2017 Flair Auto buying advice

I saw a possible replacement for my current vehicle on auto trader, a 2017 C3 Flair 110 auto at a dealer in Sunderland, just under £9,000, my only concern is the mileage of 49,500, is this one to walk away from? Or in my case limp as I have knee ligament trouble, hence looking for an auto

My current car has covered 55,500 miles on a 2014 plate and will need to have its clutch done soon, its just passed the MOT with no advisories. I've been quoted £450 for the clutch job, i'm almost tempted to have it done, but this one at TCC is too tempting, any advice welcome

Hi

Clutches will last for more than 100k miles so I don't know what went wrong there. It's not a usual thing for the C3 at such a low mileage.

The miles are low at 50k , but what is important is that the miles are correct and its service history is up to date. You need stamps in the boom from Citroen and due diligence on MOT tests. You can check the MOT against the vehicle and look back on its recorded mileage.

There is a link in the header for MOT history checks.

Thanks for the prompt reply, my clutch seems to have a sticking release bearing causing the clutch to drag. I can also feel a vibration coming through the pedal when its at the biting point. as if the DMF is failing. We've had 3 go, 2 Saab's and a Corsa. Spot the common link, they're all GM products! I believe mine is fitted with a solid flywheel, this would rule that one out.

The last suspect would be contamination on the driven plate, the only possible leak point would be the rear crank oil seal, as its starting to use a little oil, might be the cause.

I was just concerned about the life span of the timing belts, but these should be ok as the change point is from 10 years or 110k on heavy usage

Dr Diesel wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:25 pm I saw a possible replacement for my current vehicle on auto trader, a 2017 C3 Flair 110 auto at a dealer in Sunderland, just under £9,000, my only concern is the mileage of 49,500, is this one to walk away from? Or in my case limp as I have knee ligament trouble, hence looking for an auto

My current car has covered 55,500 miles on a 2014 plate and will need to have its clutch done soon, its just passed the MOT with no advisories. I've been quoted £450 for the clutch job, i'm almost tempted to have it done, but this one at TCC is too tempting, any advice welcome

Hi Dr,

This is a bit of a late reply so may not be relevant now as you could well have made your decision. But just in case, here goes. Your clutch obviously has an issue but that can be fixed for sure. That will be cheaper and more convenient than changing cars of course. But if you have a knee issue an automatic can make life so much easier. I too have had a big knee issue and as a result I bought a new C3 Flair in 2018. It has the EAT6 auto box and the 110ps turbo charged 3 cylinder petrol engine with 205nm of torque at 1500rpm. It's a fantastic combination of power and economy. It goes very much like some 2.0ltr cars and the engine and auto box is tough and reliable. As yet I've not read about any problems with the gearboxes or indeed the 1.2 engines, other than a couple of teething issues on one or two early cars. I did a short review yesterday in this section of the site but as I am new to the site still, it's still awaiting approval after I made an edit to it. But you will see it up later no doubt and can't miss it.

The advice above is good, service history is important as is the correct mileage. This should be easy to verify with the dealer and cars service book. If you take the car for a drive make sure the auto box changes gears relatively smoothly and reverse gear engages without noise. After moving off a very slight jolt between first and second gear is normal as there is a big differential jump in the size of the gear ratios between 1st and 2nd gears. That's common and actually how much of a jolt you get is dependant on how much power you use. Funnily enough using a lot of power makes it smoother, or if you drive gently it's smooth. But if you drive it somewhere in between you tend to get a slight jolt. Nothing bad at all but you are aware it's changed gear. In all other gears changes should be almost undetectable when the engine and gearbox are hot. Economy from the engine is pretty good but it will vary a lot depending on how you drive it and what sort of use you put the car to of course.

Regarding the miles on the used one you've seen, I don't think that's a problem. The 1.2 engines are used throughout the Citroen and Peugeot range on various models big and small. The 1.2 engine is available in 83ps, 110ps, 130ps and 155ps formats. It's such as strong engine. The 6spd EAT6 gearbox is also very strong and can handle up to 250nm of torque so it's lightly tasked in the C3. But as alway, check the car out carefully. If you can get as new a model as you can as there are some small improvements that Citroen made in the first year after release of the car to the UK market. But my view is that ALL the latest C3's are good.