Citroen DS3 - Head Gasket

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Mon 30 Jan 2023 17:27
Citroen DS3 - Head Gasket - Ella DeCairos-Parr
Hello!

Warning light came up, booked in for a full service and asked them to check … was told it was all fine.

3 weeks later my head gasket has blown and I’m being quoted £3000 for the repair.

It’s a 2014 plate DS3 sport, worth under £5k and on finance.

I’ve only had the car 5.5 months and have £7k left to pay.

The dealership won’t answer my calls or messages and I feel absolutely stuck.

Is the £3k quote good?

Should the dealership be liable given that it’s happened within 6 months of having the car?

The finance company have agreed to contact the dealership for me as he didn’t send any service history etc with the car - which they think he was contracted to do.

Any advice on what to do will be gratefully received.

Thank you,
Ella
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Mon 30 Jan 2023 18:20
Citroen DS3 - Head Gasket - Adampr

£3,000 sounds like an awful lot for a head gasket. Is this the same garage that serviced it? How do you know it's the head gasket?

I think.youight struggle getting anything out of the dealer as it's now been serviced and they'll claim the service caused the problem. Worth pursuing, by all means, but don't get your hopes up.

What caused the gasket to fail?

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Mon 30 Jan 2023 18:21
Citroen DS3 - Head Gasket - mcb100
Without knowing what the warning light was for, it’s different to comment further.
Within the first three months, you’d have a stronger case but there’s no way of predicting a head gasket failure six months away.
I’d suspect that goodwill is the best you can now hope for.
Did you make any part of a payment with a credit card?
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Mon 30 Jan 2023 18:44
Citroen DS3 - Head Gasket - badbusdriver

That seems a ludicrous amount of money, I'd expect to get a reconditioned engine for £3k!.

What engine does the car have?. Given the age of the car, it could well be the notorious BMW/PSA 1.6VTI "Prince" engine. They do have a poor reputation.

Is it the supplying garage who is quoting you this price?. I'd definitely be looking around at other well respected (independent) garages in your area for quotes.

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Tue 31 Jan 2023 01:49
Citroen DS3 - Head Gasket - daveyK_UK
£3k is more than expensive for a head gasket, that price is a complete rip off

Phone around respected independent garages and take the car to one that offers a sensible price which should be well within 3 figures not £3k!
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Tue 31 Jan 2023 04:29
Citroen DS3 - Head Gasket - expat

Try posting on a Citroen forum to see if other people have had similar problems and if they can recommend an independent Citroen specialist. When you take it to another garage don't say you want a head gasket done. Tell them the symptoms and let them say what needs done and how much. After all it might not be the head gasket and the first garage could be taking you for a fool.

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