I knew there was a reason I bought another MB

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marcos

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 6, 2003
Messages
1,313
Location
Hertfordshire
Car
C43 estate
I am currently spending a while in Vale do Lobo, Portugal. I hired a car and ended up with a Renault Scenic, what a pile of rubbish.
It doesnt have a key just a fag packet sized thing you slot into the dash and then press start. It actually lets you press start without inserting the card thing so security is crap, and sometimes when you press the button to stop the engine nothing happens and you have to open the door first.
When I put it in reverse the gearstick came off in my hand and the glass shatered on the tailgate when I closed it.
Some of us on this forum moan about their cars but I think if this were a Renault forum we would all be contemplating mass suicide by now. :crazy:

We are all lucky to be able to afford decent cars, believe me. ;)
 
marcos said:
Some of us on this forum moan about their cars but I think if this were a Renault forum we would all be contemplating mass suicide by now. :crazy:

We are all lucky to be able to afford decent cars, believe me. ;)

Wifey's ex-car was also a Frog-motor, a Safrane. :crazy: :crazy:
Seemed OK when we got it to replace a Rover 820 but after a couple of years we were getting fed up with the driver's door coming apart everytime we closed the door. And it was too soft and wallowy. It had a strange feature called kick-down, whereby it didn't so much accelerate as 'gather momentum' and make more noise.

Her R Reg C180 is far more responsive and far better built.
 
french cars and electrics are always a source of amusement, I had a Citroen with a single wiper that didn't work when it was raining (never did solve that one, it worked fine in the dry, fine when blasted with a hose pipe yet steadfastly refused to budge as soon as a mere spot of rain fell on the screen) and despite one of the most complicated ignition systems known to man would only start if it felt like it. Another Citroen that cut out everytime you went through a puddle due to the careful positioning just below the front bumper of the injection system's air intake. a peugeot that had joke central locking which like the electric windows worked some days but not others, a sunroof that refused to budge and a heater fan that only worked on hot days - well when I say "work" i'm referring to the fact that it was blowing out hot air no matter where the temp setting was.

I'll never have another French car unless it's a Citroen 2CV or Renault 4 with a starting handle :)

Andy
 
Ah, memories. To be more precise, of a Peugeot 405 I had as a company car. Apart from the paint falling off in great flakes at 4 months the electrics caused true misery.

It had thermostatic control for the aircon/heater. Worked very well until the headlights were turned on, when it simply defaulted back to cold air unless you put it past a detent onto "max" when it blasted out very hot air.

So at night or bad visibilty you ended up with two position climate control: very cold or very hot and nothing at all between. Dealer started changed everything on what seemed a near randon basis until the dreaded "faulty loom" was claimed to be the problem.

Came back three weeks later and seemed OK for a couple of days but then things all electrical played up on a regular basis.

In the end the thing went back to Peugeot after 18 months. Never again!
 
Driving in Portugal :crazy: Good luck marcos. I tried that once, had a blowout due to a loose cobblestone in the road, then got T boned a few days later by a local! Jeez they bad drivers over there.

Enjoy your holiday if that's what it is and watch out.
 

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