|
I've always found French cars to be mechanically tough, and incredibly rust resistant - more so than the Germans, in fact. The roads are full of mid 90's Pugs and Citroens without a speck of visible rust on them. The principle problem, to my mind,is that the French manufacturers seem very quick (too quick??) to adopt new technology. The canbus wiring on the phase 2 406, for example which was a disaster. The first gen common rail diesels, which had a multitude of issues. The EOLYS / FAP setup in the early noughties. All seem to introduce unproven and immature technology onto fundamentally sound designs, and introduce problems for owners. The older stuff built before this all came about goes on and on.
The difference in reliability between a fleet of 20 second gen 406's, and the 20 first gen ones they replaced at a previous employer was so great, it was impossible to believe they were from the same manufacturers. The originals all racked up 100k+ with only minor issues. All the second gen's were immobilised at some point with multiplex wiring faults and first-gen HDI "issues". Neither technology existed on the earlier cars.
My biggest issue with our last French car, a 2004 Scenic, was the cost of repairs when it did go wrong. Nothing was accessible or easy to do, and the parts prices were astronomical. I don't expect to pay £1,000 (at an indie!) for a new clutch on a family wagon, for example, or to change a complete £250 window regulator, for the sake of a tiny piece of broken plastic. As for the hideously complex electronics, well they had a mind of their own, and the only place able to make any sense of them at all was a £100 p/h Renault dealer.
I don't believe many Scenic II's will ever get old. One fault in the right place when they get to about £2,000 in value, and it's scrap.
The older Peugeots, like the op's, were fabulous cars. I've had a couple of late 90's 306s which were also tough and great to drive. Cheap to fix, easy to work on, reliable in the first place.
|
