Viewing 34 posts - 1 through 34 (of 34 total)
  • French cars and Dacia
  • SaxonRider
    Full Member

    French cars seem to have always had a bad reputation when it comes to electrics in particular, and my experience of Citroen and Peugeot (nothing more recent than 2005) were confirmation of this.

    Have they improved at all in the last decade? Would you consider a Citroen today? I see so many Peugeots on the road, yet my experience of them makes me wonder why.

    And what about Renault? Are they in the same category of unreliability? And finally, Dacia. As a Renault subsidiary, how independent are they? If Renault does have problems, does Dacia share them?

    Anyway, probably all huge generalisations, but I’m curious…

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    I had a Peugeot 208 GTI until July. It was a 2013 model so 6 years old. It felt a bit less well put together than our previous Skodas, and our other car which is also a Skoda, but it was a great car. It was great to drive, very comfortable and in the time I had it the only thing that went wrong was an ignition coil which cost £25 to replace (it inevitably died on Christmas Eve though).

    When we bought it, it was to replace a Skoda Fabia VRS that had been written off. It was better to drive, more luxurious and had better kit than a Skoda. The big rival we looked at was a Fiesta ST and while marginally better to drive the interior of that was a horrific mess, like someone had sneezed the buttons onto the dashboard. And that was important to us when we had to live with it ever day, more important than it handling slightly better.

    I’d like to buy a 308 GTI when our Skoda dies, it was that good.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    A Dacia Lodgy for six years with just routine servicing and a rear wiper motor under warantee. It has the same Renault TCE 115 engine and transmission as the Renault Megane and shares the issues (as do A-class Mercedes and small Mercedes utilities)

    A Renault Zoé for two and a half years with just routine servicing.

    Nearly everyone I know owns a French car, can’t think why 😉 , given the lack of issues they have I am convinced that STWers thrash their cars, hugely neglect them and are desperately unlucky given the number of my-car’s-broken threads on here – whatever the brand.

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    chakaping
    Free Member

    We have got a nine-year-old Scenic with loads of gizmos, and it all seems to work as it should – though I still haven’t sussed out how to do a lot of stuff.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    Well I get alot of hire cars through work travel and though I like the look of French cars (exterior styling has never been an issue) they do feel a bit cheaper inside than other main brands. The latest models are pretty good, but just a smidge behind the more prestige German brands, but then that is where they’re positioning themselves in the market place.

    I guess I’d consider one if I were shopping right now.

    But apparently the Merc A class, beneath all the bling and vagazzlement is a Renault under the skin, so clearly they must be up there these days. All cars these days have shared platforms and parts. Its the only way they can make then at a half decent price in the volumes they need.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    I’ve had french cars for oh…10 years.

    A partner van from 2006 a 2004 Berlingo multispace and most recently a Peugeot partner tepee.

    All of them have been good cars. Far better than the VW golf I had for a while or the Hyundai I had for a while

    I don’t suffer cars that break alot well. They don’t hang around long . So the fact the frenchies hung around so long and I bought another is a good sign.

    Like educator I’m not sure what stw folk do to their cars as they are always falling apart. It seems that I’m the only person who is able to buy a French car that doesn’t randomly cut out or fall apart

    How ever go test drive a dacia….I wanted to like them but then I say inside and test drove their 1.0tce

    Wasn’t impressed. Felt like it would last about 25 minutes and more importantly the seat felt like they had put a dining room.chair in a car. (Was a Logan mcv)

    martymac
    Full Member

    Renault, dacia, nissan, all share many parts, if you open the bonnet on a dacia many of the electrical parts say renault/nissan dacia on them.
    In russia, you can buy a dacia duster with renault badges on it.
    I had a renault scenic, it was good to drive, comfy, Practical, with the most stupendous stereo ive heard in a standard car.
    But . . .
    Parts wear out with alarming regularity, and cost an absolute fortune to replace.
    I spent £2600 (at mates rates, my mate fitted the lot for free) in five months keeping the bloody thing on the road.
    You may wonder what on earth i was doing with it?
    Driving up and down a 30 mile stretch of motorway at 60-65mph.
    Only worth buying new, and getting rid before the warranty runs out IMO.
    Smaller cars, like the clio, are much, much better though.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Only worth buying new, and getting rid before the warranty runs out

    Which is exactly what I don’t do.

