C6 Experience

[danielsydney]

Hi there,

I was interested to hear from owners of the C6 what the maintenance costs were like on these cars as well as parts costs?

what are they like to drive daily?

Thanks,

[hattershaun]

C6 is a reliable well built car overall and a complete delight to drive.
However, it's still a big hydropneumatic Citroen, so expect parts to be quite expensive and to need plenty of them replacing. Accept this and you'll be OK with running costs.
Of, this is all relative to your experiences with your existing/previous cars. Compared to other large luxury cars running costs are comparable if not good value.
You may like to have a look at a dedicated forum, http://www.c6owners.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Best of luck if you go ahead and buy one.

[hawaiianblue]

I've spoken to a few owners of them (a few because they're a rare car, less common than an Aston martin!)

They're all generally happy with them, about the only complaint I've heard is when you go to France people tell you that you've got the same car as the president. They've all mentioned having to buy the odd part now and again though, which is what you'd expect from a French car, but on the other hand, they've all said that parts are no more expensive or in most cases less than they are for an equivalent German car (and you have to go a long way up the range to find a German car with an equivalent spec!)

V6 Diesels are probably the better long term purchase, as they share the same engine as the Land-Rover TDv6 and Jaguar XJ/XF TDV6, so parts supply for the engine should be more reliable.

[Smarty2]

What about the 3 liter petrol's? Only problem is tracking one down! I may be in the market for one in the next 12 months or so, what about importing one from France if I can't locate one in blighty? I would then have it converted to LPG.

[Jodyone]

I'll echo what hattershaun wrote. Relative to Xantia's they're fairly expensive to run, but compared to other large luxury cars they do well. Tyres are expensive and the VED on the V6 HDi is painful, unless you get a rare early one that was registered before some threshold.

The petrol V6 is very rare and wasn't popular in reviews- I think you'd need a very particular reason to hunt one down. The V6 HDi is by far the most common variant (of an already unusual car), and it fits the C6's nature very well- plenty of lazy, discreet power and high 30's mpg.

I love it, and still can't help sneakily looking back over my shoulder in car parks.

[Trainman]

Like others have said, the C6 is definitely a rare beast, there are a few examples of the 3.0 petrol about, I even, know of one that's semi for sale and has ready been converted to LPG, although it's a Linage.

Shaun is right about parts costings, they are no different to other brands. My local dealer once said to me "the things you expect to be cheap aren't, and hothouse you would expect to be expensive aren't"

Tyres can be expensive, but there are cheaper options. The main thing for me, is that the C6 is built to be driven, it's not a car to be put away and only used in the sunshine, they do actually enjoy being driven, plus they something called the smile factor..... you'll understand that when you have on the drive outside the house....

[tco_tm]

What about the 3 liter petrol's?

I think it is troubleless and durable, despite ignition coils and variable timing regulators which in fact are reasonably priced and easy to replace... But it lacks power and consumes a lot of fuel even when put into somewhat lighter C5 (with automatic transmission). I prefer gasoline engines but cannot imagine any advantages of this motor over V6 HDi in a C6. It won't make this car swift and will force you to plan your trips around gas stations. The only pleasure of listening its low rpm rumble and throaty noise when high revved will fade quickly.

[Jodyone]

What about the 3 liter petrol's?

I think it is troubleless and durable, despite ignition coils and variable timing regulators which in fact are reasonably priced and easy to replace... But it lacks power and consumes a lot of fuel even when put into somewhat lighter C5 (with automatic transmission). I prefer gasoline engines but cannot imagine any advantages of this motor over V6 HDi in a C6. It won't make this car swift and will force you to plan your trips around gas stations. The only pleasure of listening its low rpm rumble and throaty noise when high revved will fade quickly.

The HDi V6 surprisingly sounds quite burbly and throaty too, across the rev range. It won't impress the pistonheads crowd but is pretty good for a diesel! Better than all the lumpy VAG 4's I seem to hear everywhere, anyway.

I've settled on Dunlop Maxx RT tyres, about £160 each. That's about half way across the range of prices, from 80-250+..!

[Hell Razor5543]

Plus, if you can get hold of one, the V6 3.0l HDi is VERY exclusive. IIRC there were less than 50 imported into the UK.

[isisalar]

Out of curiosity I've just had a look on Autotrader to check out these C6's, there are 15 for sale nationwide and a lot of them seem to be within 100 miles of me. £5-7K would seem to buy something reasonable.
This is very worrying because I'm beginning to get a desire for one of these after seeing one at BL auto's recently and this thread has just inflamed it. Looking on Autotrader probably wasn't wise.
Please someone tell me some scary stories about horrendous running costs, I heard they eat spheres?
£420pa road tax should do the trick for now but heaven help me if I get some money.
Cheers
Paul

[Smarty2]

What about the 3 liter petrol's?

