) and the chassis is every bit as well-developed as, say a VW Jetta GLi from the same period.
None of the problems listed are insoluble, and I think a week or two of diligent work would cure at least 95% of the car’s ills. I’ve heard parts can be found in France and South America, even if you local Peugeot dealer has gone walkabout.
Vastly under-rated cars. As long as corrosion hasn’t spread to more critical areas — it’s in New Jersey, after all — this is one for a handy-person to pick up, fix, and enjoy the living daylights out of.
At the end of September, I was at a Cars & Coffee-type car show, and out of all the cars there, the only one I took a photo of was a Peugeot 405 Mi16. The owner had moved to Minnesota from South Africa (talk about a change) and loved this car, as did everyone at the show.
Scotty, These must be popular in South Africa. Just after college, I was in with a bunch of other guys on a ski chalet in NH. One of the guys was from South Africa and he drove a Peugeot very similar to this. I recall it being a 4 door sedan that had sporty wheels, side skirts, etc.
Crackin’ car (and engine/drivetrain).
There’s a third body style; have a look for the short film “Climb Dance”. There was a 405 T16.
I can’t get over how well this car’s design has aged, when back in the early 90s it would’ve looked rather mundane. I don’t know how hard it is to get parts in the US for this car, but if it was sold here till ’97 I figure there have to be some lying around out there at a former Peugeot dealership.
Came close to buying one. I thought it would look great parked with my Alfa 164LS
Came thisclose to buying one back in 1989. Absolutely fun car to drive, great seats and even better handling.
Cousin had a series of Peugeots, starting in the 1960’s, wonderful cars, but, as they aged, the key was to live in walking distance of a dealership. Local dealer was a great guy, his son a friend, but son saw the writing on the wall and did not want to take it over. In 2010 I was in Egypt and had a dedicated taxi while I was in Cairo, at $40 a day. It was a 40 year old 404 wagon, one window crank which we passed around, no A/C, no appreciabe rust, ran like a champ, about 500,000 K, all was well until one afternoon, about three blocks from where we were staying, fire under the dash. Driver pulled out some wires, smoke stopped. The usual crew of unemployed young men hanging out on the corner pushed us to the curb. Driver walked us to destination, before Google maps, so we might never have found it, called at about 6 pm, said, “car is kaput, dead, OK Corral, but have cousin’s car, so will pick you up tomorrow.” Cousin had a 504 sedan. At that time Peugeots were the majority of taxis in Cairo, now replaced by Korean versions of Chevy Cruz or something similar, with A/C but drivers will not turn it on to save fuel costs, and Russian busses, from the 1960’s do not completly stop to save the clutch, sort of like getting on and off an escalator.
We got one of these in trade at the dealership a week before Peugeot pulled out of the States. Cool car but talk about holding the bag.
In 1988 my company sent me to France, to Corbeil-Essones near Paris for a few days’ meeting. I suggested that I should fly over the week before to adjust for the time change and got booked in to a Left Bank Paris hotel with my wife to “recover.” Hertz gave us a red 405, just the stock engine, but it was the perfect size and performance for our long weekend: out to Versailles, zipping around the Arc de Triumph, the car was just about perfect. Nice to see it again.
I will be picking it up this Sunday. Cant wait! Drove Peugeots overseas, had the 205 GTI 1.9, talk about a screamer. My friends drove the MI16 and we zipped through the country side…Finding parts will be a challenge, mechanically, im fine working on it, as ive worked on Peugeots in my teen years (now i restore classic Porsche’s).
I will be joining some Peugeot forum soon, once i find one LOL
Until then, ill be paying top dollars for shipping parts from Europe, South America, Greece, France, wherever i find parts for that beautiful MI16…