Let's not forget that even renault give you 4 years warranty as standard, they obviously have more faith in their motors than VAG.

Didn't mean to start an anti-French campaign, my retiscence comes from owning an utter dog of a Peugeot. 

 

 Went to look at one this morning and was treated to a test drive. Exterior- love it. Interior- love it, equipment- love it, performance from the 1.6 turbo petrol- love it, ride- oh dear its horrible. Its like driving a hippo whose knees have been replaced with breeze blocks. It manages to be wallowy and crashy all at the same time! Given the long distances we'll be travelling in it i'm not sure I can live with that. Will have to see what the gaffer thinks, I could still be tempted by a 13 plate given they're rolling in at half list price which pitches it cheaper than the new Rapid we've been looking at. Looked at a DS4 too, not so certain. 

Dacia are Romanian though. Its an interesting point - all the campanies that supply five or more years as standard are Korean or Japanese. I like the fact they obviously have faith in their product but Id also like to know how many claims are made and how much it costs them.

 

Dacia is from the Renault/Nissan parts bin hence lobbing them in the mix.

 

Korean cars aren't cheap now, even second hand. So those long warranties are just built into the price. I'm sure it helps keep the second hand prices up too.

 

I made many warranty claims on my Renault, I think I was into double figures before it ran out. Dealer was good no quibbles at any time. Servicing was extortionate for a supposedly budget brand. £190 for a basic service and that was 10yr ago.

Must admit I have always been a bit of a fan of French cars. The Citroen C6 with V6 Diesel and leather is a fabulous car if you can find one. Always loved the DS, Citroen SM is seriously sexy  the CX was good and I thought the Citroen CS was great in my childhood as a friend's mum had one . Sounded nice (aircooled flat 4) and had nice floaty ride and seemed to rev forever. I liked the BX back in the day too and the Peugeot 205, 405 and 306.

 

My grandad had a Peugeot 305 which I swear had the most comfortable seats and most supple ride I have ever encountered in a car plus it was quiet and refined, well at least when it wasn't overheating! Having said that I had a little 106 which never gave me a minute's grief and it too was nippy and had Peugeot's then legendary ride/handling balance (where did it all go wrong)

 

That new DS5 looks nice (Hate the one fake exhaust pipe though) but I would be wary of reliability and dodgy dealer service. I have to admit though it is a stunning looking bit of design.

Edited 11 February, 201412 yr by Matt Bodycombe

How do Skoda manage to get that results,& regularly,  it must be the low number of Skoda Owners, and the happy ones responding.

 

Only 66,000 Skoda sold in the UK in 2013, and many lemons,

and disinterested Skoda Dealers when people even have small problems.

Skoda UK Customer Services do like to try and 'make you happy', then they hand you back into the Dealerships and it often goes wrong again.

The 'Pulling Left' carry on and replacing tyres after months of messing Owners about is an example.

 

Lots of French Cars sold in the UK, many times more than Skoda, and often more sold than other VAG brands.

 

To be precise, sales of cars in the UK 2013 (selected brands):

 

Volkswagen - 194,085

Audi - 142,040

Peugeot - 105,435

Citroen - 78,358

Skoda - 66,081

Renault - 46,173

SEAT - 45,312

Dacia - 17,146

 

Total four main VAG Brands: 447,518 (19.76% of market)

Total three French brands + Dacia: 247,112 (10.91% or market)

Jonny Smith was quite positive about the car when he reviewed it recently. Should be available to view on their website. As long as you don't entertain the automatic/electronic gear shift version, it'll be fine, going off what others ^ have said. The EGC gearbox is something that rhymes nicely with bright....

That is true about Renault Service pricing aspman. I wonder if the servicing for Dacias will be as cheap as the cars considering that they are being sold from Renault dealers. By all accounts though Dacia has proven to be a huge hit in the UK. According to this week's Autocar Dacia found 17500 buyers last year. Many of those buyers are buying with own money and are the sort of people who read What Car so Renault would be mad to alienate them. Dacia are huuuuuge on the continent (hence delayed launch here) especially in Germany and France where they are treated as rugged workhorses and runarounds. The build on them seems solid and in the higher spec Sandero you have the new 900cc 90bhp turbo triple from the Clio, said to be a good engine.

