Firstly, the C8 was my 19th or 20th Citroen so my opinion is likely to be biased in favour. My car is a red 2.2 HDi 130 SX model with 6-speed box, reverse sensors, tinted windows and roof bars. It was bought new in October 2004 and has only just turned 60K miles. It's used as a 2-seater works van when I'm being a handyman and it tows a trailer when I'm gardening. The seats come out and go back in in a jiffy but the centre seat is weighty because it has a seat belt fitted. It's comfortable for 7 although temperature adjustments take a while to reach the third row of seats. The driver's seat cushions are starting to disintegrate owing to the unnaturally heavy usage it gets (or the unnaturally heavy driver) and the lumbar adjustment doesn't. It's easy to drive and visibility is excellent. We all find it comfortable and like the ride but it's got no performance to speak of. Mrs H likes it with some provisos; she forgets it has 6th gear and sometimes crosses whole counties in 5th. She doesn't get on with the automatic wipers; the windscreen needs to be kept spotless or the sensor reads a greasy smear as raindrops and the wipers wipe continuously. The sliding doors are excellent unless you try and use them when frozen shut; then the system has a tantrum and won't work at all. I have sometimes resorted to removing the fuses until the weather warms up; the doors can work manually.
In 09 I spent £600 on the DPF system and I have just spent £400 on a new cambelt, idlers and water pump. One horn has stopped working after Mrs H hit standing water at about 85mph a couple of weeks ago. I've just had the air-con topped up for the first time, and it needed doing. I do DIY servicing for oil, filters and brakes. There is an undertray with proper galvanised bolts which needs removing for oil changes. I've downgraded the tyres to T-rating, there is no need for the V-rated original equipment. The sidelights are swine to reach if your hands are large and aged like mine.
Overall I rate the ownership experience as good; it hasn't cost a great deal to run but the depreciation has been heavy. Ebay has a few C8s with damaged engines owing to cambelt trauma but I wouldn't let that put me off.
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A couple of friends of our have Peugeot 807's. Neither are loved and both lead a hard life as they have all seven seats in use.
One of them is an ex Peugeot employee and they were picked up through some staff scheme or another for a fraction of the new price when they were a few months old (we are talking fiesta money for fully speced up ones with leather, DVD's etc etc)
No complaints from either of them in the 4 years they have had them
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Thanks, hawkeye. Overall I like the sound of them, but worry about the home servicing aspect. Do you have to jack the car up and get under it to change the oil filter? I don't fancy doing that with such an enormous car, and with my current Galaxy I can do the oil and filter change from the top of the engine.
Don't like the sound of the sliding doors giving bother in the cold, either.
Hmm, will have to think about it.
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...I don't fancy doing that with such an enormous car...
...whereas if a Fiesta falls on you it's no big deal, I suppose.
};---)
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Yes, I know it's irrational. I just feel uneasy about such a tall car being jacked up. Looks like it's more likely to fall. Irrational, but I'd just rather not do it. We all have our comfort zones about things.
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>> Thanks, hawkeye. Overall I like the sound of them, but worry about the home servicing
>> aspect. Do you have to jack the car up and get under it to change
>> the oil filter?
It's easier to jack the car up to drop the undertray, necessary to access the sump drain. You do the filter from the top. Annoyingly, the C8's predecessor, the Synergie had a little access flap for the sump drain.
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>> Don't like the sound of the sliding doors giving bother in the cold, either.
>>
>> Hmm, will have to think about it.
>>
The doors have only given bother when frozen shut after rain is followed by freezing temperatures; not a normal winter experience.
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>> You do the filter from the top.
HA! That's just about all I needed to know. Now to find a decent diesel auto one...for not much money.
Thanks, hawkeye.
Last edited by: Alanović on Mon 24 Sep 12 at 14:07
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Very interesting thread, Hawkeye.
We too have a C8, owned from new, bought 1st September 2003, driven mainly by my wife. Ours is a 2.0 HDI Exclusive Auto. So it came with many goodies - electric doors, climate control, xenon headlights and alcantara trim, roof bars, etc But I'll tell you one thing, if you think your 2.2 is slow, try the 2.0 auto! 110 bhp for all that weight and an auto to boot! No chance of losing your licence. Actually, when its up and running its fine, but you can forget fast-lane jockeying - just go with the flow.
