Citroen versus Ford

Martin_OB

Hi everyone...

Just wondered if you could give me a quick piece of advice. I am trying to play two car dealerships off against one another so that I get the best deal possible.

My fiancee and I are going to trade in our Nissan X-Trail, (02 plate, 70k miles) and a Daewoo Matiz, X627 CLF (X-reg, 60k miles), both in good condition for two newer vehicles.

We both like the C4 and the Ford Focus.

The Citroen dealership has offered us a C4 diesel, 05 plate, 1.6 engine with 21k on the clock and a C3 petrol, 03 plate, 1.4 engine with 39.5k miles on the clock.

With a finance agreement lasting 48 months, it would cost £233 a month.

The Ford dealership has offered a Focus Titanium Diesel, 54 plate, 1.6 engine with 24k on the clock and a Fusion Diesel, 52 plate, 1.4 engine with 39k on the clock.

With a finance agreement lasting 48 months, it would cost £237 a month.

Based on your experiences, I was wondering what you think the best deal is out of the two - and which are the better cars.

Any tips to get the prices down would help too.

Thanks in advance - and if you need any information from me, please let me know.

Cheers,

Martin

nullogik

Fords are better built and more reliable than Citroens. French cars are going through a bit of a phase at the moment with particularly poor build quality and cheap materials.

Fords definitly hold their value a lot better than Citroens...something worth considering when you come to sell your cars. At the end of, say three years, the two Fords will be worth more than the Citroens. They'll also be easier to sell as they're both popular models, whereas the C4 is a bit of a oddity and so might be harder to sell (the C3 is fairly popular so should sell quite easily).

Have you considered selling your cars privately? What have the dealership in effect offered you for your X-Trail and Matiz in terms of a cash value?

I reckon you could gain at least an extra £1000-2000 if you sell privately then go to the dealership and buy two cars off them. Typically dealerships offer between 40-70% of the market price of a car when you p/ex it in.

Martin_OB

Thanks again for voting and for your comments - much appreciated.

I've read various reviews and it seems as though the Ford Focus, in particular, is a very good car. I'm looking forward to test driving both next week.

My fiancee is believes that the Citroens are more aesthetically pleasing, but I'd rather drive a car which will be reliable and will not depreciate in the way that my beloved X-Trail has!

It seems as though the poll is favouring the Fords, although I'd be very interested to know why some have voted for the Citroen.

smudger1964

the fords every time when time comes to sell you will find a ready market for them unlike those citroens who no one will want

nullogik

Martin_OB wrote: »

I've read various reviews and it seems as though the Ford Focus, in particular, is a very good car. I'm looking forward to test driving both next week.

My fiancee is believes that the Citroens are more aesthetically pleasing, but I'd rather drive a car which will be reliable and will not depreciate in the way that my beloved X-Trail has!

It seems as though the poll is favouring the Fords, although I'd be very interested to know why some have voted for the Citroen.

Indeed the Focus is an excellent all-rounder, great to drive, decent residuals, and very popular making it easy to sell on.

The Citroen isn't a bad car at all buts it let down by iffy build quality and shocking residuals. Because its also so rare, tracking down parts is going to be a lot harder because dealerships are unlikely to keep a large stock of parts (and third party parts are going to be very thin on the ground) - whereas because of the Focus's popularity there are parts-galore.

Punked_2

Citroen are currently offering 0% finance on new c4's and a fair whack of cashback.

They get a pretty good review from https://www.parkers.co.uk

nullogik

There are some reader reviews here:
http://www.whatcar.co.uk/car-review-readers.aspx?RT=2541
http://www.carsurvey.org/model_Citroen_C4.html

Martin_OB

The links make for interesting reading - the C4 appears to be quite hit and miss (with more hits, granted), whereas the Focus seems to be highly regarded.

We told the Citroen dealership what Ford's had been able to do - should I put the ball back in Ford's court now?

Thanks for your help...

lucy_w86

I have been torn between a C3 and Fiesta

I persoanlly do not like the C4 or the Focus although am having the same problems deciding on either Citroen or Ford.

From what I have been told Ford is better but what about looking into a Toyota? Something like a Corolla?

manda1205

Focus not the fusion, just my personal opinion(I love fords!), defo not the citroen.

Martin_OB

I just found the following comparison table on What Car...it seems that the Ford dealership are giving us the better deal. Would you agree?

Citroen C4
List price - £8995
Trade cost - £6940
Cost new - £12695

Citroen C3
List price - £4995
Trade cost - £3145
Cost new – £8870

Ford Focus
List price - £9995
Trade cost - £8185
Cost new - £17125

Ford Fusion
List price - £5295
Trade cost - £4250
Cost new - £10570