Wrong Decision?

[beachlife]

Went shopping for a second car this weekend for wife. She liked the C3 despite it not being on the list that we were looking for. The price was really good and we had a test ride and both agreed it handled well. However after research when I got home I read conflicting reports about the car. All she wants is a reliable car but it seems that the C3 may not be that. Picking the car up in a week but already regretting it. Should I be? Is it as unrelable as many reviewers and posters on other places say?

[kfk]

You have to remember that the only time people will take the time to put pen to paper.....or finger to keyboard, is when they have a problem.

 

There are a lot of people out there that are happy with there Citroens, whether it be a C3, C4 or the rest of the range there will always be a small percentage that arn't.

 

If you were to find a forum dealing with Ford, Vauxhall, Toyota, Honda.....or any other manufacturer you can think of, you will find owners that are unhappy.....unfortunately, the internet whilst providing some very usefull information is also excellent at spreading rumour and gossip.

 

I'm sure there will be someone pass by with a C3 shortly and tell you what a wonderfull car they are, and then there will be someone who says rubbish!

 

Working for a dealer i find the most common problem to be the nut behind the steering wheel, i'm pleased to say it isnt restricted to Citroen!

[stimulator]

personally I'd say the C3 is for the money a great car. mine is now 2 yrs 10 mths old. It's a 1.4HDi 16V 92BHP SX version and has never let me down. it's used regularly for the 21 mile each way commute to work and returns a constant 61.4 mpg between fills. I decided at last fill to check that figure, car said 61.4 hand calculated came out at 61.55 so I feel that it is true.

 

the car has had two warranty jobs done on it, first the stepper motor for the heater diverter flap the other a second stage relay for the aircon. These did not render the car undriveable and I consider them minor. The dealer took the car and fixed it NO QUIBBLE.

 

The important facts when owning a car.

 

Running cost. Road Tax £35/year. Insurance £156. Fuel 61.4/gallon. Service a standard Citroen service charge every year approx £165.

 

Performance

leaves many another behind in the dust. Accelerate well, top speed over the legal limit have seen 109 on clock

 

Comfort. Good seat nice driving position with a height adjust fore/aft drivers seat, rake and fore aft column.

 

Extras Auto climate a/c, electric adjustable & heated wing mirrors, auto front elect windows, auto headlights, auto wipers, auto door locks.

 

Tree rear full seat belts, three rear headrests.

 

I don't think you will regret buying it.

 

Lets face it any car can go wrong, non are really any better than others. Enjoy.

[Hook]

Hi, I'm in a similar position, as I put my deposit down yesterday on a '52' Reg C3 1.4HDi SX. I'm picking the car up on Thursday. I've run F*at Seicentos for 6 years and am amazed to find something even more economical than them!

The C3 feels more solid and sits better on the road. It comes with all the bells and whistles I could want apart from alloys and running costs seem astonishing!

As you say, people tend to give voice to their dissatisfaction on these forums, but we rarely hear from the many thousands who have bought these cars over the last 5 years and not only adore them but would no doubt buy another.

Reading between the lines, many if not most of the gripes are with poor service and cr*p dealers. Citroen don't have a monopoly on this, many F*at dealers are worse!

Let's compare notes in a month or two and see if we made the right choice?

[beachlife]

Thanks guys for the reassurance. My biggest concern is perhaps this will be our first experience of a French car. The image of French cars is of their unreliability. The test drive however impressed me and it certain looks ok. The bumpers are little flexible for my liking and the fact that its belt driven rather than chain perhaps causes me a little concern as we tend to keep the second car a little longer, the car the C3 is replacing in a 1996 Astra which has given good service. As others have said people do usually come on and complain on the internet. However the balance of reviews I have now seen is just a little against the C3 reliability.

 

However I have bitten the bullit and time will now tell. I will be pleased to come back Hook and hopefully we are can both praise the C3. The model we have is a 1.4 Desire.

[robertmdyer]

well I must say that I reviewed the web and had the same misgivings about the C3. However I have recently taken delivery of a brand new 1.4sx and after four weeks all I can say is I'm impressed. Its very quiet and easy to drive and has all the extras you could every wish for.

 

I like the fact that its a little car with a sensible boot so you can still carry all your bits around with ease. And it is an effortless drive weather in town or on the open road.

 

Two small things I think could be changed:

1. The electric window controls are in an arkward place (especially the one for the passenger side)and should be up on the drivers door or somewhere easier to reach while driving.

2. The 1.4 petrol engine lacks that bit of bite at the bottom end and they could do with putting the 16 valve version in a manual rather than auto only option.

 

This is my second French car, first was a Renault Laguna which I had for nine years and did over 120,000 miles of trouble free driving in.

 

Hope I get the same service in this C3.

[Guest roy collingwood]

I've now had mine for 4 weeks, though 1 of these weeks was away on holiday without my car.

Mine is the 1.4 16 valve, stop n start, my first 1000 miles, seems to have plent of power, its a bit slow changing gear between 2nd & 3rd.

I agree with our comment on the window controls, my wife said she could'nt reach them.

The other comment I have is that the turning circle is'nt to good, I find when parking, I keep ending-up having to reverse a bit to get round.

The MP3 player 'pauses' now and again & spits out the cd.

I am betting over 43 mpg going back & forth to work, which is good.

 

On the parking sensor, the handbook implies that a picture of the car comes up on the dashboard showing where obsticles are behind the car, I canot find it!

 

Othewise I am happy with the car.

[Andy Worsfold]

I'm just about to trade my Picasso for a C3 1.4hdi exclusive. We loved the Picasso but can afford to downsize. We'll take delivery later this week and can't wait!

[beachlife]

Well early days so far but am pleased with the C3 so far. Build quality is not as bad as I thought. Although body panels are rather thin and why didn`t they paint under the bonnet as well?

