Faults:

Only had a problem with the thermostat sticking which was removed completely and the car is still running fine.

General Comments:

The interior is very dark so I have painted some of the interior plastics red to match the colour of the car on the outside.

The handling is rather sketchy in the wet which I believe is due to the 13inch wheels, which are also very thin.

The seats are uncomfortable for long distances which I believe is due to me being over 6foot tall.

The seats would be more comfortable if they could slide further back.

Faults:

Problems with my Citroen AX Debut since June 2005.

~The hose clip was loose on the radiator.

~The air cleaner housing seal was missing.

And most recently the problems in order being:

~Small oil leak from around the cylinder head gasket area.

~The engine seems to fade and die when sitting idle, e.g. in a queue of traffic. I have been recommended to change the quality of unleaded petrol I use in my car from supermarkets fuel to Shell, BP etc. And also to use a higher octane fuel.

~I have also noticed a very tiny amount of a leak coming from the windscreen washers tank... but nothing too bad.

General Comments:

I am really impressed with this car. I bought it to learn to drive in... I have done that and I still don't want to sell it!! It may only have a 954cc engine and 4 gears, but it still gets up to at least 85mph uphill on the motorway! (until I notice and slow down again!)

I really do recommend this car for new drivers/learners, because:

~it is easy to drive.

~cheap (only about £25 to fill the tank about every 3-4 weeks)

~insurance is really cheap because of the tiny engine.

~it is quick and NIPPY!!

(Nippy being the nickname I have given my car!!)

Faults:

New indicator arm needed when first bought.

New battery needed just after buying.

Two replacement tyres needed.

General Comments:

The car always starts in the morning, even when it's very cold.

The acceleration is slow, and on steep hills is so slow it is embarrassing.

However once the speed builds up the car can go pretty fast, e.g. overtaking flash cars on the motorway easily.

Faults:

I have replaced the front cv joints and had a bit of suspension work on the front undertaken.

General Comments:

For the size of the car it is suprisingly nippy and relatively comfy.

Faults:

The first thing to go on the car was the rubber ring on the gear linkage, which caused a rattle – this was quite cheap to fix.

The main exhaust mount bracket was another thing, which also caused a small rattle, because it was cracked. - This was fixed by welding.

The rocker box gasket is slightly perished, causing a small oil leak, this has not yet been fixed.

General Comments:

These cars lend themselves very well to town driving.

It is a very easy car to service, and all of the parts can be replaced or serviced by the owner.

The cabin is very nicely sized, and fells very light and airy.

Faults:

Complete brake failure while traveling at 50mph, due to a fluid leak on one of the rear drums. Was lucky not to hit a tree under braking.

Constant problems with Idle rev speed, which mutated into rev speed problems while driving. Turned out to be the idle stepper motor.

Gearbox became loose at 60000 miles.

Braking has never been very efficient.

Dashboard lights blowing, quite common.

Mechanism for both electric windows broke on separate occasions.

Multiple problems with the Injection system.

Apart from that, general wear and tear..

General Comments:

For a car which ferried me to and from school, and being my first car, it has done quite well. It has helped me learn a whole lot about driving. But I'm glad to see the back of it. Constant problems have dogged this car from since I can remember. Most are listed above.

It is tacky, cheap looking and the design is showing is age. It does not like corners at all, with lots of body roll and a shuddering noise coming from the back wheels on even the slightest corner. It is very lightweight, which makes it nippy, with quite light steering (considering it has no power steering) but this has its problems when traveling over 50mph with a cross-wind. Motorway driving is very nearly out of the question and you'd be a fool to take it there in bad weather.

Driving position is uncomfortable to say the least, but on the plus side, it means you're less likely to fall asleep.

The bodywork dents too easily, which means you have to treat it like an un-boiled egg if you want to sell it at some value.

Having 5 seats, you'd think it could take 5 people. But it doesn't. The little 1.1i engine struggles with 4 people, and braking degrades terribly with the momentum.

On the plus side, it is very cheap and economical to run. There is a huge difference in mpg between 65mph and 70mph, and it is very economical in towns. But repair bills kind of equal out what you save here..

It was the final straw when the brakes failed while I was doing a fairly high speed. Had I not known how to slow the car quickly with no brakes it would quite possibly have been the last car I could drive.