Do French cars still fall apart??
Discussion
I'm in the process of changing my 350z for something more practical...being quite interested in a Megan 250 cup, unfortunately i'm starting to get cold feet....the first car I ever bought was a Peugeot 106, great fun but it literally fell to pieces!!! My friends not so old Clio has just had it's 2 nd gear box......Where as in 4 years of ownership I've yet to have a break down in my Z...
So whats the build quality like on current French cars??
So whats the build quality like on current French cars??
My 04 full dealer service BMW diesel ate its flaps/engine at 63k, mrs Toyota wheel fell off @70mph after an official dealer service, mate had power steering fail on his less than 2 year old Civic-TypeR, my Clio 197 not had any problems so far (3yrs 13k), do modern cars in general fall apart more? The new Megane feels nicely screwed together...
Mr Jenks said:
Chicken Pox said:
my Clio 197 not had any problems so far (3yrs 13k)
13k in 3 years? Sounds like you`re frightened of driving it in case something goes wrong 
was 2nd (my) car before BM died so now in the mrs hands (I've given up on public transport for commute, back 2 wheels...)I own two Citroens,an 03 Xsara VTS (lightly modified) and an 05 C2 VTS as a daily driver.I have done nearly 50k in under 2 years in the C2 (it is now on 97k) and apart from regular servicing all it has needed is an alternator an engine mount and an air con pipe.The Xsara i have owned for over 6 years and has been a bit more troublesome,window regs and heater control modules being the main offenders,but from experience of helping my friend out at his workshop sometimes, i dont think modern French are any more or less unreliable than cars from any other country and are often easier and cheaper to repair.
My Father swears by Peugeots when he had his driving school and again most were approaching 200k with no major problems.
My Father swears by Peugeots when he had his driving school and again most were approaching 200k with no major problems.
Mr Jenks said:
Do French cars still fall apart? Is the pope still catholic
What is the build quality like? See watchdog / rogue traders
What is the build quality like? See watchdog / rogue traders
The newer Renault cars have got a lot better, especially the RenaultSport cars, I've covered 14k in a 182 Trophy, 8k in a Megane R26 and 17k miles in a 172 with no issues at all other than general wear and tear.
The 182 didn't have any rattles and felt pretty well screwed together, the 172 does have a few rattles now and I've had a few electrical gremlins but this car has covered a fair few track/ring miles and is on bilsteins which do tend to test the build quality. My R26 was perfect, felt very well put together no rattles no problems overall a lovely car.
I also had a Mk1 clio years ago that covered 100k miles in the family, to reliability issues but it did have a lot more rattles and certainly wasn't as well put together as the cars of late.
Overall IMO they aren't as well put together as some premium brands but they certainly aren't as bad as they use to be, certainly wouldn't say it'll be any worse than a 350z
Mechanically and electrically they're just as good as any other car for the most part, some still have the odd mechanical issue but then lots of non-french cars do too, plenty of Corsa VXRs popping holes in pistons.
Renault in particular own a massive share of Nissan so there are a few parts and even engines/boxes shared across both brands ( I wish my Clio had a Nissan sourced box
).
I can only comment on Renaults but they skimp massively on paint, the oem alloys are painted so thin it's ridiculous.
The 250 is an amazingly capable yet not too shouty (think Focus RS spoiler et al) car, have you had a gander over at meganesport.net ?
I've done 14k~miles in my Clio, so far have had the recaro seat covers replaced, an alloy replaced due to paint flaking (I refused a single wheel refurb and they weren't up for respraying the lot). The alloy only flaked because it had been previously (badly) refurbed just prior to purchase and the seats are due to renault using crap materials for the bolsters.
I'm also monitoring the gearbox closely as for a year old car it's pretty stiff from cold and a bit crunchy when you first set off.
So.... they're better but still some way to go and I don't think the megane suffers the problems the Clio does.
They're fantastic to drive though
Renault in particular own a massive share of Nissan so there are a few parts and even engines/boxes shared across both brands ( I wish my Clio had a Nissan sourced box
).I can only comment on Renaults but they skimp massively on paint, the oem alloys are painted so thin it's ridiculous.
The 250 is an amazingly capable yet not too shouty (think Focus RS spoiler et al) car, have you had a gander over at meganesport.net ?
I've done 14k~miles in my Clio, so far have had the recaro seat covers replaced, an alloy replaced due to paint flaking (I refused a single wheel refurb and they weren't up for respraying the lot). The alloy only flaked because it had been previously (badly) refurbed just prior to purchase and the seats are due to renault using crap materials for the bolsters.
