Bizarrely cost competitive Citroen dealer prices...

[wurlycorner]

The Mrs new (to her) C2 needs a new clutch
Checked a few prices out...
Parts circa £150 (clutch kit, driveshaft seals, oil) after comparing eurocarparts, Gsf, eurocarcare etc.
Mr Clutch £449
Citroen dealer £389



Not been able to get hold of my local Citroen independent yet, but I'd be amazed if they would be cheaper than Mr clutch.

So, looks like I might be getting some work done at a Citroen main dealer for the first time ever!!! (saving a couple hundred just isn't worth a days worth of aggro on a job like that when it means I can instead spend a few precious hours on one of my project cars)

Will let you know how we get on with them...

[GiveMeABreak]

I think most people would be surprised, Citroen have been offering fixed-price servicing now for quite some time, and also fixed price repairs. Even the parts in a lot of cases are cheaper at Citroen, than aftermarket suppliers.

[Michel]

They have indeed, just be careful what the fixed price includes. For instance, when I enquired about a timing belt change for the Berlingo it was cheaper than the local Indy quoted BUT didn't include a water pump or tensioners. If they were included it came to considerably more than the local Indy who had included these items.

[411514]

Also bear in mind that if the C2 is one of the small TU petrol engines, changing the clutch is a relatively easy almost pleasurable job. On the small TU engines the clutch is probably less than a 6-hour job for the competent driveway mechanic, probably 3 hours for Mr Clutch.

[Oldpug]

Just make sure that £389 is the drive away price,everything full stop.

Looks like main dealers are waking up to all the competition around them,particularly from the very good small independents. They are even undercutting the fast fit boys on clutches,brakes and exhausts.
Also you will be getting the dogs wotsits genuine parts fitted at main dealers. Mr Clutch fit their own recon stuff and other garages may fit non O/E parts.

Mind you,whats the bet that after the dealer has fitted the clutch you will get a list of stuff they think needs attention,discount servicing,MOT, tyres, etc etc.

[flying clutchman]

Also bear in mind that if the C2 is one of the small TU petrol engines, changing the clutch is a relatively easy almost pleasurable job. On the small TU engines the clutch is probably less than a 6-hour job for the competent driveway mechanic, probably 3 hours for Mr Clutch.

More like 4 and 2

[myglaren]

The Mrs new (to her) C2 needs a new clutch
Checked a few prices out...
Parts circa £150 (clutch kit, driveshaft seals, oil) after comparing eurocarparts, Gsf, eurocarcare etc.
Mr Clutch £449
Citroen dealer £389



Not been able to get hold of my local Citroen independent yet, but I'd be amazed if they would be cheaper than Mr clutch.

So, looks like I might be getting some work done at a Citroen main dealer for the first time ever!!! (saving a couple hundred just isn't worth a days worth of aggro on a job like that when it means I can instead spend a few precious hours on one of my project cars)

Will let you know how we get on with them...

Get a quote from Mr Flying Clutchman, just down the road from you

[wurlycorner]

No job on this c2 has been pleasurable so far, it's all been an absolute s**t and where I am at for this job is that I would rather spend the small amount of extra cash and work on one of my Preludes, Xantia's, C5 or CX's instead.

Quite likely will get a long list of things to do from Citroen when they hand the car back, but meh. Whatever. You get that from all the chains, so water off a ducks back these days. The price according to their website is all in, parts, labour, vat. That price is for their 'essentials' job, which means they use after market parts not genuine Citroen (which likely means exactly the same item but delivered through someone else's supply chain rather than their own, just to make their own overheads worse... )

As for Citroen parts prices being cheap... Have only ever found quite the opposite so far - they make Honda look cheap!

Had another quote today from mobile mechanic, £418.

There is another bonus to going to the Citroen dealer... It's 35-40min drive away, but.. Only 5 mins drive from the barn, so... No excuse for what to do to fill the time

[kenbw2]

I was after some injector pipes for my bodging of a Bosch pump onto my DW8. None of the pump suppliers kept the pipes, so I thought it was a lost cause.

I'll check the dealer I thought, for the giggles I said. Came back at £60. I was amazed.

Mind you, a coolant temp sensor was silly money so it's not all cheap.

[momag46]

I’ve also noticed that tyres can also be cheaper when supplied an fitted by a main dealer! You won’t have the same choice but you know they will be top brands. Not been there/done it, but it looks good.

I’m no fan of main dealers but if the price is right and the warranty is good it’s worth a go.

[moizeau]

I've found with Citroen in the past that the parts you think will be cheap are hellishly expensive, and what you expect to pay a few quid for are almost giveaways.

[Richard_C]

Citroen dealers are competitive with lots of their fixed price stuff - discs and pads, timing belts and so on, not all dealers participate but if you go to citroen uk site, owner services you will find the prices for most common jobs. Wiper blades are either expensive or a bargain - last time I looked they quoted I think about £30 for front blades for any model, a bit expensive for a C3 but well below others of you have a Picasso with a screen the size of the sky.

Always worth checking even if only to use as a benchmark.

[wurlycorner]

Well, this has all gone to s**t...

Booked it in online end of last week, this morning she was rung by the dealer to say that they couldn't do it;
A - it was a 5 hour job so they couldn't take it in at 11 ('book time' is known in the service citroen system, so I would have thought the system should be clever enough to only offer slots with sufficient down time when booking?!!)
B - They couldn't order the part so could only offer it at £100 more.
She cancelled the booking.

I've rung citroen head office and they say 'because of the age of the car' the part may not be available and if the dealer can't order it through their parts system then there is nothing they can do and there is nothing they can do from head office end either.

AFAIC, if that's their problem - clutches are obviously still readily available for the car and if they're advertising the service at that price, it's for them to sort part availability to suit - not at all beyond the wit of man for the parts team to source the newer equivalent from whoever they were buying it from!!!

I had a quick glance over the T&C's while on the phone and couldn't see anything about 'subject to dealer being able to order via citroen' but will scour them more closely and intend to take this further...

nb: the "3+years" part number given on service.citroen does show as NFP. It has a part number E246809 - which looks like an old GSF part number to me??? The GSF online part numbers now are a different (longer) format.
Anyone by any chance have a printed copy of the GSF catalogue from a couple of years ago that they could look it up in please???

[CitroJim]

I suppose there had to be a catch.... The dealer's 'get out of jail free' card I would imagine...

Bloody annoying and frustrating though...

[RichardW]

I think the E indicates that it is an exchange part. The new clutch, as you found out, is significantly more expensive!