Experience of owning a Citroën c4 Grand Picasso?

[FamilyJohnson]

We are expecting child number 3 shortly and so have started to look around for 7 seaters. As always, the budget is somewhat limited! The Citroën c4 grand Picasso seems to be a good compromise between cost and features and has some good reviews. Either new or 1 - 2 years old.

However, when we asked our local garage owner for his opinion on 7 seaters he said steer clear of the Grand Picasso before we even mentioned it as an option! He said if something goes wrong they are a pain to fix and it can take a long time to source parts. Has anyone here any experience of owning one, especially when it goes wrong? Any other alternatives we should consider??!

We have a second hand one, about 3yrs old I think. Bought it when expecting DC2&3 (twins) as needed something that would fit 2x baby seats with isofix bases and one next stage toddler seat (can't think what it is called!), and to be able to fold the back 2 seats into the floor to give space for pram, shopping etc. So far we haven't had any issues that needed to be fixed, but we made sure to purchase it from a Citroën dealership, not a garage that does any old.make or private seller.

I can't imagine it would be that difficult to get parts for it if they needed replacing, especially if you took it to either a Citroën dealership or Citroën approved garage to be repaired. They have just had a marketing campaign on TV for the Grand C4 Picasso so again, I can't imagine they wouldn't be prepared and ready with spare parts.

Forgot to say that we love it!

I wanted one because we have the old Picasso and can't find anything else that ticks the same boxes for us. We don't need 7 seats but not against getting a seven seater. Everyone I've spoken to from mechanics to car buffs have said no. They keep telling me there is a reason there are still loads of old Picassos on the road and not as many c4s.
To be honest when things have gone wrong with my Picasso they haven't been major but have been a total pain to fix it's usually electrical and thw electrics are wires by someone on drugs it appears. Electrical fault with wipers ah yes that must affect the radio too.
Apparently because the c4 is much newer it has more electronics in it and that is where the big problem lies. I read good reviews as well and so wanted some people onside but everyone has said no don't do it.

One piece of advice: DO NOT GET A 7 seater Zafira! They autocombust with you and the kids inside.

I have a C3 Picasso, and while the space is flexible and the high driving position is great, the electrics are very unreliable. I have one headlight that blows every 6 months and with the child locks activated you can never be sure if the door will open from the outside. That problem arose after 3 months then went away until the guarantee ran out...

Thanks for the responses! Part of me also wonders if the mechanic is put off because he might not be able to repair any complex electrical faults himself... My colleague told me a story about a SEAT Alhambra she used to own. Loved the car, sliding doors very practical with 3 kids. Then one evening when leaving the motorway, all of the electrics shut down! Steering, headlights, instrument lights. Everything. When she got it back to the dealer they said that they only way to locate the problem was to replace each likely faulty part one at a time. She sold it not long after. I guess all makes of cars have horror stories and all modern cars have more wiring than the average space rocket.

We have a second hand one, 4 yrs old, it's been fine. The layout inside us really useful and the boot is huge with the back seats down.

Ours is 8yo, we have just had to do a load of expensive repairs (argh) this is partly btw, because there is a little tube that is supposed to take water away from the bonnet but instead blocked and flooded the dash!! The official fix for this us to take the tube out. Presumably newer versions don't have it? I would check!

I do still rate it over other similar cars because of how well it fits 3 small kids.

We had no issues getting parts btw. It was all fixed quite quickly, but expensive.

We had one from new for 3 years. It was the most uncomfortable car I have ever sat in. Even the kids used to moan that the seats were uncomfortable.

It was great when it was new, we had a semi-automatic one, everything was smooth and quiet. Once it got about 10k on the clock the gear changes were lumpy and the electric windows started to stick. Bits and pieces of trim was starting to fall off and niggly little faults were happening all the time.

We got rid when it had 18k on the clock.

We looked at them again, a couple of years ago, when they brought out the new model. It was better but we were disappointed with it. We settled on a VW (a Golf because our kids are older and we don't need the space) and, tbh, the Citroen doesn't compare.

That's unlikely about having to replace each part. All these cars have diagnostic software available in garages that is actually pretty good. Actually thinking about when we has a mechanic come round with the diagnostic stuff it was a previous Citroën we has that we physically couldn't move because of their interesting electric set up. On that anecdotal basis alone I've just realised I'll never buy another Citroën

We are now leaning toward a 2nd-hand early 2015 diesel SEAT Alhambra, 140hp. Not sure if a automatic or manual is the way to go. Also, it would probably be affected by the VW emissions scandal and any fix would likely reduce the engine power....but the space seems very good.