Disappointed in the citigo

[Mavver]

Hi everyone I’m a bit disappointed in the purchase of my first citigo  I traded it in for a 2013 Audi a1  hoping that getting a 18 plate city car with low miles would last me a good few years  with having the car 2 weeks now I’ve had nothing but headache  I’ve put 2 posts on here about it with the door gaps which is no big concern just a minor niggle  and also the rattle on idle which goes when clutch is pressed  and looking back through older posts there seems to be no fix. Can someone please tell me I’m not daft buying the Skoda because I do love it in the short time I’ve owned it a lot more than the Audi but I can’t believe the problems  with the gearbox / clutch / bearing  I even like the car that much I don’t mind the fix if dealer won’t pay out but surely someone must know what it is  because all I’m getting is could be release bearing could be heat shield or could be input bearing  sorry for the rant but I’m a bit fed up I feel like I’ve bought a lemon. But to look at the car it’s mint condition 

[freemansteve]

There's nothing actually wrong with it!

It's a budget car, and it'll be fine.

[Mavver]

When you say budget car the Audi I had had terrible cabin noise from low revs ad brake disc noise on low revs and that was a 23k car new with my citigo I can’t hear any cabin noise and perhaps a little disc rub on slowing down  so I’m very impressed with the citigo  apart from the reasons as mentioned 

[freemansteve]

I misunderstood. I thought you were complaining about the Citigo - which is a budget car. No Audi is a budget car!

[Mavver]

Well I’m not joking my Audi had 27k on it 2013 plate and the interior noise was like something from 1970  and I’m not joking  the citigo is 100 times quieter  hence why I’m over the moon with it  apart from so said issues 

[Mavver]

I just want a perfect running  car it’s not asking a lot considering the mileage and 1 previous owner  because I love the car and I wouldn’t class it as budget  other than the issues it drives great vey very comfy

motor I know there’s no power but it’s a city car and that’s what makes it fun to drive 

[thebrighton]

Playing devils advocate here having worked in the motor trade for a number of years on the sales side the amount of times I've heard someone say, for example, "I just want a perfect running  car it’s not asking a lot considering the mileage and 1 previous owner". You've answered your own question there, it's heading for 4 years old, out of warranty and has had one previous owner of unknown driving ability.

People want all the benefits of a brand new car without buying one.

I will site an example from back when I was selling Suzuki's. One of our aging customers bought a brand new Swift which we didn't see again for 3 years until he brought it in to P/X against another new one as he was having a few issues with it. In 3 years it had covered under 700 miles, it had never been in for a service, he had been riding the clutch and admitted he only used it once a week to do a 3 mile round trip to the shops and didn't take it out of 2nd gear as he didn't like driving fast. The wheels were kerbed and the tyres had chunks taken out of them. The engine had never even been warmed up. Now, this is an extreme scenario but a potential buyer of a second hand car wold just see a very low mileage, 3 year old, one owner car but they'd be buying a whole heap of potential issues. We didn't want it on our forecourt so traded it out.

[Ootohere]

One former keeper.  That can be Hertz, BSM, or any Meter reading company like Morrison group.  

[Mavver]

No it wasn’t I’ve got receipts for work it had done last year so I phoned garage and he told me it was a married couple that owned they traded it in for something bigger and they still use this independent garage with there new car and I’ve got there name on top of one of the receipts 

[thebrighton]

Never believe the story a salesman tells you about previous owners, I was one, they're hardly likely to say they were boy racers!

A married couple means nothing, my missus treats her car awfully! It also reads that despite buying a new car they had it serviced and had work done by an independent rather than the dealership. Sure, there are plenty of great independents out there as well dealerships but there are just as many dodgy ones. Who knows what work was carried out and to what standard? 

Like I said it is 4 years old not brand new so you can't expect it to be as good as new.

[Ootohere]

Married couples or even unmarried can have children, employees etc.

I used to have my cars Registered with my  Mum until she reached her 90th birthday.  She is 97 in March.

(When asked why i never had cars Registered in my name i explained if i was in a coma or dead after an accident there was no point visiting my address to inform next of kin.)

[J.R.]

14 hours ago, Mavver said:

I just want a perfect running  car it’s not asking a lot considering the mileage and 1 previous owner

 

 

Caveat Emptor.

