Good morning
I will shortly be getting my Fabia VrS back from the repairers following theft damage. and I will be wanting to trade it in to get rid of the associations of the theft.
I've been looking round at various options and the two stand-out choices seem to be either a C-max or a Citroen C4. The C4 in particular because it looks a bit interesting, has a lovely interior (to my tastes anyway !) and would appear to be a relatively cheap and easy car to own. It is also fairly unobtrusive - mind you, I though that about the VrS as well....
The model I'm looking at is the 1.6 Hdi VTR 5-door. Prefer diesel.
Does anyone have real-life experience of the C4 from an ownership perspective ?
Any comments appreciated.
Many thanks
jdc
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Given the C4 has been about nearly 3 years, stories about problems have been remarkably quiet - given that I see a lot about! It does seem to offer plenty of car for the money once the (inevitable) discounts are taken into account. Oh, and IMHO it looks fantastic....!
Anyway, my MIL had one from when the first came out - she had it a couple of years without trouble (she never really got on with the brakes though for some reason, and thought the 1.6 petrol a tad noisy at idle). Mind you she replaced it with a Clio Auto, and that went back to the dealer after a week with a stalling problem, never to be seen again... My Mum has got a 1.6 HDi 90 Cool - only had about 3 months, but no trouble - and one of my colleagues has had an identical car for about the same time, again no trouble. More than enough go, and 60mpg without trying too hard. Worth checking the specs, as the Cool edition is pretty well specced at only £12k OTR - you can't have the 110BHP engine though.... I have heard some rumours that there is a design flaw with the 1.6 HDi engine (Screwloose, was that you?) - but don't know what. It's difficult to avoid though, being under the bonnet of PSA cars, Fords, Mini, Volvo to name but a few....
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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I went and typed a long answer, giving you my experiences, clicked on 'Post this Mesage' and was then asked to Log On. Aaaaaaaarrghhh!!!
Sorry, I can't do it all again!!
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clicked on 'Post this Mesage' and was then asked to Log On. Aaaaaaaarrghhh!!!
Did you try the 'back' button on your browser? Your reply page might still be stored in the browser cache...
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>>Sorry I can't do it all again!!
Perhaps just the salient points boxster?
I loved the C4 diesel, brand new, that I drove briefly in town a few months ago. It was silent and comfortable, with lots of oomph. Tiny bit of clutch judder that was probably my own fault.
I imagine it's a CR diesel. I would worry therefore given the flak that has been fired at this technology here. But one could always have a petrol one. The thing that would worry me most though is the thought of the LCD dash display suddenly going phut when the car was out of warranty. I would expect replacement to cost a pretty penny.
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I have a C4 1.6 petrol purchased about 18 months ago. So far done nearly 30,000 miles and no real problems. Had a rattling door and a faulty engine temperature sensor (both problems occured within the first few thousand miles). After that no problems.
Brakes are a bit snatchy and tend to squeel, though I believe the squeeling has been fixed with different brake pads on later models. Snatchy brakes are just a characteristic and you will soon get used to them.
Diesel engine are meant to be good but command quite a large premium so make sure you do enough miles to justify it.
Very comfortable car to drive long distances and fairly good to drive. Grips well but sharp bumps can upset the ride (particulary more so with the lower profile tyres on the top spec models. Recently drove a Golf which was better to drive in my opinion but then again cost 18k which is 7k more than i paid for my 1.6 VTR.
Make sure you get a good discount and 0% finance. I suspect being a Citroen most dealers could manage to match the DTD price.
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OK, I'll be brief. I've got a 1.6HDI VTR+ with the EGS 'box.
GOOD POINTS.
The looks inside and out (unique and very French), the comfort (except for low speed - see below), the equipment, but above all the low running costs. My VED is £35 and in heavy traffic I get 43 mpg. On the open road 55+ mpg is easily achievable, giving a range of over 650 miles per tank. The kamm rear tail stays clear of road dirt, despite my fears and the low rear window line helps parking (although I've also got optional rear sensors). I've also got the glass roof which majkes the car nice and bright.
The engine is very smooth and refined, helped by the 6-speed box. I like the EGS box. You can be lazy and leave it in auto, when there is just a slight loss of momentum when the gear changes (smoothly). Or you can use the gear lever or the paddles behind the wheel and pretend you are Seb Loeb winning the Monte Carlo rally (without the fuel stops!)
100% reliability so far and low CO2 means I will soon be exempt from Ken's Con Charge.
BAD POINTS
The primitive rear torsion bar suspension and 17" wheels conspire to give an unacceptably harsh bump at very low speeds (every time I pull into our drive). It's a shame that the PSA bean-counters couldn't stretch to a multi-link rear.
The A/C controls are set too low and the A pillar intrudes a little, and the digital rev-counter doesn't work as well as an analogue (although the digital speedo works very well).
Otherwise I am very pleased with mine.
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Also, after 8,000 miles I think the engine has still not fully loosened up, despite me running it in the HJ way. It seems that modern diesels need at least 10,000 under their belt before they can be called run in. Mine's not used a drop of oil yet, either.
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Thanks guys - comments appreciated and seem to mirror my initial thoughts....
jdc
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We've had a 1.4 Coupe VT for two years now and it's been a very good car. Not done a huge distance in it (around 19k in that time) but it's always comfortable to travel in or drive and the acres of space inside for driver and passenger make it an airy, relaxing place to be.
Ours is the bottom of the range but even then it's well equipped. I would have liked the aircon (SWMBO insisted not, she was fed up of me freezing her!) but there's not much I would add to the spec. (BB, would have absolutely loved the glass roof, when we got ours it was exclusive to the Exclusive IFYSWIM).
Had a bit of a shock with the wiper blades when I had to replace them (£40 from halfords, £59.98 from a dealer) but the servicing price was reasonable, about £160 - and given the 2 year/20k interval, very good indeed). And that was from a main dealer to keep the warranty in tact (yes, I know, but for what it cost didn't seem worth the extra to argue for an independent)
Overall though, would recommend the car - we got ours for a silly cheap price and with 3 years 0% so it's great value for money too. Shop around, there are some amaxing deals to be had on them if you hunt hard enough.
Lee
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07 Kia Ceed LS
05 Citroën C4 VT
04 Mazda MX5
85 Mini Mayfair
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jdc, out of curiosity, I would be interested if you could let me know how much part-ex you are offered on your vrS, and what year / mileage it is?
Might be looking to trade mine in and some of the new prices seem to be quite high, wonder if the trade ins reflect that?
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2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS
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I will certainly let you know
I'm pretty sure mine will be 'downgraded' after the stolen/recovered escapade I've recently been through ....
Will keep you updated
jdc
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I had a C4 1.6 HDI VTR+. It was a smashing car! I did not have a moments problem with it, the fit and finish was superb for the cost. It was rapid enough and frugal. Seats were extremely comfy for me (6' 3") Although I changed it after a year for a Saab Cabriolet (a real mid life crisis....ie Heart Attack) I am actually going back to the C4 VTR+
Best price I can see anywhere is via uk-car-discount.co.uk which is where I got my first one from. If I get a good p/x offer on the Saab....it's game on.
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