I have a Citroen C4 Coupe, 1.6Hdi (diesel), 5 years old with 27,000 miles on the clock. Very low mileage , serviced regularly and driven carefully. I noticed the clutch slipping a couple of months ago and as it was due for a service I asked the guy to check the clutch which he did and said it was a little worn but should be ok in the meantime. A week or so after the service I was out in the car and went to reverse to get out of a space when I heard a soft thud and the car stopped moving. I then tried to put it in first and move forward and the engine just revved without moving anywhere. I decided to take it to a Main Dealer because I wanted the car back as soon as possible and thought they would be more skilled in looking and correcting the problem. 3 weeks later I received a phonecall (yes 3 weeks!) to tell me that they had taken out the gear box and discovered a deformed finger. Whilst they had the gear box out they decided to replace the clutch even though it was pretty ok because to replace it a year or so down the line would mean another 8 hour labour. They are now trying to charge me £900 for parts +labour in a car that although is 5 years old has very low mileage and has in no way been thrashed around at all.

Is there anything I can argue with the dealers to get this cost reduced? I have seen many people with clutch issues in C4's so am wondering if it is a design fault that they should go so early? I dont know too much about mechanics so what would cause the deformed finger in the first place? Any advice and help you can give would be most appreciated.

Robb75