The car radio isn't working. Well, sorry, it is working technically, but it's coded and the code has gone walkies. At some point in the last little while, the car battery has been changed. This means death to Peugeot radios unless you have the code.
It's usually supplied on a little sticker with the initial purchase. I've had a couple of nearly new Peugeots over the years, and I was always careful with the sticker. Hint: put it in the service manual. These people haven't been so careful and it's lost.
Ok, options. You can take the car to Peugeot who will charge you £30 to remove the radio, obtain the serial number and calculate the code. There are a number of online radio code providers who charge anywhere between £10 and £30 for the same job. In any case, you need the serial number. We've just spent a while in the cold (it's snowing) to remove the radio from the car and see whether the serial number could be converted into something useable.
It's a bit of a mission removing a Peugeot 306 radio. They have two tabs along the bottom that you have to lift. This then lets them slide out. We damaged the radio a bit in the process - nothing that'll stop it working, but it's not quite as pretty as it was. It looks like the model number of the radio may mean that the cheaper methods of obtaining the code won't work.
I've already asked on Freegle (Freecycle) for a free one if anyone has a radio cluttering up their garage. And within half an hour of sending my "Wanted" message, I've been offered a tape playing radio. They're in Bracknell/Camberley, so I'll see what the snow does before heading out. It looks like we might have sounds before long though! (Hmm: will I have to buy an adapter kit...? Will it be cheaper to pay Peugeot to get this one decoded...?)
Also, checked and confirmed that the cigarette lighter socket is working. It is. Winner!
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