Are French cars really that bad?

1carminestocky

harveybobbles wrote: »

I've stopped stocking the following:

Laguna's
407's
Espace's
Soon to stop bothering with the 307's too!

We visited a farmer's market today and the traffic queueing to get out was simply horrendous. We genuinely couldn't understand the reason for this - until we eventually got near the front to witness a Peugeot 307 (07 reg) broken down and basically blocking everyone. 07?? Broken down??

Needless to say, the ONLY French cars I would ever consider buying with my own money would be the Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 (I think you probably know the reasons for this )

1carminestocky

MrSmartprice wrote: »

Doesn't make it Japanese, though. The C1, Peugeot 107 and Aygo are all built in the same factory in Slovakia. The C1 is always the best option as the dealers give better discounts.

I have read the new Which car reports. They are not always representative in my view, because of the demographics of the contributors. (Read the comments on the Rover 75 to see what I mean!)

I agree. There are so very few cars actually built in Japan these days. My missus has an Aygo and I am tempted to trade it in for a little-hyped small car that uses the same engine and is actually made in the land of the rising sun by a manufacturer with a legendary reputation for reliability (and is partly owned by Toyota). Any guesses?

LilacPixie

We have a Laguna it's a 52 plate and we have had is almost 5 years now. Overall it has been pretty much ok, it has the full set of 'toys' and we have had to replace one of the tyre sensor valves because it constantly flashed a puncture when the tyre was fine and the drivers door window regulator plus one of the key card things.

Can't really blame that on renaults unreliability though, hubby left it in his jeans pocket and thru it in the wash :rolleyes:.

Mutter_2

jeannieblue wrote: »

I spend a helluva lot of my working time ordering parts.......... :eek:

So parts wise - I'd buy VW, Vauxhall, Ford. They are the ones that spring to mind straight away. VW always seem to be very reasonable. Oh and Skoda too!

Re Toyota - as in the Yaris, parts are reasonable and they are very very easy to maintain. Diesel ones parts are slightly more expensive. They make excellent driving school cars. Toyota seem to be cheaper than Honda, Lexus - well, they will be a bit pricey in comparison... Mitsubishi parts can be horrendously expensive!

Just a bit of a rough guide there - hope it helps.

VW, killed my Audi A4, she went to live in Lithuania I think.

(Love to the honarary mechanic Jim by the way Jeannie, I follow his progress, please tell us more with pics)

Had a fully functioning A4, went to the ex Audi now VW garage for service and came out without power.
"Yes" said the manager, "They could have broken the turbo in the workshop, but it's just one of those things". Wouldn't put it in writing though.

Now drive a Citroen C4 VTS. Am on my third year with it, only expense is tyres as I stick with the best Michelins that were originally on it.

Hard sporty drive, as I live in country lanes, so not great. Good on motorways though, but what matters is the aftersales service provided by your dealership. Advantage at Lincoln have been really on the ball. Notifying me at all times and costing service wise, practically nothing.

Would I buy another Citroen? No. It scares the heck out of others as they think it's a mini 'till it takes off. Bit of fun for me. The wipers have a life of their own and closing the doors makes me wince every time. Clink not clunk as in Toyotas or Audis.

Reliability? Hasn't let me down yet! As for VW, after them killing my Bertha A4, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

Think not just as in the make of car, but the service the dealership offers.
I wouldn't go near a VW workshop ever again.

financequest

Sister in law has a 2003 C3 ( 40K miles ). In last 6 months, front suspension collapsed (known problem), clutch burnt out (small plate, known problem), gearbox very stiff gearlever action ( replaced all linkages ).She is fed up with car, and plans to replace asap.

LandyAndy

I have a 1995 Peugeot 405 estate. I've owned it since 2001. It had done 113k when I bought it and has now done 232k.

A few, inconsequential, bits have given up the ghost over the years but it continues to give great service.

Rust is just starting to appear but compared with contemporary Fords or Vauxhalls it still looks good, as do most Peugeots I see.

It is a very pleasant car to drive long distances (which I do regularly) and handles well.

All in all I think I have had 8 years of relatively inexpensive and pleasant motoring.

Mutter_2

financequest wrote: »

Sister in law has a 2003 C3 ( 40K miles ). In last 6 months, front suspension collapsed (known problem), clutch burnt out (small plate, known problem), gearbox very stiff gearlever action ( replaced all linkages ).She is fed up with car, and plans to replace asap.

Oh my ! Is that known as a Friday afternoon car? See, two owners of Citroens, two very different opinions.

LandyAndy

Mutter wrote: »

Oh my ! Is that known as a Friday afternoon car? See, two owners of Citroens, two very different opinions.

Perhaps inconsistent quality rather than just poor quality is what kills French cars' reputations.

27col

Best car that I ever owned was a Citroen ZX Avantage Estate. Fantastically reliable.

Mutter_2

LandyAndy wrote: »

Perhaps inconsistent quality rather than just poor quality is what kills French cars' reputations.

I was stressing the high quality of service from the Dealer Andy, rather than the lack of quality in the brand.

Shame that Advantage don't deal in Audis, or theye'd have a definate new customer. Audi over a Citroen every time.