Is The C1 For Me ?

[Guest andyp]

Hi, this is my first post on this site.

 

With the rocketing cost of running a car, i am thinking about replacing my trusty Picasso with something cheaper to run and really like the look of the C1.

 

Most of my driving is done with just me in the car on my 35 mile round trip to work on motorway/A Roads in medium to heavy traffic, with occaisional longer runs. In your opinions is the C1 suited to this type of journeys in terms of comfort, performance and noise etc, or is it more suited for just town work ?

 

Also has anyone got the optional air con fitted, and if so does it work well without hitting the fuel consumption too badly ?

 

Thanks

[wozza]

You know there are quite a few cars in the citroen line up which have similar running costs?

 

The 1.6 HDI C4 the EGS version is £35 a year to tax. Will do 50+ MPG and is more comfortable and insurance depending on your age is not going to be that much different.

 

Just depends if you want a little car or something a bit bigger with not much different running costs. But a slightly higher purchase price.

 

Have a look at other cars as lots of marques now offer cheap to run cars which are bigger and more comfortable with hardly any difference cost wise. The Renault Megane and a couple of the Fords are similar too.

[Trotsky]

It will do it well enough, do 55 miles per day split between dual carriageway & country roads plus a few long runs.

The downside is the wheel arches are only part protected and the underside has no underseal essential for long bodyshell life protected from salt spray & chipping damage so look at the alternatives and see how well they are protected and decide about future re-sale value etc.

 

Comfortable enough but not luxurious, a good car if you want one from new / or recent 2nd hand then keep it for 10-12 years (and willing to underseal it yourself)....

 

Usual advice, it's not just the buying price but check the costs of servicing & service intervals, exhaust & tyre costs (wipers are & £18).

[ColinC1]

My main reason for buying the C1 was....

 

I wanted a small budget 4 seater 2 door new car, with Japanese reliablity, that looked good, easy gear change, light clutch, comfortable to drive both in town and motorway, and very easy to drive.

 

The whole City bug range (C1, 107, Aygo) filled that answer and all use the japanese 1000cc engine and gearbox, and at the time the C1 was cheapest by at least £500, so I bought one.

 

I am now one and half years into ownership, with no technical problems encountered, although I have had door seal leaks (happens on quite a number of these cars), but have solved it. You get on average 58 MPG, Insurance costs are low, road tax is £35.

 

I am still very pleased with the car indeed. I myself do not worry about the lack of underseal, as I usually change my car for a new one every 3 years (when the warrany runs out).

 

And the main question... would I buy another ?

 

Yes, I would consider buying any one of the city bugs again, dependant which is the cheapest at the time.

 

My C1....

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/greatchi/PICT0024.jpg

[downsman]

I bought mine to reduce expenditure on fuel, insurance and tax. I swapped a Civic Type R for it, and I really enjoy driving the C1.

 

The light weight and narrow tyres make it the most fun car I've had to drive since I had a 2CV. Unlike a 2CV it isn't a chore keeping up with traffic even with 4 people on board.

 

The only reason I wouldn't recommend the C1 is if you need to carry people AND luggage at the same time or if you want to chuck a bike in the back!

[Guest andyp]

Thanks for all your replies

 

One of the attractions of the C1 for me is that i would be able to afford a new one & as I would only be keeping the car for 3 years i am not too worried about the long term rust resistance.

 

It certainly sounds like it may be suitable for me, perhaps the best thing i could do is try and hire one for a few days and see how it goes.

[Martin_1973_uk]

I test drove one and after 2 miles I decided it drove a lot better than it looked. No regrets. Very cheap to run. The only down side is the car service at £180 every 10K miles which comea round often when you rack up the miles. Enjoy.

[ColinC1]

The only down side is the car service at £180 every 10K miles which comes round often when you rack up the miles....

I agree with the expensive Citroen servicing, but...

 

they have you by the warrenty upkeep, and I suppose being a budget car where profit margin is low, they have to claw back the money though servicing :unsure:

 

Some other makes of new car, offer you the 3 year servicing either for nothing or a token sum, usually £100, but the cars are dearer. so its swings and roundabouts. You choose.

[ShetlandC1]

Earlier posted review on GreenCarsSite.co.uk....

 

............................................................................

Reviews:

 

Citroen C1 5dr Petrol reviewed by Colin from Shetland on 17 March 2008

 

My C1 story. I researched on the internet for a new car that would be value for money and came up with the C1, this wee car ticked all the boxes.

Next step i ordered one over the phone from my local dealer, step two i went to collect and pay for the car , until this point i had never even sat in one.

Well, as i sat in my new wee car (having driven an Audi A6 for the last 8 years) i thought "what have i done" and the thirty mile drive home from the dealers compounded my first thoughts.

However and it's a really big however..... having owned a C1 now for three months i love it! Great little short journey car, second gear is so well placed with 50 MPH no problem before engaging third gear she keeps up with and pulls away from most around town traffic.

My gripes are, the interior light is activated by the drivers door opening only not the passenger doors and no interior light in the boot space.

 

..............................................................

 

Ok i'm an old fudger but i love this wee motor and i hope you will too....they are so much more than you would at first give them credit for.....not a sports tourer but it wants to be, road noise is a wee bit of a bug but that is a solvable problem and there are so many drivers enjoying these wee motors....

