My Citroen C4 - First Service - Full Report

My Citroen C4 - First Service - Report

As you would probably know, i've been constantly critcizing the C4 in many of my posts on this forum - well that's all changed now.

On Friday evening (2:00PM), i took the C4 in to Continental's for it's first service. I spoke with Greg Bunting (responsible for servicing) about the rough gearbox, some loose plastics etc...

I was so happy to see how busy they were at 2:00PM, a huge frenzy of people going crazy about Citroen's, all salesmen were busy, amazing! I had never seen a Citroen dealer so busy, it seems like the marque is growing in popularity :banana:

He assured me that everything would be taken care of, i was give a nice C5 wagon as a courtesy car as well (at no extra charge, which is offered to all of Continental's customers).

So on Saturday, i gave continental's a call (around 12:30PM), asking whether the car was ready, they assured me it was ready for pick up.

The total cost was approx $120 (inc gst) for the first service, it was given the full works (Change of engine oil and replacement of oil filter, checking fluid levels, tyres, lighting, drivetrain & pollen filter, proxia diagnostic test & road test, as well as a list of warranty items which i mentioned to Greg).

Also when i took the car in, it was absolutely filthy, covered in dust, like it had just been in the WA rally :joker:, the inside was quite dusty as well.... too my surprise, they gave it a wash over and even gave the interior a bit of a clean :banana:

I looked over the car and seen that all the items i mentioned under warranty were completly fixed to the utmost perfection!!

Now for the drive.... THE GEARBOX AND ENGINE WERE SIMPLY AMAZING, LIKE A WHOLE NEW CAR!!

Smooth down changes like never before, everything was smooth, the engine was far more responsible and i never felt the gear changes... the gearbox was on par, if not better, then the 6-spd in my S-Type :banana: :banana:

I don't know what Continentals did, but whatever it was, absolutely superb :banana:

Simply loving the C4, no more loose plastics, gearbox with super smooth changes, very responsive engine!!

I must give a 10/10 for Continentals, i received amazing treatment, i've never been treated so well before by any dealer... (Jag... )

These people are true Citroen enthusiasts, the way they gave the car wash/clean simply amazed me!

I always ask myself, where would Citroen be in Australia without Continentals?

Amazing service, amazing car, i'm one happy Citroen customer :banana: :banana: :banana:

If you were interested in any Citroen and you're in Sydney, check out Continentals! (www.citroencentre.com.au)

All said and done now, i have been way too critical and should've waited for the first service, the car is simply superb now!

Go forth and buy yourself a C4 - top class vehicle!

Uga Boga said:

As you would probably know, i've been constantly critcizing the C4 in many of my posts on this forum - well that's all changed now.

On Friday evening (2:00PM), i took the C4 in to Continental's for it's first service. I spoke with Greg Bunting (responsible for servicing) about the rough gearbox, some loose plastics etc...

I must give a 10/10 for Continentals, i received amazing treatment, i've never been treated so well before by any dealer... (Jag... )

These people are true Citroen enthusiasts, the way they gave the car wash/clean simply amazed me!

I always ask myself, where would Citroen be in Australia without Continentals?

Amazing service, amazing car, i'm one happy Citroen customer :banana: :banana: :banana:

If you were interested in any Citroen and you're in Sydney, check out Continentals! (www.citroencentre.com.au)

All said and done now, i have been way too critical and should've waited for the first service, the car is simply superb now!

Go forth and buy yourself a C4 - top class vehicle!

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Always good to see praise where it is due. It's equally always easy to write when critical of something!

JohnW

Exactly.

What made it a pleasant experience was the excellent service i received from the dealer.

I stampeded my way into the dealership with a list of "issues", when ofcourse the dealer wasn't to blame, as they existed when it came from the factory. Now in retrospect, i see those issues were hardly anything, mostly small things, i've been way too critical.

But the dealer handled everything properly and never questioned (and i've had that happen before, Jag...) any of my claims.

You're really treated like a part of the family at Continentals, i had never seen them so busy before, it was simply amazing, C4's must be attracting alot of attention to the Citroen marque.

I'm so happy for them and Citroen :banana:

Uga Boga said:

The total cost was approx $120 (inc gst) for the first service, it was given the full works

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That's the bit that took my breath away - $120!!!

I can remember regularly paying $200 to $400 every service for a (then current model) EA Falcon many years ago.

Who says European cars are expensive to maintain?

I have to say, also, I have had equally good experiences with Brisbane Citroen and my Pluriel's first service.

Good news

Great to see that your C4 is now everything that you expected it to be, Uga

I posted my postive experience with Citroen Melbourne service this week when I had the C2 serviced there...and it is a good experience when you are listened to, and your problems fixed!

Cheers

Good to hear the turnaround in your opinion of your C4; as predicted the dealer service is what makes the difference.

If one reads the (sometimes very) negative comments on C5s from Britain, poor dealer service is very often the root cause. This feeds into resale values, which then means Citroen must discount heavily to sell them at all, which in turn leaves dealers with little or no margin to give good service. Some of that effect is evident here (& not just for Citroen - other european makes also suffer from this, SAAB?) - look at the abysmal resale values on C5 V6s.

On the bright side, these cars are great value bought 3-4 years old with 100000 or so on the odo.

Barry.

Im also very happy the car is a totally different creature. Great to also hear that continentals were so helpful for you. :disappr:

It's good to see that they were able to sort out your problems with the car Uga. The sort of problems like you were having can dent one's confidence in their car, it was good see that the dealer was able to sort out your problems in such a professional manner.

Troy.

