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Beware 'buy one get one free' offers

  • Parkers is warning car buyers to do their sums properly
  • Don't be instantly tempted by 'buy one get one free' deals
  • Promotion may work if you want to sell on 2nd car

Written by Parkers Published: 29 December 2008 Updated: 1 February 2017

The latest offer we spotted is on a Citroen C4 Picasso Lounge for £23,995 with a Citroen C1 Vibe thrown in completely free.

The deal is only available from Roger Sixsmith’s dealership in Newport on the Isle of Wight as it is not an official Citroen promotion.

In this deal you will get a new luxury C4 Picasso Lounge that comes with leather seats, 18 inch alloys, glass roof, rear window sun blinds, top of the range sound system, parking sensors and adjustable rear suspension.

However, this Lounge special edition model launched in spring 2008 only has four seats and so is not as suited to family life as the regular Picasso model.

The free car in the offer is the Citroen C1 Vibe. This is the base model of the C1 and comes with little more than a CD/stereo and airbags and will normally set you back £7386 when bought on its own.

This isn’t the first ‘buy one car, get one free’ offer that has been available to car buyers as car supermarkets and showrooms attempt to shift stock as new car sales continue to fall.

Car broker, broadspeed.com have already had two ‘buy one, get one free deals’ which included the Dodge Avenger and then the Kia Magentis. The Avenger offer proved so popular that it eventually sold out, with the company’s website crashing in the process.

Emgmotorgroup.com then offered the best ‘buy one car, get one free’ deal Parker’s has seen to date in which buyers could get a brand new Mazda 2 free when they brought a Mazda CX-7. 

Is this really a good deal?

The Citroen C1 is essentially the same as a Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 107 but with a slightly different front and rear. This isn’t a bad thing as it means the C1 is reliable and well engineered as well as being cheap to run.

The C4 Picasso Lounge on the other hand has limited capabilities and not as suited to family life as other compact people carriers, although it is exceptionally well equipped.

However, if you shop around it is possible to find several pre-registered examples of this limited edition model showing just delivery mileage for as little as £12,990. Even with the C1 thrown in savvy buyers will be able to find a better deal if you do your homework and are prepared to travel.

How much can I sell them for?

The C1 should be easy to sell on. Small cars are popular, and the C1 offers extremely low running costs. Selling privately in ‘as new’ condition should fetch £6000.

The C4 Picasso could be much harder to shift. Although the market for medium-size people carriers is good, this four-seater version has limited appeal which may mean you have to drop the price lower. However in good condition and private sale it should still fetch around £12,000.

 

Citroen C4 Picasso review
Read all you need to know about the C4 Picasso here.
Citroën C4 Picasso (07 on) car
 

 

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Citroen C1 review

Read all you need to know about the C1 here.