Citroen Xsara Picasso - buying used.

mutty_hc

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

There is nothing at all wrong with the choice of car, it's basically a Berlingo, get underneath and you'll struggle to spot the difference, none the worse for that either as Berlingo goes on for years if looked after sensibly.

90bhp shouldn't have DPF (FAP) so a lot less to worry about.

Good reasonable mileage servicing sees these engines fine.

Would you go for a Jazz or Picasso?

We really liked the idea of the Picasso due to the boot space (550ltrs) and the ability to remove the back seats completely for holidays.

How often should it have been serviced?

Jazz seems to get a better reliability record overall however, I could also get a newer version of it and space is reasonable.

Strider590

Reliability records can be swayed by the type of driver that typically buys that particular car.

In the case of the Jazz, I would bet most do sub 5k miles a year and spend their life inside a garage next to their owners bungalow, never go above 40mph and never see a motorway..... So of course the figures will look good.
There might be 500 cars out there that are breaking down every single week, but if the other 2 million are stuck in a garage their whole lives, then the statistics aren't really telling us the truth.

Always got to consider the type of car, the typical type of driver and the typical type of usage.

mutty_hc

Would looking at a VAG 1.9TDI be a better option? Would then keep it for 5 years minimum.

Options could be, Octavia 06/07 saloon/estate or Roomster 07.

All in the region of £4,000 - £4,500 approx 70-85k miles

jaydeeuk1

Both the skodas you listed are good options. Or a toyota verso even, utterly dull but will be bullet proof. My Citroen hasn't let me down... yet.

gilbert_and_sullivan

mutty_hc wrote: »

Would you go for a Jazz or Picasso?

We really liked the idea of the Picasso due to the boot space (550ltrs) and the ability to remove the back seats completely for holidays.

How often should it have been serviced?

Jazz seems to get a better reliability record overall however, I could also get a newer version of it and space is reasonable.[/QUOTE


Different cars entirely, Picasso you'll be buying Diesel.

Servicing if normal say 10k a year mileage should be annual, no more than 10k between oil changes on Diesels, that's around half of what the some makers** recommend but enough owners don't believe that rubbish so keep looking and you'll find one that's been serviced properly.
Remember a service may not include an oil change so check it hasn't just been an inspection only when stamped.

Avoid the later C4 Picasso unless you want the nightmare that is electric parking brake ownership, and if you are tempted by an auto version of it you'll also get the nightmare that is PSA's automated manual gearbox from hell, and depending on version it may not have a spare wheel.

Jazz is fine, auto box needs to have had oil changes, manual box subject to fault mentioned by another poster not expensive to fix of caught early.

** companies like Toyota who stand by their products have never signed up to this extended oil servicing routine to please the fleet market, wonder why.

mutty_hc

What about the Skoda's better or worse option? Cheers

gilbert_and_sullivan

VW group 1.9 PD in 110 and 130 form are the best engines so long as they've been serviced on or before time with the correct specification oil, other than that i know next to nothing about them.

skittles_m

I have the BKD 2.0 TDI and it's been excellent. It hasn't got the same reputation as the older generation PD engines but I've had good luck with mine. Now come up to 190k and still pulling strong. These engines need regular oil changes, not the silly 'long life' service schedules advocated by the VAG group.

skittles_m

I also don't have the DPF which I believe was introduced as standard in 2008. Before that it was an option (but don't see why anyone would want it!)

OP of you can find a mk5 Golf TDI or an Audi A3 tdi. I'd stick with the 140 variant, the 170 ones haven't been very reliable

jaydeeuk1

skittles_m wrote: »

I also don't have a clue....

Fixed that for ya