[immewaycypef]

Although I had a French car and now I own a Vauxhall, I can't deny you're wrong there even though I was in denial when I owned a Renault (mind you, the engine kept going but the suspension parts kept giving all sorts of noises). The way French cars are built is appalling. I only happened to go up north last weekend to see my relatives and while I was there, my uncle had to fix two cars - one of which was a '53 reg Renault Clio. The state of it mechanically-wise was appalling, and it had only done 30k miles. The job that was required was to replace a knackered driveshaft (I even had a look at the knackered one, and it was all rusty and broken) as Renault wanted 200 quid to replace it (my uncle charged £40 for whoever this customer was). Terrible customer service, and the customer wasn't exactly happy afterwards as the problem was to fix an ABS light on the dash, and a new driveshaft (like Renault recommended) didn't fix it. Beyond a knackered driveshaft, you could spot other things wrong such as green and black coolant (looked very dirty towards the bottom).

Now I own a Vauxhall, I certainly won't be going anywhere near another French car. Anything's bound to be more alot more reliable (maybe not for some Italian manufacturers), and it doesn't necessarily have to be Japanese.

People always say to me "you cant knock a French car until you've driven one" and I've driven a Clio 182 Cup, 106 GTI, 206 GTI-180, Clio 197 F1 Edition and some others that werent any good either. Everyone of them had build quality issues, the new Clio seems alot better than the older ones and the 197 didnt rattle as much, but theres only so much u can find out on a test drive.

[SappyAppy]

People always say to me "you cant knock a French car until you've driven one" and I've driven a Clio 182 Cup, 106 GTI, 206 GTI-180, Clio 197 F1 Edition and some others that werent any good either. Everyone of them had build quality issues, the new Clio seems alot better than the older ones and the 197 didnt rattle as much, but theres only so much u can find out on a test drive.

Yeah true. Still, the new Clio is relatively new and only time will tell.

If there's one French company that stands out worse than all the others, it's Peugeot. Peugeot have to be by far the worst company i've ever come across. IMO, I think their cars look fugly (I especially hate their convertibles, which are just fashion accessories on wheels) and they seem to be some of the most unsatisfactory cars on the road when there's problems.

[Dvjkefdw]

sounds like the car lasted u well but bad luck

my ibiza has given me no problems at all, had for 30k and has done 87k on the clock and still going strong. looking for a new car and there is a gti 16v ibiza in york for 1500quid which i am v tempted by, but the 117k on the clock is off putting

may just wait and get a mk3 1.8 20vt model next year

[immewaycypef]

Yeah true. Still, the new Clio is relatively new and only time will tell.

If there's one French company that stands out worse than all the others, it's Peugeot. Peugeot have to be by far the worst company i've ever come across. IMO, I think their cars look fugly (I especially hate their convertibles, which are just fashion accessories on wheels) and they seem to be some of the most unsatisfactory cars on the road when there's problems.

Throw Shitroen in too, their the sister company of Peugeot and Saxo's are bl00dy horrible!!!

[SappyAppy]

Throw Shitroen in too, their the sister company of Peugeot and Saxo's are bl00dy horrible!!!

Yeah, too right. It annoys me even more how boy racers 'try' to impress others with their modified to s**t Saxo's as well as pass them off as VTR's. Truly horrible cars.

Still, i'm happy with my Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 (Twinport version). However after sitting in a Vauxhall Astra (latest one), I think it's one of the best made Vauxhall's and I certainly wouldn't hesistate to buy one of those after i've finished using this Corsa. The only thing i've needed to do on this car so far is have the brakes cleaned (I didn't think they were working particularly well when I first got it) and replace the front two tyres (a bit silly to overlook this) as they were the original crap Pirelli's from the factory and very badly worn. However I decided to replace all four rather than just two so I fitted Kumho's on all four wheels and it's fantastic.

[Dvjkefdw]

yeah the vtr is a joke really, my 1.4 ibiza can give it a run to a point so its nothing special

yeah i beleive the standard pirellies are not great, i have a couple of toyo p1-r's on mine and they are great

[clubcughSheet]

Too bad

Time for a new car

I am thinking of a new car myself by the end of the year

[poispanna]

Peogeot and Citroen are known for crappy engines and transmissions, every review talks about it

[RichardHaads]

Peogeot and Citroen are known for crappy engines and transmissions, every review talks about it

Lets hope my Honda is different! [thumbup]

[clubcughSheet]

Lets hope my Honda is different! [thumbup]

Hondas are great cars...

[Alkanyadela]

From diesel to petrol.. expect that you have to visit a petrolstation about 3 to 4 times more often.

[SappyAppy]

From diesel to petrol.. expect that you have to visit a petrolstation about 3 to 4 times more often.

It wouldn't bother me. Personally, I hate the sound a diesel makes so i'd rather have a petrol anyday. From brand new, I don't see much point if a diesel in most cases costs £500 more than the petrol, which would probably take 10 years to reclaim the cost.

[Alkanyadela]

For me it is a bit easier to pay road tax ( which is around 200 Euro) per 3 months than to have to fill up a gastank with petrol once or twice a week or more depending on the milage you drive on average for 50 ~ 60 Euro.

Petrol is expensive, plus you run engine in higher revs, it drinks more than a diesel does, and prolly needs more taken care of.

1 liter of petrol here is ~ € 1,30
1 liter of diesel here is ~ € 1,01

I like diesel and diesel is cheaper when you drive more than 15000 ~ 17000KM per year. ( 9300 ~ 10500 miles)

Of course this is based on Dutch prices/taxes.

i hate the sound a diesel makes You ever heard the Audi A6 quattro, 3.0L diesel? It's more quiet than a petrol engine, only older diesels make that distinquised sound.

plus diesel have alot of torgue underneath, sharp cornering in 3rd gear at 1200rpm or less...

[RichardHaads]

Petrol is expensive, plus you run engine in higher revs, it drinks more than a diesel does, and prolly needs more taken care of.

1 liter of petrol here is ~ € 1,30
1 liter of diesel here is ~ € 1,01

Its more expensive for Diesel than Petrol in the UK. Admittedly you get more for your money.

Gonna spend the next two weeks on my holidays in Spain, so when i get back, i shall be shopping for the Civic type. Just went to the Honda dealer, had a look inside and got some info. When i get back, im going to arrange a test drive

[Alkanyadela]

I eat honda's for breakfast.
Enjoy your trip in Spain.. and behave!!

[Dvjkefdw]

generally diesels are lower insurances groups though so that also offsets the cost of the car as well

[RichardHaads]

generally diesels are lower insurances groups though so that also offsets the cost of the car as well

Not correct, the petrol is group 9 and the diesel is group 10!

[Dvjkefdw]

as a general rule of thumb they are

[joulseenjoync]

I love me diesel 40+ mpg on my daily commute rocks

[Alkanyadela]

I love me diesel 40+ mpg on my daily commute rocks

Plus diesel performance is equal if not better than petrol engines.

Audi made rudolf diesel smile in his grave by the le mans races.