 

Also why paint the door handles with silver paint that gets worn off. Would have been much better to use plastic coloured handles rather than painted ones.

[Hook]

I've had mine for 9 days now and must admit it's been an absolute delight. I haven't found any major faults yet. The 'Moduboard' floor is clever, but rattles and will probably be removed soon and the tendancy for the fuel guage to go from quarter full with 2 lights to 'fuel warning' in an instant was a bit disconcerting. (Anyone know how much fuel is left when that happens?) I'm keeping it well topped up from now on. Invested in some new fitted mats and a set of headlamp stonguards and I'm going to price some new wheeltrims as the fronts were slightly scuffed by the previous owner. The car is almost 5 years old, but looks and drives like a 2-year old. I did a 110 mile round trip last Sunday in total comfort, which, considering I have a back problem was great.

Early days but I'm well satisfied. Nice car. :(

[Andy Worsfold]

Well all I say is that we're really pleased with our new C3.

 

Its the 1.4hdi 92 exclusive and it goes like a rocket. Its a bit strange driving a small car again but its got all the bells and whistles and its a dream to drive.

 

I've got a long trip from Portsmouth to South Wales next weekend and can't wait.

[raveydavey]

I'm glad you're happy with your choice.

 

There is a lot to recommend about the C3, even though my experience hasn't been 100% hassle free.

That said I had a Japanese car before my C3 and despite their reliability reputation I had as many problems with that...

 

The main issue for me has been the dealers - customer facing staff haven't been up to the job. I've been called and told urgent work needs doing "for safety reasons" when that very same work was carried out by the same dealer only a couple of months previously, staff have not known what problems have been and have decided to be creative with their answers and ended up looking foolish (by having the A/C switched on I had apprently used up all the gas...). I could go on. Oh, and dealers appear to stock nothing except basic service items nowadays so every diagnosis involves the pain of arranging another visit to the garage once parts are in.

 

I'm approaching 59,000 miles in my C3 now - it almost always returns 60mpg+, it cost £35 a year to tax and it's cheap on insurance. It's very comfortable and it seats 5 adults fine (when it has to).

 

My basic advice would be avoid the Citroen dealers as soon as the car is out of warranty and find a good independant with knowledge of the marque. It will be cheaper for your pocket and you'll get better service.

[martytno1]

Hi,

 

May I just guide you towards all of the current JD Power Surveys, Auto Express Driver 100 surveys and general feedback from magazines.

 

The C3 has consistently beaten all of its rivals except for the japenese models such as the Jazz and Yaris. Why is this? Well the japenese don't know how to build a car for the love of it, theyre simply money spinners. You buy a french car for its flair and style, and reliability is just a bonus. Turns out though, it is reliable. The only time they go wrong is when owners faff around with them.

 

It has beaten the following cars over the last 4 years in most surveys that I've found:

Fiesta, Punto, Corsa, 206, Micra, Clio, Ka, Panda, POLO (yes it beats a VW).

 

Citroen has moved on from the AX and Saxo. Theyre good cars now.

 

Um....think I've just put the biggest jinx ever on my car after that....

 

If you are still unsure, there are three simple checks:

 

Interior: The plastics and build quality are dissapointing. Check their condition.

 

Electrics: There's a lot of computer-gismatronomies in the car. Check them. Common problems are stereos loosing their codes and memory, central locking doing a 'bounce back' where it locks then immeadiately unlocks again.

 

Gearboxes: They're shocking. Listen out for crunches in gear and a overly resistant gear change. £££

 

Apart from that, enjoy them. They're incredibly easy to drive, comfortable and boast one of the biggest boot capacities in the class (ignore 'what?' car mags say). There's loads of kit as standard, and they're cheap as chips to run and own. Plus, there's the 45+ mpg.

 

Martin :(

[Ballykine43]

My 1.4 petrol manual was bought a year ago with 34,000 on the clock. Loved it, then saw some of the threads on this forum and almost sold it. But it has been brilliant. Fast approaching the 50k mark. Had a crunchy experience with the gearbox and feared the worst. Dealer changed gear box oil for a semi-synthetic. No one seems to know why it does the trick but it does. And the dealer kept ringing to check it was really cured before he billed me.

 

The plastic can rattle a bit but its easy to cure with a dab of mastic here and there.

Only thing to watch in early days with the car is the huge blind spots the massive A (front) pillars create when turning sharp corners in traffic.

[Guest Masters - Citeron - Penge]

The C3 is a very good car for the money however it has a few problems. The clutch is rather high compared to other cars of similar size. The gear change isn't as smooth as it can be, and some problems lie behind the steering wheel.

 

altogether it is worth getting only in the 1.4 or above. A 1.0 or 1.2 isn't going to be very good for speed and acceleration and performance will be pretty poor. However if you are looking for a comfortable ride and don't care about performance, then this is good little number

 

I can say this as i work for Citroen and have given people test drives in them. My response and others!

[Guest Chippenham_Bluebird]

Mixed bag. Quite a few niggly problems,

 

Wiper motor

Brakes - rear wore due to sticky calipers.

front sticking calipers.

suspension bushes

suspension springs..

numerorus bulbs - too many.

Failed EVERY MOT since it turned 3.

 

RUST rearing its head on sills. Suspension cant cope with 4 adults...

 

I've had it from new, and alongside my cost me nothing Daewoo matiz over the same period it looks a little limp!!

 

On the other hand...78000 miles, spares are cheap, fuel economy good. costs bugger all to run.

[Guest Andy Allman]

we have had a C3 for five 1/2 years, absolutly no problems whatsoever!! the only time we have had greenflag out was because we forgot to fill up with petrol and were no where near a filling station! :huh: