Citroen C8 - Best £360 I've spent

[gadgetgricey]

Apologies no collection thread as was driving there and back, also was Thursday so bloody hot

Been on the lookout for something cheap and cavernous for a while, but could not find anything suitable for what's needed. Didn;t want to get a transit, but wanted a Galaxy sized car, preferably in Auto guise.
Mechanically in good condition, not that bothered re appearance as its purely going to be used as a tip run car/moving furniture vehicle.

Bid on a Galaxy diesel auto with 12 months ticket, but reserve not  met, but then saw this beauty.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-C8-Auto-MPV-7-Seater-Long-MoT-No-reserve-Light-Damage-Driveable-/164244876762?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=9YQ18QGjW4EfPwq53Ql5n2RPNLY%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc

Seller was totally honest about its condition (if anything too critical) and even did a you tube video to show all its idiosyncrasy's

For what we needed it for, was almost an ideal car.

Won the auction for quite a bit less than I bid, and arranged to collect last Thursday morning down at Bristol services.
From the description and video, knew that something would need to be done re the door, so was on the lookout for a replacement.

Fortune struck again as found as an e-bay listing for a Pug 807 in the same colour being broken in Swindon.  Seller happy to remove door and collection on Thursday. So a slight detour back to Brum via Swindon was on the cards.

Wife kindly offered to take me down to collect, but was a little worried when the tools and oil I normally take, also included a ratchet strap,. 4" square blocks of wood, and a sledgehammer.

Met the seller who was a really nice guy, and had even left me half a tank of fuel. Did the paper work, and he departed. 

Now I've had some strange looks in my time,  but not as many as when you leave car 1, and approach car 2 carrying a block of wood and a sledgehammer. No one said anything, but kept looking as I hammered the leading edge of the door down, so door could now be opened easily and then moved to the upright and door surround. In less than 5 minutes (Thank God as was apx 35 degrees) the door now opened and closed "easily" and the window almost all the way up. Stopping about 1 cm from the top. Then liberal use of cable ties to secure card to door and all set.

Never done body work or anything similar before, so was quite impressed with my codge job. So much so I did think about cancelling the door collection, but replacement door was a good price and did not want to muck the other guy around.

So car now is watertight and headed home.

First issue was that the aircon did not work/cool, but with all the windows open including the the boot ones got quite a nice breeze blowing through.
Second issue is it a a 2.0l Auto, so could not pull the skin off a rice pudding. Drives lovely, just for motorway driving takes a while to get up to speed or if you want to overtake, but will happily sit at 70mph (or slightly more) without any issue.
Third issue - Brake pad warning light. Had asked a question re this and advised no noises just need to be changed. Sure enough no scraping or anything to warn you, and brakes straight and true. Pads front and rear ordered for £30 delivered, so another of the jobs to do this weekend or next.

Picked the door up from Swindon, and headed home.

Car drives really well, Very light power steering, but you soon get used to it, and is a perfect car for what we need. In the two and a half days of ownership its already picked up 

A replacement front door
A three seater settee 
Two 2 seater settee's which it took in one trip
A double bed and mattress
Two tip runs filled to bursting.

All of the above were done with all doors closed. Was previously using my golf estate and got used to having the tailgate open carrying stuff that did not go all the way in (oh er missus)

Still got the door to change and its booked in for an ATS air con charge Monday, but really like the car. Always do oil filter changes myself on new cars, but thinking about getting a cambelt done and then getting rid of the Golf. Which is quite weird as car was only ever going to be a beater for moving house and associated work.

And its also got electric sliding doors........... (I'm such a child)

 

[Floatylight]

Apologies no collection thread as was driving there and back, also was Thursday so bloody hot
Been on the lookout for something cheap and cavernous for a while, but could not find anything suitable for what's needed. Didn;t want to get a transit, but wanted a Galaxy sized car, preferably in Auto guise.
Mechanically in good condition, not that bothered re appearance as its purely going to be used as a tip run car/moving furniture vehicle.
Bid on a Galaxy diesel auto with 12 months ticket, but reserve not  met, but then saw this beauty.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-C8-Auto-MPV-7-Seater-Long-MoT-No-reserve-Light-Damage-Driveable-/164244876762?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=9YQ18QGjW4EfPwq53Ql5n2RPNLY%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc
Seller was totally honest about its condition (if anything too critical) and even did a you tube video to show all its idiosyncrasy's
[/url] For what we needed it for, was almost an ideal car.
Won the auction for quite a bit less than I bid, and arranged to collect last Thursday morning down at Bristol services.
From the description and video, knew that something would need to be done re the door, so was on the lookout for a replacement.
Fortune struck again as found as an e-bay listing for a Pug 807 in the same colour being broken in Swindon.  Seller happy to remove door and collection on Thursday. So a slight detour back to Brum via Swindon was on the cards.
Wife kindly offered to take me down to collect, but was a little worried when the tools and oil I normally take, also included a ratchet strap,. 4" square blocks of wood, and a sledgehammer.
Met the seller who was a really nice guy, and had even left me half a tank of fuel. Did the paper work, and he departed. 
Now I've had some strange looks in my time,  but not as many as when you leave car 1, and approach car 2 carrying a block of wood and a sledgehammer. No one said anything, but kept looking as I hammered the leading edge of the door down, so door could now be opened easily and then moved to the upright and door surround. In less than 5 minutes (Thank God as was apx 35 degrees) the door now opened and closed "easily" and the window almost all the way up. Stopping about 1 cm from the top.
Never done body work or anything similar before, so was quite impressed with my codge job. So much so I did think about cancelling the door collection, but replacement door was a good price and did not want to muck the other guy around.

