French cars.Hmmm...
Discussion
I travel quite a lot of miles per year and it's become a bit of a running joke with friends to assume that anything we see in the distance on the hard shoulder, is likely to be French.Thing is, it almost always is! As soon as we see some hazard lights, we proclaim "Bet it's French".Three times today, for example, this was also correct.In the last 6 months or so, I have honestly lost count of how many I have seen on my travels.
I remember the jokes re: French electrics etc when growing up, but are they still plagued by such issues? What happens to them once they are a couple of years old + ?
I remember the jokes re: French electrics etc when growing up, but are they still plagued by such issues? What happens to them once they are a couple of years old + ?
Regarding the mk2 megane
Yes. Everything with a wire attached to it will go wrong at some point - Usually just after its rained - its always a niggle rather than a failure and most issues are best resolved using a gallic shrug followed by a short wait.
Id be more nervous of one with no warning lights illuminated if I were buying tbh. Itd suggest missing bulbs
Yes. Everything with a wire attached to it will go wrong at some point - Usually just after its rained - its always a niggle rather than a failure and most issues are best resolved using a gallic shrug followed by a short wait.
Id be more nervous of one with no warning lights illuminated if I were buying tbh. Itd suggest missing bulbs
Almost all the ones I see are 3 to 5 years old +.
I have had a few myself and have a few friends who have them as company cars (they are changed regularly though).They seem really nice, so I have nothing against them; I just see lots.Lots and lots!
I genuinely believe that obtaining info from those who travel large distances, could be better than buying based on any survey or report!
I almost never see anything Japanese.I did see four Alfa Romeo's in a single day, but apparently there was an Alfa show on somewhere.
Moving on, Astra turbo diesel vans...
I have had a few myself and have a few friends who have them as company cars (they are changed regularly though).They seem really nice, so I have nothing against them; I just see lots.Lots and lots!
I genuinely believe that obtaining info from those who travel large distances, could be better than buying based on any survey or report!
I almost never see anything Japanese.I did see four Alfa Romeo's in a single day, but apparently there was an Alfa show on somewhere.
Moving on, Astra turbo diesel vans...
Edited by Digby on Saturday 22 November 20:15
The most unreliable cars I've owned have been German BMW (E36 323i) and Swedish (SAAB 9-5 Aero)
No end of sensors, bushes, hoses, pumps, needed to be replaced.
The 2 most reliable cars I've owned to date have been French (Clio RS 197 15K miles not a single problem) and Italian Fiat Seicento (13K miles without a single fault)
The funny thing is how little of them is 'French' these days.
Someone was telling me how reliable their Mini diesel will be with its German BMW engine. I didn't have the heart to tell them.
No end of sensors, bushes, hoses, pumps, needed to be replaced.
The 2 most reliable cars I've owned to date have been French (Clio RS 197 15K miles not a single problem) and Italian Fiat Seicento (13K miles without a single fault)
The funny thing is how little of them is 'French' these days.
Someone was telling me how reliable their Mini diesel will be with its German BMW engine. I didn't have the heart to tell them.
Problem is, that this is as true today as it ever was?!
French cars have always been fragile and ropey. I had a Pug 205 Gti in the 90's - and despite being not very old, it was basically crap. Oh yeah, a great drive and massive fun - but my gawd, what a flimsy, unreliable shed.
First off I was always in a bit of a state of worry about having a big smash in it - the thing really was built from thin, recycled cans. Lightweight and good for quality hooning? Check! Lightweight and as protective as a cardboard box in a smash? Err, check!
Secondly, I have never had so many issues with a car. Over my several years of ownership, the basic rule was that every weekend I had to get the tools out to fettle and fix SOMETHING. Sometimes it was a huge problem that rendered the car immobile....and other times it was something a little less important but equally niggling. But always annoying.
The biggest issue, which nearly caused a massive flounce and a scrapping of the car, was an ignition / fuel injection issue that suddenly appeared. It basically suddenly announced itself by acting as a 'rev limiter' - so the car would NOT rev past about 3,000 rpm for love nor money.
At the time I had a good mate who ran a Peugeot garage and breakers yard. We had his auto electrician along who could not find any faults, and we spent days swapping over every conceivable ignition and FI part that existed - and still we couldn't find the fault...although we deduced it was FI related rather than spark related.
In the end, I binned all the FI stuff, bought a new inlet manifold, and converted the thing to run a pair of twin Webber carbs.
This sorted the fault - and to be fair, made the car a hoot to drive, with a much better sound!
I've never had a French car since though. And over the years, I have occasionally been unlucky enough to score a few girlfriends who have owned French stuff - and I have had to sort out equally catastrophic faults and problems. Even for routine stuff, access and the ability to be able to work on the damn things has been horrendously difficult and obstructive on the whole.
One funny thing I can relate with regard to recent memory of French cars - a few years ago, Sebastian Loeb was winning everything WRC realated, in the then 'new' Citroen C4. Citroen had a series of TV adverts which I remember used to cite the cars as 'alive with technology...'
Well, I didn't see what I would call a plethora of C4's gracing our roads back then....but maybe even more tellingly, in the last few years, I cannot even remember seeing a single one? Can anyone else?!
Says it all!
French cars have always been fragile and ropey. I had a Pug 205 Gti in the 90's - and despite being not very old, it was basically crap. Oh yeah, a great drive and massive fun - but my gawd, what a flimsy, unreliable shed.
First off I was always in a bit of a state of worry about having a big smash in it - the thing really was built from thin, recycled cans. Lightweight and good for quality hooning? Check! Lightweight and as protective as a cardboard box in a smash? Err, check!
