2003 Citroen C3 Pluriel review from UK and Ireland

Plastic tram snapped (brittle plastic in sun and heat) - roof leaks, wind billows. Citroen won't let me just pay to get that part replaced - I have to replace the whole roof mechanism (i.e. a quarter of the car for a 2cm x 2cm x 2cm piece of cracked plastic). Price of only solution offered by Citroen = £2,000 for roof min + £500 labour to fit. Price of new plastic tram that is broken = approx £10 cost, if I could buy one.

As a consequence, have to wear ear plugs when driving above 50mph because of wind noise.

Leaking roof is ruining upholstery.

Car frequently just cuts out when driving. Potentially lethal.

Mentioned noisy roof when I bought it to dealer, was told that "that is how things are with convertibles". What sort of car manufacturer designs its vehicles such that when a tiny component breaks, you have to replace a quarter of the car at a price in excess of the total value of the car. Above all, what sort of environmental policy is this - a small component breaks, you end up having to scrap the canvas roof, the rear glass, the runners, everything. Sheer waste, inbuilt obsolescence.

Citroen's only advice to me was to start hunting around salvage yards to see if I could find the component that they won't sell to me.

Do you want / need to be doing business with a company like this? Can you afford to? Citroen were very happy to service my car at extortionate prices for the past five years, but the minute something that snaps - owing to their bad design - and a previously loyal customer seeks their help to resolve the matter, they close ranks and just refuse to show any responsibility. Totally dishonourable.

Don't buy a Citroen, unless you enjoy wasting your cash and dealing with a firm massively lacking in responsibility and fairness to customers.

The one redeeming feature of the car is that when you fold the seats down, you can get quite a bit in it.

However, this hardly makes up for the sodden seat, the wind noise, the rain in your eyes when driving.

And above all, Citroen's cynical exploitation of honest customers in trying to get them to pay £2,500 for a whole new roof assembly when a piece of plastic the size of a lego brick has cracked (due to poor specification by Citroen).

citroensucks@hotmail.com