So car now is watertight and headed home.
First issue was that the aircon did not work/cool, but with all the windows open including the the boot ones got quite a nice breeze blowing through.
Second issue is it a a 2.0l Auto, so could not pull the skin off a rice pudding. Drives lovely, just for motorway driving takes a while to get up to speed or if you want to overtake, but will happily sit at 70mph (or slightly more) without any issue.
Picked the door up from Swindon, and headed home.
Car drives really well, Very light power steering, but you soon get used to it, and is a perfect car for what we need. In the two and a half days of ownership its already picked up 
A replacement front door
A three seater settee 
Two 2 seater settee's which it took in in load
A double bed and mattress
Two tip runs filled to bursting.
All of the above were done with all doors closed. Was previously using my golf estate and got used to having the tailgate open carrying stuff that did not go all the way in (oh er missus)
Still got the door to change and its booked in for an ATS air con charge Monday, but really like the car. Always do oil filter changes myself on new cars, but thinking about getting a cambelt done and then getting rid of the Golf. Which is quite weird as car was only ever going to be a beater for moving house and associated work.
And its also got electric sliding doors........... (I'm such a child)
 

We had.one of these about 10-12 years ago, brilliant piece of kit, loved the powered sliding doors, never had to worry about the kids twatting someone's door getting out.



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[Floatylight]

Plus twizzly Seats, great for days out /picnics..

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[gadgetgricey]

4 minutes ago, Floatylight said:

Plus twizzly Seats, great for days out /picnics..

Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk
 

OMG - Did not know.....

Heads outside to turn them round., just for the hell of it,.

[Alan_Green]

What you've got there is the cheapest ULEZ compliant builders van in the UK.  Auto too and potentially with air con!

[Agila]

That video was ace. Excellent purchase.

[Lwk22]

I kept an eye on this because it was only down the road from me. Something else popped up that needed less attention though. 
Handy old bus to have though hope it serves you well!

[UltraWomble]

2 hours ago, gadgetgricey said:

OMG - Did not know.....

Heads outside to turn them round., just for the hell of it,.

Pull the knob on the handbrake forwards and the lever drops to the floor whilst the handbrake stays engaged - allows you to swizzle the captains seat around.

We have had one for 14 years. Sounds like a train and pulls like a great.

[omegod]

By the look of the white scuffs/paint transfer they will t cut off ?

[Talbot]

56 minutes ago, UltraWomble said:

Pull the knob on the handbrake forwards and the lever drops to the floor whilst the handbrake stays engaged

This is also very useful when getting in and out of the car.  Friend of mine's wife found this out not long after they got their C8 and had a massive bruise on her thigh for the longest time because of where the handbrake was.

Having driven it a couple of times, it becomes second nature to pull the handbrake on and then release the lever back to the floor again.  Taking the handbrake back off again is just as simple.

[gadgetgricey]

Great to know re the handbrake. Must admit it was annoying me, so was just leaving it in Park.

Also , just found the pull out cupholder

[Lankytim]

Lovely! I won a C8 diesel on ebay for £1.24 once, it was a great motor but it had an unfixable problem which left it stuck in limp mode. Scrapped after a few months but what a bus!

[Dave_Q]

Winnerwagon, the pez could be the better choice as the diesels have some comedy issues that mean the engines can be written off if the cambelt breaks, they are also pretty flaky in general and love a random limp mode or ANTIPOLLUTION FAULT.

I've also had one but bought cheap and weighed in at the first sign of trouble.

Now driving a LWB version, kinda, a Scudo van/minibus version. Has been much more reliable and better on fuel but way less toys.

[UltraWomble]

13 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

Winnerwagon, the pez could be the better choice as the diesels have some comedy issues that mean the engines can be written off if the cambelt breaks, they are also pretty flaky in general and love a random limp mode or ANTIPOLLUTION FAULT.

.

2.0HDI FAP version is prone to cam belt breakage due to a design flaw that lets rain water drip n onto the belt housing - this in turn over time rusts the steel bands within the belt causing them to fail. There was a fix ( a shitty bit of plastic which goes over the cam belt cover to divert the rainwater) the long term cure is to change the belt at 40K /80K / 120K etc. Bit of a PITA but if you loosen the engine mounts you can pull the engine forward in the bay enough to change the belt in situ.

