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Please help me with yet MOAR C4 faults (video included).


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Once rid of the C4 (ideally without resorting to the other sort of C4 :wink: ), finish off the Amazon. Rebuilt B18/B20 & o/d box etc etc. If you like tunes, it's surprisingly easy to cram a decent set-up into one & yet keep it all invisible. Make sure that there are no waterleaks, and enjoy :D

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Amazons are great cars and using one everyday is a great way to look after it! There is nothing worse than having a classic and not using it! Too many good weather classics out there for my liking..New cars are shit! I should know I fix them everyday! Big piles of electrical wank!

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Amazons are great cars and using one everyday is a great way to look after it! There is nothing worse than having a classic and not using it! Too many good weather classics out there for my liking..New cars are shit! I should know I fix them everyday! Big piles of electrical wank!

Fair comment, but the Amazon is not going to be, nor will ever be, my everyday car. There's way too many unresolved things with it to make it my daily. Even if they were *all* fixed, I still wouldn't use it as my daily. It's my favourite toy, and that's how it stays. I don't want it deteriorating again.
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Amazons are great cars and using one everyday is a great way to look after it! There is nothing worse than having a classic and not using it! Too many good weather classics out there for my liking..New cars are shit! I should know I fix them everyday! Big piles of electrical wank!

Fair comment, but the Amazon is not going to be, nor will ever be, my everyday car. There's way too many unresolved things with it to make it my daily. Even if they were *all* fixed, I still wouldn't use it as my daily. It's my favourite toy, and that's how it stays. I don't want it deteriorating again.
Fair play! But get a classic to use everyday!! No classic will ever be all fixed but tis part of the fun fixing them on the run with duck tape and the like, cant do that with modern shite need a pc and a million one electrical gubbins
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What you will find that in every case that a modern car if your paying for it and running it for yourself regardless of what make ..and model will all be the same...none of them will be paragons of reliability every single manufacturer have slashed their production and materials costs and its showing in the durability. If your doing more than the standard milage of warranty terms its really worth doing the sums of getting a service package to cover the costs of wear and tear items especially if you incorporate it in to the monthly hp agreements.Ive recently come out of the trade and ive heard and experienced horror stories about every concievable m ake and model of modern including the fabled japs - ironically if i can recall alot of the euro spec yaris and auris are built in france - all moderns have got crap electrics - diesels eating egr valves - poor paint - instrument display faults - the whole bloody lot...just par for the course..i handed in my brandnew company car a year or so ago and have just done 30k in this period in a 306 cabriolet i bought for £200 needed a new pair of discs and a drop link for mot this year runs like train nuf said Do i miss my new car.......like heck....Sell the c4 ..whack your money in the bank and get yourself a low milage 10 year old Avensis Corrolla or 323.

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as talbotman said 10 yo jap would be good i have a 52 plate corolla that is mind boringly bland, but reliable my 97 carina 1.8 petrol that i abused for about 7- 8 years (as talbotman will confirm) was ultra reliable and returned about 58 to the gallon on a run and about 40 around town cost me about £150-£180 in parts accross the years, mazda are good if a little heavy on fuel and parts and do suffer from underside corrosion, some of the nissans are ok, but not as good as toyota.would love an auris 180 or a corolla compressor :twisted:as in another post i have just got an 83 celica 2000st and i am going to run that alongside my hillman imps while mrs a puts more miles on the corolla that has cost us about £55 in 2.5 years.

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my 97 carina 1.8 petrol that i abused for about 7- 8 years (as talbotman will confirm) was ultra reliable and returned about 58 to the gallon on a run

They’re ultra-reliable no doubt, but 58 mpg from a 1.8 petrol :?:
brimmed at a local petrol station and then went to the nec in brummie for a show 5 up and about 80 mph all the way when we got back brimmed it at same fuel station, 58.6 mph. car at the time had 72,000 miles on the clock, another one is an avensis that went on a timed economy rally that a mate of mine went on, same 1.8 petrol motor won the rally through the lanes around cardiff and local area won with a milage of 52.3 mpg.the carina also did over 40 to the gallon towing a car transporter to north wales and back to bring back a husky.
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It's that lean burn business. My next door neighbour reckons on getting 45mpg out of his 2-litre Carina E, and he's a builder with a lead foot.I'm more interested to know how the Corolla's only cost £55 over 2.5 years, Aled - I can't do an oil and filter change on either of our cars for much less than £20, including the oil. Any tips for parsimonious motoring (other than buying a Toyota of course)?

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I'm not ruling anything out, but I can tell you one thing - it's very, very upsetting when you're told the warranty doesn't cover the shit that's going wrong with your car. And then to be called a liar and someone who thrashes the car to death. If I get a service package, what's to stop the cunts pulling the same shit on me? I'm at a loss.But I won't rule anything out, as I've said. I'll be trying everything out soon, including the 'brilliant' VW Golf. It had better be the best fucking car I've ever driven, bar none. It should be, all the lifestyle motoring mags go moist at the gusset at the merest mention of their name. Otherwise I will be very disappointed.Damn this open mindedness.Oh yeah, and it is the wheelbearing, and I am going to have to fix it. It may be shit but I need a car for work. Oh, and there's no fucking way in fucking hell I'm using the Amazon. No, no, no.