 

check out link below

 

City Bug Blog

 

Also a lot of help

[Guest teepee]

Hi, this is my first post on this site.

 

With the rocketing cost of running a car, i am thinking about replacing my trusty Picasso with something cheaper to run and really like the look of the C1.

 

Most of my driving is done with just me in the car on my 35 mile round trip to work on motorway/A Roads in medium to heavy traffic, with occaisional longer runs. In your opinions is the C1 suited to this type of journeys in terms of comfort, performance and noise etc, or is it more suited for just town work ?

 

Also has anyone got the optional air con fitted, and if so does it work well without hitting the fuel consumption too badly ?

 

Thanks

 

Hi

My son brought an Aygo 18 months ago for a 100 mile a day mainly motorway milage

I brought a C1 6 months ago as I was so impressed.

He brought it for 100 miles per day motorway commute and it's great on the motorway and will do 85/90 all day long. The only thing is the noise at thet speed is enough to drown out the stereo. but it will keep you from falling asleep at the wheel. Comfort is Ok and the engine can be hammered to get back up to speed. The engine loves to be reved.

Think of it as a modern mini (with more room in the back than the german mini).

 

Plus when you get there it will fit that small parking slot you see.

The thing is so cheap to run with group B tax and group 1 insurance and over 60MPG in town use.

He has not had a chance to try the aircon as we had no summer last year.

Only problem was the door seals on the rear doors needing replacing (done under warranty).

The boot is a joke and the glass rear hatch will not take a bike carrier.

It is not homiligated for towing (which is a pain as we have a trailer for taking rubbish ect).

 

The fronts take small/medium impacts flexing without damage where other cars will dent, He had a head on with a golf and bits fell off the golf and only the toyota badge cracked. I had a fiesta reverse into me quite fast and only the numberplate cracked but the fiesta dented. Iv'e had a rear bang again with the rear flexing flat on in a carpark with no damage (except to the other driver as I was only feet away and he tried to drive off(trolleys do have other uses)).

This is a great car.

In the city it's amazing in fact I picked up 2 French executives in mine from Gatwick and we went to a meeting in central London and when they flew back they both brought one.

Only accessory I would recomend is a small non slip rubberised mat from an accessory shop to go on the little shelf above the stereo so it can actually be used.

[evenfunnier]

hi everyone, just joined this group as i have been out and purchased a new c1 this afternoon!!!

 

i am very excited that i will be getting my 5 door petrol "code" at the beginning of july and hope its as good as it should be. we currently run a mazda xedos 9 2.5 v6 auto ( i have been a mazda technician for the last 14 years!) and we ae now sick of filing the tank up ( about £70 ) just to do 250 miles! it actually works out cheaper a month for us to buy this brand new car and fill it up than what the xedos took in petrol alone!

 

as i said earlier, i am a tech and we have a citroen dealership but we really struggled to try and get a 5 door rythem in that dark gray metallic, so we went for a new one. i know the code isnt gray but the extra cost for the code ( about £650) ment we didnt have to pay the £350 for metalic and we got all the extra kit for just over £300 so although we didnt see it in the flesh, i hope it does feel a bit more special inside??

 

as soon as we pick it up , i will be undersealing the whole of the underside of the car and keeping an eye on the door seals and clutch feel. is there anything else i should keep an eye out for? i have just serviced a friends c1 ( driving it made me think its a good car and how good it would be to have one) and everything looked okay, even the toyota branded oil filter! i woked alongside the citroen techs for about 12 months and they all rated the c1 and seeing some of the big jobs they were having to undertake on all the other citroen cars, i wouldnt have any of the other citroens, they are scary!

 

anyway, any help would be well appreciated and likewise, if theres anything you need me to ask the citroen lads about ( off the record!!!) then i'll see what i can do.

 

bye for now

 

evenfunnier :D

[downsman]

Welcome to the forum :D

 

I hope you enjoy your C1 as much as I'm enjoying mine :D

[TurboSlag]

Excellent news! I'm like you - what I save in fuel amonth over my old Mi16 more thanmakes themonthly repayments on the 107!

 

I wouldn't worry about sealing the underside. They're actually very well protected and the polyureathane based sealant applied at the factory could be damaged by applying other substances over it. An occiasional clean and stopping the much accumulating in the rear arches (and easy job with an old sponge - takes 30 seconds a side when ever you clean the car) is all you need do.

 

I went for the 107 myself over the C1 - it was only £100 more than the equivalent Citroen, but came with rev counter, and colour coded handles and mirrors, so it was worth the extra ton. That said, Citroen do some really nice colurs on the C1 that aren't available on the 107.

[downsman]

I went for the 107 myself over the C1 - it was only £100 more than the equivalent Citroen, but came with rev counter, and colour coded handles and mirrors, so it was worth the extra ton. That said, Citroen do some really nice colurs on the C1 that aren't available on the 107.

 

Interesting you should say that, I like the Peugeot yellow, but the Citroen yellow is slightly green and makes the car look unwell.

 

The reason I went for the C1 (in red!) was our dealer has been very good over the last 10 years with other Citroens we have owned (we have quite a good rapport with the parts man B) ), and at the time the deal was very good :)