Gave it a proper test drive yesterday - approx 200-300kms worth.

Up to Thirlmere lakes, around Wollongong and then thru Menai on the way back home.

(Was hoping to spot UFO in Wollongong, but i did spot a blue Xsara and a Grey C5 around Heathcote )

The gearbox nor the engine didn't miss a beat, i had a passenger with me and doing 110KM/h, the engine was amazingly so quiet, you'd think the car was switched off. :joker:

One of the best features is how the C4 manages to keep road noise out, the mcphersion strut suspension may not be hydraulic, but it's one sweet soft ride.

Fantastic to hear your happy with the car. They must have updated the gearbox software ... It's fantastic to hear something good about one of the Citroen dealers (they get a lot of bad publicity on these boards ...). It's hard not to get bad publicity when people seak out these boards *when* there having problems. They rarely seek them out when everything works perfectly.

This is the sort of rave reviews I'd be hoping every Citroen owner would be posting

seeya,
Shane L.
PS: Was it a C5 HDi you had as the loan car Were you impressed with it

It was a 2.0L Petrol C5 Wagon. That 4 cylinder 2.0L engine goes like a 6 cylinder in the wagon!

Also, i think we'll be getting a 2.7L Diesel turbo C6... hard trying to decide between the 3.0L V6 or the 2.L Diesel Turbo.... also, they're expected to be here Feburary 2006.

But yeah, i have never been treated so well at any dealership and now i fully understand what we're up against, we must work together to promote the Citroen marque, those Japs are going down :headbang:

(It was just a great feeling, watching all those people interested in purchasing a Citroen)

DoubleChevron said:

Fantastic to hear your happy with the car. They must have updated the gearbox software ... It's fantastic to hear something good about one of the Citroen dealers (they get a lot of bad publicity on these boards ...). It's hard not to get bad publicity when people seak out these boards *when* there having problems. They rarely seek them out when everything works perfectly.

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An excellent point, Shane. I find I'm agreeing with you again

There was a very irate 206 GTi180 person on here a few months ago that moaned constantly about a long list of problems with their car (which weren't that bad, really - just needing warranty attention), right up until it was "booked in to be fixed." Since then, not a peep on these pages from them. Pathetic really, and just leads people to believe that the current crop of frenchies are unreliable

Incidentally, even the worst Pug dealer in Sydney (in my opinion) washes and vacuums the car beautifully when it goes in for a service. I certainly wouldn't be shouting so loud about that.

I'm happy that you are happy with a Citroën dealer - I'm certainly not surprised it was Continentals.

From my point of view - why isn't it spot on from the word go. Sure, it's not just a froggy thing. Other brands are probably just as bad.
How about making things right in the first place.
Having a program updated via dealer sounds grand but it only covers for stuff ups.
It's either a lac of integrity or a way of keeping consumers attached to the system.
How ethical is that?
The whole thing sounds to me like the story of a neighbour looking after a cat.
Every day the neighbour would spinn the cat holding it by it's tail. When the owner returned the cat was sooo happy to see him/her.

JoBo said:

From my point of view - why isn't it spot on from the word go. Sure, it's not just a froggy thing. Other brands are probably just as bad.
How about making things right in the first place.
Having a program updated via dealer sounds grand but it only covers for stuff ups.

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It will always be that way, so long as there are people involved in the system. Humans are fallible creatures and will make mistakes. Computers and their associated software routines are even more fallible, as they are designed by humans

As for problems, they will persist for at least as long as it takes for someone to complain about them to someone who can do something about them.

BTW, I can't see it anywhere in your posts - is a "1st service" at 1500km or 10,000km or something like that? I'm assuming it won't be more than that, as the C4 hasn't been around that long.

Uga

So glad to hear you are now happy with the car and the always excellent service from Bill and Greg.

You had little chance of seeing me today - after a sleep in following a birthday/cancer survival party for a good friend last night, I spent a couple of hours collecting parts of a local scrap collection to tart up a couple of things on the D. I will now have a working heater on the D for the drive to Canberra this weekend.

SLC206 said:

BTW, I can't see it anywhere in your posts - is a "1st service" at 1500km or 10,000km or something like that? I'm assuming it won't be more than that, as the C4 hasn't been around that long.

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The first service was 2,500kms or 3 months, however, the dealer said 3 months was a better option, so i took it in with 3,500kms on the clock.

UFO said:

Uga

So glad to hear you are now happy with the car and the always excellent service from Bill and Greg.

You had little chance of seeing me today - after a sleep in following a birthday/cancer survival party for a good friend last night, I spent a couple of hours collecting parts of a local scrap collection to tart up a couple of things on the D. I will now have a working heater on the D for the drive to Canberra this weekend.

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hehe, i may be hijacking your convoy of D's on the way to Canberra with the C4 :roflmao:

Uga Boga said:

hehe, i may be hijacking your convoy of D's on the way to Canberra with the C4 :roflmao:

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Convoy? What convoy?

ppphhhhhtttt! NOTHING will ever hijack the comfort and style of a D!:nownow:

Well...

Must say, the ESP system is top notch!!

Took the traffic light at about 100km/h (left turn), on rushing traffic, ESP system automatically goes on and notifies me on the GUI, no wheel spin whatsoever, stuck to the road like glue! (on the left lane too!)

Thumbs up for the C4's ESP (Electronic Stability Program) system! :citplak:

It really is amazing to hear your transformation of attitude Uga Boga. Greg B was also pleased to hear of your conversion.

You are now in charge of silencing future cynics who crit the car BEFORE its 1500km service.:nownow: