French Car Reliability

David09

RoverJames wrote: »

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

If I'm not mistaken it is the other way around.
Yes, peugeot diesels from years past have always been ahead of the competition.

The old renault 19's and early mk1 Lagunas were good cars. It all went downhill with renault after the mid 90s.

shaunandelly

I sold Peugeots in the 80's and the 205 diesel was streets ahead of anything then and the model as a whole was largely responsible for the Makers mainstream popularity.

slimjimmc

David09 wrote: »

If I'm not mistaken it is the other way around.
Yes, peugeot diesels from years past have always been ahead of the competition.

The old renault 19's and early mk1 Lagunas were good cars. It all went downhill with renault after the mid 90s.

RoverJames, is correct. The PSA HDI engine is also used by Ford and Volvo, p production is shared between all three brands.

The PSA-built 1.6 HDI is used in the BMW Mini.

pburns

I'm usually anti-French car after having a dog of a Megane in the family and a friend who always has issues with his Peugeots.

But I got a ride home in a 406 the other night and a pot-holed, rutted section that my Subaru makes a meal of was really smooth in the Peugeot. I think they're well suited to our roads - better than Jap cars and much better than German cars...

Bodhan

pburns wrote: »

I'm usually anti-French car after having a dog of a Megane in the family and a friend who always has issues with his Peugeots.

But I got a ride home in a 406 the other night and a pot-holed, rutted section that my Subaru makes a meal of was really smooth in the Peugeot. I think they're well suited to our roads - better than Jap cars and much better than German cars...

Peugeot are mad into suspension, just go along to any press conference and you'll see how much they talk about it. But they are good at it too

dr.fuzzenstein

faral wrote: »

as some people says "never buy any car starting with F:Fiat Ford and French cars".and I think this has a confirmation in real life.its a bit like a lottery - maybe u win maybe u not, but the chance u do not are much highier

Been driving a wide variety of Fords since 2004 and never once did any of them fail to start or break down in any way.
Fords where crap for a while during the 80's and 90's and the Ford Escort van I had will attest to that, but Fords nowadays are unrecognisable from the bad old days.
After the German made Focus things changed somewhat.
Most, if not all Fords are now made in a factory near Cologne, they are at least as German as Opel, who are GM anyway.

gingedub

Bit the bullet and bought a new Grand Scenic in the end. Car seems fine but some small issues
- mirror light popped out once overnight and pops out ever since every few days (seems to fall out overnight possibly due to temp changes?)
- MPG is more like 35mpg and not th quoted 50mpg and car is not being driven hard or overloaded

No other major complaints so far but haven't really put on more than a few hundred miles at this stage to really try it out.

zilog_jones

Is it a diesel? Realistically if you're driving around town in traffic, about 35 MPG is the best you can hope for. You'll get 50 MPG or more when doing 100 km/h

black & white

My 06 Megane has had 3 sets of window regulators replaced, air con hasn't worked since last May and was without a blower in the car over Christmas. The reversing switch was replaced ( no reversing light so would have failed NCT ) this time last year and the airbag warning light comes on and off regularly. The latest problem is that every time it rains the side pocket of the drivers door fills with water. I'm sure there's more but I can't remember at the moment

Stevie Dakota

black & white wrote: »

My 06 Megane has had 3 sets of window regulators replaced, air con hasn't worked since last May and was without a blower in the car over Christmas. The reversing switch was replaced ( no reversing light so would have failed NCT ) this time last year and the airbag warning light comes on and off regularly. The latest problem is that every time it rains the side pocket of the drivers door fills with water. I'm sure there's more but I can't remember at the moment

Air con could be a simple reset via a diagnostic, we had this once with ours (also a 2006). More recently though it was a failed AC sensor that required replacing, that was a €200 or something. The water ingress is a well known issue and I would be getting on to renault to have that sorted, even if the car is out of warrant.

Is it a facelift car or pre facelift?

black & white

It's post facelift. The local Renault dealer told me that their computer diagnosed a faulty compressor which would cost €800 to replace and the same crowd told me they fixed the water leak which has actually got worse since. I'm afraid to bring it back to them to be honest as they lost the Renault franchise at the end of December. The nearest main dealer now is one of Bill Cullens but I can't afford that kind of money. I'm kind of in a mind to just keep it NCT worthy and drive it into the ground.

