Why does everyone say never trust french cars?

Question

I want a citroen saxo as my first car but everyone is saying don't get one because they're french crap.. is it true?

Answer 1

I own a Peugeot 106 diesel (a Saxo in a different dress!) which is 17 years old. I have owned it since it was 4 months old. It has now done 176000 miles and, touch wood, has not left me stranded yet. Any car can be crap or brilliant, normally depending on correct, regular maintenance and simply not being abused. In my opinion you are better off going for an older car like a Saxo as there is less of the complicated (read expensive) modern tech to go wrong.

Just make sure you buy a good one. Take a mechanic who is familiar with Saxo's with you to check over any prospective purchase. If you don't know anyone you would be happy to trust, the AA can do inspections for you for a price.

Good luck :-)

Answer 2

Each year the Consumers Association publish the Reliability index which covers all the makes sold in the UK (and maybe some that are not). The data is obtained from survey questionaires filled in by owners. Citroen, Peugeot and Renault are consistently at the very bottom of this long list making them in actual owners experiences the least reliable cars on the market.



But like most statistics, there are more ways than one of looking at them and they need to be taken into context. The figures take ALL reported problems into consideration, minor as well as major. The fact that French cars are rated as the most unreliable does not actually mean that your Saxo, 207 or Clio is going to break down every month leaving you stranded, it means that there are more reported problems. French cars seem to be prone to far more electrical glitches than other cars, this may just be warning lights coming on when there is actually no fault.



In my own experience ~

My youngest son's Fiancee has a 4 year old Clio, it has actually come to a halt leaving her stranded 3 times in the last 18 months. A few years back i briefly had a Citroen C5 HDi which was plagued with warning lights coming on and the Air Con packed up the day before i was due to trade it in. On the other hand, one of my son's used to have a Peugeot 306 diesel which gave him no trouble, he sold it to a friend nearly 4 years ago and the guy still has it and has never had any problems. My wife has a Peugeot 406HDi 110 estate which is now coming up to 135k and it has never missed a beat.



As to the Saxo, my personal opinion is that the build quality is not good and it is an entry level model. The relevance of that is that an old Saxo has probably spent much of its life in the hands of teenage drivers. Why is that bad? Because due to high insurance they are forced into something like a Saxo but really want something like a Mitsubishi Evo or a Subaru Impreza and try to drive their Saxo as if it was one of them. In other words, they get thrashed by teenagers trying to make them what they are not. If in your mirrors you see a car pulling out to start overtaking a close bunched group of 6 cars, going up a hill and approaching a blind bend it is more likely to be a Saxo than a BMW. Quite likely 4 up and the engine red lining.

Answer 3

Hi Conor

here is the package in as much as what it costs to produce an automobile the french produce cars in mostly three factories Citroen, peugeot, and renault all three have similar body shapes which means most of the body parts come from the same steel pressing shop.

they have different markets the Citroen tend to be the most advanced ideas such as electric steering and pneumatic brakes, the renault tend to be the most basic and Peugeot do have the best diesel engines.

so what is the issue well they don't stay with one model very long before they come out with a new one. so spares tend to be a problem sometimes with body panels.

they the idea is to build a car which has a life expectancy of a maximum of 10 years and they need to be scrapped and recycled so when compared to some makes they are cheaper.

So as we english have always had issues with the french in the past 500 years some just keep this hatred up. which is what some of what you hear when something french is mentioned.

Not true but some just can't let it go. hence the issue over concorde. if they had bothered to clean up the runway concorde would still be flying the fact that this was an inherent problem waiting to happen some feel it had nothing to do with it.

so yes they are cheap cars made for a price and have a life expectancy so yes some have issue more out of national pride than fact.

the Ford or the hyundai or kia are no better really. so you pays your money and you make a choice.

Answer 4

There are a lot of idiots on the internet.....

At the age of car you're talking about given the newest Saxo will be about 10 years old, anyone who trolls out the usual "OMG all French cars are crap, buy a VW or Honda" is just showing they're not as expert as they think they are.



Any 10+ year old cheap car is going to be on its knees and needs careful checking before you buy.

Answer 5

The reason is they're not very well built and tend to fall apart and break down too often. Its not just French cars though,Italian cars made by Fiat and Alfa Romeo have the same bad reputation.

Answer 6

French cars are fine.......It's just the 'French people' we don't like !



@ Dr and Mrs......LOL !

Answer 7

never trust anyone or anything from france they are all snail munching surrender merchants