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I've seen a used Citroen C1 (2007 year) I like the look of for sale. I'm to test drive it in the next few days. However the mechanic has put in a new clutch. The mileage of the car is 51,000. Is 6 years too soon for a new clutch? This is the only thing that is bothering me.
Thank you.
It has had one previous lady owner
Hi
so it needs a new clutch in 51k sounds better than most to be honest some manage to burn a clutch out much faster than 51k miles.
Doesn't say a lot for the driving style of whoever owned it, that's for sure. How sure are you the mileage is genuine?
Personally, that would be enough to put me off the car unless it was very cheap.
To be truthful, this is probably it's second clutch assembly. They tend to fail around the 20-25,000 mile mark. The clutch pedal sits high, the clutch slips when it is supposed to be biting, and drags when it is supposed to be disengaged. The cover plate friction surface has a habit of breaking away from it's retaining straps. Citroen and Peugeot did not honour guarantees with this fault, but Toyota did, by fitting a larger diameter clutch to the vehicle, possibly off a Yaris. Personally I would avoid these car for this reason alone.
I expect that previous lady owner slipped the clutch all the time instead of applying the handbrake on inclines. You see lots of people riding the clutch whilst stationery. That's the way to bugger a clutch. If the car drives well and it has at least some service history it should be fine. C1s are designed and built by Toyota (not a lot of people know that) and they are technically advanced. Very cheap to run and great to drive. Give it a thorough road test and if in doubt walk away. There are plenty choose from.
50,000 is ok for a c1, most c1 clutches tend to wear out early because this clutch is cable operated and has to have at least a 1inch free-play at the pedal,as the clutch wears this free-play gets less and less and the clutch will very slightly start to slip which you will not be aware of , and then fail altogether,make sure this new clutch has this free-play when you road test it, and if you do buy it always maintain this 1inch free-play and it will last you