ColinC1

Sounds like the main fuse for the whole car has melted (blown). It will either be in line with the red cable leading off the battery to the main fuse box, or housed within the main fuse box itself. It will be the biggest fuse. Warning... It will have blown because of a major dead short somewhere. So the electrics will have to be checked out before replacing the fuse. Better see your dealer or an auto-electrician.

Could be rust on your disk brakes doing the tick tick noise. Solution... remove wheel on passangers side, (ensure car is well blocked up for safety). Take as long screwdriver and a light hammer and scrape and tap the rust off around the perimeter (watch you do not damage face of disc). If thats it solved, you may as well do the drivers side disc as well. PS.. Just remebered, There is also a small metal plate under and behind the bottom of the disc, that is used as a protective cover. It can end up touching moving parts and causing a tick, so ensure it is pulled back away from the wheel, by bending it a little. NOTE: I got these minor problems in the car around two and a half years old. Normally built up of rust on car disks dont rust that much on the premeter till 5 years old, but C1, 107 and aygo seem to rust quicker.

Its an easy enough job, took me a day, but watch out for the hole where the plastic pull knob for manual release and locking is, through the top of the door card. When you connect the door locking solinoid rod up to the existing metal rod linkage, you may find that when you reassemble the door card, the locking mechanism will jamb up with the hole, as it gives only a small clearance between hole and pull knob. If the rods are offcenter by just a bit (which they likely will be), the pull of the solinoid causes the pull knob to jamb up in the hole, so the doors either do not lock right or do not unlock right. The solution is to make the hole bigger on the top of the door card, for more clearance, but it causes the plastic pull knob to rattle while driving. (that happend to my assembly). Or you can solve the hole by just cutting two slots into the circle with a hacksaw and making a V shaped slot instead of a circle (I eventually did this). This gives plenty of clearance, and you put a bit of foam at the back, stuck on to the metal door, to hold the knob in place and stop rattles, but gives easy movement of the knob.

Yep, I bought my red C1 vibe (windup windows) in october 2006 for £6000. This was because Citroen were offering cashback deals worth £500, so the car was £6500 -500 = £6000. The scrappage allowance messed all this up, removing the cashback deal and stealth increases brought the car up to £8,300, when I went to trade-in in dec 2009 (3 years on). I was so discusted, even though I loved the C1, there was no way I was paying so high a sum for a budget car with windup windows. I hunted around and bought a red Mitsibushi Colt CZ1 ( 1.1 petrol ) at £8000 on the road, and got a brilliant £4300 tradein for my three year old C1. The colt has all the extras as standard, so it was worth the £8k. The full 3 years servicing is included for another £220 which is far cheaper than the C1 servicing which to me was very expensive over 3 years. Only downside was the crummy compressor and goo set in the Colt instead of a spare wheel, but I asked for the optional spare wheel at no additional cost and they kept the compressor/goo set. OVERALL THOUGHTS..... Its a pity, as I would have bought another new C1, because it was a lovely car, easy to drive and very reliable. Had it not been for the scrappage allowance messing everything up ...h'mmm, unfortunately, the city bug is no longer worth it at those crazy prices. PS.... I now notice since the scrappage allowance has been removed, they have reduced the C1 range prices back down by £1000, but they are still overpriced for what is essentially a car built to a budget.

Well it seems they have solved the few faults with the car, even thought they were really just an irritant. I have the bad door seals, been to the dealer twice but never solved, but eventually solved it myself with a smear of silicon grease. Im glad this has now been resolved with what seems to be better seals. As for the rattly seatbelt anchorage at the back, yes, did the same but with rubber washers. So thats solved in the new car as well, good, It seems they have been looking at the customer feedback afterall. The other two minor faults you have not mentioned, and are they resolved.... Tailgate hinge rattle (it needs WD40 sprayed on the hinges occasionaly) Engine comparment seal needs a smear of silicon grease to prevent rain water getting onto the engine block, electric fuse box, battery, etc. Other than that, it seems once again a most reliable car, and as my C1 is nearly 3 years old, I will be wanting another city bug soon :) PS... do they still have the courtesy light operating from drivers door only, grrrr !

We tried petitioning Haynes for the Smart Fortwo a few years ago, when I owned one and was a member of a smart website. But... Haynes replied that it was only cost effective to them if there was a large number of that specific car, and also if they thought there would be enough DIY enthusiasts. So the answer was no on the first requirement, as too few Fortwos were on the road. Yet there are plenty DIY Fortwo owner, doing servicing, mods and repairs by themselves. I would say though that there is more than enough combined city bug owners (C1, 107 and Aygo), as these cars are in the mass produced market, to meet the first requirement. But do they think owners will use a DIY book or just go to the dealer and not need a book, that is the question that only Haynes would decide on (and its a financial one). I have a feeling they would not think there is enough DIY owners, at present, due to the newness of the cars.

