Discussion
Are French cars as bad and unreliable as people make out? I am looking at changing my car and due to budget I am looking at Megane and Laguna estates or hatchbacks, or even the C5 ,I want something I can sling my bike into, are they the unreliable money pits that people make them out to be? Then thanks to a 50 or so mile a day commute I am looking at the diesels. So would I be jumping to a money pit as a next car?
The 307 I had, had loads of niggling problems like light bulbs always going but my current Citroen has been brilliant.
I'd avoid Renault but that's just my opinion and go for the C5. A very nice looking car and don't seem to be many horror stories of them about and some taxi drivers even use them.
I'd avoid Renault but that's just my opinion and go for the C5. A very nice looking car and don't seem to be many horror stories of them about and some taxi drivers even use them.
I am on my third Citroen and currently own two,a Xsara VTS as a toy and a C2 VTS as a daily.The C2 is an 05 and has done 115k I have owned it since August 2009,the only issue other than servicing have been a new alternator and a loose inlet manifold which is a known fault.
A friend of mine owns a vehicle repair business and I get to pop in a few times a week to see what is going on and have a chat,from what I can see French cars are no more or less reliable than any other countries cars and are often easier and cheaper to repair.
French cars are nearly always well specced and the way I look at it is why waste all the money on a German brand just so someone can have a nice secondhand car in a few years time,buy it cheap use it flog it on.
A friend of mine owns a vehicle repair business and I get to pop in a few times a week to see what is going on and have a chat,from what I can see French cars are no more or less reliable than any other countries cars and are often easier and cheaper to repair.
French cars are nearly always well specced and the way I look at it is why waste all the money on a German brand just so someone can have a nice secondhand car in a few years time,buy it cheap use it flog it on.
te quite frankly.If you go to the Reliability Index website you can see that 5 of the 10 least reliable cars are German, only 1 is French....
Citroen C5 scores above average for reliability, Renault Megane very slightly worse than average and the Laguna is a bit worse than average. To put that in context, they all score better than the Audi A3 and an Audi A4 would sit between the Megane and the Laguna.
Citroen C5 scores above average for reliability, Renault Megane very slightly worse than average and the Laguna is a bit worse than average. To put that in context, they all score better than the Audi A3 and an Audi A4 would sit between the Megane and the Laguna.
We have 307's and lately 308's as fleet cars.
Had about 20 over the last 6 years (ten per 36 month lease) they all do 100k and are all serviced on the nose. NONE have ever had an issue.
That’s nearly 2 million miles over 20 cars and we haven’t had one issue they are DOG slow though in the 1.6 hdi 90 guise.
front tyres 15-20k, rears 35-50k
bulbs are easy to replace if you know what your doing
the heater is either hot or cold, never an in-between.
servicing and consumables are really reasonable.
repair costs on the front bumper are quite pricey, so don’t crash it.
of the 20, we have replaced clutches in 2 of them at about 90K, how ever the drivers were of the breasted variety and im not referring to fat boys!
its impressed me so much i got out of my e92 bmw and into an RCZ. Colour me converted.
Had about 20 over the last 6 years (ten per 36 month lease) they all do 100k and are all serviced on the nose. NONE have ever had an issue.
That’s nearly 2 million miles over 20 cars and we haven’t had one issue they are DOG slow though in the 1.6 hdi 90 guise.
front tyres 15-20k, rears 35-50k
bulbs are easy to replace if you know what your doing
the heater is either hot or cold, never an in-between.
servicing and consumables are really reasonable.
repair costs on the front bumper are quite pricey, so don’t crash it.
of the 20, we have replaced clutches in 2 of them at about 90K, how ever the drivers were of the breasted variety and im not referring to fat boys!
its impressed me so much i got out of my e92 bmw and into an RCZ. Colour me converted.
I think reliability issues around certain renaults are justified, but really I think the rumours about Citroen are totally unjustified. With the possible exception of the old shape c5, Citroen haven't really ever made a terrible car - working in the trade I see few major problems with citroens - Renault on the other hand is a totally different story. Pugs seem to be in the middle ground which is strange as they share many components with citroen
My 182 is 6 years old, has done 95K miles and I commute 80 miles round trip to work on a mixture of main road and motorway without a hitch. Gets serviced when required and has not broken down once. The exhaust needed replacing after 5 years as it was made from mild steel but I bought a replacement which is stainless for 1/2 the price.
The only things which have needed replacing have been the exhaust, tyres, disks and pads.
The only things which have needed replacing have been the exhaust, tyres, disks and pads.
They must be better these days, or people wouldnt be stupid enough to still buy them.......would they?
I was put off back in the 90's when I owned 205 GTI and a Clio 16v.
Both broke down regulary in them days. Clio was great to drive but constantly was in the garage having warranty repairs done on its dodgy electrics.
I had a friend who bought a brand new Clio 172 when they came out, and that had a few faults too so never even thought about owning one since.
I was put off back in the 90's when I owned 205 GTI and a Clio 16v.
Both broke down regulary in them days. Clio was great to drive but constantly was in the garage having warranty repairs done on its dodgy electrics.
I had a friend who bought a brand new Clio 172 when they came out, and that had a few faults too so never even thought about owning one since.
from experience YES
everything you earns ill be poured into it
i/family/friends over the last few years have had - 2008 107 - useless, 2006 307 sw - automatic that did 25mpg and needed a new part almost every week, awful ride
regardless of budget, i would say if you want a reliable car stick with VAG
Skoda, VW, Audi
have been running a 2005 Audi a2 and a 2007 Polo for a few years now and apart from oil and a few wiper blades they haven't missed a beat
everything you earns ill be poured into it
i/family/friends over the last few years have had - 2008 107 - useless, 2006 307 sw - automatic that did 25mpg and needed a new part almost every week, awful ride
regardless of budget, i would say if you want a reliable car stick with VAG
Skoda, VW, Audi
have been running a 2005 Audi a2 and a 2007 Polo for a few years now and apart from oil and a few wiper blades they haven't missed a beat
Had a Clio a while ago for my first car and was brilliant. Never put a foot wrong and I was doing around 100 odd miles per day to and from college and working on farms so up and down typical beaten farm tracks.
Also after that I went to a Citroen C4. Kept that for about 10 months and didn't go wrong. Not as many French cars as others but just my in-put.
Also after that I went to a Citroen C4. Kept that for about 10 months and didn't go wrong. Not as many French cars as others but just my in-put.
Personally I would steer clear of most french cars built in the naughties, i.e. 307s, Laguna Mk2s and various Citroens. However imo, french cars have a bad press based on prejudice and bias, whereas German cars have an often undeserved rep for quality. THe older french Peugeots in particular are brilliant. They were usually very sturdy and well built and long lasting cars. The 504 was a legend and is still found in Egpypt, south Africa and other places. look at all those old 405 taxis that did mega miles. I had a ride once in a 504 estate taxi that had done 500K miles and the owner said it was the best car he'd ever owned. Our 205 GTI is 21 years old and has very little to go wrong, no rust, no engine management lights, is wonderful to drive and has given very little trouble in 9 years. My two german cars have spent much more time at the garage!!!! Yep, VAG cars are NOT always relible. The B6 Passat has a shocking record for reliability and there is currently a major campaign on the internet covering the PD 2.0 TDI engine that frequently goes through injectors...The Audi A5 came out as the MOST unreliable car in a survey by Lex Warranty Company a few years back... If you do buy french my advice is to buy a simple small car like a Clio. They dont do complexity that well!!
Edited by StevieB on Friday 3rd February 17:58
The Laguna 2 and the Megane are both terrible. All cars can break down, but most are fairly easy to diagnose and have common faults everyone knows about. With the Laguna and Megane literally everything goes wrong, which is why they are so cheap.
The C5 is fine really, just buy one which has been well looked after and you should be OK.
The C5 is fine really, just buy one which has been well looked after and you should be OK.
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