 

Anyone buying a second hand vehicle and getting a perfect running car is lucky, anyone buying a new car and getting one without any faults is probably a fantasist if the multiple threads regarding the MK4 Octavia are anything to go by.

[Sheriff]

I wouldn't  worry too much about a noisy clutch release bearing. My daughter bought her Citigo in April 2017 from a main dealer with just under 50k on it and one owner. It was noisy then and it's still noisy now, but it doesn't affect the running at all. 

[freemansteve]

Unlikely to be the clutch rel. bearing.

These boxes all have a slight clack when gear changing, depending on how you do the change, what RPM etc. - same for most other cars, but the Citigo doesn't have the best soundproofing, and you sit very near the box...

[Mavver]

Going of the topic of gearboxes I’ve just noticed there is condensation  in the drivers side headlamp it’s at the bottom near the daytime LED running lights what’s the best way to clear it or is it a new unit needed 

[Gyp]

On 24/01/2022 at 12:09, thebrighton said:

Never believe the story a salesman tells you about previous owners, I was one, they're hardly likely to say they were boy racers!

 

 

When I bought my last BMW motorbike, the salesman told me that the bike had been owned by one of their regular and mature customers who had traded it in for something a little more sedate.

 

This was true.

 

However said owner had had it for less than a week before falling off of it and trading it in and before that it was their shop demo.

 

The salesman had not lied, he'd just been a little economical with the truth.

 

Back to the Citigo; my lad's (now 7 years old) has always had a clutch that rattled like the OPs and has gone from 3k miles to 50k miles no problem. I've not noticed differences in the shut lines, but I'll have a look when he returns from using it like a formula 1 car tomorrow.

 

I still reckon that it's an utterly brilliant car and I love driving it.

[freemansteve]

What makes you say it's the clutch that is rattling, or if it's the same noise as Mavver's?

 

[Mavver]

Just started mine up it’s been stood since 10 this morning I’m getting a little bit of gearbox chatter but absolutely nothing like the vids on you tube they sound like a 1970s gangster shoot out  so I’m pretty sure mine is ok and within about 3 mins it’s gone 

[Gerrycan]

19 hours ago, Gyp said:

 

 

 

Back to the Citigo; my lad's (now 7 years old) has always had a clutch that rattled like the OPs and has gone from 3k miles to 50k miles no problem. 

 

 

 

I'm impressed that you let a 7 year old drive your car. 😅

[Gyp]

23 hours ago, freemansteve said:

What makes you say it's the clutch that is rattling, or if it's the same noise as Mavver's?

 

Simply that we have a bit of a noise in neutral that goes when the clutch is depressed.

 

(and again once we drive off)

[pinkpanther]

My experience (with a sister car SEAT Mii) has been quite the opposite.

 

I've owned a great number of cars over the years (>150) and to my mind the Citigo / Up! / Mii is a rare gem.

 

I have experienced issues with the rear brakes, but for a car which cost £7500 new (pre-reg) it was / is a considerable bargain.

 

I considered a number of other similarly sized cars (i10, Aygo etc) but the Mii simply drives so much better and has considerably more interior space.

 

I did seriously consider an Up! GTi, but that is where it all starts to fall apart for me. The car is simply too costly for what you get and the basic model is 9/10 of the fun of the more powerful version.

 

I did test an Up! TSi however which probably represents the sweet spot and is so close to the Up! GTi.

 

I did notice there is a rattling noise when my car is started cold, which disappears when the clutch is depressed. This appears to disappear completely once the car is warm through.

 

My only dissatisfaction with this car has related to the main dealers from whom I sought advice, which ultimately led me to have the 3rd service carried out at a well renowned VAG specialist (at around 50% less cost than the main dealer).

[Routemaster1461]

Interesting, Pink Panther. A Jaguar, a Suzuki, a Seat Mii, but Fuelly shows a 2012 Yeti only doing 31.8 mpg. How come it's so low?

[freemansteve]

On 30/01/2022 at 21:50, Gyp said:

Simply that we have a bit of a noise in neutral that goes when the clutch is depressed.

 

(and again once we drive off)

 

Yes, but the clutch connects the engine to the gearbox, which we know rattles in neutral because shafts are moving.

The assumption that it is the clutch is flawed logic.