Buying c4 grand Picasso what to look for?

[Frodoisdead]

Looking for c4 grand picasso but funds are limited. What should i beware of? Looking in to diesel 1.6 automatic (sorry, don’t like manuals). What is the resource of such car’s engine and gearbox (don’t want a time bomb)?.
Need reliable and cheap to run in the UK vehicle (family of five with 3 little kids). What would you suggest and what is the mileage limit I shouldn’t go over while looking for one? Many thanks

[EDC5]

Unfortunately, all of the auto 1.6 diesel autos come with the dreaded EGS automated gearbox. It is not a byword for reliability. There have been a few posts on here about issues with that gearbox recently.

I suspect the 2.0 might come with the conventional torque converter automatic which (touch wood) has been reliable in my C5 so far.

[Frodoisdead]

I have c5 2.0 diesel estate 2006, but was thinking of something newer because of age (and it’s mint condition), but also has 113k miles. So just worried if something could go wrong with it and it will be kaput. So you don’t recommend newer Picasso instead?
If not what would you recommend as next swap? Main priorities: low cost to buy, low cost to run, reliability, high mpg, low UK car tax. Or should i just stick with C5 and well maintain? Thanks

[GiveMeABreak]

If it has EGS - do avoid like the plague!

It is basically a manual gearbox and clutch, where the gears and clutch operations are changed for you (piloted) by electro-hydraulics and a very complicated and expensive system to maintain and repair because of all this. Especially on the second hand market where (unless you are aware it has been changed) expect to be billed about 9-10 hours labour to do as I believe the engine and gearbox has to come out.... then there is the actual clutch cost of course...

[Michel]

What’s wrong with the C5? I’ve had a couple of Grand Picassos and I don’t rate them at all. Too big, and too small inside for the external space. If you have all 7 seats you’ll have no boot space. With 5 seats, there’s not really much more room than in a C5 estate. If you want a 1.6HDi auto, quite honestly you might as well just burn a wallet full of cash and keep the C5, as a high miler 1.6HDi *will* break and it *won’t* be cheap. I also found the interiors of the Grand Picasso nice, but made out of cheap and not hard wearing materials. My last was 10 years old, 124k and pretty rough considering.

Try a VW Touran with the 2.0 TD. The reason I say this is I bought a Skoda Octavia with the same engine, 2008 car, 175k miles, and it drives superbly. Not only that, the interior is like new, and it was a family car, not a repmobile or taxi. Ok, I’ve needed to put a new boost hose on it (£44) and pump the tyres up and fill the washers a couple of times since I bought it 3200 miles ago but absolutely nothing else.

It makes me a bit sad really, I love my Citroens but that era (2007-on) really fell behind on build quality in my experience.

Best family car ever, but they don’t do an auto sadly 2003-2008 Berlingo Multispace HDi with air con. MASSIVE inside, short as a car, cheap to run and reliable. Did 90k over 7 years in mine and wish I’d never sold it.