DS4 Cross 2024 /2023 build date & missing badge

[DS9]

Busybea

I see your previous car have included the C5 Aircross. Just to say there are some of the top spec eseries versions out there at the moment with the 136hp MHEV auto brand new for £26k, £8k+ saving off list.

[wheeler]

Both the Xsara Picasso & the Berlingo 2 stopped production in 2007 but its not unusual to still see 08 & 09 registered, i think the newest registered ones i have see of theses have been 10 plates.
I have no idea also when the 206 stopped production but i had to take a second look the other day when i saw one bearing a 59 plate.

[BusybeasDS]

So, what's the general view of how long / old / reasonable a 'pre-registered 24 plate car should be?

Naively, we expected 3 to 6 months... current feedback is anything from 10 to 24 !

Can't be good for any car to be standing unused for months ( almost years) on end, can it ?
Regarding consumables.. how good can it be ( aside from obvious external tyres in sun , u/v etc... ) for brake fluid, sposed to be replaced every 2 years anyway.
What about a wet belt sitting in new oil for that length of time / hardly if ever moving....? Battery life etc etc..

The mind is boggling with potential issues.... or am I over thinking it?

Each time I see a 24 plate, I now wonder... was it a genuine factory built order for the person driving it.. or is it a 2023/2022 old / new car in the cloak of a 24 plate!
Must be hundreds of unsuspecting people out there, and clearly DVLA accuracy for year of manufacture is simply carried over from the registration date... Utter **** !

Have to say, its all a real eye opener for me...and now it will be the 1st question I ask...'What's the build date' ?

Steve

[RichardW]

For PSA products the build date is easy - there is a sticker, usually on the Driver's side B post which has the RP number on it - this refers to the day the car was built. A quick check on an online calculator will give you the day it was built, e.g. http://www.citroen-ds-id.com/gen/Gen_Organr.html

[DS9]

I like to try and see an opportunity in everything. Here's a theoretical example I thought of a while ago.

Say 2 identical cars are built in the same factory at the same time, say May 2023. Both were shipped to the dealer August 2023. To hit sales targets the dealer registers one as a 23 plate in August 23, and parks it on the forecourt beside the other unregistered car. Neither car moves for the next 6 months.

Mar 2024 arrives and a customer turns up and has the choice of one of the cars. one registered 23, and the other to be registered 24. The latter is priced thousands more than the other. Which do you pick? well the 23 of course. Apart from the late the cars are identical.

The last 2 cars I've bought I have deliberately gone "old plate" "delivery miles". My previous car was a 500x 4wd 2 litre diesel, manufactured in Mar 2016, registered by the dealer probably to hit a sales target in dec 2016. Then didnt sell so dozens were offloaded to motorpoint in July 2017. I got mine Aug 2017, 66 plate, 11 miles on the clock, RRP £27k at the time. I paid £13,250 OTR. Sold the car 6 years later with £19k miles for £10,250 to a car buying place. £3k depreciation in 6 years, beautiful.

If ppl arent too choosy and want a massive discount mpoint often have some new plate/ last plate bargains with delivery miles. It always seems to be stellantis dealers who offload them. A quick look at the moment has 6 crosslands 73 plate del miles £9k off list. 13 mokka's, 24 plate del miles about £9k off list, 18 jeep compass 73 reg del miles £19k off list.

[PaulC5]

This is not far off what happened with our 308. Built Jan 2019, registered May 2019, kept by the dealer in the showroom until they put it up for sale Jan 2020 when we bought it at about £10k less than the new price with only 2 miles on it. The 3 year warranty start date was from May 2019. This was just before the pandemic which pushed up prices of used cars so if bought later the deal may not have been as good.

[RichardW]

Our C4 Picasso was bought pre-reg - built on 01/09/17 and registered less than 4 weeks later on 25/09/17 (but not bought by us till 22/02/18) - almost as if Arnold Clark bought it with the specific intention of pre-registering it! We got it very cheap - presumably as it was approaching the plate change on 01/03/18.

[BusybeasDS]

Thanks for the input guys...

So... am I overthinking the impact / consequences of a vehicle being 'stored' for 20 months? (More miffed, they didn't confirm this, just production ended in 2023 ..no month tho)
I still feel it's excessive to be under the guise of a 24 plate registered this July.
Perhaps 6 to 10 months or so would be ok?

Just thinking out loud...
as its 1.2 puretech / EAT 8 drive train I am interested in, ( I am aware of the wet belt issue too) .
Just wondering it there would be an issue with belt hardly moving when its been sitting in a nice cold oil bath for such a long time.
The car had 6 miles on the clock but was approx 10k off the 2023 list price at the time.

I am of course aware that warranty would follow from the date of registration so its more than likely covered... but why start off with a potential issue?
Or.. am I a bit OCD and overthinking it..

Steve

[DS9]

Did you consider my email at the top of the page? the Aircross. I like that spec a lot with the alcantara and full sunroof and the car mags do too.

Sometimes you can overthink, but sometimes just look at it all in context.

I got my DS9 1 yr old (in July 2023) 22 plate with 100 miles on the clock, registered as a 22 plate in June 2022, and the build date I've since found was June 2021 thanks to this forum, so I was buying a car over 2 years old from build date. Perhaps not ideal.

At the time of purchase the cheapest market price (for same miles, same plate) of the DS models was as follows. DS3 cheapest, then DS9, then DS4, then DS7. So I got a DS9 cheaper than I could buy a DS4 for at the time. Happy with it.

The future servicing etc you adjust as per DS's recommendations.

