1982 Peugeot 604 Base Sedan 4-Door 2.3L

Truly love this diesel. Must. as I have owned about three or four of them. though this is the first 604. It is was supposedly the Flagship of the Peugeot Fleet in 1982. They are also quite rare as they only made about 150. 00 of them with only 15. 00 coming to the US. Peugeot advertised it as having the durability of Mercedes and the ride of Jaguar. Actually. it is probably better than either. I have owned both. In general the numbers are better than both Mercedes and Jaguar. They all have their problems and there are no exceptions.

The ride and handling of the 604 is superb. However. I think someone with less knowledge than I had hold of this one as there are some problems it should not have. It is the first. and only. Peugeot diesel that I have had that takes about fifteen to twenty seconds to fire on all four cylinders. I am sure that is caused by some adjustment or bad component that I haven't discovered yet because none of my others did it.

I have replaced the rack and pinion steering with new tie rod ends attached. I replaced the battery. I replaced the alternator. I replaced the starter. I replaced three glow plugs. I replaced the fuel filter. I replaced the air filter. I painted it. and probably a few other things I can't recall. It starts beautifully and immediately even with the aforementioned miss on startup. And. it starts in cold weather as well as hot the same way. Blap. and it's running. It is hard to beat those Peugeot Diesels.

The tires are Metric. which I don't care for. but these have a lot of life left in them. Unfortunately. I sold a full set of 15" wheels and tires not long ago. before I got this jewel. If you drive this Peugeot at a steady 60-65 mph it only delivers around 22 mpg. However. if you push it up to a steady 80 mph it will deliver about 28 mpg. That is not a fluke. My other Peugeots have done the same. And. believe me. it runs eighty the way most cars run 50.

The Peugeot comes with a slew of spare parts. including another cylinder head with injectors. another Turbo. and a bunch of miscellaneous parts for which I don't remember.

I know. You say it can't all be good. and it isn't. Though I use it as a daily driver (so expect the mileage to go up) the 3ZF3HP transmission cannot find low gear. I have downloaded Peugeot's full transmission service manual and their fault finding chart does not mention that problem. I do not feel that it can be too serious as the shift (manually) from 2nd to 3rd is seamless. It is the same transmission as used in the 3-series BMW as well as 4-speed versions in Jaguar and Volvo. Hence. finding someone to work on it should not be a problem. Additionally. the wipers cannot seem to find the right parking position. That can either be repaired or there is another complete wiper motor that goes along with it. You need to be more agile than I to crawl around under that dash though. There are a few other things that need fixin. The deck support cylinders have evidently gone flat so I use a broom handle to prop it up. All windows work. but in case they do not. there is a handle in the glove compartment that may be used to wind them up as well as the sunroof. A lot of other manufacturers could take a clue from Peugeot on that. The AC pumps a little cold air. but it is inadequate for real hot weather. My guess would be a bit more charge. The paint is not an exact match. but close. It could use a final and/or clear coat. And the left signal lamp lens is missing. The previous owner said it came off during transport from California.

The passenger seat recently developed a seam break and I have bought a curved needle with some nylon thread to repair it with. but haven't got around to it yet.

The Collector Car Price Guide places this one between $2700 and $4200. Worth every penny of it. Fix the transmission and drive it forever. and that is what I intended. but other issues have arisen in my transportation department. Frankly. in good order. I don't think there is a better car out there. It is sad that Peugeot no longer exports to NA. They were overpriced. but provided a good alternative to diesel options in the USA.

I have given you all that I can think of. but if you have particular questions please ask.

Also published at eBay.com

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