What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
Citroen C5 - Faulty used car from dealer - what are my options? - Takshaka

I bought a used car in August from a dealer. A number of serious faults have since arisen.

  • ESP/ASR fault warning light
  • Service warning light
  • No A/C - fan works but no change in temp
  • Dipped headlights not working

Do I have any recourse against the dealer or am I stuck with the cost of repairs? How should I proceed?

Thanks

Citroen C5 - Faulty used car from dealer - what are my options? - skidpan

Have you taken the car back and asked them to sort it?

Probably not or you would not be asking.

It staggers me that any person would need to ask such an obvious question.

Simple fact, one or possibly even two of those faults render it illegal to use on a public highway.

Citroen C5 - Faulty used car from dealer - what are my options? - Bromptonaut

While a bit more background would be helpful I'm baffled as to why skidpan thinks it's OK to be rude to a new/first time poster.

Suggest OP starts here:

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/buying-or-repai.../

If that doesn't help Citizens Advice Consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06.

NB: CA website should ask first time visitors to confirm where in UK their problem arose as, particularly in Scotland law can be different. The URL and phone number above are for England.

Citroen C5 - Faulty used car from dealer - what are my options? - 72 dudes

I bought a used car in August from a dealer. A number of serious faults have since arisen.

If the faults have arisen since purchase then you have much less recourse under law, once 30 days have past since the sale.

You will be relying on the "goodwill" of the dealer to put things right.

If we are talking about an original C5 bought for £1000, forget it.

If we are talking about a late model C5 for £4000, then maybe you can politely request that the selling dealer fixes the faults.

Having previously owned an early C5, I can say that the Service, ESP and ASR lights coming on is quite common and usually down to a pressure sensor or egr fault. Tracing it however, is another matter.

You need the dipped headlights fixed asap. As skidpan says, not legal.

Was the AC working when you bought it? Does it just need a re-gas (£40)? or is there a fault with the compressor or a tiny hole in the pipes?

I suspect you will end up funding most of these things yourself. Both the early and later C5s are brilliant cars when working correctly. The early ones have a poor reputation for reliability, which sadly was mostly justified.

Citroen C5 - Faulty used car from dealer - what are my options? - Bromptonaut

Dipped headlights could be as simple as bulbs. No experience of C5 but it's predecessor the Xantia had (IIRC) two halogen bulbs in each headlamp unit, one for dip and other main. Spent a frustrating half hour faffing with a bulb that apparently would not light but with filament that looked intact and passed current when tested with a multi-meter.

A quick RTFM session helped.

Citroen C5 - Faulty used car from dealer - what are my options? - SLO76
As already said, it’s all down to the value here. If it’s a sub £2k cheapo then no you’ll struggle to get anything, though it doesn’t hurt to ask and be polite but firm. The service light being on isn’t a fault and is easy to reset yourself if you take a quick sniff around online. No aircon is perfectly normal in an older motor and again not a fault with the way it drives or stops so again no it’s unrealistic to expect it on a cheapo, though the seller should’ve made you aware it wasn’t working, I would’ve. Dipped headlights are likely to be a minor issue, possibly bulbs or wiring but any old Citroen will throw up issues like this on a regular basis so you’ll need a good auto electrician if you want to keep it.