David09

David09 wrote: »

If I'm not mistaken it is the other way around.
Yes, peugeot diesels from years past have always been ahead of the competition.

.

lol, the day Ford develop a diesel that the French manufacturers reckon is better than what they themselves can make is a long long long way off, if ever :pac:

slimjimmc

black & white wrote: »

It's post facelift. The local Renault dealer told me that their computer diagnosed a faulty compressor which would cost €800 to replace and the same crowd told me they fixed the water leak which has actually got worse since. I'm afraid to bring it back to them to be honest as they lost the Renault franchise at the end of December. The nearest main dealer now is one of Bill Cullens but I can't afford that kind of money. I'm kind of in a mind to just keep it NCT worthy and drive it into the ground.

Have you considered bringing it to another garage, you don't have to keep going to a main dealer. There are plenty of independents out there who are well capable without main dealer rates.

dr.fuzzenstein

gingedub wrote: »

- MPG is more like 35mpg and not th quoted 50mpg and car is not being driven hard or overloaded
.

Had the same problem with my Focus diesel.
MPG was around 35, the pipe from the intercooler to the engine had a leak.
Replaced pipe and MPG is around 45 when driven hard and fast and around 50 when gentle.
If you're getting that little MPG (if it's a diesel), there is a problem.

zilog_jones

black & white wrote: »

My 06 Megane has had 3 sets of window regulators replaced, air con hasn't worked since last May and was without a blower in the car over Christmas. The reversing switch was replaced ( no reversing light so would have failed NCT ) this time last year and the airbag warning light comes on and off regularly. The latest problem is that every time it rains the side pocket of the drivers door fills with water. I'm sure there's more but I can't remember at the moment

Window regulators are a common enough failure in Golfs and many other cars too.
Were you using the aircon regularly? Manufacturers usually recommend to turn it on for a minutes every month (or something like that), otherwise they can start leaking.
Airbag light is probably loose connectors in the seats, a common issue in many cars.
The problem with the door leaking sounds like someone broke the seals or re-fitted them incorrectly when replacing the window regulator, assuming it was that window?

I bought a 2002 Peugeot 406 HDi recently, I've had it eleven whole days without any trouble! Well the passenger window and electric mirrors don't work, but I can live without them...

filthymcnasty

Have a megane II for 2 yrs that caused me nothing but hassle tbh. Electrics mainly.
wiper motor gave up
bulbs blowing constantly (nightmare to replace)
Warning light on dash that neither my mechanic nor renault can fix-
diagnostics say oxegen sensor, this has been replaced amongst other things but still light pops back on
horn stopped working
plus the inevitable window regulator gave up.

that said I notice loads of meganes on the roads so obviously a popular car still.
to be fair to French cars I also had a Xsara and had zero hassles with it.

gingedub

Its a 1.5L diesel - not driving in traffic but not too many long journeys (mixed driving conditions). Will be bringing it on a long journey in a few weeks so will see how it performs then. Car brochure will say that it takes about 6000km before car runs to full efficiency so not sure what to expect in terms of the difference between full efficiency and the efficiency when new.

black & white

slimjimmc wrote: »

Have you considered bringing it to another garage, you don't have to keep going to a main dealer. There are plenty of independents out there who are well capable without main dealer rates.

My next service is due and I'm bringing it to an independent this time, will ask them to take a look.

black & white

zilog_jones wrote: »

Window regulators are a common enough failure in Golfs and many other cars too.
Were you using the aircon regularly? Manufacturers usually recommend to turn it on for a minutes every month (or something like that), otherwise they can start leaking.
Airbag light is probably loose connectors in the seats, a common issue in many cars.
The problem with the door leaking sounds like someone broke the seals or re-fitted them incorrectly when replacing the window regulator, assuming it was that window?

I bought a 2002 Peugeot 406 HDi recently, I've had it eleven whole days without any trouble! Well the passenger window and electric mirrors don't work, but I can live without them...

