Are French cars really that bad?

LandyAndy

Mutter wrote: »

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.

It's an interesting correlation that you see, where manufacturers with a poorer reputation for reliability also seem to have poorer reputation for dealer satisfaction.

Do 'unreliable' brands have to make do with less attentive dealers?

Is it just easier to 'appear' good as a dealer if you have a reliable (or desirable) brand to sell?

In the end even the most efficient dealer can't 'polish a turd'.

Sirbendy

I've had 2 renaults...both always started, always drove. Stopping, less so. On my 5, the mechanicals were touch as nails. Broke 3 out of 4 engine mounts, did it care? No. Driveshafts were so worn she'd slip the shafts on steep hills too. Rust killed that one. The only electrical glitch I had was the autobox ECU (loose plug).

I also had an 11. In the first 3 months of owning, this is what happened:

Headlamps - 3 out of 4 blew, one fell out!
rear light clusters let go.
Door locking packed up
Windows packed up
exhaust fell off (£300, ouch)
Speedo cable snapped
Boot leaked like a sieve
Fuseboard caught fire after a few minutes on main beam
Battery was cooked by expiring alternator, which let go in spectacular fashion.
Brakes semi-packed in, would stop diagonally.

Now, this car wasn't new..but it WAS a money pit. Lovely, but electrically, it was chocolate. Absolute pig to get parts for, too..fuseboard was like a circuit board..could I get a new one? No. I had to wire up a "hack" to run it.

There's been 2 teachers at work with new lagunas..coil packs go !!!!!!, turbo wastegates ditto, intercoolers failing all over, EGR valves coking up, and don't get me started on the wheel warnings..one told me the wheels were MIA. This one also sat there telling me to press the start button, yet did nothing when I did until I took the battery off and reconnected it..

It also wound its power seat OFF the runners. Forever breaking down in one form or another - cut out twice on motorways too. The keycard also, very brittle. I love gadgets, but it put me right off them.

Would I have a french motor again? Maybe. Pug 1007, as I like the door..:) The rest, no ta.

Doozergirl

LandyAndy wrote: »

It's an interesting correlation that you see, where manufacturers with a poorer reputation for reliability also seem to have poorer reputation for dealer satisfaction.

Do 'unreliable' brands have to make do with less attentive dealers?

Is it just easier to 'appear' good as a dealer if you have a reliable (or desirable) brand to sell?

In the end even the most efficient dealer can't 'polish a turd'.

Maybe there's a point there. If a dealer is seen to be effective, or indeed is effective in solving problems then those problems cease to exist for many owners. The little issues I've had I can't even remember what they were now - whereas if I weren't looked after, they would instantly become larger problems. Aren't these reliability surveys based on relatively new cars likely to still be on their first owner?

My dealer gives me the sense of security that if something worse went wrong than the little rattles etc i've had to date, they would still look after me. It does build brand loyalty. Hence whilst I may shop for a cheaper car nationally, I keep buying cars that can be serviced at the same place!

Mutter_2

LandyAndy wrote: »

It's an interesting correlation that you see, where manufacturers with a poorer reputation for reliability also seem to have poorer reputation for dealer satisfaction.

Do 'unreliable' brands have to make do with less attentive dealers?

Is it just easier to 'appear' good as a dealer if you have a reliable (or desirable) brand to sell?

In the end even the most efficient dealer can't 'polish a turd'.

Wow! Did you think of that all by yourself? Or may that be a cliche too far?

BTW. Where may I purchase a polished turd?

ETA Andy Landy. When you Quote as in "unreliable" where does that quote originate from? Cause search for my might, I can't see anywhere that the word "unreliable" was used. Please point it out if it was and I wlll apologise.

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

I'd had umpteen Japanese cars and 1 VW up until I bought a 3 yr old Peugeot 406 back in 2003. Never had a problem or a breakdown with anything before.

Over the next 3 and a bit years, the 406 broke down 4 times until on the final time I just scrapped it as it was going to cost more to repair than it was worth.
The 2.0 HDi was a good engine. Unfortunately, it was all the other mechanicel and eletrical parts that failed.

I'd like to think that nowadays they're more reliable, but it's put me off French cars. I've now gone back to Japanese.

Ryan

My 54 plate Renault Clio has been nothing but trouble - leaky radiator, faulty airbag and too many electrical problems to list! I'm just swapping it in for a new Honda and to be honest I can't wait to see the back of it!!

Inactive

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.

It comes from a Japanese owned company tho'

The C1 may well be cheaper to buy, ( for obvious reasons ) but it will make less money than the Toyota on the second hand market, so not the " best " option in the long term.

kiddy_guy

I think to be honest people who have had bad experiences are more likely to detail them than those with good experiences, hence asking this sort of question will usually end up with confirmation in the negative.

That said, the way of determining historical reliability of cars is to look around you.

How many Volvo 740's compared to old Ford Granada'/Scorpios do you see?

How many 205 GTI's compared to the comparative Golf GTI's of the same age?

I wouldn't touch any french cars - that having had Renault 9's,19's, 21's, 25's, 20's and 4, plus Citroen 2CV's, and Pug 405's within the family. All older models mind you, but I never see any of them, compared to Metro's, Mini's etc...

I'm sure they've improved, but why take a risk in any case. Go with something you know will be reliable, rather than something you hope will be reliable.

Inactive

1carminestocky wrote: »

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?

I know exactly which car you mean, an excellent car in every way and it has 5 doors.;)

I mentioned it on here some time back, and all of the self proclaimed experts laughed, so I keep it myself now.:D

jackieb

We once had a Renault 21 Savanna (i'm going back a few years here!). It was dreadful. By far the worst car we've ever had. It was never out of the garage. We traded it in after 6 months - the shortest time we've ever had a car. We normally keep them about 4 years. It certainly put us off ever getting a Renault again.

It had about 40k on the clock and was less than 4 years old so shouldn't have been an old clunker either!