Some of the items ( worn brake pads, ball joint rubbers and tyres), suggest that the car may not have been very well maintained between mot tests. These things, or some of them, should really have been spotted during an annual service.

Does the car have a service history and bills to prove?

Thanks for the reply. I'm checking it tomorrow - apparently doesn't have full service history but last few done. The price (about 700 less than similar age and mileage examples) flects that I guess. Is it worth having an AA check? Or worth stretching myself to find a better version?

Many thanks!

Bruce

Hi - thanks for the reply! Appreciate it.

So I have a strange situation - based between Brighton and France - so plan to be driving out there a lot, and a bit here - mostly longer distance driving - need space for large things, bikes, heading to mountains, snowboarding etc. I would prefer a LHD car in reality, but without residency it seems impossible ...

A friend had the Citroen - hence why I was introduced to the model. He wasn't totally convinced, but the space and comfort / utility factor was appealing - and I'm a fan of SUVs that I've driven (BMW X3, Chev Captiva etc).

Budget ideally £3000-£4000 (insurance/tax is going to be £1k on top).

Annual miles unknown - I'm guessing under 10k miles

Other options were things like Audi A4 avant or similar, Qashqai or similar.
Diesel in Italy is much cheaper than Petrol - normally 20-30c per litre less.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the advice - really helpful - it's a big complicated and expensive car world!

The C-Crosser isn't really a Citroen, it is a rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander whcih probably isn't a bad thing.

The MOT history doesn't look too bad - it is really the more recent ones which are the most important as they point to what might need doing now, not 5 years ago.

I'm guessing this is the 2.2 diesel? They're not a bad old engine as they go be truthful but it sounds as it at the very least it is overdue for a service.

If you are spending a lot of time on the Continent then I can understand the appeal of diesel - no point in pretending it doesn't make more difference there than in the UK thanks to the cost. I'd be inclined to get it code read before buying and see if there are any problems registered in the car relating to the engine or DPF if you are serious about it. The engines are OK but if they start to go wrong they can go wrong in an expensive way so try and make sure it is working OK at point of purchase.

There is no doubt that most petrols have less inherently to go wrong on them than most modern diesels.

Edited by pd on 18/08/2017 at 18:29

Thanks for the note. Yeah - it's a 2.2 Diesel. My friend actually just had his DPF removed by a handy repairman - but not sure if that would then cause issues in a UK MOT or not.

Just trying to find a balance between a nice high ride height, comfort for longer journeys, mountain friendly - and a little inspiration to actually enjoy getting in the car, rather sighing at being forced to drive a dull hatchback...but maybe I'm deluded with such a small budget!

Edited by SLO76 on 18/08/2017 at 22:04