Auto Famberley Car

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Stuey

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Fellow Frogger
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Help!

My missus, who drives a Korean piece of shite that she likes (!), unbeknownst to her, is going to get a lovely French car to replace it for those times when I MUST drive it (ie. 3 and 5 yo kids in the kiddy seats). Only she doesn't know it yet...

I'll be honest - the Lantra hasn't missed a beat whatsoever (hasn't even rattled) in 80K - however, it is TOTALLY soulless, as you know.

I'm now looking for suggestions, a year in advance of when I decide to replace it (shhhh!).

The starting point is that I was considering a 1990 535i, but this site has brought me round to Froggy ways the more I read stuff from Alan S and the like, dedicated Francophiles. Also I like not to be noticed, and BM's are noticed.

The sticking point is that it must be an auto as 'er indoors only drives automatics. I'm picturing something 405/Xantia sized. The main prerequisite is that it must be reliable and pretty safe; anything French I can imagine buying will be up there in the driving quality stakes as far as I'm concerned. Handling, ride, & reasonable torque are all French hallmarks I'd expect.

Personally, a nice Diesel would go well with an auto, but I'm not sure we got the best diesels here, and they're a bit rare, too, with our market as it is. But you guys know more than me in this regard.

I'm open to all suggestions...

No, Daniel, a 19 Auto isn't big enough :)

Cheers

Stuey
 
What a great topic,
Shopping with someone elses money, so how much have we got to spend Stuey :D :rolleyes: :D

Cheers
Chris
 
There's a guy on the Australian Citroen Bulletin Board from Sydney called Chris Mortimer who has a Xsara auto which has done I think 80,000 klms of absolutely faultless motoring. He can't speak highly enough of it & as he uses his car for work is ready to replace it. He keeps making noises about a C-5 but is reluctant to drop this Xsara due to it's service & is presently thinking another Xsara.
I communicate with him on occasions & could give you his e-mail addy as I'm sure he'd have no objections to giving you a full report on his car.

Alan S
 
A new Mini CooperS!!

Whoops....wrong topic :D

Xantias are a good pick in my books for a cruisy commuter with a difference, driven a few, liked them a lot.....mmmm what are the V6s worth these days? :)

405s seem more dynamic (a better brisk drive) to me, but (very, cept the series1s) debatably not as well built as the Xantias.

neither come anywhere near a 535 in ummpf....BMWs can be very "cold & dark"....something the Xantia certainly isn't wink
________
Sweetpenelope1
 
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Hi Guys,

well personaly I'm kinda interested in getting Angela a Xantia Turbo diesel in the next year or so. Fantatic torque, it'd tow anything for me, great fuel economy, effortless performance (like all Citroen turbo deisels for the last 20years).

I find Xantias a rather plain boring car. Then again I own a CX, DS, ID, and GS, so most cars are rather bland & boring next to those :D

Basicly?? Go drive some cars, I'd do my best to park me bum in a Luguna, XM, C5, Xantia (petrol & diesel), 405, and maybe even a C3 when they come out. Auto's??? YUK!!! Mate, I trained my wife before I married her, no auto's in my yard :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :p :p -- Wouldn't bloody hear of it eek!

seeya,
Shane L.
 
Stuey:
Help!

The main prerequisite is that it must be reliable
Click to expand...
Hmm, the above segment basically rules anything out that comes from France judging from many comments within this forum on the various French marques, well, except say a Renault 12, but that is likely too small, and the auto's certainly are not reliable. :)

OK, seriously, so you have around at least 15K to spend (535i value). Was the Lantra bought new? Just wondering if that is why it has covered nearly 100,000 trouble free k's. One thing not to forget with the French cars are things like timing belt replacements at around 100,000k's.

Apart from the obvious like Laguna, Xantia and Pug 406's (406's are high teens low $20K range)How about a Subaru Liberty, Audi 80/A4, VW Passat. The Subaru is probably seriously short of flair, but very reliable and not bad to drive, sure not French but worth trying out to find out which suits you best than just narrowing the field.

Simon
 
wink I would seriously also look at the 2.0 Renault Scenic or the Laguna as a serious car. I think they are great cars if you have a family to get about... tongue
 
We're in a similar situation in my family. Dad, after years of driving fairly modern Aussie cars (Commodores, Magnas etc) he has been driving my old 505GR to work each day - and has really grown to love it.

Basically, he will be looking at getting himself a 2nd hand car next January, and was at first looking at a 4 year old Magna or something bland like that, but his experiences in my 20 y/o Pug has created a strong interest in cars such as a late model 405, or possibly an early model 406.

I hope I have fully converted him by the time comes around for him to buy one :D
 
Thanks guys, keep it comin'!

Budget will be about $16K, but maybe up to $20K if I gets me teeth into something interesting...and the Xantia TD sounds interesting...

Yep, Lantra was bought new when new kiddie was due, for trouble free no servicing routine for a few years (ie. they do it). That's over now, and I can't be bothered. Funny that; I hate working on boring cars, but not interesting ones. Weird.

In fact, the Liberty wagon was considered when this was bought, but they were a bit pricey. You reckon seriously that they're unreliable, Simon? It's a priority that the missus doesn't get stranded, as she works shifts, plus it's the kid ferry.

Alan, I think the Xsara might be slightly too small. Close to a 5 series is about right for us.

Thanks again :)

Stuey
 
Stuey

I would consider a 406. They will be about the same money as the BMW in a years time and they shouldn't have too many clicks on them by then. Should be a few auto's on the market also.

Cheers

Bob
 
Stuey,

If you reckon the Xsara's a bit cramped, go the Xantia.
I helped a guy out with a problem in the UK a few weeks ago who had a Xantia. It was a normal routine servicing type of thing which at the time I thought that although it should have been done around 60K klms that perhaps his may have done 100 or so based on what needed doing.
I nearly fell off the chair when he eventually responded thanking me for the help with the statement that if he got ANOTHER 190,000 MILES out of it with no prblems, he'd be happy. You don't hear a real lot of bad problems with the Xantia and of those you do, most seem to come from types who drive a car until it stops & then complain that it did :rolleyes:
Shane should be able to back up any claims about Xantias; but don't get him going on autos whatever you do blush

Alan S
eek! eek!
 
If the later (post '98?)Xantia autos with the "thinking" gearbox are in your price range when you come to buy, try one long and hard before you buy it. We had mum's car for a test run for half a day before she bought it, and didn't really notice the "quirks" of this box at the time. Mum is now close to convinced that there's something wrong with the auto, though her mechanic, who I trust, and the dealer both warrant its health. The mechanic tells me he knows of other owners of cars with this style gearbox (I think it's also shared with Peugeot) who have traded them, they got so tired of their behaviour.
As for Shane's comment about the Xantia being ordinary, I have to say it is a pleasure to get out off my very ordinary Xsara and drive mum's Xantia, even with the quirky auto. In my book, once you're used to hydraulic suspension nothing else feels right.
 
Stuey:


In fact, the Liberty wagon was considered when this was bought, but they were a bit pricey. You reckon seriously that they're unreliable, Simon? It's a priority that the missus doesn't get stranded, as she works shifts, plus it's the kid ferry.

Stuey
Click to expand...
No, the Subaru (and Subaru's in general) seem to be quite reliable cars. I've never owned one, but a couple of people I know do and they seem to have had no problems, in one case the car is approaching 180,000k's. Also they seem to have performed well in previous crash tests. Certainly worth a look as well as the usual French suspects. I've stuck to more modern cars as suggestions, mainly based on parts availability and safety features for family and child protection. Also if the car does let you down, your wife would not be greeted by the NRMA/RAA/RACV guy grumbling about Sitrun's, Renolt's or Poojoe's :)

Simon
 
Stuey,

You're edging on one of my pet topics. :rolleyes: With the experience of hindsight, I have owned "Froggys" since 1984 and can remeber being ferried home just twice. Once was when my better half parted company with a front wheel just after a wheel alignment and the other when the dreaded handbrake cable rubbed through a HP line on the hydraulics. Remember I live & drive in some places really remote from "Froggy Savvy" mechanics, so much so that on the occasion of the wheel incident, the local RACQ guy was under the bonnet tearing things out looking for the tie rod end when I got there - what went on there could be a subject for another posting, :mad: however, in the same time I have owned newer & lower mileage Jap vehicles through necessity.
I have found that the Jap stuff is more reliable as regards the smaller items but once the mileage starts to climb, that's where the Froggys come into their own. Many years ago I don't believe this was the case & to a point the roles have almost been reversed. Many of us have bought our Cits & Pug cars when they have had 200,000 klms or over on the clock & then whinged about reliability on small matters. To give you a couple of examples; I owned a 1982 Mazda E2200 short wheel base panel van for my work. it had done around 500,000 klms on it when I sold it & I could have told you every cent I spent on it; it was a brilliant piece of motor vehicle. Motor I understand was a copy of a Perkins Diesel. They then designed their own engine which I never heard a good word about. When I replaced it, I did so with a low mileage, one owner Ford Spectron (same thing in a later model with a petrol motor) I had head that Jap manufacturers had rethought their policies and that whereas the earlier vehicles were built with an estimated 10 - 12 year lifespan, the newer ones were 5 to 8. Having owned both, this isn't hard to believe. At 185,000 things started happening that are foreign to any Froggy owner and I have spent as much time on the side of the road as I have in the thing driving it (it feels like it anyway) It is now for sale, as soon as I finish spending mega hours fitting ANOTHER water pump. I don't fit originals as it would cost me over $400 for a new pump from Ford/Mazda or $110 from Repco. Only problem is that the Repco pumps seem to last just over 12 months. (So much for cheaper parts prices) By comparison, one of my sons bought a Lancer eek! promptly giving him the title of the black sheep in the family.
It had log books and 128,000 klms on the clock. It had a knock in the front end which turned out to be an incorrectly fitted lower control arm which was obviously a manufacturing fault (so much for Jap quality in assembly) and the comment from the mechanic that did the job for the car yard "She's had heaps of money spent on this car by the looks of things" I mean 128K and one lady owner??? He then went on to tell me how much he had done to his own "just under 100K klms" Magna with major steering components worn out etc. Which leads me to the conclusion that although I know that years ago the Japs did make well quality controlled reliable vehicles, I still get the impression that they are now walking in their own shadow which is why the sales of Jap cars are falling whilst the sales of European stuff is going through the roof.
By comparison, we have just bough a Cit with almost 200,000 on the clock without batting an eyelid.

