C3 buy or not? Timing belt questions

[Roy E]

Hi All

I am thinking of purchasing a C3 from my wife's grandmother, it is a 2018 and only done 13000 miles and we are being offered a very good price.

The reg is LT68OXC
VIN is VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]

Unfortunately we don't know what the service history was pre March 2022 when it had a 'full' service at the Citroen dealer, it then had a basic service in August 2024 at an independant.

Having done some research there are a lot of horror stories about the Puretech 1.2 wet belt failing. From what I can gather there have been a few revisions to the belt and I think this one has the second revision, but there is a 3rd revision which would be fit next?

Citroen are saying to change the timing belt at 6 years so it's now due on this car, however every independent garage is saying their database says 12 years and only 1 has actually given a price of £371 including the timing kit, this sounds unbelievable cheap to me and I suspect they don't realise it's a wet belt.

A local Citroen 'specialist' won't do the timing belt as they say there's too many other bits to change with it!

A Citroen dealer has quoted £573 which includes labour to drain and refill the coolant. I was under the impression the water pump is not driven by the wet belt and may not need touching? Their quote does not seem to include replacement of the water pump, unless it comes with the timing belt kit? Anyone know if the dealer would replace the water pump with the wet belt, or if it is necessary to drain and refill the coolant? Or if £573 is reasonable for the timing kit and labour?


So long story short any advice on whether to buy this car? I'm a bit concerned the mileage is too low and it has not been serviced on schedule. However we are getting a very good price so can replace the wet belt and hope and pray the engine is ok!

It also appears to be a 67hp engine which there does not appear to be much about online and sounds a bit underpowered?

All thoughts and opinions welcomed, thank you very much!

[PaulC5]

You seem to have got the VIN wrong since if correct the forum hides it from view.
If you want up to date servicing info you are better getting it from a Citroen dealer since things can change based on their experience.
To see if the car has enough power for you have a test drive on a motorway and up hills - it should get to 70mph but may not be the quickest to get there. 0-62 mph appears to be about 16 seconds from a search, most cars are 10 to 12 seconds and electric ones a lot quicker.

[Roy E]

You are quite correct about the VIN, must have pasted the wrong number, have fixed.

[RichardW]

The Puretech belt is not that hard to change - well compared to a Ford EcoBoom one anyway! The most important thing with these belts is to use the correct oil - wrong oil can quicky cause the belt to degrade. It is possible to see, and 'measure' the belt through the oil filler hole, so you can get a look and see if it is showing signs of degradation.

[RichardW]

The water pump appears to be external, driven off a separate stretch aux belt from the back of the crank pulley - so there is no need to replace the coolant / water pump with the timing belt. Belt is 6 years / 64k with new roller / tensioner at every 2nd change - so the belt is due on age. If you get the belt off then you can inspect it - if it has degraded then the sump will need to come off to clean out the bits of belt from the oil pick up.

[GiveMeABreak]

Ok, so there may be some confusion regarding what the garage told you regarding intervals:

On your specific vehicle, the Timing Belt must be changed at 64k miles or 6 years whichever comes first, then every 128k miles or 12 years.
The Timing Kit which is the tensioners, rollers, water pump (and belt as part of this service) is every 128k miles / 12 years.

So to clarify the belt alone must be changed initially at 64k / 6 years.

[Roy E]

The Citroen dealers are quoting for the timing belt including kit. The £371 quote was for the full kit.

All of the other independents are saying their database says the belt itself is 120 months or 10/12 years and it doesn't need doing yet.

From what I've seen online the C3 originally had a 12 year interval for the belt, but after they kept degrading and blocking the oil intake they revised the first interval to 6 years and updated the belt itself a few times.

I think a 68 plate would have the second revision of belt which may well last longer than the first before it degrades but the dealers have definitely confirmed the current interval is 6 years for for the first replacement, then every 12 years after that.

The interval for the kit is still 12 years but surely it's a false economy just to change the belt, and the intervals would then be 6 years out between the belt and the kit. Plus I think you only tend to be able to get the belt with the kit, I can't see it available on its own but maybe Citroen could?

Personally I'm not convinced about the car, it feels cramped inside compared to our 2006 Note even though the physical specs are quite similar. I don't like the heating controls being part of the screen with the radio. The cup holders seem to small! I really don't trust the engine, if it was up to me I'd find a car with a timing chain. I know it may be an out of date generalisation but I've never trusted the reliability of French cars, but these days most cars are built elsewhere and they all share parts between manufacturers eh! I think my Note is more Renault than Nissan.

However my wife really wants it so I've no doubt we'll end up buying it!

[GiveMeABreak]

All of the other independents are saying their database says the belt itself is 120 months or 10/12 years and it doesn't need doing yet.

They are wrong!

I can only provide you with what the official (live) service data from Citroen says for your specific vehicle - it's well-known that independents do not have access to the latest data and I wouldn't trust them when it comes to these things. Your choice of course, but you did ask.

I should also clarify that the are multiple incarnations of the EB2* engines and each has specific differences in servicing operations (including the timing belt), which is the reason why staff ask for the VIN, to provide accurate information here.

[Roy E]

All of the other independents are saying their database says the belt itself is 120 months or 10/12 years and it doesn't need doing yet.

They are wrong!

That's what I told them but the all knowing database is never wrong.

One of them eventually tried to quote but then said if the interval on the database is wrong then the oil spec might be wrong too so they can't do it as they don't know what oil to use!

Incredible stuff. I assume they probably didn't want the hassle of having to change a wet belt on an engine that is known to have issues with it.

[GiveMeABreak]

Please note that I added something at the end of my post to clarify, but you should be aware that independents are not the dealers and their databases are not those used by Citroen (unless they pay a substantial fee for access, that many do not). We only use live PSA Official Data.