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i have a trade account with a local factor - filter is £2-25- oil is £8-95 and a set of pads are £12-50 battery was about£25.00 and sorry forgot about the bosh wiper blade that cost £3-70 and that is it. things other than that that i do not count are tyres x2 at £26each, so take the pads off as normal wear and tare and you end up at £41-50

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I'm not ruling anything out, but I can tell you one thing - it's very, very upsetting when you're told the warranty doesn't cover the shit that's going wrong with your car. And then to be called a liar and someone who thrashes the car to death. If I get a service package, what's to stop the cunts pulling the same shit on me? I'm at a loss.But I won't rule anything out, as I've said. I'll be trying everything out soon, including the 'brilliant' VW Golf. It had better be the best fucking car I've ever driven, bar none. It should be, all the lifestyle motoring mags go moist at the gusset at the merest mention of their name. Otherwise I will be very disappointed.Damn this open mindedness.Oh yeah, and it is the wheelbearing, and I am going to have to fix it. It may be shit but I need a car for work. Oh, and there's no fucking way in fucking hell I'm using the Amazon. No, no, no.

i dont care wot anyone says if you can find a carina that is about 1997-8 on a p or r reg with about 80.000 miles or less for about £600 to £900 you are on to a winner you will nave a mot passer for a few years and economic motoring and a good family barge. i had another with a knackered gearbox that i bought for £150 with 185,000 miles on the clock, bought a gearbox for £60 and sold the car for£500 the owner of the car lives local his wife is a local nurse and has put another 5,000 milse on the car in about 4 months and is megga impressed and it flew the mot. they were going to scrappage it and decided to keep it as it was so good.
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Your C4 is an absolute nightmare! It's a shame too -- it's a good looking car especially in 3 door form.

 

It sounds worse than my Golf GTI, which had something like 11 trips to the dealership in the 36 months I owned it. Luckily 10 were covered under the warranty (one was a cracked oil pan, which I blame VW for mounting too vulnerably and low to the ground). Highlights included cracked radiator housing resulting in insane high-pitched squeal and 5 check engine lights on the dash.

 

When I bought my Civic, which is quickly making me want to blow my brains out on the dash, I asked a friend who is a professional used car dealer for some advice.

 

According to him (I'm sure others here will agree) that a car has been well maintained and cared for. Yes, some makes and models and engines and gearboxes are more flawed than others.

 

But generally speaking, he says to always go for a used car with a full service history and preferably a service history that doesn't include breaking down regularly.

 

By the way, if you are testing a Golf soon, may I just put in a word for Skoda. Cheaper than VW and while they are getting positive reviews from Autocar now (blech) they are still fashionably unfashionable.

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Your C4 is an absolute nightmare! It's a shame too -- it's a good looking car especially in 3 door form.

 

It sounds worse than my Golf GTI, which had something like 11 trips to the dealership in the 36 months I owned it. Luckily 10 were covered under the warranty (one was a cracked oil pan, which I blame VW for mounting too vulnerably and low to the ground). Highlights included cracked radiator housing resulting in insane high-pitched squeal and 5 check engine lights on the dash.

 

When I bought my Civic, which is quickly making me want to blow my brains out on the dash, I asked a friend who is a professional used car dealer for some advice.

 

According to him (I'm sure others here will agree) that a car has been well maintained and cared for. Yes, some makes and models and engines and gearboxes are more flawed than others.

 

But generally speaking, he says to always go for a used car with a full service history and preferably a service history that doesn't include breaking down regularly.

 

By the way, if you are testing a Golf soon, may I just put in a word for Skoda. Cheaper than VW and while they are getting positive reviews from Autocar now (blech) they are still fashionably unfashionable.

 

watch out for the gearbox as these can fail early on

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Your C4 is an absolute nightmare! It's a shame too -- it's a good looking car especially in 3 door form.

Yeah, it's good looking, but it's typically new age PSA- make it look great and to hell with the actual use value - in this case visibility. There's a line right across your horizontal field of vision where the angle pane joins the vertical. You can't see fuck all, and if there's a spoiler stuck on, like on the VTR+ I tried, it's even worse. The salesman seemed aghast that I considered things like ride and visibility at my age. How more of those C4s haven't been in accidents I don't know. It's a seriously piss poor piece of design.

 

But overall, the 5 door C4 is a nicely resolved piece of design. Pity the doors don't fit properly (they don't on any car I've seen actually) and that there's a massive top rubbing strip across the DLO edge exacerbating this fact. The A pillar trim snaps its lugs and hangs off, which looks classy, I tell you.

 

The opposite handed wipers would be great too, if they stay aligned properly and didn't scratch the fuck out of the top half of the screen. Fortunately some jeweller's rouge will get this out. Oh, and don't slam the bootlid too hard, else you'll crack the high level brake light lens. I should know, I'm on my second. You just wouldn't get this sort of shit with a Japanese car, sorry.