In 9 years it has only done 55,000 miles, and was serviced very well and competitively by the supplying dealer, until they closed down recently (maybe they were too competitive for their own good?) I really should get the cambelt changed again soon on an age basis. And yes, I have had the plastic tray fitted to stop rainwater running down and settling on the belt causing it to corrode ...
The side bolsters of our drivers seat have similarly disintegrated and I'll second the comments about the weight of the rear seats - I look on it as part of my keep-fit regime. And they don't get any easier to remove and refit - I managed to break one of the plastic seat base mouldings but Araldite seems to have fixed it. The folding seats in my S-Max are easier but then that car is nowhere near as big as the C8 as a result (and the C8 has a proper full-sized spare under the floor).
The tyre pressure sensors played up, so I just had my auto-electrician mate turn the system off. We have a similar problem on a Merc CLK, so I can't blame 'dodgy French electrics' as many on this site would. Yes, the doors sometimes play up too, but easily re-set. And the alarm is sensitive to insects. And some of the speakers have packed up.
The body shows a few parking scars and the paint is bleached by sun-cream coated childrens hands. But at the end of the day it has never let us down, including several trips across Europe, and my wife is perfectly happy to keep it as it is honest transport that now owes us nothing, and she doesn't worry about what the kids do to it!
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>> The body shows a few parking scars and the paint is bleached by sun-cream coated
>> childrens hands. But at the end of the day it has never let us down,
>> including several trips across Europe, and my wife is perfectly happy to keep it as
>> it is honest transport that now owes us nothing, and she doesn't worry about what
>> the kids do to it!
>>
Just the same as our situation - We've had our Sharan from new (well, it was a pre reg) and almost 7 years and 85K later its been pretty faultless. Only costs to date have been servicing, set of brake pads, few sets of tyres and middle / rear exhaust. Its got more than its fair share of battle scars, has had the kids puke in it, picnic in it and do various other acts of vandalism, but it just keeps going.
The Air con has packed up, and I am given to believe that this is a week point on the shalambraxy, but i'm not sure its enough to convince Mrs B that the time has come to change. I think another Sharan, or more likely the Alhambra will be the choice. Alhambra is slightly cheaper, but look carefully and the spec is better. Spec them like for like and the Sharan is a lot more expensive
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>> The Air con has packed up, and I am given to believe that this is
>> a week point on the shalambraxy,
It is. The previous owner of our Galaxy had spent around a grand fixing the aircon. So I expect it to work for a good few years in our ownership. Likewise, the heated screens tend to fail, which was the case on the car we bought. But it was from a main dealer, so as soon as I realised (first frost), they installed a new new windscreen (worth £800) FOC.
It's one of the reasons I don't want to let the Galaxy go - most of the expensive jobs which are common on the model have been done on ours. The other weakness is the ARB drop links. Again, done.
The RCL is starting to play up, I've installed a new battery in the key but it still fails to lock/unlock most of the time. I expect the signal is weak and I need a new key, but s0d that. I can put a key in a lock and turn it.
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Must be a problem with Citroën seats, our 2008 C4 GP is starting to collapse on the driver's bolster on the side as you get out. And that's at a mere 30k. Comfy enough though.
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you mean the seat side bolsters? I think the problem is that most pedal boxes are canted to the right, and to get a straight leg, people automatically sit on the r/h bolster, breaking it down.
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>> you mean the seat side bolsters? I think the problem is that most pedal boxes
>> are canted to the right, and to get a straight leg, people automatically sit on
>> the r/h bolster, breaking it down.
>>
Not in my case; I'm certain the bolster broke down as I swivelled my legs out of the door and slid over it to put feet on the ground. The pedals are pretty square to the seat on the C8.
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A guy at work has a 57-plate C8 for running around trade-plate drivers. I've sat in most of its seats at one point or another, it's a bit of a squeeze in the 3rd row for a 6-foot-plus-er but no worse than many conventional cars' rear seats. The radio's good, the electric doors are useful in that you know they're closed properly, and it's done nigh-on 200k and still wobbles along very nicely thank you..
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Citroen C8 MPV - 8 years of ownership - mikeyb
