Can i drive your car?...

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UVG
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Can i drive your car?...

Post by UVG »

Hi All 

this is a bit cheeky but shy boy gets nowt...

my C5 is dead (RIP) and my arthritis is getting worse so I'm considering getting an automatic C4 Grand Picasso 1.6eHDI

I'm looking at ones from 2014 (so new shape) but I have never driven automatic/semi automatic or a people carrier

all the ones I'm looking at are over 100 miles away but I would really like to drive one before I buy...

so here's the cheeky bit does any member live anywhere near Hartlepool who would be willing to let me drive their car so I can see if I really do want one

thanks to anyone willing to help

if you own one but cannot offer me a test drive would you recommend it? what do you like/dislike

any info will be helpful



UVG
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Re: Can i drive your car?...

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Avoid the semi-automatics at all costs if you value your wallet (or its contents more importantly). These can be very expensive to troubleshoot and need special diagnostic attention when replacing the clutch. These piloted manual model transmissions are called ETG6.

I would look for a full automatic (AM6 or EAT6) which have torque converters.
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Re: Can i drive your car?...

Post by UVG »

Thanks Marc
to be honest I was actively looking FOR the ETG6 so I still had the manual option
most of the ones I'm seeing for sale have this gear box
but the last thing I want is stored up financial problems
your reply sounds like you speak from personal experience is this based on your own experience or have you heard of lots of problems?

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Re: Can i drive your car?...

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

I know that daviemack2006 had a C2 with a Sensodrive gearbox, and it did not give him good service. Once the gearbox was fixed he got rid of the C2, and a year later he spotted it up for sale under spares/repairs.
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Re: Can i drive your car?...

Post by GiveMeABreak »

UVG wrote: 19 Sep 2021, 10:08 Thanks Marc
to be honest I was actively looking FOR the ETG6 so I still had the manual option
most of the ones I'm seeing for sale have this gear box
but the last thing I want is stored up financial problems
your reply sounds like you speak from personal experience is this based on your own experience or have you heard of lots of problems?

Kev
I've driven plenty of these, but would never own one for the reasons I stated. These boxes had extremely poor reviews by owners and the motoring press, and this changed little with the later ETG6. The gear changes are still clunky and jerky. They are just manual gearboxes and clutches, but operated via electrohydraulic actuators to do the gear and clutch changes for you. They often have issues and the diagnostics and repairs can be excessively expensive. There are plenty of cases on the forum where owners have had issues and it has rarely been cheap to fix as there can be so many issues to deal with.

My advice is, if you really want one of these, then get it from a Citroen dealer with full service history and get it with Citroen approved used car warranty, which you can often keep renewing for a good few years. Although a warranty won't cover wear and tear items like the clutch or the flywheel, it should cover the system that controls these.

You say you wanted to retain the manual option, well modern gearboxes like the EAT6 and AM6 have manual control to permit manual gear changes, so you have that option available already on these, plus you have the benefit of a proper automatic. This is done via the 'flappy paddles' on the steering wheel once manual mode is selected, similarly to the semi automatic versions.
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Re: Can i drive your car?...

Post by UVG »

Hi Marc

thanks for the advice

in the end i took your advice and didnt buy an ETG6

i didnt buy an automatic at all i bought a manual one...at least i understand manual boxes

only had it a couple of weeks but so far very happy with it

thanks for steering me right

Kev
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Re: Can i drive your car?...

Post by GiveMeABreak »

No worries, as you say, at least you know where you are with a manual. Just go easy on the clutch and keep your foot well away from it when not changing gear. These have Dual Mass Flywheels so easy on the acceleration to preserve their life as long as possible. :wink:
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Re: Can i drive your car?...

Post by daviemck2006 »

Hell Razor5543 wrote: 19 Sep 2021, 10:21 I know that daviemack2006 had a C2 with a Sensodrive gearbox, and it did not give him good service. Once the gearbox was fixed he got rid of the C2, and a year later he spotted it up for sale under spares/repairs.
The cost of repairing said c2 was more than I paid for the car, and the car had the most comprehensive service history of any vehicle I have owned before or since. And it always felt in the wrong gear at the wrong time and was slow witted and jerky in operation. I swore blind never to have another semi auto gearbox ever again. But then I went and bought a vag car with the dsg semi auto box and it was like chalk and cheese in gearbox operation. So much so that I kept it for nearly 3 years and have now changed it for another one. I don't know it it was the citroen part of the c2 box which was crap, or the earlyness of the technology. The c2 was 2004 registered, my first vag one was 2012 and the current one 2014. The newer citroen ones may well be better.
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Re: Can i drive your car?...

Post by GiveMeABreak »

The OP has not bothered now Davie and gone for a manual - but as far as I can tell I think PSA have knocked these on the head now and gone fully auto now with their new 6 and 8 speed EAT Autos.
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Re: Can i drive your car?...

Post by daviemck2006 »

Its maybe as well he has gone for a manual. I did test drive a C4 1,6hdi semi auto before I bought my Seat Leon and I was unimpressed with it, slow jerky changes. The dsg boxes in vag motors are a world apart. I still drive my old leon occasionally, it is not looked after now and has a hard life delivering hot food 7 days a week by different drivers who don't care about it.its done over 25000 miles in 9 months and although the bodywork is beaten up and wheels all kerbed it still drives as well as when I bought it on 61000 miles. I do not think an equivalent c4 would take the abuse so well. However a citroen would no doubt be more comfortable in the seats and suspension than anything vw can make!
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