French Car Reliability

BigEejit

Why more old Renaults and Peugeots? Cheaper to buy new?

tbh, I have only bought Hondas for the last 6 years, apart from corrosion on the disks caused by salting the roads over here I havent had any problems. There is a reason why Hondas hold their value more than french cars.

johndaman66

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

His thinks he's being funny. He's implying that you will need some form of therapy due to the stress associated with owning a bad car like a renault. Thats bollox, they're not all bad. They make a decent diesel engine.

Why is it i see alot more old renaults & peugeots than i see old fords or opels?;)

Ah I see. Contrary to popular opinion I think sarcasim is actually the highest form of wit, but only if its done right, otherwise it probably is the lowest form of wit.

I must say though I'm inclined to disagree with you on Renault diesel being a good motor. The flat diesel engine in my Megavan was a nightmare. They were a serious culpurit for blowing head gaskets. I actually had difficulty getting a mechanid that would repair it. Most agreed it would be a dirty job and I'd only be back to them complaining when it goes again, which it did in the end. A few said to me it was soft engine and gearing too low, which made sense as it was screaming at 60mph in fifth. A couple of them even said they wouldn't even use a Renault diesel car to block a gap and they were independent guys not affiliated to any particular brand. Judging by the numerous electrical gremlins I had with it I would certainly not be too fussy on the prosepect of owning a newer more technologically advanced Renault diesel.

I do agree that there have being good well renowned and strong Peugeot diesel engines but Renault....I won't be converted.

RTT

I have noticed lately that when some cars indicate in front of me their brake lights start flashing like the indicator does, or the brake bulb dims when the indicator is on. Mainly been Renaults and Peugeots, especially the old 206s I see. Also noticed it on a good few Fiat puntos too, the older model. Is it just me or have you guys noticed it too?

ThisRegard

So basically the issue you're talking about is not confined to French cars to if you're including Fiat. It happens with practically with all marques, usually due to a blown bulb somewhere which when replaced usually resolves the problem in my experience.

200motels

Confab wrote: »

Oh for god's sake. Fiat make excellent cars now, and Ford's last bad car was the Escort.

I beg to differ I've had 3 fords from 2002 to 2007 and had nothing but problems with them, the fuel pump went on one of them, the coil went on the 3 of them, the water pump on 3 of them I could go on and on, I changed to Honda in 2007 and I've not had one problem.

daithi09

And how about citroens? Barr the fact that you lose a lot on them from new, are they reliable these days?

manatoo

daithi09 wrote: »

And how about citroens? Barr the fact that you lose a lot on them from new, are they reliable these days?

Well unless by these days you mean post 2006, JESUS no....sister's C5 has had 2-3k spent on it in 2 years. Can't sell it, can't afford to keep fixing it. Total disaster

Tabnabs

My old man had a 2004 C5 from new for three years and not one bit of trouble.

ShadowHearth

I owned 406 and it was moust reliable yoke i had in my life, on the ather hand i cant say pugs are amazingly reliable... As mych as i know 206 are horible .

I cant say a thing about newer car quality, as i thin all of the cars. Past 2000 droping in quality, and the foult of it are electronics.

highlydebased

Parents had 2 Scenics in fact- the first one had to be replaced by the second it was so bad! Anything that could break, broke. Mostly electrical problems. Car would randomly stop working. The electric dash and handbrake were notoriously bad. Radio had to be replaced in both cars. Coil pack went on both cars during rush hour on O' Connell street in Limerick. The second one was so horrendously unreliable the garage refunded us the cost of it!

v3ttel

A jeep pulled out in front of us one time as we were doing 60MPH on a main road when we were in a Clio, could have been very serious, but the thing was build like a tank. Could still drive it after smashing into a jeep at that speed. Un-f*cking-believable.

Won't ever say a bad word about Renault after that.

fonecrusher1

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I owned 406 and it was moust reliable yoke i had in my life, on the ather hand i cant say pugs are amazingly reliable... As mych as i know 206 are horible .

I cant say a thing about newer car quality, as i thin all of the cars. Past 2000 droping in quality, and the foult of it are electronics.

The 406 is pretty much the only french car i'd consider as an old second hand purchase. Particularly the hdi version. Apparently there are loads of old 406 hdi's used as taxis over in england so they must be fairly decent to withstand that sort of punishment.

Ghost Estate

Hillmanhunter1 wrote: »

We drove a Peugeot 306 for 17, mostly trouble-free, years. One of the best cars in its class.

well that was the 306. there was a thread here recently saying how bad the 307 was.

any of the Peugeot's ending with a '7' seem to be bad news

really this yoke was the best peugeot and its been downhill since then

ShadowHearth

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

The 406 is pretty much the only french car i'd consider as an old second hand purchase. Particularly the hdi version. Apparently there are loads of old 406 hdi's used as taxis over in england so they must be fairly decent to withstand that sort of punishment.

agree, the worst thing i ever did, was selling 406... after 3 years now i see that car allmoust daily ( sold it to a friend ) and kicking myself for selling it back in the day... It was 1.8, but it was soooo economical! Misses was driving it from cork to Ennis, then back 6 days per weak for 4 months!!! all we did to car, was changing oil and brake pads!

It was comfortable too, very good noise reduction. Parts cheap and easy to get. I was even considering buying one again as a daily banger.

