Forum menu
wear and tear/ preventative maintainance ill bet molgrips - bushes , exhausts , timing belts /waterpumps suspension componants.
ECUs and gearboxes dont fall under most folks normal.
last french car I had was a diesel 205
it was indestructible
sure they are quirky and cheap, but they are no more unreliable than german cars
I've had three French cars:
- Renault Scenic - unknown electrical problems meant that it started when it wanted to - in the garage countless times but problem was eventually rectified when I crashed it - obviously responds well to violent abuse
- Renault Laguna - unknown electrical problems meant that it started when it wanted to - in the garage countless times (sound familiar?) but problem was never rectified so it was returned to the leasing company
- Peugeot 306 TDI - awesome reliable car.. apart from the dodgy immobiliser which meant that starting it was a lottery - fortunately it decided one day to wrap itself round a tree - potential case of assisted suicide
For these reasons I will never buy a French car.
French cars are like French wine - they only export the rubbish!
apart from the dodgy immobiliser
Had this in a Ford Focus - no one could ever solve it - supermarket carparks were a speciality - the fourth time we came home on the back of a car recovery truck I got a French car-gulp.
My step son has a clio diesel and the wiring loom looks awful, just a bunch of wires loosely shoved in there. No sheathing or the like at all.
I had a French car (Renault Clio RSi). It was fantastic.
I had a French car (Citroen ZX Furio). It was the biggest pile of horse manure of a car I have ever had the misfortune of owning. Gave it back the garage for a full refund after a catalogue of issues throughout my ownership meant I never 'accepted' it as being of merchantable quality. It was 2 years old and had a full engine rebuild amongst other things. The last straw was when it cut out when I was halfway across a roundabout.
I had a Renault megane, 2l petrol, pre-big bottom era. Had it from 48k to 105k and it was mostly great. In addition to normal and cheap independent services, it needed 3 wheel bearings only. Towards 100k it had a lighting problem where all the lights would come on with the brake. £20 fix for that. Fuel needle jammed a bit too, but nothing that a bit of hope couldn't overcome!
Anyway, it was cheap, comfy, quick and didn't cost much more to run than the civic that replaced it.
I had a Citroen 2CV for years. Fabulous car, lasted years including several trips from England to Southern Spain. Also good as any 4x4 off-road.
Remember trying to change a rear bulb in my folks Pug, dear god had they never considered a bulb might ever pop?
I've not yet noticed anyone on this thread piping up to sing the praises of their British car.
Remember trying to change a rear bulb in my folks Pug, dear god had they never considered a bulb might ever pop?
Ever tried it on a Altea? Luckily a bloke at Halfords had the longest and thinnest arms that I've ever seen in our species.
Or a Ford Ka?
😆
Also good as any 4x4 off-road
No it wasn't. Don't be silly.
Love the AX Video though no-one has commented that its a diesel (non turbo) how good is that. anyway the last 16 years all i have bought has been french, 1 pug and 4 Citroens.
I've had ZX, 306 and XMs in the past. One XM was a dog (bought cheap and first learning venture to hydro pneumatic citroens). All others were good cars.
French cars do poorly in reliability surveys over the years but they do well now. I think that they make particularly good small cars now. If I was buying a small car it would probably be French.
The problem for French car manufacturers is their main market has traditionally been their home market but it is no longer strong. The French only buy just over half the new cars (2013) that the UK does and you see plenty of non French brands on the roads over there.
To be fair my dads Jag does the window thing sometimes
A girl in work had a similar problem with her Boxster..... on a rainy night..... and it lowered the roof too - she was not happy!
On the other hand, I love my Clio 182 (even the Mrs says that we're never going to sell it)
Good grief,
I've had
Citroen AX, ZX, XM, Xsara, Berlingo x 3, Synergie, C8, C-Crosser (Mitsubishi really) and DS3
Peugeot 205, 309
Renault 5, 19, Espace, Grand Espace, Master and Laguna
The head gasket went on the AX but apart from that not one of those cars ever broke down. Judging by all the other tales of woe I seem to have been incredibly lucky?
You watch, the DS3 will break down tonight.
