JD Power Satisfaction Survey 2006

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 12 Aug 2006, 16:00

Guess which manufacturer took last place in the lists. Citroen came 30th out of 30. See it here:
http://www.whatcar.com/news-special-rep ... ?NA=220291

deian · Post by **deian** » 12 Aug 2006, 17:50

is that bad?

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 12 Aug 2006, 18:27

deian wrote:is that bad?

Depends whether you take it seriously.

weety · Post by **weety** » 12 Aug 2006, 18:29

surely good news as it will depress the price of second hand citroens....

deian · Post by **deian** » 12 Aug 2006, 20:01

well yes that is good, i don't take it seriously, people look for different things from a car, that is a reliability table, cars are much more than reliable, enjoyability, running costs, etc all spring to mind.

I can't fault my 8 year old xantia, it would be interesting to do a JD Power survey of cars from 6 to 10 year olds, I wonder if citroen would be so low down then? It takes years and years for cars to pass the test of time.

Many of the cars in the JD power survey are still in warranty if i remember correctly, when the warranty ends they do tend to fall appart quickly, once with new parts they are good as new for another years.

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 13 Aug 2006, 00:17

Citroen's marketing position here in the UK is doing a massive disservice by driving the brand's value perception down into the cheap'n cheerful area of the market and has been for doing so for years with it's 'happy days' discount anything approach - the feeling appears to be that a Citroen isn't a 'sensible' or reliable' choice and this isn't helped as usual by the root cause of Citroen's poor showing - the dealer!

How many here actually have ANYTHING good to say about their local Citroen franchised garage whether it's for spare parts or for servicing (if you've got money to chuck about), or even for approachability/helpfulness when buying new (perish the thought!!

).

I think the brand will need some massive overhaul in it's whole approach to it's image and crucially it's dealer back up in the UK to get on nodding terms with any kind of prestige brand where the C5 and C6 think they are!

I'm still not 100% sure whether the PSA approach of going boring and mainstream was actually the kindest death of the historically innovative Citroen in the long run even if there are strirrings of niche manufacturing with the Pluriel and C6.

Whilst the C4 may be 'alive with technology' give Citroen another 6 months and it'll be visibly desperate marketing with a 'Cashback this' and 'discount that' and 'free the other' - can anyone take this kind of seller seriously...?

Andrew

SimonM · Post by **SimonM** » 13 Aug 2006, 09:02

You are so right about the dealer network. My local dealer point blank refused that I had booked my car in on two occasions! So I had two wasted journeys. The last time I was there the sales guys had NWA blasting out from the CD player, and if you have heard any music from NWA you no they don't hold back from swearing

The guy in service who had just served me looked like he was ready to go and do a bit of skatebording, it was a hot day but surely they must have some kind of corporate T s**t and shorts. I used to own a Volvo S60 and whilst it was not without fault the dealer was always very professional. I suspect if you ask most people why they purchased a Citroen the answer would be because it was cheap! And as you say Citroen have made it this way by cheapening the brands image with the silly adverts and massive price reductions. Still as a used buy the are great value for money, I paid £3995 for my 02 C5 2.0i estate, one owner 35000 miles

Just make sure you find a good independent garage.

weety · Post by **weety** » 13 Aug 2006, 10:09

Citroens tend to suffer with niggly small points that must cost a fortune to take to a dealer but are usually quite easy to do yourself.....

the best citroen selling point has to have been the old xud9 engine, and thats because they run to a quarter of a million miles on routine servicing......unless you are a minicab driver thats only useful if you run old uns

i have always thought they needed to offer hydrowhatever suspension on their smaller cars rather than just the big beasties....especially the 'round town cars' that tend to be bouncing over knackered roads and speed humps more than most...........

steelcityuk · Post by **steelcityuk** » 14 Aug 2006, 13:23

Does anyone have any experience with french citroen dealers, what are they like?

Just curious.

Steve.

weety · Post by **weety** » 14 Aug 2006, 14:43

steelcityuk wrote:Does anyone have any experience with french citroen dealers, what are they like?

Just curious.

Steve.

from what i have read they are meant to be very good and very cheap.....but i have never tried them myself

andmcit · Post by **andmcit** » 14 Aug 2006, 14:54

weety wrote:
steelcityuk wrote:Does anyone have any experience with french citroen dealers, what are they like?

Just curious.

Steve.
from what i have read they are meant to be very good and very cheap.....but i have never tried them myself

YEP, THAT IS A FACT!

When they had a Citroen someone that works with me swore by the small outfit in Normandy where they used to go on holiday regularly - the hopless service received in the UK saw them off the marque to a Mazda where the local dealer here has a great reputation...

Never mind the car, feel the service!

Andrew

Stinkwheel · Post by **Stinkwheel** » 14 Aug 2006, 15:56

i have always thought they needed to offer hydrowhatever suspension on their smaller cars rather than just the big beasties....especially the 'round town cars' that tend to be bouncing over knackered roads and speed humps more than most...........

GS/GSA i think