    I bought the first one at 3 year old (just out of warrenty) with 38k and kept it till it was 11 years old and 140k on clock. I had no need for a little van any more that’s why I sold it.

    The Berlingo multi space was bought at 80k. At 10 years old and we kept it for 4 years to 120k. – it needed a rear axle in its life how ever prior to it requiring an axle I did grossly overload it with a land rover engine /gearbox and rear axle all at once.

    Our current one was bought at first mot for less than 50% of list with 5700 miles on the clock.

    Now at 28k and is still feeling like a new car.

    3 good ones in a row. Either I am one lucky bugger or they ain’t actually that bad if you buy with eyes open .

    doomanic
    Full Member

    Wife’s got a 61 plate Clio that she’s owned from new and she loves it. In that time it’s had 1 set of tyres and a couple of services. She pootles to and from work and her mum’s house and that’s about it. I don’t like it, but I don’t dislike it either; it’s just white goods to me.

    squirrelking
    Free Member

    Like TR I have a Citroen that I love to hate as it just keeps going with little additional cost. Interior is cheap though and shockingly assembled, most of my door cards have come off or are in the process of doing so. Not fussed as it’s essentially a van but would be if I actually cared about it in any way.

    HansRey
    Full Member

    I’d happily get a new clio. Their new b-segment platform is well designed and specified. Until the release of the new Clio, I’ve thought their interiors were awful.

    I wouldn’t get a Citroen. And I’m on the fence about Peugeot, although the new electric cars are getting good reviews.

    If I won the lottery, I’d get an alpine a110 as my daily car.

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    French cars seem to have always had a bad reputation when it comes to electrics in particular

    No.  of French cars that I’ve owned  over the last 25 years :  10

    (Renault 5 Gordini, 18, another 18, 25, 19, Peugeot 205, 405, Renault Scenic and 2 different Grand Scenics.)

    No. of Electrical problems that I encountered : 1 ( an inoperative passenger window on the 25 )

    Never had a Citroen though.

    I’d buy another French car without giving it a second thought.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    I’ve got a Renault Scenic and apart from a dodgy rear seat belt sensor it’s been fine. I can’t get over-excited about it, it’s all a bit “white goods” like doomanic mentions, but for getting to work or driving 5 hours down to the coast it’s been fine. (It’s not so good in town as it has a heavy clutch which gets irritating, but on the motorway it’s great).

    Previous car was a Renault too.

    perchypanther
    Free Member

    A friend of mine just won a new Dacia Sandero in a raffle.

    Quite handy as she has a daughter who’s due to turn 17 shortly.

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    Don’t diss the Dacia.

    We bought the boggo white one for the farm to replace a Ford Ranger pickup, and have to say it’s a brilliant workhorse. The plastics aren’t that cheap, they’re perfectly acceptable in a £13k car. The floor mats are washable using a hose and the rear seats fold flat giving more space than the ranger..

    If you want a basic workhorse to throw bikes in, and not get worried about it being doorbashed in Waitrose car park then I recommend it.

    Its 14mths old and nothing has gone wrong with it yet.

    stumpy01
    Full Member

    I’ve not had a great experience of French cars, to be honest & won’t be getting another.

    My Wife’s 308 didn’t have any major electrical issues, but various engine/exhaust issues meant that she never felt confident it would get her to her destination. It drank oil & was ergonomically a bit of a mess. She got rid of it after about 18 months after it came to a juddering halt on a busy dual carriageway.