I used the aircon a fair bit and I was told at last renault service that the airbag light problem was connections under the seats, they said they'd fixed it. It was Ok for a while but same shi'ite now. Both windows have had regulators replaced, passenger one twice.

Good luck with the 406, I'd say I'm finished with French cars after this, current one is my second.

gingedub

gingedub wrote: »

- mirror light popped out once overnight and pops out ever since every few days (seems to fall out overnight possibly due to temp changes?)

Bring it back and get them to replace the unit, that's not acceptable on a new car.

black & white

black & white wrote: »

Good luck with the 406, I'd say I'm finished with French cars after this, current one is my second.

A 406 and a Megane are leagues apart Peugeot have always made decent cars. The Renault lads reckon 2005 on Meganes are fine but as they are getting on a bit now, well time will tell.

black & white

Time and money.

cadaliac

Our family had Pugs down through the years and loved them all.
Father had a 504 - thought it was one of the best cars he ever had.
Mother had a 205 Diesel, again loved it and had it for years.
Father had a 205 Diesel van, worked hard never gave trouble.
I had a 405 GRD turbo- no issues accept the water pipe broke after a weekend at the airport with 174k miles on the clock.
Next I had a 406 Hdi - The best car I have ever owned by a country mile. Really miss that car.
I left Peugeot after that and regretted it in a huge way.
The father has a list of 405's and 406's (all diesels) - the last one has 241,000 miles on the clock and is still being used as a daily driver by someone.
My Missus is on her second 206. The original 206 took a fair battering and only ever gave trouble with lights (bulbs blowing)
The current one gave trouble with the coil pack and water pump. But the car is 7 years old now and it’s not bad for its age. I would still consider it to be reliable.
All the cars listed above were serviced on the button (with the acceptation of the missus's first 206)
You can take what you want from that, but I can say with hand on my heart - Peugeot make great cars. Ok, most of ours were indeed diesel and I cannot comment on Renault.

Nissan doctor

I think, as a general rule of thumb, older generation french cars( x05 peugeots,pre 01/02 citroens, mk1 meganes, clios, and lagunas are fine, reliable and cheap to maintain. The old diesels and old 8v petrol engines are great.

A member of the family has a 00 clio 1.2 8v with over 100k on it and it has never had a single issue.

The new generations, suffer endless issues but tbh, with the way things are these days, there is almost no car you can buy out there that is without common issues.

zilog_jones

RoverJames wrote: »

A 406 and a Megane are leagues apart Peugeot have always made decent cars.

I think they went downhill after the 406, I've heard lots of horror stories about the 307 anyway (not sure about 407). Maybe they've got their act together since then?

@black & white: Sounds like poor dealer service more than anything else, they sound like trivial enough faults but they don't seem to be doing a very good job at fixing them...

shaunandelly

I suppose you have to think about what you see still kicking around at say 20 years old. Conversely what also dissappeared v quickly. Still a few Audi 90's around not many citroen BX's

Mycroft H

shaunandelly wrote: »

I suppose you have to think about what you see still kicking around at say 20 years old. Conversely what also dissappeared v quickly. Still a few Audi 90's around not many citroen BX's

How many BXs were bought new compared to the audi 80/90 in the first place? Just a thought

gingedub

RoverJames wrote: »

Bring it back and get them to replace the unit, that's not acceptable on a new car.

Brought it back today - the lads in the service dept said it wasn't covered as it most likely took a knock but I think the sales fella will sort it out as there is no sign of knock or damage externally. Will be getting it sorted hopefully next week.

mondeo

I was bragging awhile ago about my mothers 2006' Peugeot 207 being very reliable. However the past few weeks the engine light kept coming on and sensors have been replaced, ECU had a software update yet still the engine light keeps triggering. Car is going in for an ECU replacment on Tuesday as they cannot find a reason for the light coming on.

Also the rear seatbelt alarm keeps going off even though no one is sitting in the back.

mondeo

mondeo wrote: »

I was bragging awhile ago about my mothers 2006' Peugeot 207 being very reliable.

A 2006 car being reliable is nothing to brag about :P