Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower

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Thu 26 Jan 2017 16:39
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - cdbr

Hello

I am buying my son his first car so that he can eventually get enough ad hoc gardening work going to set up on his own.

Must be Group 10 and under (I am led to believe) and ideally be big enough to get a commercial lawnmower and gardeing tools in. his usage will be 80% around town.

Budget is up to £3,500.

I am zoning in on the C3 Picasso, a 2009 model is in reach but will have high miles but my reading tells me that the the diesel is a great engine. Although on here it says avoid the diesel for short journey usage, just how much heed should I pay to this?

Are there any other obvious choice that are quite roomy that fit the bill?

Many thanks

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Thu 26 Jan 2017 17:18
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - SLO76
Surprised a young lad would want to be seen In an old wives shopping cart. The 1.6 PSA diesel in these is a nightmare, often referred to as the diesel of doom and not to be mistaken for earlier Peugeot Citroen designs. Avoid at all costs! Read other threads on here for reference and a quick google of PSA 1.6 Diesel engine failure will flag up plenty of woe.

The petrol is however fairly robust and Citroens generally resist rot very well but as with all French cars they become a bit electrically incontinent as they age. They're cheap to buy but hard to sell on again so buy with the view that it'll be worthless when you want to move on.

As a workhorse a 1st gen Citroen Picasso 1.6 petrol or 2.0 8v HDi are very cheap, comfortable, spacious and mechanically robust - the 2.0 diesel is fit for 500k if looked after. Sills rot on them and the battery is ludicrously located under the passengers seat which has to be unbolted and removed to get to the thing which is plain daft. A decent one is £800-£1,000 and they make great workhorses. Tend to wonder around a bit at anything over 70mph but with a young driver that might not be a bad thing.

Berlingo is another worthy workhorse but again give the 1.6 diesel a wide berth. Also avoid any diesel with a DPF fitted, it requires regular runs at 60mph and above over 15-20 miles to allow the filter to regenerate, it'll block otherwise. The older 2.0 HDi In the 1st gen Picasso and Berlingo never had one fitted but mostly on a limited budget petrol is best. This may be one of the rare occasions where a cheap diesel may be viable if it's been correctly maintained.

Edited by SLO76 on 26/01/2017 at 17:28

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Thu 26 Jan 2017 20:27
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - cdbr

Wow and phew, thank you very much for the warning!

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Thu 26 Jan 2017 20:29
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - cdbr

He is so laid back he is horizontal and totally not bothered with image, just grateful to get help with his first wheels, thanks again.

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Thu 26 Jan 2017 21:10
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - SLO76

He is so laid back he is horizontal and totally not bothered with image, just grateful to get help with his first wheels, thanks again.

That's a big plus to be taking into a lifetime of motoring, particularly when buying used. When cars become unfashionable they get cheap real quick. Bad for sellers but great for bargain hunters. Good luck on the car hunt.
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Thu 26 Jan 2017 21:24
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - SLO76
Another point. If he's planning on carrying a heavy petrol lawnmower and other tools around often I wouldn't be doing it in a car. He'll be killed in any impact even at low speeds when the unsecured mower etc come crashing forward. Take a look at crash tests on YouTube to see the carnage in an impact.

A Berlingo van with older 1.9 XUD or 2.0 HDi or a VW Caddy SDi with a metal bulkhead would be a far safer bet. I had a Caddy for years with my business and it was a brilliant wee van. Bodyswerve the Renault Kangoo though. Had two, both were pigs. Remember even with that bulkhead he'll still need to secure the mower with straps through the hoops located on the loadbed.

Edited by SLO76 on 26/01/2017 at 21:25

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Thu 26 Jan 2017 21:35
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - gordonbennet

I second the Berlingo idea but as said avoid that 1.6 DoD like the plague, the older 1.9d is a fine motor, and some petrol Berlingo vans were supplied LPG converted by the PSA distributor (not themselves but i dropped dozens off for conversion at the two conversions sites).

Before buying a van it would be worth checking on insurance first, as for safety in a Berlingo MPV version thats a fair point about load shifting, though a good mate of mine did lots of jobbing gardening with a Partner Combi well loaded, a competent welder might be able to make something up to secure yon lawnmower securely.

Kangoo and Fiats Doblo should be considered too.

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Thu 26 Jan 2017 22:24
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - mss1tw
A van based car should still have bulkhead mounting points hidden away.

I just used a dog guard in my old Berlingo and made a solid split level parcel shelf but the tools of my trade are somewhat easier to arrange in such a way

Edited by mss1tw on 26/01/2017 at 22:25

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Fri 27 Jan 2017 09:49
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - cdbr

Thanks,

He would be happy with a van but I have been advised that van insurance is expensive because of theft.