I think it is troubleless and durable, despite ignition coils and variable timing regulators which in fact are reasonably priced and easy to replace... But it lacks power and consumes a lot of fuel even when put into somewhat lighter C5 (with automatic transmission). I prefer gasoline engines but cannot imagine any advantages of this motor over V6 HDi in a C6. It won't make this car swift and will force you to plan your trips around gas stations. The only pleasure of listening its low rpm rumble and throaty noise when high revved will fade quickly.

Hi,
unless I have it converted to run on LPG at 61p a liter and less VED! I do a reasonable amount of miles per year and with this tourer more trips to the continent.I find it more pleasant driving abroad.

[Jodyone]

Out of curiosity I've just had a look on Autotrader to check out these C6's, there are 15 for sale nationwide and a lot of them seem to be within 100 miles of me. £5-7K would seem to buy something reasonable.
This is very worrying because I'm beginning to get a desire for one of these after seeing one at BL auto's recently and this thread has just inflamed it. Looking on Autotrader probably wasn't wise.
Please someone tell me some scary stories about horrendous running costs, I heard they eat spheres?
£420pa road tax should do the trick for now but heaven help me if I get some money.
Cheers
Paul

Sounds familiar- that's pretty much how it started for me! Sorry to say, they don't eat spheres..! In fact they're pretty thirsty in that respect- I'm just about to replace the 3 front ones which are 8 years old now (but probably fine). However, you'll be "pleased" to know they DO eat balljoints (actually FRIP joints) - the grease is washed out easily - but they can be modified with grease nipples to last indefinitely. Similarly, the front suspension bushes get a hard time generally.

I just paid £65 excess to replace a cracked windscreen- Autoglass told me it retails well over £1000 from Citroen! So you wouldn't want to be bearing that on your own...

[osx]

Road tax put me off twice and the slightly dated interior.

[KP]

Dont think that because it shares the same engine with JLR vehicles its a good thing. Disco/SSRR owners have loads of trouble with the engines. Parts for the head/block are a nightmare to get and engines themselves are £2000+ for a semi decent used one! Possibly some of the JLR issues are due to the increased weight and possibly driving style in such vehicles.

IMO the best one to get is the 3.0HDi as its the twin turbo varient and well worth it. After that a V6 C6 petrol with or without LPG conversion. The loss in torque would be made up for in extra reduction in engine noise and the extra rarity of it as they are really rare!

Tyres aren't cheap and they do eat them as they are a big car! Cut the recommended service interval in half for oil and filter and you'll have a much happier engine and look to get an EGR/DPF delete/removal if you go for the HDi's as it will help save money long term and give the engine a better chance at life.

[Trainman]

Plus, if you can get hold of on, the V6 3.0l HDi is VERY exclusive. IIRC there were less than 50 imported into the UK.

Much less than that James, There's 16 I'm aware of, and that includes 2 that have recently been released by Citroen UK.

Out of curiosity I've just had a look on Autotrader to check out these C6's, there are 15 for sale nationwide and a lot of them seem to be within 100 miles of me. £5-7K would seem to buy something reasonable.
This is very worrying because I'm beginning to get a desire for one of these after seeing one at BL auto's recently and this thread has just inflamed it. Looking on Autotrader probably wasn't wise.
Please someone tell me some scary stories about horrendous running costs, I heard they eat spheres?
£420pa road tax should do the trick for now but heaven help me if I get some money.
Cheers
Paul

Paul, Here's a link to the blog I've been running on the two I've had...... http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 14&t=27969" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sounds familiar- that's pretty much how it started for me! Sorry to say, they don't eat spheres..! In fact they're pretty thirsty in that respect- I'm just about to replace the 3 front ones which are 8 years old now (but probably fine). However, you'll be "pleased" to know they DO eat balljoints (actually FRIP joints) - the grease is washed out easily - but they can be modified with grease nipples to last indefinitely. Similarly, the front suspension bushes get a hard time generally.

I just paid £65 excess to replace a cracked windscreen- Autoglass told me it retails well over £1000 from Citroen! So you wouldn't want to be bearing that on your own...

Later Ball joints were redesigned, and are nowhere near as bad as the originals were, you were lucky to get 20,000 miles out of an original set. I had the windscreen replaced on my current one, AutoGlass told me they had to order it from Citroen because nobody else made them.

Road tax put me off twice and the slightly dated interior.

Road tax seems to be the 'biggie' for most people, IF you're lucky enough to find one registered prior to April 2006 then the VED is around the £230 area. As for the interior, I'm not sure why you think it's dated, however, each to their own.....