BigEejit

I wouldnt buy a daily banger if I was you, the missus would go mental

ShadowHearth

BigEejit wrote: »

I wouldnt buy a daily banger if I was you, the missus would go mental

she will go mental if i will mention any purchase of a car lol. she crashed clk200, so it was a free ticket for me to buy skyline, as she felt sorry . ( i know i am a bastord)



i am allways wondering what will she tell me, when i will mention of idea buying old camaro as a weakend toy...

Paparazzo

When top gear did their surveys, the bottom 3 were always the 3 french makes. But the last survey was in 2006.
They're cars you rarely see taxi drivers drive. We know they're cheap, but if they were reliable, lots more taxi drivers would have them. Obviously that's not a proper statistical analysis on car reliability.

I'd love to see some stats from AA, what make cars they tow most often.

mondeo

My mother has a 06' 207 which she got last september and it has not given any trouble at all. A bulb blew but thats about it. My brother in law has a 98' Clio which he bought new and he had nothing major go wrong with it in 13 years...Other then being completely sick of it by now! 13 years:pac:

ianobrien

I had a French car before, and I loved it! Needless to say, it had some interesting traits, but considering the death I gave it (it was a night Nav car) it took the punishment well.

I had a Citroen AX GT Sportif. Granted the electric windows motor would stick, the valve stems leaked and the starter solonoid worked when it wanted to, the only time it let me down was when the coil packed up. That car took some abuse. Once, it was driven down a farmers cow path so hard that a rock split the floor, and the standard mechanicals took that level of abuse....

I really learned alot about lift off oversteer in that car. I should never have sold it....

jimmycrackcorm

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

Dont buy Renault. My folks have an 06 megane, causes no end of trouble. have lost count of the amount of times new motors were needed for the windows, at least 6.

Same as that. Replaced four window regulators on an 06 megane. Bad design. Rain gets through the window rubbers and leaks straight down to the motor electrics. No permanent solution.

THE LINK WALSH

kasper wrote: »

i nearly always buy french cars renault mostly ,second hand , cheap to buy cheap to service , do my own servicing . i love to hear negative stories about french cars ,it keeps the second hand prices nice and low

+1,

Slate the French cars away there lads it suits us when we're buying them secondhand,ive driven French cars for the last Sixteen Years and havent had ANY major trouble to speak of,ive had a 205 van,a 405 diesel,a 306 Diesel,a 306 D Turbo,a 307 diesel,a Citroen Xsara and I currently own a 2006 Citroen C5 1.6 HDI and a 07 Citroen c4 Picasso 1.6 HDI.

A friend of mine is one of thousands who has just spent 4000 euros fixing the engine in his 06 VW Passat,they're a great car apparently:rolleyes:

Ghost Estate

THE LINK WALSH wrote: »

a 405 diesel

how many miles on that when you last had it? i saw one not too long ago with nearly 300k on it

johnos1984

Seriously people when you have owned a snotter of a French car and come back and waved your balls in everyones face.

Many of them are poorly designed or built.

It's a matter of fact. Yes they may be improving of late but I'm not going to change until I see that the fact is truth

coolbeans

johnos1984 wrote: »

It's a matter of fact.

No it's not. Apart from the previous generation Meganes and Lagunas they really seem to be unfairly slated. My old 205 is still going with nearly 300,000 on the clock. I know of lots of Frech cars that regularly out last their German brethren. I think the Pug 307 is dirt though. And many new Pugs are quite simply undesirable which has been a constant source of disappointment to me.

shaunandelly

It's funny isn't it how some models by some manufacturers go on and on and other models fall to bits. It always used to be said about the Ford Sierra that you get the 2.0 dohc ones coz they were built in Germany and the others were knocked together in Spain I think.

bonzos

I have owned 2 berlingo van's over the last number of years,both had high millage and I could not fault them! My wife has a toyota corolla and I also drove a caddy van for a few times in the past,but the berlingo is by far the most comfortable of them all.

spiggotpaddy

it still feels fairly divided
some people avoid the frenchies like the plague
and others have had years of trouble free motoring.
i don't think there are any real lemons with modern cars (could be wrong though) and common faults seem to effect all brands regardless of origin.

Plug

spiggotpaddy wrote: »

it still feels fairly divided
some people avoid the frenchies like the plague
and others have had years of trouble free motoring.
i don't think there are any real lemons with modern cars (could be wrong though) and common faults seem to effect all brands regardless of origin.

Is it safe to say the French are some of the best diesel engine makers?

Plug

Plug wrote: »

Is it safe to say the French are some of the best diesel engine makers?

I would think so, they found their way into so many other brands over the years, Ford and Volvo lately.

Row

I have been driving french cars all my life and they have been comfortable,reliable with extras that every other make/model were
dreaming about at the time.
You have to hand it to them in the early days they took the chance in fitting elec windows...Remote C-locking..etc when all other makes where thinking about it,Then when electrical problems arose they got the name of having poor electrics....:rolleyes:
With any make/model its all about finding there downsides and coming to terms with there faults.
There is no such thing as a total reliable make/model out there today...they all have there downsides/faults.
Just keep away from the Monday Morning/Fridays Afternoon models that come
off the assembly lines....:)