No they're not always the quietest nor the best specced out inside but you get what you pay for when it comes to interior and I have always found french cars to be cheap and reliable
Edit: forgot the back 1ft of the Laguna got chopped off when steel ramp got dropped on it but I don't think that counts as a breakdown
In my youth I used to buy, use, fix and flog Renaults, at various stages had a 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16TX, 17 Gordini, 18 Turbo, 21's . Just bought at the time because they were always really cheap (for good reason). My favourite was probably the most basic, a 4 van. I always wanted (and still do if I had the money) a Citroen DS or Traction Avant. Stuck with jap or german stuff as I got older and more sensible.
On the French theme I have a lovely rusty old 1960's Velosolex bike with an engine on the front if anyone wants it to restore, make us an offer:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/109756768@N03/
I had a 2001 C5 as a company motor for 2 years, it was very comfy and enormous and had a few quirks such as the dash refusing to work and it winking at people with one light... prior to that a 205 diesel which was great until the heater matrix sprung a leak, which matched the leaking sunroof but it's all character I s'pose.
I thought the French home market got discounts or subsidies for purchasing a home built motor .. or is that Le Urban Myth?
I've had an XM and a C5, both huge estate cars. No big issues with either, both were more reliable than my 90s Passat whose crankshaft pulley fell off in France.
I took the C5 over to a Citroen specialist in Edinburgh last week and wondered about replacing it with one of the newer post '08 models. He said not to. They have had tons of problems with their electrics. He said that he and all guys that worked for him drove Passats.
My first car was a Citroen AX. The head gasket went twice, then it caught fire. Never again.
In my experience, the French are generally less precious about their cars than we are.
Are French cars cheaper to buy over there? Not sure.
We've had a Peugeot and two Citroens. They've all been pretty reliable, like most modern cars.
Got a brand new (2013)VW Caddy for work in my last job , Passenger side window would stay in the down position randomly and the central locking failed on the back doors within 2 weeks of ownership.
My 52 Renault Kangoo with 100k has been faultless in comparison although the doors are about as thick as a paperback book.
Prior to the Caddy , I was using a Vivaro(Renault Trafic) and never had any problems with it in 4years of driving.
Walk down any street in Paris and I bet you can't find a single car that isn't bashed or thumped. I just think they are not as precious as we are about cars and they are simply tools to get from a to b. If the car breaks down its just an excuse not to go to work.
ootflaps - MemberHave you actually driven a modern Peugeot? On a par with any manufacturer.
Yes. I had a Pug 508 for 24 hrs as a hire car. It drove like my Focus - which is 12 years old. But handling was good. Seats were terrible though, numb butt after an hour. And the handbrake was on the wrong side of the car.
I am glad to see that other people have recognised that VW are still living off the mark 3 Golf ad. "If only everything was as reliable as a Golf"....we would all be stuck at the side of the motorway!!
If I was buying a small car it would probably be French.
Oh, forgot to mention I had a Clio as a hire car last year - that was brand new. Actually a good drive and very solid, but the 3cyl petrol engine was pretty worthless anywhere other than in town. It had to be thrashed mercilessly to even cope with joining motorways and passing lorries. So I only got about 40mpg from it - that's what I call a lose/lose situation 🙂
I'd definitely consider one with a different engine if I were buying small. Although I'd probably prefer a Polo, cos I am a VW fanboi, or maybe a Yaris hybrid 🙂
At least the French still have a car industry......
OP yes many French think French cars are of decent quality and certainly for the price. I would say French are generally more loyal to home country products than we are in the UK.
French used to have very protectionist policies until the EU made them stop, or at least rein it in a bit.
I've had two French vans and three hot hatches
All have been fine.
The c2 we have has been fine since 2006 with only one abs sensor
My golf estate is a pain in the arse and almost the worst car I've ever had
The words was an a4 t sport with full leather sline etc it was nice to sit it but always broke down
The french cars in France must come with bigger engines. Even the Peugots can get to 50, somethimes 60 mph, unlike the sodding ones near where I live.....
Ive only had french cars, and tbh never had a problem with them at all.
106 died after a crash
106 gti, traded in for a
206 xsi then jumped over to citroen
C2 VTR which i had for 7 years, didn't miss a beat
Current car is the new shape C3 a bit of an odd car, but great commuter and bike carrier with added towbar.
Next car, in a couple of years will be ethier a DS4 or C4 depending on cost mileage and what i can see when its time to change.
My 07 stop-gap Xsara Picasso had its MOT yesterday at a [b]main dealer[/b]. No asvisories and the complimentary free inspection found?.....nothing.