I'm also monitoring the gearbox closely as for a year old car it's pretty stiff from cold and a bit crunchy when you first set off.
So.... they're better but still some way to go and I don't think the megane suffers the problems the Clio does.
They're fantastic to drive though
no problems so far with mine only 2k in though but what i have noticed is the doors have a nice heavy clunk when you slam them, they actually feel more solid than the doors VW MK5 GTI i had previously..
interior is pretty good on the FF versions but i couldnt live with the cup its just a bit too basic for me personally but depends what you need as i was very close to just going back to basics with just a cup and recaros
interior is pretty good on the FF versions but i couldnt live with the cup its just a bit too basic for me personally but depends what you need as i was very close to just going back to basics with just a cup and recaros
GrumpyTwig said:
the seats are due to renault using crap materials for the bolsters.
Despite all the history on the side bolsters mine are still perfectly fine after 40k. So either the material/construction is inconsistent, or other people get in and out of their seats a bit funny. Or are fat. Swervin_Mervin said:
GrumpyTwig said:
the seats are due to renault using crap materials for the bolsters.
Despite all the history on the side bolsters mine are still perfectly fine after 40k. So either the material/construction is inconsistent, or other people get in and out of their seats a bit funny. Or are fat. 
We had no problems at all with our Renault Clio 182 that we owned until a couple of years ago.
Never missed a beat, nothing stopped working or fell off.
I've just bought a new Citroen DS3 Racing and the build quality is excellent.
One good thing about French cars is that they are very rust resistant.
My DS3R wheels arches are fully lined and the whole underbody seems to be fully coated in a 'Waxoyl' type finish.
Stef
Never missed a beat, nothing stopped working or fell off.
I've just bought a new Citroen DS3 Racing and the build quality is excellent.
One good thing about French cars is that they are very rust resistant.
My DS3R wheels arches are fully lined and the whole underbody seems to be fully coated in a 'Waxoyl' type finish.
Stef
I used to work at a Citroen dealership and drove practically everything they made for over a year.
Also saw plenty of used cars and cars coming into service aswell.
All in all they still dont have the finish of some brands. Quality of metal and plastics used often felt cheap. Although the C6 and new gen C5 were excellent machines in their own right!
The smaller petrol engines were always a bit flat and rubbish, but the hdi engines seemed punchy and quiet than say a VW TDI
Overall I would consider a estate c5 new shape, or a c4 piccasso seven seat as I like a versatile car, with quite a few toys myself still today. We are also looking at a c2 VTS hdi as a runabout.
Haven't had much to do with Renault some of the earlier cars of the century seemed poor with some issues and poor built finish, but I drove a Megane round Brands hatch and found it to be excellent fun!
French is certainly worth a look for the right price
Also saw plenty of used cars and cars coming into service aswell.
All in all they still dont have the finish of some brands. Quality of metal and plastics used often felt cheap. Although the C6 and new gen C5 were excellent machines in their own right!
The smaller petrol engines were always a bit flat and rubbish, but the hdi engines seemed punchy and quiet than say a VW TDI
Overall I would consider a estate c5 new shape, or a c4 piccasso seven seat as I like a versatile car, with quite a few toys myself still today. We are also looking at a c2 VTS hdi as a runabout.
Haven't had much to do with Renault some of the earlier cars of the century seemed poor with some issues and poor built finish, but I drove a Megane round Brands hatch and found it to be excellent fun!
French is certainly worth a look for the right price
My 197 has done 34,000 in just under 3 years, with me doing 80 miles a weekday for the last 18 months.
Largely it has been perfect, only fault being it spat out its clutch slave cylinder meaning i had no gears or anything along a dual carriageway. Not fun. but it was done under warranty and i got it back the next day.
Generally its fine, but even if it was a bit unreliable i wouldnt care. Its simple awesome to throw around!
Largely it has been perfect, only fault being it spat out its clutch slave cylinder meaning i had no gears or anything along a dual carriageway. Not fun. but it was done under warranty and i got it back the next day.
Generally its fine, but even if it was a bit unreliable i wouldnt care. Its simple awesome to throw around!
Stefan DS3R said:
Swervin_Mervin said:
Err, that's quite normal, especially on UK cars.
Yes, but not with felt!The whole area seems to be completely sealed, not like the usual plastic liner.
Stef
Edited by Stefan DS3R on Friday 3rd June 12:14
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