Confused and need a new car. Shall I buy a Citroen 3?

[Blu]

I have only ever bought one car in my life - my current clapped out Fiat Punto. It is ideal in terms of size and economy for our one-child family. I need something nippy and small, but spacious enough for the occasional camping-trip with all the gear, so somethiung really tiny like a corsa or micra won't do. Also do occasional long drives.
I am not at all bothered about image or status, and do not want to pay for anything more flash than I need functionally.
I don't want a complete banger.
Good second hand cars with guarantees and warranties seem to be about £4-5k.
Citreon have an offer, £6,690 for a new C3. 3 year warranty, 12 year corrosion warranty. Should i find the money and buy one, if not, what shall I get and how should i look for it?
I would never be able to tell if i was being ripped off by a dealer.

I'm a non-driver so am totally useless here really, except to say that if you decide to go the second-hand route you can get the AA to give your prospective purchase a good once-over. We are on our third car as family in nearly 20 years (also have the bare minimum approach to motoring ) and have never bought without getting the AA in.
Also see if you can get someone with a Which membership to check for safety ratings/green-ness etc?
I like the current look of Citroens but as you know am knee-jerk ardent Francophile so I would say go for a C3. It does sound a good deal...

I bought a C3 when they were a new model in 2002 - it's been OK apart from door handles falling off several times. It's great to drive though - very nippy. I would try and get three year warranty if you can.

Thanks Marina - if I go 2nd hand I will definitely get the AA in.

Pippi - that's good to know. Do you think the 1.1l would go up steep windy roads in the lake district?

My parents negotiated the Newlands and Whinlatter on a regular basis in their ancient Dyane Blu, of course it will!

They did go down to about 10mph and get heckled by Swaledales though

My parents mini used to overheat on those passes and my brother and I used to cringe with embarrassment while they held up the tractors, swaledales and wannabeWainwrights, flapping at the steam spurting out of the radiator with teatowels.

Bump.
Don't make me go simpering to the Men's Room for help, now!

that seems like a good price for a new car Blu. I thought they started at around £9k? I'd go for new at that price. 3 years peace of mind too.

what size engine is your punto? 1.1 would be slow but it should get up hill down dale

My Punto has the smallest size engine in the range, I think. I pay that reduced road tax for small engines, anyway. It is slow to accelarate, but can work up to a very speedy performance on a motorway - but then drags on the long uphill stretches on the M20 (or M2 - i always get them mixed up). I guess the C3 would be much the same.

I wondered about the reputation of Citreons in general - reliability, service and parts costs etc.

I know - i culd take francophile Marina on a booze-cruise trip to Boulogne once a year and get it serviced in a proper French garage while I was there!

It does seem a good price for a new car, doesn't it?

Hey Blu.
Just about to say goodbye to my trusty C3 in about 10 minutes.
Have had an "Exclusive" for a year and I love it. Never given me a days worry. Plenty of room in the boot, nippy and as cute as can be
Sounds like a great price but not sure that 1.1 would pack much of a punch.

I have a Skoda Fabia, they're so good that when we needed a second car we looked at just about every brand going and ended up buying a Fabia Estate! They're really nippy, economical, with loads of extras as Skoda try to compete against some of the less stigmatised brands and are basically a Volkswagen. Boot space's fine but we got the estate as the 2nd car so that we could fit our huge all-terrain 3-wheeler pushchair, the dog and all that essential toddler rubbish in the boot. My Fabia is a 52 reg and we've had it for 3 years without any problems. I love it and would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a new car.

well I know someone who always has citroens, as does her husband. She is the worlds most frequent complainer, believe me she could create a job doing it lol. A apart from a few teething problems with her car, I think she's quite happy.

DH is an AA man, and he swears by any japanese car. He said they are very reasonable to buy, extremely relaible, and he very rarely gets called out to breakdowns on them.

An AA or RAC man told my Mum he had NEVER been called out to a Toyota.

I will look at them - and Skodas - you won't catch me falling for the old jokes (what's the difference between a skoda, a barratt home and syphilis? etc)

Spook - why are you getting rid of your C3?

Because DP's just bought me a brand spanking new Audi A4 estate Dog,kids,bikes etc!!

But I absolutely loved my C3.

Would agree that Nissan and Toyota are supposed to be ultra-reliable Blu. I am sure I have also heard dh burbling away about how Skodas these days are cheap, stylish Volkswagens without the price tag that goes with VW. But honestly, I still see them as Trabants with pretensions

My C3 is 1.4 - no problem with hills in that - what is price difference for bigger engine? Another good thing about is that it has a proper spare wheel not like lots of smaller cars.

Hi Blu,
Im learning to drive on C2. And DI said C3 is only little bigger than C2 and basically the same car. I like C3. Drives nice, very smooth, and nippy as ppl said here.
I looked japanese cars but Toyota Yaris,Aygo,Nissan Micra all too small.[and expensive] Quite like Honda FRV but again very expensive. I think 6995 is great price, go for it. I would if i was you.

My dad who is a mechanic says that citroens are generally very good, realiable cars and not difficult to get parts for - we just bought an old xsara at auction for peanuts and it is great - nippy for the engine size and fuel economy good. HTH.

oh yes, said its good on fuel

OK! This all sounds good!
The 'deal' only applies to the 1.1l engine, but as i mostly drive in town, and emissions and economy are more important to me that doing 100pph on the motorway or racing people from lights, it should be ok.

I shall wind the window down and flick the ash from my louchely smoked Gitanes out, marina.

Thank you all very much for your 'insider knowledge' re relliability ertc - all very useful.

Spook - oooh, now i AM impressed with your DP!

Blu - I have always driven Citroens, I even convinced my best friend to buy a C3 and then my sister bought one exactly the same. Both have has terrible problems with them. My sisters dh managed to convince my sis she was better off with out it.
My poor friend continues to throw good money after bed on it - as a result I feel terribly guilty. She originally wanted a Ford Focus.

Check out websites like Honest John

And they depreciate enormously