my 1st car there might be few problems

good morning,
on Monday i purchased my 1st car, a 5dr 2005 c3 desire, (31yo and only had a liccence since jan) dident pay much for her, just £300, and as you would expect for such a cheap car there is a few minor issues.
1st thing i noticed when looking at the car was just the high brake light needing a bulb as with the side light. the handbrake seamed very easy to move and the clutch bit on the peddles was a lot higher than the car i passed my test in. since owning it Ive noticed a few other things im hoping are going to be an easy fix the 1st i would like to ask for help with is the passenger side headlight when you turn the lights on (took me longer than it should of to work out half the controls and im still guessing half of them) it starts making a motor spinning noise, it dosent adjust when the wheel by my right knee is used and will keep wurring until lights are turned off. the 2nd thing i need sorting b4 i go on holiday is the rear fog lights... how do you turn them on? i get its twisting the 2nd segment on the left stalk towards you but it dosent move very far and dosent lock and lights dont come on am i doing it wrong or is there something else wrong with the car?

over all Ive loved driving her, very nippy, light on the steering, there only 1 tiny mark on the body work, a little dint in the rear arch like its been hit with a stone. im going away on wednesday to my mothers wedding and would at least like the headlight sorted b4 i go as ill be driving over night from the NW to SE so want as little to go wrong as poss any and all advice is welcomed this new driver

thanks in advance

CrazyDadDamo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:04 am good morning,

Good evening CrazyDadDamo

CrazyDadDamo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:04 am ve noticed a few other things im hoping are going to be an easy fix the 1st i would like to ask for help with is the passenger side headlight when you turn the lights on (took me longer than it should of to work out half the controls and im still guessing half of them) it starts making a motor spinning noise, it dosent adjust when the wheel by my right knee is used and will keep wurring until lights are turned off

Replace the whole headlight unit because the motor solenoid for beam adjustment is busted. You can't change the parts inside the headlamp, just the whole thing.

CrazyDadDamo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:04 am b4 i go on holiday is the rear fog lights... how do you turn them on?

Twist forward for fronts and twist back for rears. Forward again for front off and back again for rears off.

CrazyDadDamo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:04 am dident pay much for her, just £300,

Sounds like you got a bargain Happy C3 motoring

C3CAR wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:49 pm
Replace the whole headlight unit because the motor solenoid for beam adjustment is busted. You can't change the parts inside the headlamp, just the whole thing.

CrazyDadDamo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:04 am b4 i go on holiday is the rear fog lights... how do you turn them on?

Twist forward for fronts and twist back for rears. Forward again for front off and back again for rears off.

CrazyDadDamo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:04 am dident pay much for her, just £300,

Sounds like you got a bargain Happy C3 motoring

Thank you for the reply,
Ive gone ahead and ordered both headlight for the car might aswell swap and upgrade them both at the same time with these.

Took her up to kwickfit for one of there "free" safety inspections.... well 1 heart attack and a mild stroke later, turns out i need to become friends with a mechanic rather quickly.
Need a whole exhaust from the cat back. (salvage job for that i think)
The tires were road legal (and that's the bit Im focusing on) but 2 were on the wrong way, there are 3 different types (2 all weather 1 winter 1 summer) of tires on the car. The drivers side front tire is the original that Citroen put on the car in 05 though.... BUT they recommended to get 4 new (a job for after my holiday).
i only have rear fogs on the car and turns out they are very intermittent, idk if they have been messed with in the past as they are forward to turn the rear on... when they work at lease. the mechanic said it was ether an electrical problem in the loom or at the control stork but is fine for now as long as i pay attention if and when i need them.