Alan S
 
I'm a bit worried that Alan's experience with Mazda's is like someone having a bad experience with say a Renault and saying all French cars are bad news because of that one experience.

I thought most car people would have heard of the older Mazda/older Magna/Sigma problem where they basically need rings and valve stem seals every 100,000k's or so. Hopefully things have improved on the latest from Mitsi and Mazda! Subaru's seem to have a well earned reputation for reliability.

Simon
 
Simon:
I'm a bit worried that Alan's experience with Mazda's is like someone having a bad experience with say a Renault and saying all French cars are bad news because of that one experience.

I thought most car people would have heard of the older Mazda/older Magna/Sigma problem where they basically need rings and valve stem seals every 100,000k's or so. Hopefully things have improved on the latest from Mitsi and Mazda! Subaru's seem to have a well earned reputation for reliability.

Simon
Click to expand...
No Simon,

I'm not talking a one off experience. If you read the post again you'll find I spoke of a later model Lancer as well. The point I was trying to make is that everyone seems to get that warm & fuzzy feeling about Jap reliability that seems to exist for the first 150,000 then after that look out.
My brother-in-law has just fitted the third reconditioned motor to his Camry at 220,000klms and another guy I know also with a Camry has just done his second at 190,000.
I think people often mistake reliability for wearability and there's a big difference. Parts prices are another thing worthy of taking into consideration. Most of the Jap stuff makes the price of European cars pale into insignificance eek! eek! tongue

Alan S
 
Thanks again...

Simon, I stuffed up in the logic of my last post - I meant the reliability of the French cars - I know of the reliability of Subarus, based on a friend with a 550,000 k Leone 4WD and my brother's well thrashed (but well serviced) WRX which hasn't had one squeak, rattle or knock, or any failure. As well as the JD Power and equivalents where Subarus are well ranked.

Alan, good news about the E2200 - my Fat In Law has a diesel ute version for his work car, currently at 100,000k. I'll pass on the news. You're comments about Jap cars after 100,000 are what's worrying me about the Korean one after 85K - I can't see it doing much more than 100 without a new auto or rings. Especially with its Mitsubishi heritage.

Anyone, what's the 405 Auto like? I hate autos too, but I particularly hate the ones that are set up so they don't change down readily, and change up too soon. I exclusively use the Lantra's manually now.

Cheers

Stuey
 
be vary careful when it comes to reliability about cars just recently purchasing a 206gti new the car is running very well although it worries me that the car was made in pommy land working in the auto industry and knowing the reliability of english vehicles prior knowledge of this may have steered me in adifferent direction. anyway about the family car the hyundai should prove to be more reliable than people are saying given its mitsubishi design mitsubishi have picked up there act since the early sigma and magna days. dont think that your bmw will be much better knowing that some early 90s bmws were good for doing auto boxes at under 100k and costing up to 5k to fix.dont right jap reliability altogether
 
Stuey,

I'll vouch for the Subarus being reliable. I had a 1988 L-Series station wagon before I bought my 306. It had 380 000km on the clock when I sold it, and STILL didn't use any oil. I'm 99% sure the engine had never been out - there were no burrs on nuts anywhere. I did all the work on it myself, other than changing the clutch, which was the only problem I had in 2 years was clutch went. With that many k's, who cares right?

The mechanic who did the clutch told me he knows of Subarus whos engines go for up to 500 000km before needing major work. That beats our ol' 504 that only got to 280 000km.

I still say go a Xantia tho! More interesting than a Subaru.

Derek
 
Come on Stuey...be brave. Save some real money, bring her home a Lada Samara or three.

Face it, the first time anything you bring home breaks down you are going to wear it..so why not get it over with quickly
8_ball
 
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