Citreon C3 Desire

CLLC

Hi MSE's :hello:

My partner and I are considering buying a 2007 C3 tomorow and I wanted your opinions as I have no idea on cars. It is

■ 2007 1.4l Petrol
■ 50,000 miles
■ 1 careful lady owner
■ just a few scuffs from age and scrapes

No history of any problems other than an abs engine light come on which cost the owner £800 to fix. No problems since. Requires a service and rocker cover lesking slightly.

Any advice on this car reliability? Experiences? What do you think its worth?

Many thanks

CLLC

forgotmyname

The £800 bill and the fact its going to need more work fixing the oil leak should tell you what its going to be like.

Treat it like a new baby that requires lots of money spending on it.

1 careful lady owner wont have scuffs and scrapes.

£2000 - £2500 from a dealer. But i wouldnt touch it with a bargepole.

EdGasket

Does anyone 'Desire' a Citroen?

CLLC

Hmmm french cars.... it is currently a C3 Desire going for 2.5k. Just need a reliable vehicle.

Car_54

CLLC wrote: »

Hmmm french cars.... it is currently a C3 Desire going for 2.5k. Just need a reliable vehicle.

Top price for a private sale seems to be about £1,800. Knock off the cost of a service and fixing the gasket, and it's overpriced by at least £1k.

And a seven-year-old Citroen isn't anyone's idea of a reliable buy.

EdGasket

Go for Hyundai or Japanese then

Tigerprint

I would be put off by an apparent ABS fault costing £800 to fix, & by the rocker cover leaking... It sounds too cheap for a 2007 with those miles & I think it will probably be a money pit.

Generally I think the C3 is a good reliable car, the desire has a few extras too...

jaydeeuk1

Ok, step away from the french cars. Wifes friend has a C3, she had an xmas card from the local garage every year. Rocker cover gasket would be pretty simple to fix so the fact they can't be arsed to sort that prior to sale would make me run a mile.

Japanese, korean or malaysian are your best budget buys.

£2500 will get you in to a post 2007 daihatsu sirion - shares a lot of stuff with a yaris and will be reliable, chain driven engines, but you'll get more for your money than a yaris. Just check it has a bundle of receipts and stamps for servicing, and that all the panels are nice and straight.

Some others to check

Kia Rio (2007 onwards as newer shape)
Suzuki swift if you can push nearer £3k - good little cars

atrixblue.-MFR-.

TBH I would look at something else.


ABS faults are common place.
Anti pollution faults are abundant.
poor build quality interior.
electical gremlins can set you back £100's to find.

warehouse

OP, I have a Citroen C3 which I use as my commute car. It's an 03 plate and coming up to 100,000 miles.

The bad:
It's very rattly and has a fair bit of road noise.
Changing headlamp bulbs is a NIGHTMARE. I have scarred hands.

The good:
Reliability - it's been absolutely amazing on that front. Just goes and goes with the odd service every 18 months or so, (12K miles a year), only failed to start once since I've owned it due to a flat battery which I replaced
Fuel economy - I have the same engine and commute in rush hour traffic both ways and I get 40 to 50 mpg easily.
Insurance - cheap

Overall it's been outstanding value and I recommend it highly. Mine has been used and abused and is in great shape now, 50,000 miles after I purchased it and going strong. It's reliable and cheap to run, but I think £2500 is too much to pay, £1800 would be a more realistic price IMO.

OddballJamie

Partner has a C3 Desire 1.4 and I agree with everything warehouse has mentioned.

One thing I would add is get the timing belt done early as ours lost 12 teeth prematurely and belts snapping are known on 206s with this engine.

There's no shortage of C3s about, not all of them have service histories as they were cheap cars to begin with. I would go for one with air con as it's like a greenhouse in the summer. Also there was a slight facelift in late 05/06, you can tell by the vent in the front bumper and have a look for a Cachet model as they are decent spec but still cheap.