I enjoyed the debate between Chris Beckwith and Eugene Soukharnikov. I respect
both their rights to their opinions. With apologies to Eugene I must come down
200% on Chris's side. On the whole, Peugeot's are pretty sorry cars. And the
manufacturer seems pretty arrogant and insensitive to me. Every criticism I
have ever heard of both the product and the company appear to be true. I put up
with mine because I am a good mechanic, I am cheap and I am slightly cuckoo.
You have to be at least two of these to keep on driving a Peugeot. Or else you
have to be filthy stinking rich or stupid.
The car itself is much closer in overall quality and intelligence of design to
the '74 Austin Marina my dad once owned than to a recent American or Japanese
car. It isn't even up to VW standards much less Mercedes or Volvo. Don't even
think about comparing it GM, Ford, Toyota, etc. The price of parts and the
dearth of service literature are testimony to Peugeot (the manufacturer)'s true
colors.
I could fill a book. At any moment my well-maintained '91 505 Turbo SW8 needs
something. If it isn't the black paint that wore off the window trim needing
touching up it's the interior light door switches that need lubrication again,
blah, blah, blah, blah. Of course, the transmission will always be awful, the
turbo rides like an empty truck, the air conditioner is anemic, the door locks
are sticky, etc., etc., etc., etc. I paid close to $300 for a stinking
universal joint, for crying out loud. They want close to $100 for those silly
hub caps that the mechanics can't figure out how to get off. They wanted $65
for a bloody fog light lens. They rarely have anything in stock. It is
ridiculous.
Meanwhile, my wife's '86 Dodge continues to perform flawlessly. In any given
year I spend more time on the stinking Peugeot than I have on the Dodge in the
ten years we've owned it. This is no exxageration. And do you know what's the
matter with the Dodge? The headliner is falling down. Other than brakes,
mufflers, belts, hoses, some other consumable parts and a pick up coil inside
the distributor this is all that has gone wrong with the Dodge in ten years.
And do you know what Eugene? A lot of people swear that MOPAR products really
suck. So a lot would argue that I'm not really even comparing this silly
Peugeot to a 'good' car!
So why do I drive the Peugeot? I like it. I don't like Dodges and Mazdas and
mass-appeal cars like that. But I would rather be driving a mercedes like the
one I had before it got wrecked and I bought my 505.
I hate to say it Eugene but you are really deep in denial. I prefer Mac over
Windows and I still run a couple of beta VCRs. I am nuts. Not one of my
neighbors or co-workers or relatives would take my Peugeot if I gave it to them
as a gift.
Anyway, I know I'm not going to change Eugene's mind and I have to go. See
ya...
Don Nordenholt