New DS3 Owner - Potential Faults Already

[Albert]

Hello everyone.

I just picked up a 2013 1.6 e-HDi Airdream Plus yesterday. It has a white roof and door mirror. Body is black and has white alloys.

After driving it today I've noticed a fault on it when accelerating the car pulls to the right. I never noticed this on the test drive. I've booked it in to Halfords tomorrow for a wheel alignment and balance and hopefully this will fix the problem. If it's anything major then the Citroen warranty is valid until the end of October so i'm not really worried, just a bit annoying since i've just paid £9000 for a 2 year old car from Arnold Clarke's in Birtley.

Also noticed water/condensation under the chrome surrounds in my rear lights? Is this normal? Here a pic ...



Anyway i love the car, i love the look and hopefully all will be well tomorrow .....

[THP]

Always annoying when you get something new and it's not quite as expected.

I wouldn't say the water in the lights is normal; get Citroën to check that too.

[Hyperkev]

Let Arnold Clark sort the tracking out , you have 14 days to return it I think , they'll sharp get it sorted.

[Bigfeet]

Have a quick look at the front tyres, do they match?

More often than not dealers will only change one tyre and if this is the case that will explain to pull to the side.

As for the lights you will need to speak with your Citroen Dealer about that.

[BeefMasta]

As others have said, get the dealer to look at it.

Common cause for water in the rear lights is after taking the unit off to change the bulbs, when putting it back on if the seal isn't 100% then it will let water in. I've done it myself, the foam was just not seated right, easy fix if the foam is ok, if not then it will probably need replacing.

[Albert]

All sorted now. The wheel balancing was way off and the reason it was pulling to one side was different tyre treads. One side had a new tyre and the other had a 2mm tread. I've just put some new tyres on the front and now the car drives like a dream.
I'll keep an eye on the lights for any more condensation, but for now I'm happy.

[rich2316]

All sorted now. The wheel balancing was way off and the reason it was pulling to one side was different tyre treads. One side had a new tyre and the other had a 2mm tread. I've just put some new tyres on the front and now the car drives like a dream.
I'll keep an eye on the lights for any more condensation, but for now I'm happy.

im surprised they sold you a car with only 2mm of tread on the tyre. I would have insisted they replaced it. Most good dealerships allow at least 4mm left on a tyre anything les they are changed.

[Hyperkev]

Yeah would of haggled a new tyre at least , so the has cost you another £100 already , not a good start.

[Albert]

So I'm going to give an update on my car which i've now had for 1 month.

I filled an online survey which Arnold Clark emailed me with and i put down the problems i had with the tyres. A day later Arnold Clark phoned me and as a result they gave me a cheque for £100 to cover the costs.

However, the reason for this new post is that something strange happened today. Driving down the A19 i could hear a rattle/wind noise. I got to work and had a look and it turned out to be the bonnet. Even though it was locked into position i could move the bonnet about an inch up and down because all the hinge nuts were loose. Why, i don't know. I tightened them up and after work went to Arnold Clark and told them. They had a look, torque tested the nuts and basically said to me that the bonnet may have had a dent and was removed but was not replaced properly. My gut feeling is that my new car has previously been in a crash and something is not sitting quite right with me. Bonnets just don't become loose.

Whats everyone else's thoughts on this?

[Superfly Guy]

There are checks that can be done to see if a vehicle has previously been damaged in an accident, off the top of my head cant remember the site though. My daughters Nissan Micra was the same, when I went to look at it (private sale) I noticed a few things that made me suspicious that it hadn't been fixed properly, I showed these to the seller and said I wanted 10% off the price (they were only minor but tell tale).

Misaligned wheels, loose bonnet possibly post repair, might be worth getting an independent engineer to have a look, there might be signs like cracked paint in the engine bay.

What is more worrying and this is the second post to highlight this in two days. A dealer has let a car roll off its forecourt in an un-roadworthy state, whilst this is unacceptable, you need to take some blame for not checking the car over before handing them your cash.

[Bigfeet]

Open the bonnet and have a look at the nuts that hold on the wings and bonnet itself, if there is wear and paint rub then they have been removed at some point.

Body shops tend to spray the wings/bonnets off the car and silver nuts are a big give away.

[Albert]

..... another update.

Over the last couple of days the car has started to slightly pull to the right when accelerating. I know this sounds daft, but when accelerating and you take your hand off the steering wheel a little bit, the steering wheel physically turns to the right by itself when accelerating. Also today, I found the door stop hinge on the passenger side door was loose due to the nuts not being tight. The door creaked and rattled when i opened it. I've tightened the nuts up myself. This along with me replacing the 2 front tyres, having a wheel alignment and balance (1/2 refunded by Arnold Clark), the bonnet loose, the door hinge loose and the car pulling to the right well it's just not right for a new car i've just paid £9000 for.

I've got the car booked into Arnold Clark, Birtley on Monday along with the list of issues i've had and see what happens ...

[cyclone]

Didn't you look at it before buying it? Buyer beware.

[lfcrule1972]

I'd be concerned to at the number of loose parts on your car, will be interested to see what Arnold Clark say about it on Monday.

Further to SfG's post above have you considered getting a vehicle history check on the car ? I've paid for one of these in the past when buying second hand just for the peace of mind. I found this on Google as a starting point - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/co...ng-a-used-car/

[Bigfeet]

From a dealer you shouldn't have to pay for the HPI/VRM check, just ask to see the paperwork on the car as by law we are required to show you.

This is one of the reasons I have always suggested that club members buy from a 'Select Approved' dealer compared to a regular dealer as we have to meet a much higher standard of prep, granted dealers with these cars will be a little more expensive but at the end of the day you get what you pay for because the difference in prep is a big one. Most dealers only have to prep the car to pass an MOT.