Faults:

Oil cooler pipe fell off 2 weeks into owning it; luckily sorted under the warranty.

Fuel pump seized and took out the cam belt and valve guides. That cost £2200.00. This happened just 8 weeks after a main service.

General Comments:

After having the earlier model Dispatch, I thought I might treat myself to something more modern.

The engine is underpowered for a 1.6; to be fair it is to be expected. Buy a 1.9 if you want one of these.

Comfy enough, though I think the seats are too soft and the fabric wears fast on the edges getting in and out all the time.

The van feels lightweight and flimsy compared to the older model.

Fuel consumption is not too good for a modern engine.

Drives like a car and handles OK.

Go for one with a warranty.

Faults:

Side door handle broke, oil change light started popping on!

General Comments:

The car is great on diesel! I'm getting 120 miles for £20.

Very nippy and great on the motorway.

Never liked Citroen, but after this I'm going to upgrade to a newer Dispatch.

Lots of room; can fit a fridge freezer, double beds, 7ft dining table.

Steering and brakes are excellent.

Plenty of storage places.

All doors open brilliantly, and all lock, unlike some vans.

Overall, a cheap van, which has plenty of room!

Faults:

I am experiencing quite a severe steering drift to the nearside. The dealer has undertaken many tests and adjustments - the last of these under the direction of the Citroen technical team, but no improvement has been made. They tell me the 'drift' it is a characteristic of the vehicle. I have driven one other Dispatch and it was fine, so I do not accept the explanation. Has anyone else out there experienced such a problem?

General Comments:

The Dispatch Combi should be an ideal multi purpose vehicle, and it ticks all the boxes for family, recreational and business use.

It would be great if I could keep it on the road!

Faults:

The only time the vehicle failed to start is when a glow plug failed. Unfortunately the relay has over current protection so if 1 glow plug goes short circuit it won't turn any on, immobilizing the vehicle.

Apart from that it has the problem of the locks wearing and not working, a common problem I believe.

The side loading doors also have the common problem of sitting a bit proud and creating a lot of wind noise. Although I have now found you can adjust the locating pin with just a spanner.

General Comments:

Despite the problems listed I still believe this is a very good van. The few niggling faults common to these vans can be fixed by anyone with basic mechanical knowledge for free. This combined with returning 35mpg makes it an economic van to run.

In my opinion the suspension is a bit hard and quite harsh unloaded. This does mean that it will go round bends very well though.

The brakes are plenty good enough unladen, but Loaded they really aren't powerful enough. I have moved 850Kg dump bags and trying to stop can only be described as scary!

The basic 1.9 diesel is a bit sluggish. Once up to speed it will happily sit at 70mph though a bit noisy. The main problem is hills, if you lose momentum you're in trouble! One good thing I will say for this engine is it is very good for wading. With only minor mods to raise the air intake a bit, I have driven this van through water coming over the bonnet in recent floods. I doubt the newer hdi engines with a lot of electronics would like that!!

If you get one of these vans I would go for the newer hdi or even the 1.9td. Having said that the 1.9 diesels can be bought very cheap, so they can be a good choice if used short distances round town. If thinking about towing of carrying full payload get the hdi version.