    Our current C3 picasso (59 plate 1.6 petrol) is a dog of a car from a reliability point of view & has had various issues related to engine & electrics as well as random things failing like door locks. It has the same engine as the Peugeot and similarly drinks oil.
    I was sceptical of buying one, but persuaded by friends & family who convinced me the stories of bad ownership experiences were all in the past….
    It is really frustrating because if it was reliable, it would be a fantastic car – compact, but with loads of cabin space for a small family & a decent boot with a sliding rear bench so you can prioritise rear legroom or boot space. The rear seats fold flat within seconds, it has tons of cubby holes & equipment including climate control & a panoramic sunroof.
    It’s just a shame that we get in it waiting for the next thing to go wrong…..for example, a few weeks ago, the opening indent mechanism within the drivers door hinge (not sure of the correct name for it) stopped working, so now the door just swings fully open with no way to prevent it from doing so…I’ve never been in another car with that issue.

    Maybe we just got two lemons….

    MSP
    Full Member

    I thought it was italian cars that always had problems with the electrics, french cars it used to be bodywork, they used to use a thinner gauge steel than most others, resulting in lighter cars which were good for handling and performance but not good for collecting minor dents. Not sure if they still use the thinner gauge steel bodywork now that so many cars come from shared project factories.

    ji
    Free Member

    I have run a lot of bangernomics territory french cars over the years, and most have been fine. The top end Peugeot 405Hdis with all the toys (had 3 of these) did occasionally have some of the toys fail (heated seats for example) but we are talking 10 year old cars at well over £100k.

    Also ran older espace for a while with no major issues, and have had several lagunas over the years.

    FOr comparison have had a lexus just stop, and also cost a fortune on failed air suspension, a smart car that needed the engine management replacing at a grand after just 3 years, and a Kia sedona that never seemed to leave the garage.

    Problem with cars is that they are very complex things, and no two identical vehicles will have identical faults and failures. You can go on various reliability indexes etc, but much of the experience will come down to luck in my view.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Msp. Even if it’s still a thing I’ll take minor dents over the rust that plagues 10yo+ VW and Audis

    smokey_jo
    Full Member

    I had a Dacia Duster for a few years. All running gear and switch gear was Renault and worked fine.

    Bodywork wasn’t Renault though and was rusting within 12 months – ended up with new doors and tailgate within 3 years before I punted it on.

    The seats were dreadfully uncomfortable and had split within 50K miles too.

    The depreciation was staggering so buy 3 yrs old and run it into the ground would be my approach if I considered one again.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    I had 2 brand new Citroen vans and both blew headlight bulbs with staggering regularity.
    They were fully serviced lease so no massive issue. But over 4 years I had an average of a bulb every 6 weeks.
    Luckily I worked half a mile from the dealership so went in regularly for a morning coffee and a bulb 🙄

    Put me off buying one I was paying for though.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    But over 4 years I had an average of a bulb every 6 weeks.

    I’d have measured the voltage with the engine running to prove it was a faulty alternator and requested a new alternator. The same faulty alternator could have found its way onto a variety of brands because they’re usually out-sourced to people like Bosch.

    kid.a
    Free Member

    We’ve got the Dacia Sandero Stepway 0.9 TCe. Had it 3 years from new, and it’s been great. Feels cheap, but honest.

    It’s the 0.9 turbo petrol, surprisingly good power for such a small engine.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I did a quick poll around the office at work – this was about 10 years ago mind – and every single Peugot owner had had electrical issues with their car ranging from the niggling to the dramatic (cutting out on motorways more than once).

    When you are out driving or riding and see a car with a blown bulb – check to see if it’s French. It may be confirmation bias, it may not…

    Would you consider a Citroen today?

    Dilemma tbh. I think Citroen design some great cars. The progressive damping on those new Cactus ones is a brilliant idea IMO (not that I’ve been in one). They also look like good cars otherwise – a friend has one, and it’s huge on the inside and only weighs something like 1100kg.

