new here.

[gio]

hi intending to buy a ds3 this weekend .looking at the 1.6hdi versions either 110 or 115bhp with a budget of 5k or rather 4k plus my 11 plate insignia .found several to look at 13/14 plates with near 75k mileage .so what should i be looking out for bare in mind my other car is an Alfa hey no jokes. so i tend to listen to owners rather than here say..cheers in advance ..gio.

[Chris_Blue]

Hi- welcome to the Club

I bought an edhi 110 airdream diesel bout a year ago, 2012 plate, after owning 2 THPs

Mileage was my biggest look too, got one for £5k with just over 55k miles. Full service history, but had a major service this year just to be sure (Every 3rd year c£300). Engine bay looked brand new, so tells you its been looked after (Well I think it helps)

Xenon headlights be nice over the standard halogen headlights, but it pushes the price up

My wheels were OK, no kerbing but a bit of whitening to the alloy- standard problem, tyres were all 6mm plus
Check for warning lights and anything to do with DPF. Take it for a good 69mph plus drive, and watch for black smoke or alerts

I ended up with stop/start, and hate it, so consider that. Have succeeded in getting mine not to work :-)

Look for 3D rear lights which came in, in 2012 although it didnt bother me.

If you go for the PLUS option, it should have retractable wing mirrors , but again that didnt bother me. Few other PLUS extras which I cant recall

I also took out a 12 month Warrantywise policy, which was loads cheaper cos the dealer arranged it for me

Might think a few other things to look for, later

[gio]

thank you for the reply Chris.. so xenon lights not standard or does it come with a certain spec .must admit do like them on the old insignia just assumed most modern cars had them as standard. stop start ? assume it can be switched off somehow?

[Funky]

Hi gio and welcome to the club and forum. I bought a 2013 eHDi 115 in 2016 and still have it. I got the DSport trim, which comes with the Hi-Fi pack, Alcantara Sports seats and twin chrome exhaust tips, but the DSport Plus comes with full leather, automatic wipers and automatic fold in mirrors. The DStyle trim doesn't have the sports seats and a single exhaust tip and I think an armrest.

I've modded mine over the years and I love it more now than I did when I bought it.

Chris_Blue has pretty much covered everything above and as with any car, a FSH is always good. If you look after these engines, they will give you many miles of fun motoring and are really reliable. Running premium fuel through for a few tanks will help clean injectors or add some redex in before filling up will also help.

[Chris_Blue]

thank you for the reply Chris.. so xenon lights not standard or does it come with a certain spec .must admit do like them on the old insignia just assumed most modern cars had them as standard. stop start ? assume it can be switched off somehow?

Stop/ start can be switched off, every time you get in the car. Which gets tedious, every time.

AFAIK Triple Xenons are only on certain models- look at the Prestige
If you go on Autotrader and bring all the DS3s up for a certain year from 2013, you will see some with different headlights- such as the Prestige I believe. Very expensive aftermarket upgrade, around £1700 for a pair from Citroen

[gio]

hey there so to update , I, sorry we bought a ds3 yesterday from evans hawshalls of hemel hampstead ... red 63 plate with 46k on it 1.6 diesel . now it wasn't my first choice as i dont buy cars usually from main type dealers nor do i buy low milers usually 75k plus miles but in a strange turn of events the 3 i wanted to view seem to be ,err not in a hurry to respond to either emails or in the case of one on my door step phones calls to all 4 numbers showing on there ad and website! but this one at evens was the lowest miles by far and the price had dropped by a grand since it was first advertised last november!!! so i payed £5100 for it with a years proper warranty and i got a fare part ex for my insignia .so the wifes pleased . was hard work getting them to agree to doing everything on the day but i told them i was buying a ds3 saturday from someone, and driving it home on the very same day.. think we good a fare deal all in all not something i say lightly so it'll be the sprightly ds3 doing the alpine passes this july and the Alfa will be staying home ..hey no Alfa jokes ..lets hope the DS3

[gio]

turns out to be as good as my only other french car an 88 plate BX gti back in the 90s..