Is it the early DS model with the 'following round the bend' headlights, connected by rods to the steering rack? That was an innovation for its time, and only now being copied by other car companies, using computer controlled motorised headlights.

The goverment has isssued an incentive to people with old bangers (10 years old cars or over) and get £2k off a new car. Now this sounds good assuming people who have old cars and wanting new, have the cash to buy. But beware, in some Citroen dealers that they are removing the cashback bonus from the C1. What this means is that before this bonus was intoduced, the on the road price of a standard C1 vibe was £6300 (which takes the cashback figure into account). Now when you go into the dealer the C1 vibe has a price on the windscreen at over £8000. In other words they have taken the cashback figure off the car. (this percentage increase is on every model of the C1) This means that the old banger buyer will not get much off at all, even with the so called £2k incentive, and it is even worse for existing owners of a C1 who wants to tradein for another C1, or if you are trading in any other newer car, because they have to start with a new car price of over £8000, instead of £6300. I would advise everyone only to deal with dearships who advertise the lower cashback price to begin with, ie, £6300 for C1 vibe, etc, then start negociating your trade-in price. Car dealers are always such stealers, they just don't change. PS.. I am not sure if they are also doing this similar scam with the 107 and aygo, so watch out.

Thats a good price for your C1, its is a buyers market at the moment, with the dealers desperate to sell. As for the rev counter, well it looks really sporty looking on the dash. When i go for my next city bug soon, (when my 3 years are up), I am definately getting that rev counter this time ;) I am not bothered whether it is a C1, 107 or Aygo, as long as the price is right.

It seems mass produced city cars do not have specific car club meets, and unfortunately the city bugs come under this banner. They are just not niche enough. When I owned my Smart Fortwo they were plenty of meets, a convoy and a visit to a country pub carpark, for a drink and discussion with other members about their mods, and Fortwos can be quite extensively modded.. I assume the Fortwo was just that bit funkier, trickier and unusual compaired to the standard eurcar, I know for sure they were far less of them than the city bugs, so we tended to wave to each other passing. So to conclude, if you want to be in a niche car club outing, you need a niche car ;) PS... Nowadays, I would rather have my reliable C1 to get me from A to B, than my old Fortwo, even if it was fun and funky, its not a four seater (mind you a new stretch Fortwo is due out shortly with four seats, hmmm, must have a look :) ) .

Mine was £175 (in 2007) from my local Citroen dealer for what is essentially an oil and filter change, plus a tick box list for checking off a few things. Its a case of pay up if you want to retain your warenty. It is quite expensive for a dealer service, but they are just trying to claw back money on what is essentially a reasonably priced car with not a big profit margin. Funny thing was, is that my 2 seater convertable at over double the price of a C1, was under £100 for the first year service. So much for C1 economy cars, he he. PS (another option).. You can go to a non-dealer garage and use genuine ctroen parts and get their garage stamp, to make it a bit cheaper, but I used citreon for the first year service just for peace of mind.

I would say that if the dealer still can't sort out this bung from leaking, then get some car underseal, the black tarry stuff, and coat the bung and a bit of the surrounding area from the inside. Keep the carpet back for 24 hours for it to dry, then place the carpet back in position. Unfortunately, it will take about a week to get rid of the tar smell from the cabin, going by a similar problem I had with another car years ago, where water was getting up through a bung in the spare wheel well, the inside tarring with underseal was the answer.

I have driven 18,000 miles in two and a half years and only have had one small chip on the bonnet. I always check after each wash, and i fixed this double quick with a touchup paint before rust sets in, then used T-cut a few days later to blend it in. My C1 red touchup paint stick bought when I purchaced car, was a perfect match... part 9993.45 rouge scarlet As said above the C1 bonnet shape is very prone to stone chipping. So why so few chips on my bonnet you ask ? Well this is a standard question and answer for complaints about bonnet chipping, which is usually true in most cases. OK, here is the answer and I have done more years of driving than I care to mention, so I know what i am talking about here.....I keep well back from the car in front. 90% of bonnet stone chipping is due to driving too close to the car in front, the other 10% is just unlucky sideways arc hits, not due to your own fault. I am not saying that you are a close up driver, you have likely just been unlucky (don't want an argument), but the majority of chips are due to coming off the car in fronts back wheels and arcing over to owners car. Same goes for windscreen damage by flying chips. ever seen a reps car after two years, I rest my case :rolleyes:

You need a H4 ( 60/55W) diconnect the cable connector remove the rubber surround Push the wire tab on the side, and it unclips Remove the bulb, and replace with new Then reverse proccedure. Ensure drain on rubber surround is faceing downwards

Many thanks for that information, I will tell my niece. She is well pleased with her city bug as her first ever car, and so she should be ;) She even got the rev counter pod on the dash (I am so jealous), but typical woman, she said it will be good thing to hang her handbag from :P