 

By the way, if you are testing a Golf soon, may I just put in a word for Skoda. Cheaper than VW and while they are getting positive reviews from Autocar now (blech) they are still fashionably unfashionable.

+1 on the Octavia actually. A friend has one, and despite being a really unfortunate metallic colostomy bag beige, it's a top piece of kit. I liked the drive as well when I tried it. He had a Fabia Estate before it which was even better in my opinion.

 

What worries me is if I try the Golf and like it. Me old housemate John has a Mk6 that he bought new after his Mk4 was the biggest embarrasment ever (it went through 6 radiators). He says I can have a go. Will this make me an Autoshite traitor? Considering a Golf goes against everything I've ever talked about on here, and would make me a massive hypocrite.

 

Then again, if it works properly.......................ahhh, fuck it.

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But be clear, concise and unambiguous. DO NOT write anything which can be disputed.

They'll still sue him for libel. Even when you win a British libel lawsuit defense, you lose. Just ask the Guardian writer who criticised the chriopractors. Your country makes mine look like free speech paradise. And we elected Bush. Twice.
It's academic anyway. The garage I bought it from is on Upper Brook Street. Citroen Sale are on Cross Street \ A56. Neither are exactly brilliant places to park up and stage a protest.
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A couple of pointers about C4s - If it is a three door model - all were recalled for reinforced checkstraps and door realignment if required - the glove box lids were also another issue on these with the catches getting jammed and snapping off the result of the lack of room on the rhd conversions due to the fusebox forcing the jamming of bookpacks etc in to the small space - design revised and at the time was a possible goodwill gesture for replacement as they all at some time were doing this - the lids are still a regular stock dealer part - and the centre armrest sliding back and forth - this should have been sorted as a modifcation because this also was a known issue on the early cars -as was sticky door handles - to be fair to the c4 as a whole these were all sorted early on - and the car as a whole has been more consistantly reliable than some of psas more recent efforts - the biggest bugbear shared with all its cousins are the gripes with the multiplex wiring used. The huge problem with warranty claims is the time it takes for the dealer to liase with the manufacturer on such things - and as much as the dealer would like to sort it out- head office dictates the policy and the purse strings as far as parts and labour charges are concerned and it is frustrating - and its not just citroen that this happens..recently there has been some comments on kias 7 yr warranty not exactly being what it might lead any one believe...with very specific clauses in it etc etc i just dunno stuff like your wheelbearing brake and clutch issues are totally unacceptable and personally i would write a formal letter to xavier duchemin the managing director at citroen uk highlighting your problems with a threat to take it to the media........just a thought.

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The Guardian writer's wording was ambiguous. Regardless of the state of our laws

Yes yes you are right. My point was just that the cost of being sued -- even if you are right -- is huge. That was what the Guardian's writer was getting at in the column I linked to. We lawyers are an expensive (dare I say overpriced?) lot, as getting a new 320i every 3 years is costly. Back on topic I definitely think a letter to pres Citroen UK is in order now. "They are in danger of losing you completely as a customer for the rest of your life."
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Wat's is a 5 dr model. I actually have been in it and didn't notice any horrors at the time.For new, I would be looking at something that scores high in all the customer satisfaction surveys, all of them, not just one. So look at JDPower/Which/What car? the lot. Some are bollocks, some have some truth to them.Japanese makes, Kia, Hyundai, Skoda, BMW and Jaguar frequently top (or are close to top) of these lists. A modern Toyota (unless it drives you off a cliff as part of a global Oriental conspiracy to avenge WW2) will be less trouble than a modern Citroen. Modern French stuff is all sold on price, but particularly Citroen, as it is the 'cheap' brand of PSA, despite the C6 and all these 'DS' things.The Auris is made in Derby, along with Avensis - the Yaris is made in France.

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In Citroens defence, my mum has had a C4 grand Picasso for 3 years (with the supposedly problematic semi-auto box) with no issues after 25k. My brother has my old Xsara Picasso that is now 9 years old and has needed virtually nothing other than normal servicing. It's now done 90,000 miles. He did need new C/V joints earlier this year and thinks the heavy snow knackered them. Prior to this we had a 91 Zx volcane which again never gave any problems other than normal service items. I bought it in 95, my mother in law had it off us in 2001 then my bro had it from 2003 to 2008. He sold it to a work friend that I think still has it.Maybe we've been lucky or maybe Jon has been very unlucky. I just think you can get bad cars from any manufacturer.

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I do get worried with all the customer satisfaction mullarkey though as they never show the full picture or take in to account of volume sold demographic etc etc........and more people are more likely to vent there spleen on problems than they are to say how wonderful a car is............but as ive stated earlier in my postings all cars now are built down to a cost regardless...and no publication has ever had the brain to conduct a properly vetted reliability survey - it would be interesting to see exactly shall we say 10 owners of each model in sector over a 3 yr period ie auris c4 golf focus ceed......and see what exactly the customer gets reliability and service wise out of each.....i reckon the results would be really interesting..........

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