As to Skoda customer care, it does seem to have gone down the pan. Skoda was pretty good to me when I had my failed turbo saga just out of warranty (2009)which I vented about here at the time, or rather the dealer I was recovered to (Murray Skoda in Newton Abbott) were really good in pushing for goodwill. Ended up paying the not inconsiderable £350 labour but got a new turbo gratis...mind you it was Mlada Boleslav that offered that after we insisted it get posted to Skoda central, Skoda UK wanted to dig their heels in. Was pretty disgusted. As said before the Czechs are good guys but the UK op now is not really up to snuff, too caught up with their own hype.

Edited 11 February, 201412 yr by Matt Bodycombe

On the subject of five-year and seven-year warranties on Korean cars I don't think it's the case of Hyundai having more faith in their cars - more a way of overcoming consumer prejudice after years of turning out dogs (makes a change from eating them I suppose).

VAG only offer three-year warranties because that's what they think they can get away with (and they do).

I have a 2009 Grand C4 Picasso. Mechanically, the only thing to go wrong (61,000 miles so far) has been the lock on the rear hatch. It has numerous electrical gremlins though:

It eats headlight bulbs (approx 16 so far in the 3 years I've owned it).

The one touch function on the front passenger window only works when it feels like it.

Water got into the fuse box under the bonnet.

Plus a few other quibbles with the electrics.

The dealers have been awful. On their fifth attempt to fix the electric windows I was told the car was fixed, so I immediately start it and wind down the passenger window then try to wind it back up - no joy. I'm still at the dealers so I show them that it is still not working, only to be told by their chief mechanic that I was "pushing the button wrong". This being the same mechanic who, the first time I brought it in, told me that the reason the one touch wasn't working was that it didn't have one touch. This despite the other 3 windows having one touch and the front passenger one touch working from the switch on the passenger door, just not the switch on the driver's door.

On the subject of five-year and seven-year warranties on Korean cars I don't think it's the case of Hyundai having more faith in their cars - more a way of overcoming consumer prejudice after years of turning out dogs (makes a change from eating them I suppose).

VAG only offer three-year warranties because that's what they think they can get away with (and they do).

Was Hyundai one of the first car manufactures to offer 3 years warranties when they started to sell in the UK, (at least that's what I've been told, before my time) a time when the mainstream manufactures only offered 12 months? If that's true, Perhaps VAG will follow suit again?

If vag gave a 7 year warranty they'd have to start building them to last that long without major issues.

All this talk of French cars has got me looking at the C5 Tourers (again)

@Cheezymonkai: trouble with the KIA warranty is it may be 7 years but has more holes than a collander. Mate of mine has one of those cubist Kia things the Soul and had issues with it. The Dealers try to dodge all the time and say it is "wear and tear" etc. :/

@Cheezymonkai: trouble with the KIA warranty is it may be 7 years but has more holes than a collander. Mate of mine has one of those cubist Kia things the Soul and had issues with it. The Dealers try to dodge all the time and say it is "wear and tear" etc. :/

 

Certain parts, such the ICE system are only covered for 12 months

All this talk of French cars has got me looking at the C5 Tourers (again)

I like them too, big, safe and very nice looking. I especially like the fix centre steering wheel unit.

This should go some way to countering any sneers about French reliability. Back in the 70s and 80s Peugeots were pretty good quality cars and there are still loads of 504 hacks doing the business in Africa I believe.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/classiccars/10233960/Classic-workhorse-311000-mile-Peugeot-305.html

My Kia Ceed is approaching 7 years old and I've had no quibbles with any warranty work. The French cars are great to look at now and I'd consider one but always worry I might break it..

@Cheezymonkai: trouble with the KIA warranty is it may be 7 years but has more holes than a collander. Mate of mine has one of those cubist Kia things the Soul and had issues with it. The Dealers try to dodge all the time and say it is "wear and tear" etc. :/

Yeah I know, but vag do the wear and tear too.

I just think it speaks volumes that vag offer 2 years or 3 years/60k miles.

Skoda do not cover many things after 6 months / 6,000 miles, even with a 2 year Europe Warranty or 3 Year UK warranty 'Mechanical Adjustments'.

 

Dealers might do them, but you need to be aware where they are excluded.

 

 

http://skoda.co.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Brochures/Warranty-Booklet-single.pdf