Should I buy that NEW Peugeot?

It's tempting to get that stylish turbocharged new Pug model that's so attractively priced.

Before your purchase, pls be mindful of the following:

1. Never expect your Pug to be as reliable as your Jap car. It will never be.

2. Ask about the warranty...how much do you need to spend at each warranty service?
eg: The price of the automatic transmission fluid might blow many people away.

3. Do you have a spare car?
Again, don't expect a super fast service. Your Pug might need to be left at the service centre for more than a day.

4. Prices of rims.
On our atrocious roads, its common to damage our rims. On Jap cars...no worries, replacement rims are cheap and easily available. You can't just waltz into any tyre/rim shop and ask for some Peugeot rims cos they have a Frenchly-unique rim offset. So, if your Pug rim needs to be changed, you could be in trouble. New Pug rims (OEM-type) are extremely expensive.

5. Be careful of the common problems...such as the De-Pollution Warning Issue, caused by excessive carbon buildup on the inlet valves (yes..INLET). This is caused by the EGR system that re-routes a little of the exhaust gases into the inlet valves to be re-introduced into the combustion chamber. With anything less then RON100 fuel and always gently driven, carbon will buildup on the inlet valves and this could even lead to harmful knocking/detonation. Very common on all Pugs globally EXCEPT in Japan where RON 100 fuel is available.

Juddering Wiper Blades - Incorrect Wiper Arm Angle

Assuming your rubber blades are not worn out, and your windshield is 100% uncontaminated and smooth, the other cause could be your wiper arm's angle. This is most common on older cars. 

Imagine using your glass squeegee to clean your glass panel. 

As you pull the squeegee down, the tip of the rubber blade faces UP. 

This gives you a clean, smooth sweep downwards, and you have a dry and clean glass panel. 

Your wiper blades operate on the same principle. 

As the wiper arm goes upwards, the rubber blade's tip faces DOWN. If the tip faces upwards, that rubber blade won't go upwards smoothly, and it'll judder. 

When wiper blade reaches the top, the rubber blade should immediately and noiselessly change direction. 

On the downward stroke, the rubber blade's tip shd face UPWARDS as the wiper arm pulls the rubber blade downwards. 

If your metal wiper arm is bent, the above might not happen, and you'll have juddering issues. 

To check, look at your wiper blade at its resting position. 

Ideally, the wiper blade must be exactly perpendicular to the windshield, meaning its 90degree to the windshield. If it's not, then use pliers and twist the arm until the wiper blade is perfectly perpendicular to the glass. 

BMW and Mercedes even have specialized wiper arm-twisting/alignment kits for this purpose.  

Juddering Wiper Blades - Causes and Solution

Juddering wiper blades is a common problem, and most car owners attribute it to the wiper blades. Very common for this problem to persist even after changing to new blades. Based on my testing, the most probable No1 culprit is your windscreen....contaminated. It can be contaminated by: Waxes, silicon oils from your car shampoos that contain waxes Airborne contaminants that have etched onto the glass Water-repellant products (eg: Rain X etc). These contaminants are very difficult to remove even by using solvents and strong chemicals. When water is sprayed onto windshield, the water beads up, and this indicates the presence of a layer of "something" that's on the windshield. Most often, its this layer that causes the wiper blade to judder. This layer of contaminant must be removed. After removal, water will remain as a continuous flat sheet on your windscreen. At this stage, a good-condition wiper blade will operate with minimal friction and hence, be quiet and smooth. It acts as a squeegee, and with just 1 pass...will clear the water and reveal a dry and clear surface. The easiest, fastes, safest method to 100% contamination is to use Cerium Oxide Powder. This is a brownish powder used by glass specialists to polish glass without scratching it. My personal favourite is a product from Soft99 called Glass Compound Z. Used as directed, it totally removes all contaminants from your windshield, including hard-water marks. Once your windshield is 100% clean, replace your contaminated wiper blades with new ones to ensure that BOTH wiper blades and windshield are now totally clean. Regularly clean windshield and rubber blades using ammonia-based glass cleaner to remove any wax deposited by your car shampoo.