Do I want a Citroen C15?

[Fabergé Greggs]

I've always liked the look of them. They don't seem to be mega cheap though, but are they worth it?

 

Would they be a racket on the motorway? What's the gearing like? I've heard they rust and the electrics are crap.

 

Inform me.

[Keymaster]

According to fleet van and light truck magazine from march 1988... yes, yes you do

[skattrd]

Ruffgeezer to the beige courtesy phone please ... I seem to remember he's got/had more than one of these.

[dave21478]

I used to do a nice little side business importing these from UK to France and converting them back to LHD for resale. Pretty under-rated things IMO. Basic, noisy and unrefined, but very robust, simple, easy to fix and a surprisingly large load volume make them winners in my book.

 

I believe the load volume is supposed to be bigger than the likes of a Combo etc, and they are good for 650kgs payload which is pretty decent.

 

They were made up till about 2005, and later ones had leccy windows, central locking and power steering as options. 

 

They like to rust on the sills and around the vertical face above the cab roof. The bonnet likes to rust too. Heater blower motors tend to fail but its easy to remove from the footwell and strip it down to clean it out. Brakes are not very sharp and handling can be wayward on cheapo tyres. Various bits of interior trim will fall off and the window winder handles will probably snap eventually.

 

I still have the last one I brought over as a farm hack and it keeps on going with absolutely zero in maintenance. It popped its radiator a while back but a new one was cheap enough....never really had anything else go wrong.

 

I know a couple of people who have upgraded to Berlingos/Partners/Kangoos and while the new vans are more refined on a long run, they generally rate the C15 as better in snow or muddy tracks and a hell of a lot more reliable.

 

 

You can see two others lurking in the background of the last pic, one of which had a fridge body in place of the usual van rear end.

 

 

[dave21478]

for extra Shite points see if you can find a LWB 5 seater, pickup or even a 6-wheeler.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dave21478]

HOLY FUCK - a six wheel crew-cab tipper. my WANT gland just burst.

 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/646714834.htm?ca=16_s

 

Ten large though

 

 

[Joey spud]

I had a f reg diesel four speed one as a workshop van and it was a great little thing.

 

I replaced it with an l reg astra van after it got a bit too scruffy which was a big mistake.

 

C15 vans are like little donkeys,honest and dependable but a bit crap on the motorway.

[scruff]

Mine was kwalzer, I sold it to Ruffgeezer who was equally impressed. They do rot like a sod but are dead cheap to run and mine was very reliable (Y reg I think). 

[gordonbennet]

I used to deliver these buggers, i loved 'em, simplest motor you could buy, bags of torque from the NA Diesel, complaint suspension, sensible tyre sizes for cheap renewals.

 

Steering a bit heavy but shove 40lb in the front tyres and it'll be miles better.

[Lankytim]

We had loads of these where I used to work with my Dad as an Electrician. They took ALOT of abuse but usually died die to wonky rear suspension and seriously neglected engines. I remember they showed signs of rust after a couple of years but never needed welding no matter now crusty they got.

[Vin]

I used to do a nice little side business importing these from UK to France and converting them back to LHD for resale.

 

I can't find the Smiley for DOES NOT COMPUTE so have a couple of these instead... :wacko:

[explosive-cabbage]

A 54 plate C15 came up our road a couple days ago.

 

Yes you read that right

 

And as a bonus it had net curtains in the back.

[dave21478]

I can't find the Smiley for DOES NOT COMPUTE so have a couple of these instead... :wacko:

 

 

Yeah, it was a little weird. It was a few years ago when there were loads on ebay in decent nick for around £500. Ryanair flight over to collect it, driving it down and re-registering it here would cost another £400 - £500 or so normally, then a dose of parts from local scrapyards to convert to LHD which is a days work, and then I could re-sell it for 2k - 4k Euros, depending on mileage and condition.

The most profitable one only cost me £150 to buy as the clutch was shagged. As I drove it away I was rummaging under the drivers seat and found a leather pouch containing a top of the line Snooper radar and laser detector/jammer thing which I punted on ebay for over a ton, making the van almost free.

 

Eventually supply of cheap ones in good condition dried up and demand over here faded out as Berlingos and the like became more popular.

[ruffgeezer]

Hello,

 

Yes I've had 4 of these to date, the best was 'Trev' as bought from Scruff here, it had the old XUD engine which drove a bit better than the modern DW8 (fitted from 2001 onwards)

 

Both Wilko and I have later engined ones, mine being a 2004 registered one with 89k on the clocks. Very reliable and almost classic feel to driving one. The brakes are shit unlike anything else on the road.

 

Do it, you won't regret it, or wait a few months for me to get bored and look for trains to the isle of Lincolnshire

[Louise2cv]

Yes. Next question.

[Timewaster]

The only vehicles I came across in the 80s and 90s where the diesel was faster than the petrol.

[catsinthewelder]

Do it, my mate brought his round mine for a service this week.

[Fabergé Greggs]

My suspicions are confirmed. I do want one. 

[Fabergé Greggs]

Balls. Found a nice one but hit a bit of a hurdle- the cheapest insurance is coming out at £440, that's about twice what I'm used to paying on a classic policy. Is that just the way it is?

[meshking]

I just managed to get a van quote down to around 200 - but in order for a van to be useful for me I need to get side windows installed.  Did they ever sell C15s in the uk with windows in the rear?

[500tops]

I just managed to get a van quote down to around 200 - but in order for a van to be useful for me I need to get side windows installed.  Did they ever sell C15s in the uk with windows in the rear?

Windows were an optional extra.

[Lankytim]

I seem to remember post 2001 models were pricey on road tax

[dollywobbler]

They handle like a sack of crap if you have 12 people in the back of one. 

[Six-cylinder]

I seem to remember post 2001 models were pricey on road tax

 

All about the same, £230 pre 2001, £225 post.

 

C15s are great but if you don't need a van then there is a car version, the "Visa" which comes with the same 1769cc diesel engine of the earlier vans.

[ruffgeezer]

I just managed to get a van quote down to around 200 - but in order for a van to be useful for me I need to get side windows installed.  Did they ever sell C15s in the uk with windows in the rear?

 

Yeah, we've a set of windows in storage for one here!

[Lacquer Peel]

I seem to remember post 2001 models were pricey on road tax

Commercial vehicles are taxed at a similar rate to pre-2001 vehicles, even the new Sprinters at work are £220 or whatever it is for the year.

[Six-cylinder]

They handle like a sack of crap if you have 12 people in the back of one. 

 

Just stick to eleven then!

[lesapandre]

Great vehicle - buy one. Over 1-million made - loads on the roads in France and some very tidy indeed. Been out of production over 10 years. Still pricy in France and getting rare in UK because worked till they dropped and not appreciated by many. Reliable.

[Faker]

I sooooo want a C15...

[catsinthewelder]

I'm mighty tempted by one too but can't justify owning a van so stick to estates.

 

I could really do with a bonnet to fix the C15 shown above,  it is very rusty under the plastic strip and it's owner keeps trying to convince me to weld it's frilly remains together.