No more Peugeot?

[MG Man]

chriswilliams, buy a Mini Cooper

lol...it's a nice car but I need more room

lol well is me and wifey alone so..................

[christopherwilliams2]

duh worry..word on the track is that Renault might be coming back to T'dad with a new alliance...

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!

eh heh boss!!! eh heh!
Well if that is true i might hold back...no timeline??
because the first car i was going to buy was a Megane 2 and I had to pull ah hard brakes....so what is this I hearing boy...

'heads to renault's website to see what it have

[christopherwilliams2]

chriswilliams, buy a Mini Cooper

lol...it's a nice car but I need more room

lol well is me and wifey alone so..................

well right now is me and wifey too but yuh know how it could end up...

[plex]

Good news for the Renault owners...Pointman-IA check that.

Hope to see this..

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PA-ePpo3mtA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed>

[MG Man]

chriswilliams, buy a Mini Cooper

lol...it's a nice car but I need more room

lol well is me and wifey alone so..................

well right now is me and wifey too but yuh know how it could end up...

pffffffffffft modern science ftw jed

[christopherwilliams2]

chriswilliams, buy a Mini Cooper

lol...it's a nice car but I need more room

lol well is me and wifey alone so..................

well right now is me and wifey too but yuh know how it could end up...

pffffffffffft modern science ftw jed

lol! de lion roars!!

[acesinghit]

renault coming back under a new alliance? sure i mean, which local dealer so stupid to take that risk especially in these times? I know several dealers who would never take that brand. French cars have no hope in T&T as we're too north americanised but good luck.

[christopherwilliams2]

renault coming back under a new alliance? sure i mean, which local dealer so stupid to take that risk especially in these times? I know several dealers who would never take that brand. French cars have no hope in T&T as we're too north americanised but good luck.

North Americanised????
maybe you should check the most popular car brands in Trinidad...

1. Japanese ( all chinee-ish)
2. European
3. American

[acesinghit]

^^actually you are right, when I mean north americanised I mean the more mainstream jap, korean and german brands in t&t and the fact that they won't buy peugeot, renault, citroen and skoda. but the "american" brands do poorly in T&T Ford exists locally because of the ranger and that is from thailand, the focus is the euro version as well as the mondeo.

the chevrolet's we get in trinidad are from south korea from the same plants daewoo used to build cars. since daewoo was shot and killed gm took over the operations.

who next.....jeep? virtually non existent.

[NickJr.]

Both the Renault and Peugeot brands have a very good following locally. Post-sale support is where the let downs have been. Pricing is another big factor. I would love to buy a Peugeot 307 RC or Renault Megane Sport. I know we can't get away from the Euro and Pound exchange rates but something seems seriously wrong to me

[saltydog]

christopherwilliams2, the Ford Focus, Skoda Octavia and VW Jetta are all under 200K... so take your pick

I heard rumors that the problems with the AL4 tranny Peugeot uses, and resulting warranty claims, is what caused City to go into the red, and sell out to Neal and Massy... anyone can confirm this??

In any regard, I do hope the brand picks back up locally... would love me a 308CC one day . N&M needs to do some aggressive marketing, speaking directly to the problems of the older cars, and stating that the new ones are a whole different breed

This is not true at all. When Neal & Massy bought City motors they were selling 50 cars a month and the service department was booming. It is true that problems with the AL4 came with the 307 but as said before it is only a problem if it is not dealt with properly.

[christopherwilliams2]

^^actually you are right, when I mean north americanised I mean the more mainstream jap, korean and german brands in t&t and the fact that they won't buy peugeot, renault, citroen and skoda. but the "american" brands do poorly in T&T Ford exists locally because of the ranger and that is from thailand, the focus is the euro version as well as the mondeo.

the chevrolet's we get in trinidad are from south korea from the same plants daewoo used to build cars. since daewoo was shot and killed gm took over the operations.

who next.....jeep? virtually non existent.

yes i noticed that the american cars even though they have the Chevrolet dealership here, it does not seem to be doing that well...I haven't seen any cars parked for sale at the Wrightson rd. outlet...i've seen them moved to Lifestyle Motors at El Socorro.

I am not sure about Ford....i have been seeing a few of foucs' and rangers well on the road but i am sincerely afraid they might go the way Peugeot, Opel, Renault have gone so far.

I am leaning towards the Skoda because I think Sterling is here to stay as there seems to always be a market for Mercedes Benz (their main brand) in Trinidad.

Sigh...if there was some way Peugeot could come back...to me most (not all) of the peugeot owners tend to love their car....Is true what's written above....the pricing is strange....even for a Euro.

[acesinghit]

Skoda is in T&T since what 94' or 95' with Sterling, I suppose with 16 years existence in this small market I sure hope they're here to stay. I think they should expand the Skoda lineup in Trini. The Octavia alone cannot build the brand, I mean look at VW's local lineup.

