The Safrane.Info Forum!

Any idea what causes it in the first place? I have it on my safrane yet the previous two never had it and we still have one of them with the boot hatch / spoiler for the other in the garden too and that is also in good condition.

Thanks for checking up about the drive shaft, I will go with my local motor factors Sutton Auto Factors, they get their parts from various sources, based on price and availability. There's a firm in Hinckley, Leics. that will refurb my old drive shaft and return it within 3 to 5 days for £140.

The spoiler on my 2.0 is in very good condition apart from a small graze where I caught it with a box, this broke the surface lacquer, but I kept it confined to that area with a dab of clear nail polish I off the management! I think if the lacquer breaks down the paint on the plastic spoiler, spoils, don't know if thats it just my thoughts on the issue.

I'll update how I get on with 2.5 next week and post some pictures.

The lacquer theory sounds plausible, that must be what happened to mine then at some point in its past. I remember seeing it on ebay 3-4 years ago living in a farm yard and it didn't look like a well kept car so I avoided it. Then I ended up without a car for various reasons and bought this one blind at short notice after seeing it advertised on ebay. There were no pictures of it, just a vague description but I was so deseperate for a car for work I agreed to buy it blind and spent 15 hours on the road to buy it! Having got there and seen it I then realised why the bloke happily took it off ebay when I offered him £550 for it blindly - he was quids in!

To be fair to it, out of the 3 safranes we've had it's been the least trouble too. All I've done to it is a puncture repair, breather rebuild / PCV change and ATF change and the latter two were because it became so clogged that it started stalling and then one day went terminal on a busy roundabout. Spent the day on the breather and the next on the ATF and it's been as good as gold since so despite being a battered looking old dog I've been reluctant to let it go.

Well my 2.0 is very much the same type of Safrane, it looks quite rough and has many scratches and dings from a life on the streets of London, there is a lot of slack in the drive train and always has thump upon starting from slight over fueling, but has never let me down. Prior to my ownership it belonged to a very well to do gent in Primrose Hill who owned it from new and didn't really cosset it but used it and abused it, but did have it serviced and repaired as necessary. I bought it at four years old shifted to a less well heeled suberb of London and have continued with it in same manner really.

I bought the 2.5 as a replacement for 2.0 as wanted to have a 5 cylinder model before things became too difficult with parts. I haven't got the space for everything I would like to keep, so I'm passing 2.0 on to a mate, who's in need of a reliable runner. I did try selling it last year and couldn't even manage the scrap value.

For some reason despite the reliability of a safrane and its volvo lump they're not popular cars even at 2L. I think it's fair to say the average joe isn't aware of parts costs so I don't see that as an issue. It seems people will happily go with a 2L laguna, mondeo, or any other well known car rather than spend a few hours researching. When I first stumbled upon the safrane I did a lot of research not just on the internet but I also spoke to a couple of safrane owners and both said they've been the most hassle free cars they've had. With that in mind it's odd isn't it how their value is that of scrap!

It seems people like the well advertised unreliable heaps that are sold by the mass rather than a slightly rarer but very reliable car.