Secondly, I have never had so many issues with a car. Over my several years of ownership, the basic rule was that every weekend I had to get the tools out to fettle and fix SOMETHING. Sometimes it was a huge problem that rendered the car immobile....and other times it was something a little less important but equally niggling. But always annoying.
The biggest issue, which nearly caused a massive flounce and a scrapping of the car, was an ignition / fuel injection issue that suddenly appeared. It basically suddenly announced itself by acting as a 'rev limiter' - so the car would NOT rev past about 3,000 rpm for love nor money.
At the time I had a good mate who ran a Peugeot garage and breakers yard. We had his auto electrician along who could not find any faults, and we spent days swapping over every conceivable ignition and FI part that existed - and still we couldn't find the fault...although we deduced it was FI related rather than spark related.
In the end, I binned all the FI stuff, bought a new inlet manifold, and converted the thing to run a pair of twin Webber carbs.
This sorted the fault - and to be fair, made the car a hoot to drive, with a much better sound!
I've never had a French car since though. And over the years, I have occasionally been unlucky enough to score a few girlfriends who have owned French stuff - and I have had to sort out equally catastrophic faults and problems. Even for routine stuff, access and the ability to be able to work on the damn things has been horrendously difficult and obstructive on the whole.
One funny thing I can relate with regard to recent memory of French cars - a few years ago, Sebastian Loeb was winning everything WRC realated, in the then 'new' Citroen C4. Citroen had a series of TV adverts which I remember used to cite the cars as 'alive with technology...'
Well, I didn't see what I would call a plethora of C4's gracing our roads back then....but maybe even more tellingly, in the last few years, I cannot even remember seeing a single one? Can anyone else?!
Says it all!
Could it be that there are just so many more of them now? There are many attractive & sporty models and obviously some great deals to be had.
I'm not a lover of anything with a 'sensor' mind you, so most modern motors fill me with a sense of mistrust.
I'm not a lover of anything with a 'sensor' mind you, so most modern motors fill me with a sense of mistrust.
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
Well, I didn't see what I would call a plethora of C4's gracing our roads back then....but maybe even more tellingly, in the last few years, I cannot even remember seeing a single one? Can anyone else?!
Says it all!
Very true!Says it all!
Edited by Digby on Friday 21st November 21:51
My 10 year old Citroen Synergie was bought with just over 100k on the clock and sold 7 years later with just under 220k on it.
Serviced every 10k or so, I had no serious or majorly expensive issues with it.
A friend's 8 year old, 40k, FDSH Merc snapped its timing chain and lunched the engine three months after he bought it, costing 80% of what he paid for the car in the first place to put right.
Any machine can break down, their country of origin makes little difference.
Serviced every 10k or so, I had no serious or majorly expensive issues with it.
A friend's 8 year old, 40k, FDSH Merc snapped its timing chain and lunched the engine three months after he bought it, costing 80% of what he paid for the car in the first place to put right.
Any machine can break down, their country of origin makes little difference.
I can't speak for any other french marques apart from Peugeot because I've owned two. I've had no problems with them. Sure, they're not the best put together, but they are normally a lot cheaper (to buy) than the competition.
My personal opinion is that french cars are bought by Joe Public because they are cheap. They can't buy the equivalent spec/size of car for the value that the frenchies offer. These people aren't always mechanically sympathetic, they don't service them on time, and just ignore minor faults that over time snowball into larger more expensive faults, leading them to be unreliable.
Personally, I've driven Peugeot's for four years, and not once have they left me stranded at the side of the road.
My personal opinion is that french cars are bought by Joe Public because they are cheap. They can't buy the equivalent spec/size of car for the value that the frenchies offer. These people aren't always mechanically sympathetic, they don't service them on time, and just ignore minor faults that over time snowball into larger more expensive faults, leading them to be unreliable.
Personally, I've driven Peugeot's for four years, and not once have they left me stranded at the side of the road.
Buff Mchugelarge said:
The 2 most reliable cars I've owned to date have been French (Clio RS 197 15K miles not a single problem) and Italian Fiat Seicento (13K miles without a single fault)
With the greatest of respect, 15k and 13k without an issue is what I would expect from any car.I don't think I would suggest something I had was reliable, simply because it had covered a years (or less) average mileage without a fault.AlexIT said:
Drove about 600 miles yesterday through Switzerland, Austria and Germany and saw 3 cars stranded on the hard shoulder: 2 Mercedes and 1 BMW...
Can you drive 600 miles through France and report back, too? 
I must admit, I had a company 205 1.0 XE many years ago and I abused it and I mean really abused it.It just shrugged it off.But then it wasn't full of electrickery back then, so maybe less to go wrong.
They always seem more comfortable than anything else, I'll give them that!
ian2144 said:
Had 2CV's as daily drivers back in the late 70's early 80's tough as old boots, never had any problems with them.
Older is better? Old Pug diesels for Taxi's etc, racking up half a million on the odometer..Supercell said:
My personal opinion is that french cars are bought by Joe Public because they are cheap. They can't buy the equivalent spec/size of car for the value that the frenchies offer. These people aren't always mechanically sympathetic, they don't service them on time, and just ignore minor faults that over time snowball into larger more expensive faults, leading them to be unreliable.
I can certainly see that making a lot of sense where the second hand market is concerned, but then it has to be asked why I never seem to see battered up old Hondas and Toytas and numerous other neglected looking makes stuck at the side of the road?Again, I am only commenting on what I see and was left wondering why.This is not an anti-French post, despite how it may appear!
Edited by Digby on Friday 21st November 22:14
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