Typical weekday at Peugeot Glenmarie

This is only 1 wing showing cars waiting to be service

I arrived at 8:30am and they've already started servicing cars

They start work early because this centre is popular

Unlike the last time I came, they now have wi-fi for the guests

Other half of the Service Lounge

I won't tell who's been walloping the doughnuts...burrp!

Then quickly disappeared to the showroom having split coffee on the floor

Many places to socialize, problem is there's no one to socialize with

RCZ sleeping on the job

One half of the showroom

Rats! I came too early. They only open at 10am

Another wing shows cars waiting to be service. Appointment is a must

The rear of Peugeot Glenmarie or the Service Entrance

I visited Peugeot Glenmarie, a rock's throw away from my house to get some assistance how to configure the door autolock. What I found out is that it is so simple to do if you know how but oh, so difficult if you don't. After breakfast courtesy of Peugeot Glenmarie, ahem-ahem, it was back home. By the way, talking with the technicians, there is a common opinion that the 407 is far superior than the 408 in terms of road holding and interior space, in fact, the 407 is becoming a popular second-hand buy among Peugeot technicians since they know the car well but it is out of production and to that, a few technicians are still searching for well maintained second-hand Peugeot 407s. I was asked whether I wanted to sell my ride. Sorry mate, I'm keeping mine.

Maintenance - Windscreen cover is a must

On the advice of our salesman, from Day 1, the car has the windscreen covered every time it is parked in the open. This is because we were told that the electronics behind the monitor of the car's navigation system does not like harsh sunlight like ours and easily gets damaged. Repair cost is not cheap so take my advice "Do it!". Windscreen cover or shades which ever you may prefer to call it are sold in many sizes and you need the largest version for the Peugeot 407 easily obtainable at any Tesco, I got mine at Shah Alam. By the way, we never had the car tinted because we are of the opinion the origin tint is good enough.

Collated

I experimented with my humble Sony Xperia TX using the Peugeot 407 as model. As with all digital photos, slight editing to the contrast was applied (+10%) to enrich the picture then photos were later collated with the same free application "Cymera", the output is as above. Against the evening sun for outdoor lighting, I am quite pleased the smartphone managed to capture the golden aura of the bonnet and the white glamour of the boot. For serious photography, I'd prefer to snap photos with my Canon S100 but I must say the Sony Xperia TX's camera is not bad.

Maintenance - Engine oil and oil filter

Uggh, taking over wifey's car

This car uses paper element only, the case comes with the car

Shaken not stirred.

The car is 2 1/2 years old so taking over wifey's car, I decided to get myself some goodies for the car. 4 liters fully synthetic Bardahl MXP SAE 5W-40 was on offer at RM100, I use it on my KIA Spectra and am pleased with it. Mann Oil Filter paper element only comes from Germany RM30. Labour charge at my regular mechanic is RM20. I plan to do the actual 20,000km service.

Living with the 407

A stroke of good luck, I am now privileged to drive the Peugeot 407 on a daily basis since wifey became the owner of another car. A tri-party discussion among those who have driven both the BMW 320 and Peugeot 407 acknowledged the latter wins hands-down on comfort and interior space whereas the former wins on performance, economy and handling yet at a price. Drive light and easy, and press the accelerator pedal gently, released early and car made to roll for the car to sip petrol. The 407 consistently gives good fuel consumption on the expressway outstation trips. The car by virtue of long, low and wide shape plus engine personality does not likes to be driven boy-racer mode. After 2,000 rpm, it starts to roughen up and inertia can be strongly felt.  Sharp junctions must be quickly anticipated and ensure a more L-shaped turning is achieved or else one easily runs out of driving space. As the car is skewed towards comfort, treat it like a sports car and I'm quite sure I will not like it whilst it is in stock form.

My Peugeot 407 recently went through its first phase of customization when many stabilizer bars were added. Road handling now is a different cup of tea. It handles pretty well but not performance tight though this could easily be overcome by high performance shock absorbers. I can throw the car fast into a corner without braking but the problem of handling now has transferred from chassis to the tires where the more aging tire squeals faster. The car now has a clear sense of focus and precise steering when one points the car to a specific direction. The many stabilizer bars are worth the investment for comfort and stability.

The Peugeot 407 has now evolved to its second phase of customization which consists of a total exhaust package upgrade: 4-2-1 extractor, mid and rear muffler. They were all customized from scratch as these parts could not be acquired off-the-shelf. Driving the car now is such a joy. The engine is now silky smooth, almost no inertia at all short of a little back pressure to give an automatic gear car that oomph to kick off. Because the exhaust gas is released faster than before even at standstill, the car now purrs. It has a deep growl but not harsh when the car is asked to accelerate hard. I don't mind people cutting in with sidelight indicator switched ON politely but I hate it when people do so otherwise, especially at the last moment. Thus, because the car can now surprisingly spring forward in heavy traffic, most of the selfish cutting-in is now a thing of the past. I am rarely a bat out of hell, a result of the car's personality and I find the car now has more than adequate extra oomph I sought for so long that I really don't need to push it to the limits. The bat out of hell personality tends to come out though when I need to release the hot air inside the car as soon as possible after the car has been sitting outdoor the whole day.

The last phase of my customization is to have the car's ECU remapped but I am in no rush.

Portable Wiper Blade Washing Fluid

The next time you go to a hotel, make sure you take home a shampoo container full of shampoo. It is of excellent size to be kept in the passenger's fascia/glove compartment. Once in a while, like me, you may be faced with the problem of sticky wiper blades and you may have ran out of wiper washer fluid at that point in time or it may just have been ineffective because it was too diluted. Stop the car and pour some of the shampoo over both blades (preferably rub shampoo across the rubber blades) even it is was raining at that time (hopefully not too heavy). That should do the job. I found out dish washing liquid is very effective for that purpose and will top up that container now and then.