Im thinking of replacing it with...another Citroen; C4 3dr 2.0VTS or 2.0HDI VTR if anyone sees one 🙂
Molgrips 3cyl engines are there to be revved to the redline 😉
The French view cars as any other domestic appliance. Essentially disposable. Status by voiture is a British thing. So they buy French cars because the cars are French. And, of course France is the home of small cars. So it doesn't really matter if they think they are good or not. Personally, I'd like a Twingo Cup because Renaultsport still have a "we don't care" attitude that produces proper sporty small cars, rather than bloated turbo'd mainstream.
Had a few french cars in my time all we're nice enough to drive and all went wrong somewhere the last with gearbox issues. Since then I've owned nothing but VAGs and not had one single issue with them.
The Citreon range is rather nice though.
My 24 year old 205 has a better ride than most of my mates modern cars. Grew up in a French car family, my old man had variously a Renault 4, Citroen Visa, GS, BXs, CX, a Clio, I had another Clio, a 306 and my Mrs drives a dacia (French via Romania and India). My brother had a xantia that pissed oil after he beached it on a bollard in morzine, but it still got us back to Brussels without any drama. The only lemon in that lot was a BX, a 4x4 version that was not very reliable. Every other one of them was great. By contrast, the least reliable car I ever had was a supposedly bombproof Mitsubishi shogun. The Mrs' rover 25 was also a pile of turd from day one but that goes without saying.
It is bizarre. Brits would rather be seen to be doing better than they are. Why we are so anxious/in debt as a nation?
Had a Pug 205 GTi for two years. Amazing car.
After uni I bought a Pug 306 HDi Turbo. It was based on the GTi-6 but with a big ol' 2.0 turbo diesel lump in it producing 90 bhp. The car was faultless and never missed a beat in the 9 years that I owned it. A brilliant, brilliant car that practically paid for itself.
I was told by many a trade person that it was a lovely car with what was regarded as THE best diesel engine.
I now own an expensive (to me) German sport estate with a 2.0 TD lump that produces 177bhp. Is more economical. More refined. More desirable. More comfortable, etc, etc. Yet in just one year of ownership it's cost me about the same amount as the Pug did in 4 years 🙂
"At least the French still have a car industry......"
JLR?
Nissan assembly
Fordish
Totally true though when JLR moves production in a decades time. It will happen - Rolls Royce has already moved one model overseas. Itll be 'British design' rather than built.
It is bizarre. Brits would rather be seen to be doing better than they are. Why we are so anxious/in debt as a nation?
i buy cars on what I like and can afford a promotion meant I could get VAG cars which I like before that I choose cheaper ones. That said the VAG cars I've owned I've got on private lease which usually makes then very little more than a Pug due to huge price drop in PUGs.
I dont do new cars though
I work for a French company.
French people buy French products from French people, it's been that way for years and they won't change.
The car park is 95% full of French cars.
Although ALL of the directors and bosses drive BMW's and my boss has an Audi
Not mush British owned though Hora that's the point I was trying to make.
According to this months Car magazine the UK is currently second in Western Europe for car production:
1st Germany 2,952,341 (-4.2%)
2nd UK 2,264,737 (+10.8%)
3rd France 1,790,473 (-5.7%)
4th Italy 1,303,534 (-7.1%)
5th Spain 722,703 (+3.3%)
People think it is odd that I still drive 306's. Still have one mum bought back in 1999 sitting out back used as a tool/bike rack shed. And it works when I need to tug something across the yard. My daily driver is a HDI estate which gets used for everything from towing sheep trailers to biking and lugging building stuff and then cleans up perfectly for daily use.
I quite fancy a 406 coupe as I think they still look brilliant today.
After that it all went pear shaped. Won't touch renault and now wont touch Nissan because of Renault. It has got better though and for the new 308 Peugeot said they were going back to the 306 and they did and it looks much better. When everyone else was going to mini MPV designs BMW went back to a traditional hatchback and sold buckets and buckets of 1 series and now other makes are joining them.
The newer Citroen C5 is fantastic too. The Xantia suffered an old man image as the styling was horrible but it was a good car as long as the suspension was looked after. The C5 is much better and the C6 is fantastic but just has wacky citroen styling again. The DS3 and DS4 are nice cars though IMO.
I'd still buy german as my main car but us a cheap run around with a bit of style I'd go with a Citroen of Pug.