[BusybeasDS]

Yes I saw your comment thanks.. we want a smaller hatchback rather than an SUV , so not on the radar really.
Had a C4 hatch, now have a C4X, but while it does have a huge boot.. we miss the flexibility of the hatch... and the DS looks so much prettier ( personal view) ...and much rarer than a C4.

Taking your experience into account, I have now found a DS4 much higher spec than we looked at before and a huge 10 - 11k off current list price.
Using the RPO calculator, it was built in October last year.. registered April 2024 and only 6 miles on the clock.. Dealer also giving us much, much more for our p/ex.. so happy days all round.

We just have to travel 200 miles to collect it... but will make it a road trip ;o)
Thanks for all the input... happy with my decision now, so will post an update when we have it next week.

Steve

[DS9]

The DS4 is a nice shape and like you say rare too. Ive sat in one and walked around it in the showroom while I've been taking my car into the dealer in the past and I do like them. While the style of the DS9 still remains inside, which I am a big fan of I did find it didnt feel as solid as the DS9 overall, suppose thats understandable as a model lower down the range. One thing though, I'd have loved for DS to have blown up the DS4 shape to DS9 size, I think it would have been a very good looking imposing car rather than trying to copy the Germans. Kinda like the original DS9 concept here https://www.carscoops.com/2012/04/citro ... ept-study/ but with more DS4 styling cues.

I hope you are happy with it when the time comes to collect.

[BusybeasDS]

Thanks.. we noticed the doors are much heavier and close with a real clunk compared to the Citroen C4X
The DS4 is actually lighter in weight than the C4X which and 10 inches (20cm) shorter too .
The C4X barely fits into a standard UK space in car parks.
Your DS9 is even longer ...UK spaces are too small for modern cars anyway, even the smallest cars are bigger than they were.

Also, I do / did miss having a rear wiper ( silly designers omission I feel) .
It was the same on our C4 too.. they claim the dynamic shape keeps the rear screen clear.. well.. I can say from experience, thats rubbish, it doesn't !

We got a cracking p/ex rate for ours and they reduced the new car too.. so win win... Now parted with the dosh.. so no turning back now ;o)
Clearly passing on the DS4 Cross version last week, was meant to be.. as this is a much better spec car, and well happy with the deal.
That said, thanks to this forum, I now have a lot more knowledge on build dates etc !

Steve

[DS9]

I'm surprised it's that much lighter than the C4x, even tho suv's are generally heavier.

Car parking spaces are an issue with the DS9, rather than park anywhere I always try and find a good spot with space.

Im surprised with the rake on the rear screen they dont have a wiper. Our last car a 500x had one, but in the ds9 even though it hasnt one overall its better than the 500x. It cleans itself at any kind of speed due to the airflow over the sleek shape.

I know you say you are happy with the deal....but just one little tip you may want to take advantage of which i used when buying mine, its probably unlikely you'll utilise it though. I remember you said it's 200 miles away. When i first bought the DS9 I first ordered from a garage about 300 miles away, and never saw the car, at the time it was the best price I could find. I was desperate to have it delivered but it was stuck at the DS dealership waiting for an oil filter.

I kept my eye out still on other places I'd seen the car too and made enquiries before I took the plunge. At 13 days after placing the deposit I saw a massive price drop at another place, called them sorted it all out, put a deposit down. Then i went back to the place i'd originally bought from, cancelled and got the deposit refunded. There is a rule I didnt know about where apparently consumer protection is better if you never physically visit the garage and see the car before buying, in those cases you have a 14 day no quibble refund on the deposit. if I had seen the car in the dealership I couldn't have done it.

It was a bit of a pfaff with the phone calls etc but it did save us £2k so it was well worth doing.

[BusybeasDS]

Thanks, I am aware of the 'distance selling regulations' , they are very different rules to when you actually sign on the premises.. Your are actually much more 'protected' buying on line/ at a distance.

I feared we would lose our original deposit with the Cross we tried last week, as the order was signed on site in the showroom.
Even their t & c's ( though it wasn't pointed out at the time of placing the order) state, the buyer may not withdraw from the order or they will forfeit the deposit.
However I used the angle suggested by Marc on here, that they misled me and at no stage did they advise the car was built almost 2 years prior to registration.
The refunded me in full ;o)

Then, having driven one myself, I knew it was a car I wanted. ( wife says its my mid-life crisis, but I am older than mid life now.. LOL)
Shopping around, the dealer up North was by far and away cheaper than anyone else on the internet, some asking huge inflated prices in comparison.
I really don't know how they think they can sell cars with such a vast difference in price for the same car.

The deal was struck when in addition they offered £1.5k more for our p/ex than the dealer last week... so I had NO issues doing the deal.

Also, there was absolutely zero pressure to take the 'add ons / extras ' they always push for extra commission.
In contrast to the guy last week, who was very pushy..
To be honest, this has been one of the best pre-sales experiences I have had in 48+ years of driving.

Even better this is the + version, so has an even better spec, so I am very happy with the deal.

Thanks so much for your input, its been very helpful, as has this forum.
Steve

[BusybeasDS]

FAO of Admin, Marc, Richard, etc

I have upgraded my membership with a donation for this fine forum ;o)
A small contribution to say thanks for all the advice and guidance and time, you have freely given to my pursuit of a new car.

Please send me a rectangular window sticker for my new DS4 and I will continue to promote the forum ;o)
I assume you will be able to see my home address from the paypal payment?

Steve

PS
Now I am a donor, for my records: Any chance of the build sheet info for VIN VR1**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff] thanks