    I’ve been in a few Dacias as taxis. They were relatively new so felt solid, but definitely less refinement.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    My MK4 golf was great at blowing bulbs too… As well as randomly locking as you drove along , random fault lights coming and going as they pleased

    Wearing front tire inner edges extraordinarily quickly

    Being rusty (but not being that old at the time )

    And burning oil.

    Only had 60k when we bought it. Full dealer service history.

    On paper best car ever bought. Actual experiance. Shite

    mrmonkfinger
    Free Member

    Our mk4 Golf was a poo sandwich. Heavy, drove like a snowplough, heavy, stuff went wrong quite a lot, including expensive stuff like the gearbox (one of the gears stripped some teeth) as well as a ton of cheap stuff (rusted & snapped springs, rotten sills, arches started going, rear wiper motor flooded several times through bad design, calipers rusting, I could go on). And just to ice the cake I couldn’t get the seat adjusted correctly without having my head pushed into the headlining. It was a turd.

    Peugeot

    406 V6, 1998 model, lots of electrical toys for the day – cruise/climate/etc, bought way back in 2005 with 70k on the clock. Had it for 30 months, sum total of things going wrong was approximately nothing. Was bought with a knackered air con condenser and (bizarrely) a broken seat rail – so had them fixed, and it was good as gold after that. The only big service item was the cambelt. Luck, maybe, sample size one, yes, wish we’d kept it instead of buying that crapola Golf, absolutely.

    mmannerr
    Full Member

    After 3 Renaults I needed cooling period for owning French cars. I did some work on them myself and issues were always from design choices which seemed like they were on the edge of greatness and then executed poorly.
    So easy to imagine a designer who would have arrived to work in the morning with a clear head and then got ****faced during lunch and then just applied drunk logic to everything in the afternoon workshops.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Good reminder. Ours loved rear brake calipers also.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    I’d have measured the voltage with the engine running to prove it was a faulty alternator and requested a new alternator. The same faulty alternator could have found its way onto a variety of brands because they’re usually out-sourced to people like Bosch.

    They did all that, fitted new Alternator and tested everything. Tried different bulbs etc etc.
    Nothing changed.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    OK, that would be irritating then.

    xraymtb
    Free Member

    I have a Dacia Duster at the moment – almost 4 years old now. Never had an issue – bodywork is still perfect, no electrical issues. It’s a great workhorse and being less ‘refined’ I’m less concerned about throwing muddy bikes/dogs/children inside as most of it is wipe clean!

    I think the earlier ones did have bodywork issues and came from a different factory. Anything from the last few years should be fine.

    IdleJon
    Full Member

    Sandero here. Apart from the standard issue with dodgy tyre valves we’ve had no problems in three years. Very economical, enough room for three kids in the back. The car still looks tidy enough after three years of barely any cleaning.

    It does make laugh when people talk about the quality of interiors. You’d swear they want a Rolls Royce to drive the two miles to work. Oh, we must have leather seats to do the weekly shop on Saturday. 😂

    kid.a
    Free Member

    It does make laugh when people talk about the quality of interiors. You’d swear they want a Rolls Royce to drive the two miles to work. Oh, we must have leather seats to do the weekly shop on Saturday. 😂

    Mine looked good for less than a month. Now it’s encrusted with wotsits, crisps and other unknown sticky stuff, and always dirty! I give up trying to have nice things with kids

    scruff9252
    Full Member

    Got a 0.9lTCe Sandero Stepway here too for the last 3 years – bought as a “temporary” car and still got it. It’s been faultless so far – fuel efficient and don’t wince when throwing outboards, muddy bikes bikes or sandy kit in the back.

    Every couple of weeks I do a 6hr round trip to the boat on windy A class roads and I find the drive far more comfortable than a Honda accord we use occasionally. To say I am impressed is an understatement. When I bought it, the economics of it made it cheaper than a bus pass for getting to/fro work each day over a 7 year life.

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