I have seen Fiat Doblo at the right mileage/money, is there anything specific to look out for?

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Fri 27 Jan 2017 10:17
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - SLO76
I like the workman like simplicity of the Doblo and they're actually quite pleasant things to drive but Fiat diesels are not known for longevity and suffer plenty of woes and the petrol 1.2 and 1.4 models are gutless in the extreme. No worry if you're not in a rush or mostly just pootling around town though.

Tennant on mine bought a Vauxhall Combo van with the 1.3 Fiat diesel the Doblo shares and it expired in a loud cloud of fumes at less than 80k and a friend of the missus had a new engine fitted fortunately under warranty) in her Corsa 1.3 diesel. All very common I'm afraid and the 1.9 diesel also has a long list of issues as it ages. I'd buy one but only a well looked after petrol.

Does bring up the subject of the Vauxhall Combo though which although the bulk of them share that weak 1.3 Fiat diesel you can also get a decent 1.4 16v petrol and an excellent 1.7 Isuzu turbo diesel. But car variants are rare other than disabled conversions.

As for paying extra for commercial insurance, well if it saves his life what's an extra few quid a week? Plus once you add business use onto the car insurance (which he will need as the police will check if they pull him over) then it'll be hardly any different.
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Fri 27 Jan 2017 12:14
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - madf

I have carried mowers in my Jazz.

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Fri 27 Jan 2017 13:33
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - corax

Also consider a trailer if you have space to store it. That way the mower stays outside the car and you have space to store cuttings, grass clippings. You could get away with a relatively small vehicle this way.

Be aware that some recycling sites are turning certain vehicles away. My local one won't except trade waste, car derived vans like the ones mentioned above, pick ups or twin axle trailers. Meaning that if you have a fair amount of waste you will have to pay to get rid of it at an alternative site.

A medium or large MPV is ideal in this regard. My mechanic has a Ford Galaxy with the VW 1.9 Tdi engine and it's enormous in the back with the seats removed.

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Sat 28 Jan 2017 19:14
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - Chickenwire

Be aware that some recycling sites are turning certain vehicles away. My local one won't except trade waste, car derived vans like the ones mentioned above, pick ups or twin axle trailers. Meaning that if you have a fair amount of waste you will have to pay to get rid of it at an alternative site.

Council operated waste sites quite rightly will refuse (geddit?) to accept trade waste as it's our council tax paying for them!

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Sat 28 Jan 2017 21:29
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - SLO76
"Council operated waste sites quite rightly will refuse (geddit?) to accept trade waste as it's our council tax paying for them!"

Our local site is quite relaxed about it after initially being quite heavy handed but they've seen a huge decrease in fly tipping since they relaxed the rules.

Any sign written van has to pay but otherwise it's a free for all.
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Sun 29 Jan 2017 11:42
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - corax
"Council operated waste sites quite rightly will refuse (geddit?) to accept trade waste as it's our council tax paying for them!" Our local site is quite relaxed about it after initially being quite heavy handed but they've seen a huge decrease in fly tipping since they relaxed the rules. Any sign written van has to pay but otherwise it's a free for all.

There are a few other sites in my area that aren't quite as draconian. The one I mention has also taken away the top soil and hardcore facilities, but as you say these things are more likely to end up in a layby somewhere.

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Sun 29 Jan 2017 07:29
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - cdbr
Thanks, a trailer is a good suggestion but he has nowhere to keep it.

As he is only doing ad hoc work in the evenings/weekends then hiring a lawnmower might be a solution.

Still keen to keep running and insurance costs low.
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Fri 27 Jan 2017 20:59
Citroen C3 Picasso - 25 year old, first car, must take a lawnmower - Big John

I've found our old small engined Skoda Octavia cheap to insure for my son (when he is home from University). It has a huge boot with some securing hoops. Ours is the humbe 1.4 16v which isn't as sluggish as you would think - economy on a run usually in the low -mid 40's mpg although when my father in law borrowed it he got 51mpg.

I used it myself whilst clearing a house and preparing it for sale and treated it like a van/skip, usually with a petrol mower in the boot and quite often with the seats down to transport stuff (furniture, garden things, rubbish, house contents)

For reference - I've found very little difference between insurance quotes for this car compared to our Fiat Panda 1.2. Good job as he really struggles in the Panda as he is now 6ft 5" and has v long legs

Edited by Big John on 27/01/2017 at 21:15

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