The Non FAP doesnt suffer this issue ad runs a slightly different HDi engine from the Pug 406/7 ( thats the one that I have in the blue car and my mate has in the grey car above). Even so - 80K is about right for the belt, tensioners and water pump.

The limp issue is caused by the EGR gumming up -a simple enough fix with a tin can and some tin snips.

The main ball ache with the C8 is electrical maladies. Those rear doors are ace when they work and a fucking nightmare if they ice up in winter. The ESP quite often plays up and throws up an error due to dodgy ABS rings. Some things are unobtanium now ( the Non FAP runs 2 silencers and a catalyst in tandem but has been NLA for a few years, as are the handbrake cables - so being able to fabricate your own bits is a distinct advantage to long term use).

They eat up the miles well and you arrive if not refreshed at least able to hop out and walk and not knackered. They also make excellent house removal / tip run / general shit carrying wagons as well as being able to take 7 adults in comfort. There used to be a really good EV2 forum but it died a few years ago. There is a group on Facebook, but the tech help isnt as good

[gadgetgricey]

20 minutes ago, UltraWomble said:

 They also make excellent house removal / tip run / general shit carrying wagons 

Could not agree more 

[gadgetgricey]

Well this is the car that just keeps on giving,,,,,
As above purchased as a knackered tip run car, no mention of any service history, but advised good mechanical order. Just hoped it would last a couple of months for what I needed it for.

However. Seller contacted me yesterday and advised he'd found some service history, do I want it. Of course please ?
The thing has only got full service history, had the cambelt done a few years ago (@98K, now 130K) , and had a new cat fitted by Kwik Fit last year (£460...-Specialist order)
This might be turning into a keeper

Anyhoo, changed the door over so car looks a lot better but now lost control of windows and door mirror from drivers side door.
Central locking still works, and so does indicator under wing mirror.
have cleaned the contact with no success.
Seller of door advised was all working, and have even swapped the switch from the Citroen door over to the now fitted Pug door with no success?

Any suggestions to fix. Reset procedure or possibly a LEXIA session?

 

[gadgetgricey]

Had a response from the French Car Forum re the above.
It appears that they used two electrical systems, so possibly only fix is to remove all electrics and gubbins from door one and transfer to door 2.
If that's the case, I probably will, as car seems worth the effort.

[Matty]

Definitely worth it. You like the car, its useful and it was cheap. Real good result 

[beko1987]

Itll not take long to swap the electrics over in a door. Spray the silicone grease about the window runners too and youll never need to go near it again*

 

*for 7 months

[maxxo]

enjoying this, i do like a C8

yes they have issues but they're really nice cars, especially for such little money

[gadgetgricey]

33 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Itll not take long to swap the electrics over in a door. Spray the silicone grease about the window runners too and youll never need to go near it again*

 

*for 7 months

I need to do that on the passenger rear door, it squeals like a pig when you lower the window,
Which I cant do at the moment due to the above, so winner winner

 

[gadgetgricey]

Bugger - Just remembered that I wound the window down on the "old" door to make it easier to carry away from the car as did not think it would be needed.

So now will have to get the glass moved/smashed (dependant on how inept I am) to get at the wiring.

[loserone]

Plug it back in lying it next to the open door so you can just use the motor?

[Fabergé Greggs]

Nicely done! These are definitely VALU at the moment.

Question... Does the manual come with any load dimensions? I'm always on the look out for a ULEZ MPV that I could fit my Vespa into. 

[paulplom]

There was a guy who rode his large motor bike up from down south somewhere to buy my 2002 citroen dispatch. That had a twin seat that I'd bolted in the back. The bike fit in the no bother.

 

 

[gadgetgricey]

36 minutes ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

Question... Does the manual come with any load dimensions? I'm always on the look out for a ULEZ MPV that I could fit my Vespa into. 

I'll have a gander, but from memory about 205cm from front seats to boot. 115 wide, and 101 high  (115 between rear wheel arches, and 101 rear tailgate entry)
Checked the other day as the wife has me picking up a welsh dresser on Saturday so need to see if it will fit.

Its going to be close, but think I may be able to "push" the slightly taller half in via the side door as roof space is a few cm higher once you get passed the tailgate,

 

[gadgetgricey]

35 minutes ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

Question... Does the manual come with any load dimensions? I'm always on the look out for a ULEZ MPV that I could fit my Vespa into. 

Direct from the horses mouth.

http://www.citroenet.org.uk/passenger-cars/psa/c8/c8-14.html

 

[Fabergé Greggs]

Thats ace, thanks. So the side door doesn't have the height restriction that the boot has?

That 205 from seats to boot is pretty crucial (annoying not shown in the official dims) and sounds like it would be a go-er if I could get around the tailgate restriction. 

 

[gadgetgricey]

If you were local we could have a test fitting. Though at the rate the wife is acquiring tat, wont be long before I'm dispatched to London to fetch something.

[plasticvandan]

I got a vespa 150 super in the back of a Robin Hatchback so I'm sure a big lemon will be fine