Had a full oil change, new filter (again was an original Citroen part) and the sludge that came out of it was truly horrifying but they had a good look and was no metallic flaking in it (what ever that mean) checked the plugs and replaced them aswell (nothing wrong with what was in there just needed updating... aka wanted the last of my money)

Checked the timing belt for me as well. looks like its not long been done as its dated 2016

As im a new driver (and not the best at it ill admit) ive also gone and wacked some lovely new green p plates all over her

So besides paying out £200 for some fancy headlights, 75 for new sparks, oil and a few bulbs that had blown and another 150 for the exhaust when im back im still putting her down as a good and cheap 1st car
I still think she's a bargain, even with her on bricks on me drive atm (going to work on the exhaust later and patch the holes with a bandage till i can get a new one)

Thank you again for the reply im sure there will be many more questions as time passes

CrazyDadDamo wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2019 8:12 am no metallic flaking in it (what ever that mean)

The metallic flaking or any bits of metal would indicate there are bits of engine in the oil. This would be bad as it indicates the engine is wearing out.

The sludge is combustion particles and worn out oil additives and this will eventually block the oil ways in the engine. It's is good t remove it.

CrazyDadDamo wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2019 8:12 am I still think she's a bargain, even with her on bricks on me drive atm (going to work on the exhaust later and patch the holes with a bandage till i can get a new one)

Don't work on a car that is only suspended by bricks. Invest in some new axle stands and learn to use them safely. Bricks can fail while you are under the car

C3driver52 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2019 9:44 am
Don't work on a car that is only suspended by bricks. Invest in some new axle stands and learn to use them safely. Bricks can fail while you are under the car

yea it is on stands lol bricks under the back wheels to stop her rolling, stands on the axels because a neighbour freaked and came out and sorted it for me but lesson learnt! Will be picking up some from Halfords tomorrow morning for me to own just in case its even needed again. Ive just added exhuast putty to the leak on the manifold for now as i cant afford a whole new exhaust till next month but the putty should be more than a good enough fix when i put the epoxy bandage round it later once the putty has set.

as for the lights, which "insert creative insult here" at Citroen decided that to change the headlight unit, you need to remove the whole front bumper?!?!?! been watching a video on it before and it seams easy but just a massive pain

thank you for the reply

CrazyDadDamo wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2019 10:36 am as for the lights, which "insert creative insult here" at Citroen decided that to change the headlight unit, you need to remove the whole front bumper?!?!?! been watching a video on it before and it seams easy but just a massive pain

Some have done it without removing the bumper, but it may just work out easier with the bumper off.

just though I'll post a little update.

since returning from my trip the cars been off the road, did the 450 mile round trip with out a hiccup the day after i get home the exhaust fell off.. tried a cheap " mechanic" who used a can of beans and a tub of putty (charged me 60 quid for the privilege) it lasted another day and then came off the car again. long story short, it was cheaper to get a new mid and rear pipe than it was to get a 2nd hand one and that's getting fitted tomorrow morning by a professional mechanic with 30+ years of experience and references for the (discounted because he felt sorry for me) price of £60
as for the headlights... well the new ones showed up, took the bumper off put them in plugged the wires in and the passenger side worked lovely, couldn't get the drivers side working at all(bulbs & fuses we checked and were fine the old unit still works so its not the wiring leaves only the unit)... waiting on a replacement from the seller....

needed a new windscreen whilst i was away because some tweed clad old Volvo driver cant understand a 20mph road restrictions on loose surface, need less to say after a shower of gravel the window diffident make it

so not even owned the car a full month yet... paid 300 for her. 4-500 on parts and labour so far.
Tried to cancel my insurance... rang them the day after the 2nd time the exhaust fell off because i had enough and was about to send her the breakers.... £1100 they wanted for me to end it due to it being a £1800 a year policy.... couldn't afford that so i guess as long as i don't put over £600 more into it then i made the right call...

all in all, after living with the c3 for the 1st 2 weeks and it working as a car should i was over the moon with how much space it had, the kids love her, i loved driving her on the long trips and the car loved it aswell pulling 109mpg on the motorway at one point (i was doing 60 behind a lorry because it was a really busy Sunday and me and the kids weren't in a rush at all)