Help needed with car I've just purchased!

[MKC1980]

Hello,

I just bought a Citroen Grand Picasso with 100,000 miles on the clock, it's a 08 reg.

Before I bought it from the seller, I paid for an thorough independent inspection, which was all good, just 1 bulb, 2 tyres that were close to the legal limit, and the air con needs a re-gas, apart from that all good.

However, the day after I bought it, it wouldn't start.

Today, RAC attended but due to the time they attended it's still on my drive, I can have it towed to a garage tomorrow if I want to.

I paid £1,000 for the car as it's an auto and they aren't that cheap to buy these days.

Please see attached RAC report for the issues.

I want it fixed but I can't spend loads on it, so please can I have some advice on what to do next.

Thank you.

[750turbo]

MKC1980 said:

Hello,

I just bought a Citroen Grand Picasso with 100,000 miles on the clock, it's a 08 reg.

Before I bought it from the seller, I paid for an thorough independent inspection, which was all good, just 1 bulb, 2 tyres that were close to the legal limit, and the air con needs a re-gas, apart from that all good.

However, the day after I bought it, it wouldn't start.

Today, RAC attended but due to the time they attended it's still on my drive, I can have it towed to a garage tomorrow if I want to.

I paid £1,000 for the car as it's an auto and they aren't that cheap to buy these days.

Please see attached RAC report for the issues.

I want it fixed but I can't spend loads on it, so please can I have some advice on what to do next.

Thank you.

Just in case...

[samoht]

The most important question is whether you bought it from a dealer or from a private seller, as that will largely determine whether the seller has any responsibility for the issues (such as they are), or whether it's up to you.

[MKC1980]

Thanks for the response.

Private seller, obviously falsely advertised, but I can't do anything about that unfortunately.

[chrisch77]

What do you mean by ‘wouldn’t start’? Did it turn over and not fire/ pick up or was it completely dead when you turned the key? Could be something relatively simple like flat/dead battery, starter motor or corroded engine or battery earth connection.

[MKC1980]

The day after I bought it, it was completely dead, no sign of action.

RAC couldn't jump start it, says something else is preventing the car from starting not just battery issues.

[Mave]

What did the RAC guy actually say he thought the problem was?

[MKC1980]

RAC have offered to take it to a garage tomorrow, but the issue is if the cost is more than £400 or so I won't be able to afford to have it fixed, so I'm not sure what to do.

[Richard-D]

Some of the fault codes suggest a starter motor or circuit fault. It's a £1k car from a private seller, your options are to either fix it yourself or pay someone else to.

Edit: if it were mine I'd be checking for voltage at the starter whilst cranking (attempting to crank).

Edited by Richard-D on Wednesday 13th July 20:12

[MKC1980]

Mave said:

What did the RAC guy actually say he thought the problem was?

He wasn't totally sure, he said it needs a new battery, but he also said there is something else preventing it from starting, also the fuel additive warning showing on the dash, he says it might be something to do with that, or possibly a different issue.

The diagnostic report above is the best he could give me.

[samoht]

It's certainly annoying to buy a car and have it fail to start so soon after purchase.

At present I don't think we know whether or not it actually has any serious problems, or it could just be some minor electrical fault. So the next step is to try and find out what's actually wrong with the car, and how much it might cost to fix.

So I'd ring around and try and find a garage that's got the desire and ability to investigate the issue, and get the car taken there, ask them to try and diagnose what's wrong, and estimate a cost to fix.

At that point, if there seem to be serious pre-existing faults that were missed on inspection, you may be able to claim some kind of recompense from the company that did the inspection.

(I'd suggest try not to be too alarmed by the reported fault codes - the fault codes are there to assist diagnosis of problems, and many fault codes can be caused by a single underlying failure, so it doesn't mean there are six separate serious faults with your car necessarily).

[105.4]

MKC1980 said:

Thanks for the response.

Private seller, obviously falsely advertised, but I can't do anything about that unfortunately.

Why obviously falsely advertised?

What exactly did the advert say?

Are all those fault codes current or historic? Or to put it a better way, which of those fault codes are current?

[105.4]

chrisch77 said:

What do you mean by ‘wouldn’t start’? Did it turn over and not fire/ pick up or was it completely dead when you turned the key? Could be something relatively simple like flat/dead battery, starter motor or corroded engine or battery earth connection.

As I’ve just had a quick skim over those fault codes, there seems to be two of note:

1) glow plug relay, (easy and cheap fix)
2) starter won’t turn the engine

My immediate hunch is either a dead battery or a dead starter motor, (or both).

@OP, for the love of God, please don’t buy a cheap, remanufactured starter motor, as 8 times out of ten, they’re junk.

[105.4]

MKC1980 said:

He wasn't totally sure, he said it needs a new battery, but he also said there is something else preventing it from starting, also the fuel additive warning showing on the dash, he says it might be something to do with that, or possibly a different issue.

The diagnostic report above is the best he could give me.

It doesn’t sound like the RAC guy is all that tbh.

Go to your nearest Tesco, Aldi or petrol station and chuck some more Ad-Blue in it and that should be that issue solved.

[OverSteery]

You state you had a "thorough independent inspection". That sounds like an avenue to consider? What exactly did you have done and by who?

Surely any basic inspection would check for all trouble codes and report?

[WonkeyDonkey]

That age of citroen may not use adblue. From memory they used something called eolys I think

[Mr Happy]

What did it do when you tried to start? There's no low voltage codes so I'd be cautious about saying the battery is at fault.

Do the dash lights dim/go out, does it turn over for a second and stop, does it continually crank but not fire?

The P1694 description says "Starter operated but no rotation of engine or drop in voltage" and "Open circuit in the line of starting" so that suggests to me that the car knows you've turned the key, but it expected to see either an RPM signal or the battery voltage to drop commensurate with it trying to turn the engine over.

This YT video shows P1694 on a C4 Picasso which was the crankshaft sensor - obviously you need to get it diagnosed properly (i.e. not over the internet) before loading the parts cannon.

Edited by Mr Happy on Wednesday 13th July 20:31

[stevemcs]

These are awful cars, the gearbox - its a manual with auto shift is about as welcome as covid to a 90 year old antivaxer to a garage.

Adding adblue isn't going to help, it doesn't have it. What it does have is an eloys tank, normally just in front of the OSR wheel, if your lucky you can top it up, if you unlucky you need to replace the pouch. Budget up to £200 to sort.

Start with a battery test, however if it won't start with a booster pack a new battery isn't going to fix it.

Does the engine actually turn over or does it just click when you try to start it ?

Is it flashing N on the dash when you turn the ignition on ?

I would start by getting all of the codes cleared then see what codes come back when you try and start it

[tight fart]

Have you tried bump starting it?

[Mr. Jimmy]

Its more than likely just a battery issue.