Ease of bulb replacement will decide my next car purchase

whoami1

My next car will be automatic. It will have air-con/climate control and it will have cruise control. It will hopefully be a post-'08 and have cheaper road tax. It will almost certainly have 5 doors.

What I don't know yet is the make/model. This is because the deciding factor will be how easy it is to change sidelights and headlights. I currently have a Citroen C5 and while I like it and think it's very comfortable, I dread having to change front bulbs, which I have had to do with a depressing regularity.

I understand that the whole headlight unit in the Octavia unclips and allows easy replacement, so at the moment, the Skoda is high on my list.

What car do you have and how easy is it to replace the bulbs?

Special Circumstances

Full LED headlamps lad.

There shouldn't be any changing of them. But if they do need changing you better hope it's under warranty or you can be cancelling the foreign holiday that year!

Koscielny

2007 Mondeo.

Pull out two steel retaining clips, unplug head-light, pull out head-light unit, change bulb. Zero tools needed. Easy.

I've a question I've always wondered about. French cars - Peugeot, Citroen, etc.. Why do a lot these cars always seem to have their brake lights permanently turned on and there's always a bulb or two blown? Do French cars suffer from poor electric systems?

sundodger5

Slightly off topic, herself has a Focus that i had to change the bulbs in regularly. Guy in the autofactors recommended heavy duty bulbs as he reckoned the bulb failure is down to vibration in some cars.
Haven't had to change one since. Worth the few extra quid.

GreenFolder2

Found Toyota a breeze to change ... Based on experience if Prius anyway.

New ones are full LED.

Needles73

sundodger5 wrote: »

Slightly off topic, herself has a Focus that i had to change the bulvs in regularly. Guy in the autofactors recommended heavy duty bulbs as he reckoned the bulb failure is down to vivration in some cars.
Haven't had to change one since. Worth the few extra quid.

Fully agree. I was changing bulbs every few weeks until I changed over to heavy duty type. I do high mileage on bad roads and always put it down to vibration. Not really an issue any more

Wetbench4

I have a volvo s40, and you don't even need tools to change the bulb. You slide out a bar from behind the casing and the whole thing pops out. Can change the bulb in less than 2 mins.

XLR 8

Audi TT you need the hands of an embryo to change the headlight bulbs. That's after removing much trim.

whoami1

Koscielny wrote: »

I've a question I've always wondered about. French cars - Peugeot, Citroen, etc.. Why do a lot these cars always seem to have their brake lights permanently turned on and there's always a bulb or two blown? Do French cars suffer from poor electric systems?

My C5 has Italian electrics, Magneti Marelli.

Actually, further to my original post, the headlights are much better now that I have HID bulbs installed. The sidelights, which are just as bad for access, last for days or weeks and then fail again. The DRLs I have added are sufficient for the NCT.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Wetbench4 wrote: »

I have a volvo s40, and you don't even need tools to change the bulb. You slide out a bar from behind the casing and the whole thing pops out. Can change the bulb in less than 2 mins.

Psssttttt

Thats because its actually a Ford your driving mate

mikeecho

A 1990's Toyota

Miike

XLR 8 wrote: »

Audi TT you need the hands of an embryo to change the headlight bulbs. That's after removing much trim.

I literally burst out laughing at this.

galwaytt

whoami1 wrote: »

My next car will be automatic. It will have air-con/climate control and it will have cruise control. It will hopefully be a post-'08 and have cheaper road tax. It will almost certainly have 5 doors.

What I don't know yet is the make/model. This is because the deciding factor will be how easy it is to change sidelights and headlights. I currently have a Citroen C5 and while I like it and think it's very comfortable, I dread having to change front bulbs, which I have had to do with a depressing regularity.

I understand that the whole headlight unit in the Octavia unclips and allows easy replacement, so at the moment, the Skoda is high on my list.

What car do you have and how easy is it to replace the bulbs?

2012 Megane Tourer GT with EDC double clutch gearbox, climate, cruise, half- leather, all the toys, €190 tax. Headlight bulb is one/two screws iirc, and pull two clips: headlight comes out in your hand. Change bulb, slide back in. 5 mins. Win-Win imho.
Oh, and, was about €10k cheaper than an Octavia at the time - and I like & rate the Octy highly - just not €10k more though...

galwaytt

Koscielny wrote: »

2007 Mondeo.

Pull out two steel retaining clips, unplug head-light, pull out head-light unit, change bulb. Zero tools needed. Easy.

I've a question I've always wondered about. French cars - Peugeot, Citroen, etc.. Why do a lot these cars always seem to have their brake lights permanently turned on and there's always a bulb or two blown? Do French cars suffer from poor electric systems?

I'd ask the same about 'Christmas tree' Fords: press brakes and everything starts flashing Inc reversing lights. ..

K.Flyer

Koscielny wrote: »

2007 Mondeo.

Pull out two steel retaining clips, unplug head-light, pull out head-light unit, change bulb. Zero tools needed. Easy.

But not 2008 on..

Remove two bolts, prise bumper surrounding headlamp forward, wriggle and pop out headlamp, change bulb, prise bumper out a bit and wriggle and pop headlight back into position, refit two bolts.
10 minutes or 20 minutes depending on your luck.

georgefalls

Its surprising that most people would ever need to change any bulb.

Due to the fact, that no matter how bad the fog/mist/rain gets, they fail to use them anyway :rolleyes:

mickdw

my Audi A5 is handy eough.
remove plastic cover from lock carrier. loosen couple of bolts and pop out the entire lamp.
I'd take that over blindly trying to get at the bulb in situ.