Don't Buy One Of These

[Dork Lard]

I'd give my left testicle to be back behind the wheel of one of my Fiat 131 Mirafiori's with Tanya, Debbie or the delicious Julia by my side. I don't care that it needed a lot of attention, if you loved it then it loved you right back.

Hey, you don't reckon they broke down as much as they did so's we could be stranded miles from nowhere in a layby for a few hours do you?

 

[carmanmemoranda]

That myth may have been true about 40 years ago if ever, it's definitely complete rubbish now. I've heard the same said about Italian and other nationalities of cars too, it was probably all rumour put about by the dismal British car companies in the past to try and justify buying their ropey rustboxes instead of looking at the good imported alternatives.

I've had my Citroen from brand new, now over 8 years old. Still stopping and starting perfectly without a hitch. It's been the most reliable car I've ever had, and I've had many brands.

Besides, most electrical and electronic systems aren't made by the car brand at all, they're bought in from one of the big manufacturers of such symptoms, e.g. Bosch or another similar supplier. I suspect that some of the premium car brands are actually cheaping out on their components to maximise profits. You can end up paying more for less, but with a supposedly posh badge stuck on it. The posh brand charges more and makes much more profit.

Try connecting to diagnostics on French cars versus others.

A lot use the same famous names as you mention. Some connect a lot easier than others.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Hehe. I've got a pirate clone of the Peugeot/Citroen main dealer system on a laptop, together with a Chinese interface.

I can do anything with it. I was using it the other day just to display the live pressures from the valve sensors while blowing up the tyres, just out of interest for the heck of it. Easy peasy.

I don't think there's any issue with diagnostics at all. The system I have is dodgy but widely available, but the independent garage systems all connect just as they would with any other brand. It has the same connector as any other brand. What do you think is the problem?

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Hehe. I've got a pirate clone of the Peugeot/Citroen main dealer system on a laptop, together with a Chinese interface.

I can do anything with it. I was using it the other day just to display the live pressures from the valve sensors while blowing up the tyres, just out of interest for the heck of it. Easy peasy.

I don't think there's any issue with diagnostics at all. The system I have is dodgy but widely available, but the independent garage systems all connect just as they would with any other brand. It has the same connector as any other brand. What do you think is the problem?

the connector has to be the same on all cars. Physically connecting is not the issue, it is getting into the systems that is the issue.

I have 3 diagnostic systems that have cost me thousands, and are updated regular ly.

the cars that are most awkward to diagnose, or interpret, are not just the french, but you can guarantee that French systems will often (not always) give me the biggest issues.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

The car manufacturers really should have agreed on some kind of open standard at the start, instead it's a complete mess of manufacturer-specific protocols.

To be fair, even the main dealer software is downright weird to use. It usually involves lots of rummaging down various options in the menu, some of which seem to take different routes to arrive at the same thing. But it didn't seem any better with the Fiat I had previously.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

The car manufacturers really should have agreed on some kind of open standard at the start, instead it's a complete mess of manufacturer-specific protocols.

To be fair, even the main dealer software is downright weird to use. It usually involves lots of rummaging down various options in the menu, some of which seem to take different routes to arrive at the same thing. But it didn't seem any better with the Fiat I had previously.

My point stands.

French electrics are still sworn at regularly, more so than most others.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

That myth may have been true about 40 years ago if ever, it's definitely complete rubbish now. I've heard the same said about Italian and other nationalities of cars too, it was probably all rumour put about by the dismal British car companies in the past to try and justify buying their ropey rustboxes instead of looking at the good imported alternatives.

Cars from all countries were bad at the time, not just British ones.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Hehe. I've got a pirate clone of the Peugeot/Citroen main dealer system on a laptop, together with a Chinese interface.

I have a Polish, Opensource, reverse engineered version for my car. It does much more than the main dealer's own systems does.