Post
by brinkie » Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:41 am
The same could be said about my Matra Murena! I've kept it for 14 years, and it ticked many boxes:
GRP with galvanised chassis so there was NO rust, unusual and eye-catching design, pop-up headlights, plush interior, mid-engined, simple mechanics (the only electronics being the ignition, so no breaker points that wear out), nice exhaust grunt, specialist garage only 30 minutes away and even accessible by train, so that's all good
but there was a LONG list of faults, many of them "by design":
horrible leaks, poor heating and ventilation (in cold and damp weather you couldn't see out the first 10 minutes or so, in summer you had to drive with the windows down all the time), VERY poor parts supply (if you think the situation around the 480 is bad, it can be an order of magnitude worse) and needed high octane fuel (RON 98) which is very hard to find around here
No PAS wasn't a big deal as the engine was in the back, but safety features weren't really implemented by the French in 1980, and the engine needed a costly rebuild (see situation around parts supply), so out went the Matra and in came the 480 with PAS, ABS and airconditioning!
Robert.
Present cars: 1994 Volvo 480 GT 2.0i, 1999 Volvo S70 2.5 Europa, 2010 Volvo V70 2.0F Momentum