[damieG82]

^^ I agree... altho they are bringing the new Superb too eh... but they should also offer the Fabia and Yeti. Also, Ford is definitely here to stay... McEnearney was recented recognised by Ford HQ for having the highest sales growth of any Ford dealership in Caribbean/Latin American region. Coupled with the sheer volume of vehicles they sell, there's little doubt in my mind that they'd suffer the same fate of the other euro brands.

As for the *defunct* others, I dont think its a case of poor sales at all... I attribute their failure here to the local dealers 100%. Call it poor management, call it greed, call it piss poor marketing, or all of the aforementioned, there was no reason for them to go under that one can blame on the car brand itself. After all, going back to McEnearney, they were dealt a fatal blow with the recall of the Escorts and Fiesta's back in the late 90's, just about 2 years after the brand was relaunched domestically by them... that was a perfect time to call it quits. But they did the right and honourable thing by recalling the affected units and issuing new cars to the aggrieved owners, and turned the negative publicity into a positive by increasing brand awareness and demonstrating commitment to customer satisfaction. AFAIK no other local dealer has ever done that on such a scale (if at all)... not Bamotors (Renault), T&T Motors (Rover), or City/Amar Motors (Peugeot). And nothing turns a potential buyer off more than a "i dont give a flying f*ck bout you" attitude by a dealer.

The fact is, all of them were licensed dealers, which meant they had direct communication lines with the manufacturers. I'm sure the latter would have gotten involved in whatever needed to be done to rectify the problems with their cars, but like I said, the local businessmen just dont care enough to even report issues. I mean, how the heck can N&M still be charging Peugeot owners upward of $15K to repair a transmission with known manufacturer flaws?!! All I hadda say is too bad I dont own a Peugeot or a grenade launcher otherwise N&M was getting d message loud and clear

ok, now for some post-rant pics... of all the beauties we're missin out on becuz of the idiotic dealers

Opel/Vauxhall Insignia



Peugeot RCZ


Peugeot 308SW


Peugeot 308CC


Peugeot 3008


Renault Megane RS



Renault Laguna GT


VW Scirocco



Skoda Octavia RS


Seat Leon

[acesinghit]

^^^ drools.......

[mammoo]

the VW SCIROOCO is sweeeeeett!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

soon to be available in T&T!!!!

[MG Man]

trinis are morons
no japanese car can shine a light to the safety engineered into european cars
If I were driving a japanese car when that truck hooked and dragged me, I would have had to get a door, rocker panel, left AND right suspension AND pull the chassis back into alignment
The Mini did what a well engineered car is supposed to do...it isolated the impact with well-engineered weak points....

when people say their euro got a front end collision and the car mash up and engine fall out, what I hear is the car did what it was designed to do, ie absorb and isolate the impact, let the engine break away and NOT be pushed into the cabin.....

The other problem with trinis is they don't like to maintain their cars, and european cars need their scheduled maintenance...that said, no japanese car offers 20k / one year oil change intervals...............7 years and I haven't even touched the CVT fluid on the Mini.........

Biggest issue is the price dealers charge for parts and labour

Dealer quoted 1k for 4 plugs...got em in the UK for 20 pounds
ALL the parts to repair it after the accident cost TT35k including shipping and tax, compared to nearly 7ok from the dealer........

[damieG82]

MG Man, PREACH!!!

check this vid of a VW Golf crashed (offset) at 100km/h... the regular test is conducted at a more somber 64km/h. The statistics show that its the G-forces generated, and not the car itself, that could kill you

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_B8M_FfNw3I&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Unlike this test of a 4 Star rated Yaris. It shows quite clearly that once you introduce more speed, or a higher mass object into the collision, the Toyota buckles like foil . Thus the 'star' rating doesnt tell the whole story... and that story is that euro crash technology is far superior to the japs

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vcTf78b8WfY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

[lily_evo-X]

Looks nice ^^
As we talking Peugeot...the brand seems to be still well in Trinidad...today I saw a PCN 207 so I guess the brand is still on sale.






I won't mind thinking of the 308 as my next car but what I am worried about is service and support!

my mum has a 308... she absolutely adores it!! its a great buy and really stable... n&m support is fine jus need to know how to talk 2 them... act lik ya own the place... tht usually wrks..

[ek4ever]

trinis are morons
no japanese car can shine a light to the safety engineered into european cars
If I were driving a japanese car when that truck hooked and dragged me, I would have had to get a door, rocker panel, left AND right suspension AND pull the chassis back into alignment
The Mini did what a well engineered car is supposed to do...it isolated the impact with well-engineered weak points....

when people say their euro got a front end collision and the car mash up and engine fall out, what I hear is the car did what it was designed to do, ie absorb and isolate the impact, let the engine break away and NOT be pushed into the cabin.....

The other problem with trinis is they don't like to maintain their cars, and european cars need their scheduled maintenance...that said, no japanese car offers 20k / one year oil change intervals...............7 years and I haven't even touched the CVT fluid on the Mini.........

Biggest issue is the price dealers charge for parts and labour

Dealer quoted 1k for 4 plugs...got em in the UK for 20 pounds
ALL the parts to repair it after the accident cost TT35k including shipping and tax, compared to nearly 7ok from the dealer........

Are you serious??? No Euro can match a Honda or Toyota for reliability and quality....None....and nearly all the newer Japs are scoring 5 stars on the Euro NCAP so the Japs are making great progress in safety while still maintaining there superiority in quality and reliability.

My friend's B14 ran head first into a pickup ....each vehicle was doing at least 100km/h at the time of impact.....the backs of the vehicles flew up and kissed each other before dropping back down....that's the force of the impact....and ALL persons from the B14 survived with only 2 persons having to be strechered....if they were wearing their seatbelts in the back they would've walked out....that's a hell of safety engineering given the severity of that impact.

I knew someone who bought a new Pug and while driving it off the dealer lot it stalled and wouldn't start back up....not even the dealer could get it to start

The bottom line is that the reason some Euros can't make it here is simply because of poor quality

[damieG82]

trinis are morons
no japanese car can shine a light to the safety engineered into european cars
If I were driving a japanese car when that truck hooked and dragged me, I would have had to get a door, rocker panel, left AND right suspension AND pull the chassis back into alignment
The Mini did what a well engineered car is supposed to do...it isolated the impact with well-engineered weak points....

when people say their euro got a front end collision and the car mash up and engine fall out, what I hear is the car did what it was designed to do, ie absorb and isolate the impact, let the engine break away and NOT be pushed into the cabin.....

The other problem with trinis is they don't like to maintain their cars, and european cars need their scheduled maintenance...that said, no japanese car offers 20k / one year oil change intervals...............7 years and I haven't even touched the CVT fluid on the Mini.........

Biggest issue is the price dealers charge for parts and labour

Dealer quoted 1k for 4 plugs...got em in the UK for 20 pounds
ALL the parts to repair it after the accident cost TT35k including shipping and tax, compared to nearly 7ok from the dealer........

Are you serious??? No Euro can match a Honda or Toyota for reliability and quality....None....and nearly all the newer Japs are scoring 5 stars on the Euro NCAP so the Japs are making great progress in safety while still maintaining there superiority in quality and reliability.

My friend's B14 ran head first into a pickup ....each vehicle was doing at least 100km/h at the time of impact.....the backs of the vehicles flew up and kissed each other before dropping back down....that's the force of the impact....and ALL persons from the B14 survived with only 2 persons having to be strechered....if they were wearing their seatbelts in the back they would've walked out....that's a hell of safety engineering given the severity of that impact.

I knew someone who bought a new Pug and while driving it off the dealer lot it stalled and wouldn't start back up....not even the dealer could get it to start

The bottom line is that the reason some Euros can't make it here is simply because of poor quality

I STRONGLY beg to differ. Firstly, I can't believe you brought Toyota into this. They are the pits when it comes to reliability, or have you been living under a rock since last year. Every monday morning is something new... accelerator pedals, brake failure, steering failure, and now serious stability control software issues. And Honda is another story... they're known for shoddy transmissions (especially the CVTs), and faulty components like A/C compressors among other things. The fact is, no manufacturer is perfect, and by no means would I say any of those asian brands are better than a euro.

As for safety, the Euro Ncap system does have its loop holes... speed and barrier mass being the biggest ones. If you watch the crash test vids I posted above you'll see what I'm talking about. The Yaris, which got a 4 star rating, was absolutely decimated by the larger Camry, and that's at a snail speed of 64km/h. Imagine the outcome at our highway speeds of 100km/h or more. Conversely, look at how the Golf performed in the other vid, at 100km/h. Its passenger cell is much more intact than the Yaris' at the slower speed. That example about the B14 is irrelevant because so many factors contribute to an accident, and without being there to witness it, one cant emphatically speak about the performance of a car in the crash.

Lastly, I've been visiting showrooms lately becuz my brother is in the market for a new car. I have to say the euros are WAY superior to the asians. In the small 1.6 category, no Corolla, Civic, Lancer or otherwise can touch an Octavia, Focus, or Jetta. I'm a Mazda man and I wouldnt even say the new 3 is up to the task either. The only asian car that has a chance is the new Kia Cerato, and that's only from a features vs price standpoint, but not build quality, ride or handling.

[Mazdout]

Well said damie x2. Let's not get into the technical training part of it locally, cars shown above are fantastic but if brought into T&T would cost an enormous amount of $$$ and current tools assigned for parts. Which some dealers will struggle to get ahead and take time to understand. Peugeots have done an enormous amount of improvements overseas, just when the franchise was given up by it's last owner here. It's all about volume and net profits at the end of the day which the first world have captured in trade and marketing in it's economic growth, T&T is just a dot in the entire mix.

[christopherwilliams2]

Well said damie x2.

Ah dat meh seh!

[GDGunta]

I have a pbl 306.... sweet ride... everyone i spoke to asked about the tranni... I have a good specialist... anyone interested in his services can leave me a message on 4813322... My trani. was on its way out and i was considering a B14... this guy totally repaired it and saved me the embarrasment... for an affordable price too... I AM A CENTRAL FAN OF THE MODEL...

I HAVE A PBA engine and trani for sale too... 4813322... leave a message.